What A Day

President Biden and 40 heads of state met for the first day of a virtual climate summit, yesterday, and he pledged to cut America’s greenhouse gases in half from where they were in 2005 by 2030. Biden also announced a plan for the US to double the amount of money it gives to other countries to help them lower their own emissions.

COVID cases are still surging worldwide, with a record 5.24 million new cases recorded just last week. The State Department issued 116 "Do No Travel" advisories to discourage Americans from traveling to most of the world.

And in headlines: the House approves a bill that would make DC a state, the Supreme Court rules to restore life without parole for juvenile offenders, and Meghan McCain's cyberpunk hairstyles are on purpose.

Show Notes –

NPR: "How The U.S. Could Halve Climate Emissions By 2030" – https://n.pr/32DzkvA

Show some love and vote for us as Best News and Politics podcast in the 25th Annual People’s Voice Awards! 

https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2021/podcasts/general-series/news-politics

For a transcript of this show, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

Derek Chauvin has been found guilty, but it's painfully obvious that the issue of police brutality is bigger than the conviction of one officer for murder. For example, today is the funeral for Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man who was killed by police during a traffic stop near Minneapolis. Plus details are still coming out in Columbus, Ohio, about the police killing of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, who was shot just minutes after the Chauvin verdict was announced.

To discuss the trial in the context of a greater effort to make police accountable, or rethink the role of policy in society altogether, we spoke with the Marshall Project's Jamiles Lartey.

And in headlines: widespread protest in Russia against Putin and for Alexei Navalny, Manhattan’s DA will no longer prosecute prostitution, and a time off for vaccination tax credit.

Show Notes –

Show some love and vote for us as Best News and Politics podcast in the 25th Annual People’s Voice Awards! 

https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2021/podcasts/general-series/news-politics

For a transcript of this show, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, yesterday, and now faces up to 40 years in prison. The verdict represented a rare moment of accountability in a country where law enforcement officers who kill rarely get convicted. We discuss the verdict, along with reactions from elected officials, activists, and Floyd’s family in Minneapolis. 

And in headlines: drug regulators in the EU approve distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with a warning label, Birmingham, Alabama pardons 15,000 marijuana convictions, and religious leaders in Georgia call for a Home Depot boycott.

Show Notes –

Show some love and vote for us as Best News and Politics podcast in the 25th Annual People’s Voice Awards! 

https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2021/podcasts/general-series/news-politics

For a transcript of this show, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

President Biden held bipartisan meetings yesterday to find some middle ground for his massive infrastructure bill. On the left, AOC and Bernie Sanders introduced their own version of the bill with a larger commitment to public housing. But passing any infrastructure bill will likely require budget reconciliation as long as the filibuster remains in place. 

The union that sought to represent Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, formally filed objections last Friday to the results of the election there. Workers voted overwhelmingly not to unionize, but the union says that result should be thrown out because Amazon illegally interfered in the process. We discuss their argument. 

And in headlines: attorneys deliver closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin, India experiences an explosive surge of COVID-19 cases, and President Biden will consider making cigarettes less addictive.

Show Notes –

Read the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union's filing against Amazon for the recent unionization vote – https://bit.ly/3aqyI0J

Follow What A Day on Instagram at instagram.com/whataday

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

It was another tragic weekend in the midst of our national epidemic of gun violence, with mass shootings taking place in Wisconsin, Texas, Nebraska, and Ohio. That was after the shooting last week at a FedEx warehouse in Indiana, which many have called to investigate as a hate crime against Sikhs. We discuss the shootings, as well as what’s happening in Minnesota in relation to the police killings of Daunte Wright and George Floyd.

The worldwide death toll from COVID reached 3 million over the weekend. In lighter news, half of the U.S. population aged 18 and older has gotten at least one dose of a vaccine. The White House announced a plan to track variants. 

And in headlines: Republican lawmakers in Florida aim to make many forms of protest illegal, Biden walks back his decision to cap the number of refugees allowed into the U.S., and NASA will attempt to fly a helicopter on Mars.

Show Notes:

Washington Post Opinion: "Get police out of the business of traffic stops" – https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/16/remove-police-traffic-stops/

WSJ: "J&J Covid-19 Vaccine Pause Driven by Risk of Mistreating Blood Clots" – https://www.wsj.com/articles/j-j-covid-19-vaccine-was-paused-over-blood-clot-treatment-concerns-11618777554

Follow What A Day on Instagram at instagram.com/whataday

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

Only a handful of blood-clotting cases have been reported among recipients of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, but it's predominantly women who have developed these rare symptoms. To answer questions about the “one dose fits all” mode of medical research that can occasionally lead to these kinds of outcomes, we spoke to Rosemary Morgan, a research scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She’s currently studying the gendered effects of COVID-19 on several international communities.

Plus, for headlines, we’re joined by comedian and actress Sasheer Zamata: a class action settlement for Fyre Fest attendees, a Canadian lawmaker accidentally goes nude on Zoom, and scientists grow human embryos in monkeys.

Show Notes:

Chicago Tribune: "In several fateful seconds, video appears to show 13-year-old Adam Toledo toss gun, turn with empty hands before police shooting (warning: graphic content)" – https://bit.ly/3gaYvOh

Follow What A Day on Instagram at instagram.com/whataday

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

A CDC committee voted yesterday to keep the pause going on the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, at least until it meets again. Temporarily stopping use of the vaccine makes sense, but the move also has immediate impacts on the underserved populations that had been relying on the vaccine for protection.

Now-former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter will be charged with second-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing Daunte Wright. We discuss the history of what happened when officers have been charged after claiming they mistook a gun for a taser.

And in headlines: Denmark is denying residency permits to Syrian refugees, Disney theme park employees can be tatted, and Coinbase makes its IPO.

Follow What A Day on Instagram at instagram.com/whataday

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

Federal health officials recommended a pause on giving out the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, yesterday, after they reported that six women experienced rare blood clots. Nearly 7 million people have received the J&J vaccine so far, so the incidents are extremely rare, but all 50 states suspended the vaccine’s use or advised a pause.

Today, President Biden is expected to announce that he will withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by 9/11 of this year. This comes after 2,300 US service members and an estimated 157,000 civilians died during the past two decades.

And in headlines: the officer responsible for paralyzing Jacob Blake will not face discipline, the FDA says patients can get abortion pills via telemedicine, and an enormous rabbit has been stolen in England.

Show Notes

NYT: "Johnson & Johnson Vaccinations Paused After Rare Clotting Cases Emerge" – https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/us/politics/johnson-johnson-vaccine-blood-clots-fda-cdc.html

Follow What A Day on Instagram at instagram.com/whataday

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

A police officer shot and killed 20-year-old unarmed Black man Daunte Wright in a Minneapolis suburb this Sunday, just a few miles from where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George Floyd. We discuss the details of the killing, plus the reactions from leaders and residents of the city.

The CDC’s director Dr. Rochelle Walesnky said that vaccines won’t solve the COVID crisis unfolding in Michigan, and suggested a lockdown instead. Surges like these are exactly how the virus mutates, which is part of the reason why Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer needs to act to stop things from getting worse.

And in headlines: a shooting at a school in Tennessee, a volcano continues to erupt in St. Vincent, and Will Smith pulls his movie out of Georgia.

Show Notes:

The Appeal, "What Traffic Enforcement Without Police Could Look Like" – https://theappeal.org/traffic-enforcement-without-police/

Follow What A Day on Instagram at instagram.com/whataday

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

Most adults in America can soon sign up for a vaccine, but we're faced with a new set of COVID-related questions on vaccine passports, virus variants, and more. To give us some answers, we're joined by epidemiologist, physician, and former Detroit health commissioner Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

Plus, Michigan has become the center of America's latest COVID surge with an average of over 7,300 new daily cases last week. We ask Dr. El-Sayed about the link between that surge and the UK variant of the virus, B117.

And in headlines: Army Lieutenant Caron Nazario sues two police officers in Virginia over a violent traffic stop, Maryland repeals the state's police bill of rights, and workers at Amazon's Bessemer, Alabama, plant vote against unionizing.

Listen to "America Dissected" with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed – https://crooked.com/podcast-series/america-dissected/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.