Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, June 7, 2021:
GUN VIOLENCE ACROSS THE U.S.
It was another weekend of deadly gun violence across the country. In Miami, Florida, a shooting at a graduation party left three people dead and six others injured. Miami-Dade Police Director Freddie Ramirez said, "Every weekend, it’s the same thing. And we’ve just got to band together.” In NYC, a 10-year-old boy was shot while inside his home from a bullet fired outside. In Chicago, gun violence killed at least five people and injured dozens more. USA TODAY
MANCHIN IN THE MIDDLE
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin-- key to Democrats’ control of the chamber-- said he won’t support his party’s sweeping voting rights bill, “The For The People Act,” because it has no Republican support and won’t help bring the country together. The 800-page bill would require states to expand mail-in voting and increase hours of operation at in-person polling sites. Manchin said he supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act instead, which has bi-partisan support. Manchin wrote an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, in which he also continues to push against Democrats’ efforts to eliminate the filibuster. READ IT
G7 TAX DEAL
The G7 nations (US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan) have agreed to a major tax overhaul for international companies: a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15% — seen as a win for the Biden administration. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in London for the meeting, saying it could prevent American companies from shifting their profits overseas to avoid paying taxes. Also part of the agreement: global companies should pay tax where they generate sales, not just where they have a physical presence. CNN
COVID-19 LATEST
ANOTHER VACCINE: Amid a falling vaccination rate here in the United States, Biotech company Novavax plans to release a new COVID-19 vaccine this summer. Unlike the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which contain directions for the creation of spike proteins, the Novavax jab will contain what is called a protein subunit — it already contains the virus’s spike protein, and will have added immune system protection. NPR
UK LOCKDOWNS: Brits are facing a fresh COVID lockdown as the Delta variant (first discovered in India) spreads across Europe-- cases are up by 89% in just the past two weeks. Deaths have increased by 49%. The new lockdown deadline caused a mass rush of British tourists to scramble home from Portugal over the weekend. NY TIMES
NEWEST ROYAL
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their second child, Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, weighing 7 lbs 11 oz. According to a statement: “Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home… Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.” PEOPLE
BITCOIN
At the Bitcoin conference in Miami, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced that he’ll be proposing Bitcoin as legal tender in a piece of legislation he is sending to his legislative branch this week. Right now, the U.S. dollar is El Salvador’s official currency-- but over one quarter of the country’s citizens live in the U.S. They send back billions in remittances every year, so Bukele hopes the move to crypto could benefit low-income families. MARKETWATCH
MAYWEATHER V. PAUL
Social media star and boxer Logan Paul went eight rounds with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Las Vegas. The fight was an exhibition so no winner was announced. Mayweather went long stretches without throwing a punch, and Paul landed a small handful of clean hits. Ultimately, the fight seemed to be more of a spectacle. The ring announcer summed it up well when introducing Logan before the match: [He] “specializes in wrestling, boxing and anything outrageous.” YAHOO SPORTS
FRENCH OPEN: WILLIAMS AND FEDERER OUT
WOMEN: Serena Williams faced a shocking upset over the weekend at the French Open when Elena Rybakina clinched a victory in their two set faceoff. Williams will now look ahead to Wimbledon as her next chance to match Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slams. CNN
MEN: Roger Federer has exited the tournament over health concerns. Citing the impact of two arthroscopic knee surgeries, Federer said he has to “listen to [his] body and make sure I don’t push myself too quickly on my road to recovery.” Some think this could be his way of prepping for a better performance at Wimbledon. ESPN
SPOTTED…
… Simone Biles, performing a mesmerizing floor routine-- including a triple-twisting double back-- at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Here’s what it looks like in slow motion: WATCH
… Alicia Silverstone making her TikTok debut by recreating a scene from Clueless with a cameo from her 9-year-old son Bear. She captioned it: "Ugh! As if... I wouldn't join TikTok.” WATCH
LEFTOVERS: LAST AUSCHWITZ LIBERATOR
David Dushman, the last surviving soldier who helped liberate the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in 1945, has died at the age of 98. Dushman was a Red Army soldier who used his Soviet tank to mow down the electric fence of Auschwitz. He said, “We hardly knew anything about Auschwitz." But he saw “skeletons everywhere. They staggered out of the barracks, sat and lay among the dead. Terrible. We threw them all our canned food and immediately went on to hunt down the fascists,” Of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, more than a million were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. GUARDIAN
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