Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, July 2, 2021:
4TH OF JULY WEEKEND
TRAVEL: This holiday weekend is expected to be the busiest travel period since the pandemic started -- something more like a typical Thanksgiving weekend, but with more delays and hassles everywhere due to staffing and other shortages. TSA and AAA officials are telling travelers to plan to “leave early and return late,” whether they’re flying or driving. WASH POST
WEATHER: Tropical Storm Elsa has formed way out in the Atlantic, where it is expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the season once it hits the warm waters of the Caribbean. Florida is in the extended cone for mid-next week. As for the rest of the country, it’ll be hot in the West, cool in the Midwest, and wet in the Northeast. FORECAST
COVID: The country is not going to reach the White House’s goal of having 70% of adults partially vaccinated by the 4th, but there’s still good news. After a decline in the number of new people getting vaccinations, doses per day is going back up. And for the 11 million Americans who got the Johnson & Johnson shot, the company says it protects against the Delta variant and produces long-lasting immunity that will not require boosters, at least for now. BLOOMBERG
TRUMP ORG INDICTMENTS
Former President Trump’s real estate business and its longtime CFO have been charged with tax fraud, the first criminal charges against the Trump Organization. Prosecutors in Manhattan allege a “sweeping and audacious” 15-year scheme in which the company paid senior execs off the books so that they could avoid taxes. Trump was not charged. Allen Weisselberg, one of Trump’s top business advisers, is pleading not guilty to charges that he dodged taxes on $1.7 million in perks that were never reported as income. The Trump Org. is also pleading not guilty, calling the charges a partisan effort meant to harm the former president. NY TIMES
CONDO COLLAPSE LATEST
Rescue efforts have resumed at the Champlain Towers site in Surfside, Fla. after concerns of another collapse paused work in the rubble. President Biden met with Gov. Ron DeSantis and first responders and spent three hours consoling relatives of the victims of the disaster, reportedly not leaving until everyone had a chance to speak to him. Biden said the federal government will pick up the tab on the rescue and cleanup efforts. WPLG
VOTING RIGHTS
The Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, to uphold two Arizona voting laws that restrict how ballots can be cast, saying those laws don’t violate the Voting Rights Act. The decision broke along ideological lines, suggesting the Court will not rule favorably in other challenges to voting restrictions that are going into effect in Republican-controlled states around the country. SCOTUSBLOG
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
The U.S. economy continues to rebound faster than just about anyone predicted this time last year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates the economy will expand at a rate of 7.4% for the year, which would be the fastest rate since the Reagan administration. The CBO said it expects the labor market to hit a pre-pandemic level of employment by the middle of next year and stay there for years, and that the stimulus money that’s helping the economy recover will also push the deficit over $3 trillion this year. REUTERS
ROBINHOOD IPO
Robinhood has filed to go public in one of the year’s most anticipated IPOs. The online trading platform revealed that it has 18 million accounts and $80 billion in customer assets. The company even squeaked out a profit last year, though it was offset by more than $1 billion in losses related to the GameStop short squeeze. Robinhood is still facing at least 50 class-action lawsuits related to its role in that trading mania, plus growing scrutiny from regulators. The stock will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker ‘HOOD’.CNET
DQ'ED FOR POT
The American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson may be disqualified from the Olympics after testing positive for marijuana. Richardson won the women’s 100-meter race at the track & field trials and was a favorite to medal in the 100-meter in Tokyo. Her suspension could be over by the time the Olympics start, but it invalidates her win in the trials. She is booked to address the drug test this morning on the Today show. GUARDIAN
WHAT'S STREAMING
Need something to watch this long weekend? There are several new movies to choose from. For the kiddies, a new entry in the Boss Baby franchise debuts on Peacock and in theaters. As for the rest of us: HBO Max has No Sudden Move, a Steven Soderbergh-directed crime thriller that’s getting good reviews. The sci-fi epic The Tomorrow War, starring Chris Pratt as a kind of alien-fighting terminator, is on Amazon Prime. If you’re venturing to a theater, the fifth and final entry in The Purge series is now playing, as is Zola, a movie about two exotic dancers on a road trip that’s based on a viral tweetstorm from 2015. INDIEWIRE
SPOTTED...
...Prince William and Prince Harry, making a rare public appearance together to unveil a statue in honor of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would’ve been her 60th birthday: SEE PICS
…Meghan McCain, announcing that she will leave her perch at The View at the end of the month after a four-year stint: WATCH
LEFTOVERS: BILLIONAIRES IN SPACE
BEZOS: When Jeff Bezos launches himself into suborbital space later this month on one of his company’s rockets, he will be joined by his brother, a mystery guest who paid $28 million for a seat, and Wally Funk, the pioneering female aviator. Funk, 82, will become the oldest person to ever fly to space -- something she’s been trying to do since the 1960s when she was a member of a group of women known as the Mercury 13. They underwent rigorous astronaut training but never made it to orbit when their program was abruptly cancelled. Bezos posted a video showing him telling Funk that she had been chosen for the trip: WATCH
BRANSON: It looks like Bezos will be beaten to space by rival Richard Branson. His space tourism company Virgin Galactic has announced that Branson will be aboard its suborbital flight scheduled for July 11, nine days before Bezos lifts off. Blue Origin says it won’t count because the Virgin flight isn’t going quite as high. NEWSWEEK
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