Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, July 26, 2021:
1. DELTA WAVE LATEST
Dr. Fauci said over the weekend that the CDC is actively considering changing mask guidance as cases of the Delta variant continue to soar in the U.S. The good news: as former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottleib noted on Face the Nation, the U.S. is potentially much further along in the current Delta wave than the numbers suggest, given that testing is way down. Gottleib said we could be turning the corner in “two or maybe three weeks.” To that point, the surge in the UK -- which has generally been a couple weeks ahead of the U.S. in terms of cases -- appears to be past its peak with cases on the decline for four straight days (though the UK also has about 6% more of its population fully vaccinated than the U.S.). THE WEEK
Turns out if you “turn the corner” enough times you’re back were you started.
2. HOT VAX SUMMER A BUST?
Two months ago, 64% of Americans said they were optimistic about the future. That number has plummeted nearly 20 points since then, according to new polling from ABC News and Ipsos. Optimism is now underwater by 10 points, and the drop was measured across the board among Democrats, Republican and independents. President Biden’s approval numbers on the two issues that had been giving him the best marks -- handling of the pandemic and handling of the economic recovery -- have dropped by 9 and 7 points, respectively. ABC NEWS
3. OLYMPIC WRAP
Team USA swimmers had their best-ever start to an Olympics, winning six medals, including the first U.S. gold in any sport of the Tokyo Games. Chase Kalisz brought home the gold in the 400m individual medley. Katie Ledecky settled for silver in her first swimming final, the first second-place finish in her Olympic career. The U.S. men’s basketball team dropped its opener to France, the squad's first Olympics loss since 2004. Tonight’s big event is the men’s gymnastic team final, which is expected to be a nail-biter between Japan, Russia and China. The medal count as of this morning: China leads with 15, U.S. in second with 14 and Japan in third with 10. USA TODAY
4. RATINGS CRASH
NBC’s broadcast of the Tokyo Opening Ceremony drew the smallest audience for an opening ceremony in 33 years. Just 17 million people in the U.S. tuned into the event across all platforms, NBC said. In comparison, the opener of the 2012 London Games drew 41 million viewers. The bright side for NBC is that streaming numbers were up across the board, but the ratings slide follows the larger trend -- accelerated during the pandemic -- that has spooked the networks: people just aren’t flocking to big TV events like they used to. DEADLINE
5. WILDFIRES
The huge Dixie Fire in northern California has merged with a smaller fire and is now the largest burning in the state, threatening thousands of homes and other structures in Butte and Plumas Counties. The blaze has incinerated 190,000 acres and is about 21% contained. Firefighters have made some encouraging progress on the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, which is at 400,000 acres burned and 46% contained. Meanwhile, another heat dome is parking itself over the continental U.S. for the week, bringing above-average temps from the Pacific Northwest to the I-95 corridor. LA TIMES
Over this summer already. Wake us up in October.
6. CIG EXECS: BAN CIGS
The CEO of Philip Morris International, the maker of Marlboros outside the U.S., says the company will stop selling cigarettes in the UK in the next decade, comparing them to gas-powered cars. The move is part of a broader shift at PhilMo International -- which is separate from PhilMo USA -- to transition entirely from selling cigarettes to smoke-free alternatives. DAILY MAIL
7. CLEVELAND ROCKS
Cleveland’s got a new name for its baseball team: The Guardians. The ball club announced on Friday that it will drop the Indians name and replace it with Guardians starting next season. The new name pays homage to the four “Guardians of Traffic” statues that adorn Cleveland’s Hope Memorial Bridge. The team tapped Tom Hanks to narrate the announcement: WATCH
Nothing strikes fear into the heart of an opponent than the threat of traffic.
8. BOX OFFICE
A bit of a shocker at the weekend box office: M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, a horror/thriller about a beach that mysteriously makes people rapidly age, came in first place with $16.5 million in domestic ticket sales. Old beat out Snake Eyes, which was also a theater-only release, and Space Jam, which cratered in its second week -- part of this summer trend of movies that premiere both in theaters and on streaming seeing their box office numbers fall off a cliff after opening weekend. VARIETY
If you need us we'll be at the beach that makes you old.
9. SPOTTED...
…J. Lo, celebrating her 52nd birthday in St. Tropez alongside Ben Affleck: SEE PICS...Kanye West, taking in the Atlanta United soccer match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where West has reportedly been living as he puts the finishing touches on the album that was supposed to drop Friday: SEE PICS...
Lady Kitty Spencer, the 30 year-old niece of the late Princess Di, tying the knot with 62 year-old South African billionaire Michael Lewis: SEE THE DRESS
He must have a great personality.
10. LEFTOVERS: OLYMPIC STUNNER
An 18-year-old swimmer from Tunisia can lay claim to the best underdog story out of the Olympics’ opening weekend -- to go along with a brand new piece of hardware. Ahmed Hafnaoui came into the star-studded men’s 400m freestyle at 50-1 odds with the slowest qualifying time -- and he ended up winning the gold, touching the wall about a tenth of a second faster than Australia’s Jack McLoughlin. Hafnaoui, who looked like he could not believe he actually won, brings Tunisia its fifth gold medal ever: WATCH
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