Get the Need2Know newsletter in your inbox every morning! Sign up here!
Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, October 12, 2021:
TEX BANS VAX MANDATES
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order banning any entity, including private businesses, from issuing Covid vaccine mandates. Abbott is also asking the state legislature to codify the order into law. Abbott’s broad order, which is likely to go to court, comes as the White House prepares to start enforcing its vaccine-or-test mandate for employers with more than 100 workers. TEXAS TRIB
FDA'S FULL PLATE
Merck has officially requested FDA authorization for what would be the world’s first antiviral Covid pill after that drug showed “compelling results” in trials. Should that authorization come, Merck has already agreed to supply the U.S. with 1.7 million courses of treatment. Before that can happen, the FDA is meeting later this week to decide on what to do about booster shots for Moderna and J&J vaccine recipients. YAHOO NEWS
CLIMATE CHANGE
At least 85 percent of the world’s population has already been affected by human-caused climate change, according to new research published in the journal Nature. Scientists used machine learning to analyze 100,000 studies of weather events around the world to make a solid link between escalating extremes and human activities. The findings come ahead of a major UN climate summit taking place in Glasgow later this month. WASH POST
GABBY PETITO AUTOPSY
The Wyoming coroner in the Gabby Petito case is scheduled to give an update on the final autopsy today, likely revealing Petito’s cause of death. The FBI’s manhunt for Petito’s fiance, Brian Laundrie, has been scaled back after the search of a Florida nature reserve didn’t turn up any new leads. INDEPENDENT
SOUTHWEST MELTDOWN
Southwest Airlines’ operational meltdown continued into the week, with the carrier canceling hundreds more flights on Monday after a weekend in which a third of its schedule failed to take off. Southwest, its pilot union and the FAA have all denied that the cancellations were the cause of “sick outs” in protest of its vaccine mandate. Southwest reiterated that bad weather and ATC disruptions in Florida triggered the cascading cancellations. AP
TOY INCLUSIVITY
Lego is pledging to remove gender bias from its toys after internal research found that girls and boys were being hampered by gender stereotypes when they decided what to play with. A study commissioned by Lego suggested that girls were becoming more open to playing with a wider variety of toys, but boys were still afraid they’d be made fun of if they played with “girl’s toys.” The move follows a new law in California mandating that big retailers provide gender-neutral toy aisles. GUARDIAN
RAIDERS COACH OUT
Jon Gruden has resigned as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders amid a growing scandal over racist, misogynistic and homophobic emails he had sent when he was a broadcaster on ESPN. Gruden’s troubles started last week when the Wall Street Journal reported on a racist trope that Gruden had used in an email from 2011 that surfaced during an unrelated NFL internal investigation. The New York Times then reported that Gruden used offensive language in numerous other instances, including calling NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a a “faggot” and a “clueless anti football pussy.” NY TIMES
NETFLIX MERCH PLAY
Netflix is taking advantage of the popularity of shows like Squid Game with a new e-commerce hub in partnership with Walmart. Netflix fans can visit the dedicated hub on Walmart.com to find merch related to their favorite shows and movies, from Squid Game shirts to a Stranger Things-inspired cassette player. The Walmart hub marks Netflix’s biggest expansion yet of its fledgling retail business. WSJ
SPOTTED...
…the first look at the upcoming Scream movie, featuring Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox making their return to the slasher franchise: SEE PICS
...Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, getting hot and heavy on the cover of British GQ: SEE PICS
...Jon Kent, the son of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, coming out as bisexual in an upcoming Superman comic: SEE PIC
LEFTOVERS: 6 MARATHONS IN 6 WEEKS
Benson Kipruto and Diana Kipyego of Kenya won the Boston Marathon, the fourth of the world’s six major marathons to be crammed into a 42-day window this fall because of pandemic postponements. The American long-distance runner Shalane Flanagan decided early on that she would attempt to complete all six races in under three hours each, and she’s getting close to achieving that goal. After completing Berlin and London in under 2 hours 40 minutes, the Massachusetts native ran in Chicago on Sunday in 2:46:39, and then immediately flew to Boston where she ran her hometown race with a time of 2:40:34. Next up, Tokyo next weekend, followed by NYC next month. CBS SPORTS
Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
