Healthcare
Winter Storm in Texas a “Significant Problem” according to leading expert Dr. Anthony Fauci
As the country has watched the Midwest get ravaged by the everlasting cold weather, the state of Texas has arguably struggled the most. Texas runs on its own power grid, ERCOT (independent of the two other national power systems). Because of that, they cannot borrow electricity from neighboring states and have suffered as a result. As there is no power, COVID-19 vaccinations have been put at a standstill. Unfortunately for Texans, a great deal of the vaccines sitting in freezers may have to be thrown away, and for a state that houses nearly 10% of all Americans, that is a great loss. According to experts, many vaccine hubs in major Texas cities such as Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston will have to work double-time to get back on track to meet their goals on vaccinations for the quarter. Nearly three million people have received their first dose of the vaccine so far, and of those three, 1.2 million have received their second dose. Texas has a long way to go, and the struggles from this cold weather will be a great challenge to overcome in the coming weeks and months.
Politics
Stimulus Talks at a Standstill, Senator Ted Cruz Under Fire After Leaving Texas During Storm
On Thursday, little news came from Washington in regards to the third round of stimulus checks coming to Americans. This time around the total is expected to be $1,400 for all Americans who qualify. Since last week, little progression past being approved by the House of Representatives ‘Ways and Means Committee.’ Currently, the stimulus is on pace to be approved by March 14th, but as expected, many are pushing for the house to review it immediately. With the recent storm in the midwest, many are in need of the money on very short notice. On another note, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) was spotted fleeing the brutal Texas weather on a flight to Cancun, Mexico. A tweet surfaced with a picture of him on the plane, and he was the subject of a social media attack, with many calling him a coward for leaving his constituents by themselves and leaving the cold weather. As a result, Cruz was pressured into returning to Texas this morning, as he returned to Houston on the first flight of the day.
COvid-19
Study reveals that Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines have a lower effectiveness level on the South African strain of COVID-19
As reported by the New England Journal of Medicine, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed that they could create antibodies, but representatives from both companies claim that a booster shot in development would help provide added protection against new strains. A cause of worry amongst scientists is that while antibodies may be generated to fight the new strains, the level of antibodies needed to be effective is still completely unknown. The new Johnson & Johnson vaccine is said to be more effective as compared to the Moderna, Pfizer vaccine when fighting the new strains, so many consumers would like to wait until their approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Gamestop hearing
Robinhood CEO among other companies at GameStop hearing today
Today, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev appeared in front of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee during their meeting. He apologized to the committee for Robinhood’s performance two weeks ago during the ‘reddit trades’ events wherein stocks such as GameStop, AMC and NAKD, experienced sharp increases and declines shortly thereafter. Robinhood chose to restrict trading of these (and various other) volatile stocks during that week under pressure from other investors. One representative called for a conflict of interest, wherein Robinhood disadvantaged their customers during a week of high volatility.
Citi Bank
Citi Bank loses court battle to regain the $504 million dollar check sent to Revlon
On thursday, citigroup lost a court case which they started to reclaim the 504 million dollar which they mistakenly loaned to Revlon. The judge ruled that the transfer of funds was intentional and non refundable. In this scenario, the law is that if a creditor accidentally sends funds for a loan, the recipient actually has the right to keep the money. Although it usually is not in such high amounts, such as this case, the law would not be modified. Also, the court believed that a bank as sophisticated as CitiBank has enough internal control measures to prevent a ‘mistake’ like this from occurring. Although Citigroup intends to appeal the decision, it is unlikely that any superior court would come to a different decision, as mentioned before with their internal security measures.
Works Cited
BerkeleyJr. “Dr. Fauci Says Winter Storm in Texas Is a 'Significant' Problem for Covid Vaccine Distribution.” CNBC, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/02/18/texas-weather-fauci-says-winter-storm-is-a-significant-problem-for-covid-vaccine-distribution.html.
Goodwin, Jazmin. “Citi Made a $500 Million Mistake. Here's How That Would Play out for Regular People.” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Feb. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/02/18/business/citigroup-revlon-lawsuit/index.html.
Mengle, Rocky. “Third Stimulus Check Update: The Current Plan for $1,400 Payments.” Kiplinger, Kiplinger, 18 Feb. 2021, www.kiplinger.com/taxes/602268/third-stimulus-check-update-the-current-plan-for-1400-payments.