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CARL AZUZ: Welcome one, welcome all to a new week of our show
as we present down the middle events
coverage from around the world.
My name is Carl Azuz.
And today's first story takes us to America's most populated
state, where a controversial new law is set to take
effect in the months ahead.
California's government will require
students to get a coronavirus vaccine
in order to attend school.
This will apply to millions of students from kindergarten
through 12th grade at public and private schools in California.
But it won't take effect until one of the vaccines
is fully approved for younger people
by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Currently, a vaccine made by the companies Pfizer and biontech
is approved for people ages 16 and older,
but it has not been fully approved for younger Americans.
People ages 12 through 15 can get one under an emergency use
authorization.
California's government expects the FDA will eventually approve
COVID vaccines for kids.
So it says its vaccine mandates will follow that and likely
take effect in January or July.
It'll apply to students who attend school in person,
but there will be online schools, home
school, and independent study options
for unvaccinated students.
According to the Los Angeles Times,
parents will be able to refuse the vaccine for their children
on the grounds of personal beliefs,
but California's government might overturn
that option in the future.
The state's governor says the school mandate will speed up
efforts to overcome the COVID pandemic,
but health officials say it's possible for the Delta
variant of coronavirus to spread among vaccinated people.
Lawsuits against the mandate are expected.
While some parents have said they support the idea
and think it'll keep kids safer at school,
others have said the vaccine needs
to be a personal medical decision, not a requirement.
They're concerned about the short and long term effects
of the vaccine on young people who
have a much higher survival rate for COVID than older people.
If and when the school mandates take effect,
they'll make California the first state
in the nation to have them.
For years, China has been the world's largest manufacturer.
In fact, it's known as the world's factory,
because China's output accounts for more than 28%
of global manufacturing.
But the soaring cost of energy is triggering
several problems for the Asian country,
including its ability to make goods.
The shortages became widespread in June
and have only gotten worse since then.
SELINA WANG: The world's biggest energy consumer
is running out of power.
China's energy crunch is triggering blackouts, forcing
factories to cut production, overturning people's
daily lives, and threatening to slow the world's
second largest economy.
Social media users have posted images of cities gone dark.
Severe traffic jams caused by traffic
lights that stopped working.
Shops forced to close early or resorting
to candlelight to stay open.
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SELINA WANG: A mother with two young kids
trapped in an elevator for 45 minutes
after a sudden power outage.
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INTERPRETER: It was completely dark.
I could see nothing because the power is cut from everything.
Only when vehicles drove past, you could see lights on.
SELINA WANG: The power cuts have rippled across Northeastern
China and parts of the South.
The cause of it all, a perfect storm
of factors demand for Chinese goods
is surging as the global economy emerges
from the pandemic, increasing use of China's
electricity hungry factories.
That's sending energy prices skyrocketing.
But since electricity prices are regulated in China,
some power companies are losing money and
hesitant to boost production.
At the same time, China is trying
to meet its ambitious climate goals
to bring carbon emissions to a peak before 2030
and net zero by 2060.
So local officials are rationing power to meet annual targets
before the year end.
Power outages aren't new to China,
but this one is especially severe.
YUN JIANG: For most provinces in China,
when there is a shortage of power,
they ration the four industries first,
so it doesn't affect residential users.
But in the Northeast, because it has reached to as quite
significant shortage, it is now even rationing
for residential users, and that is
quite significant, because it could lead
to a lot of social discontent.
SELINA WANG: And residents are taking to social media
to complain.
One user posted, there is no gas,
"Don't we need to cook and eat?
I have been ordering takeout for two days."
Another wrote, "People from Northeast China
have to light candles in the middle of the night.
This is not North Korea.
I'm speechless."
This person writing, "Many communities have been locked
down due to the pandemic.
If there is no water or electricity,
that's so unbearable."
The power rationing could create new headaches for global supply
chains, with several Apple and Tesla suppliers
suspending production.
PHILIP ANDREWS-SPEED: There have been Further interruptions
to supplies of different things, whether it
be toys for Christmas or metals and silica
for advanced materials and advanced equipment.
SELINA WANG: But the power supply challenges
aren't unique to China.
- It is partly a problem of managing the low carbon energy
transition at a time when the economy is
picking up after the pandemic.
I think we're going to see the same sort of challenges
in other parts of the world.
SELINA WANG: China's energy crisis
is a sign of what the world is reckoning
with in its bumpy transition to clean energy.
Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
CARL AZUZ: 10 second trivia.
Which of these US founding fathers
became the nation's first Chief Justice?
John Adams, John Hancock, John Jay, or John Marshall?
In 1789, President George Washington
nominated John Jay to become America's first Chief Justice.
And the Senate confirmed Jay to that position
just two days later.
These days that process usually takes months,
no matter who's president.
Once a justice is confirmed, he or she
serves on the high court during what
the Constitution calls good behavior,
which can mean for life.
And those on the Supreme Court right
now have just begun a new session.
It traditionally starts on the first Monday in October.
This fall session will be the first in-person meeting
of the nine justices since the COVID pandemic
started, except that not all nine justices
will actually be there.
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh
tested positive for COVID 19 last Thursday,
though he was fully vaccinated, so
he'll be participating in the oral arguments remotely
this week.
What will those arguments be about?
Three of them center on very contentious
issues in the United States.
One involves religion, specifically student aide
in schools that teach religion.
Another case involves a state law that bans most abortions
after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Gun rights are also on the docket
in the case of a law that limits who can carry
a concealed handgun in public.
Other arguments involve campaign finance and religious symbols
at government buildings.
These closely watched cases could all
lead to major changes in America and the action
begins this week.
Another event that begins this week
and runs through next Monday is the daily announcement of
the 2021 Nobel Prize winners.
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- At the age of 28, the young Marie
met and married a French scientist named Pierre Curie.
Together in their laboratory in Paris,
they shared in the research that isolated [inaudible] 3.
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CARL AZUZ: Does a $10,000 Oreo rate a 10 out of 10?
It does for the die hard Pokemon fan willing to pay it.
Pokemon Oreo's came out last month featuring video game
characters on cookies.
But the mu-Pokemon is a rare one,
so some are popping up on eBay for as much as $10,000
plus shipping.
That's for one cookie that's made out of the same stuff
as regular Oreos, which sell for around three bucks
per package of 36 cookies.
But this one's got something "Mew."
And while it's cooked up thunderous interest,
some might even call it a "Regi-steal,"
others will think this seller is "Coba-lyin'" and that
there's "Ore-no" way he'll "Landor-se" the sale.
Guess they'll just have to "Nabis-go" somewhere else,
if you know what I'm saying.
I'm Carl Azuz.
The city of Powell is in northwest Wyoming.
That's where we're going to shout
out Powell High School today.
Subscribing and commenting on our YouTube channel
is the only way to get your school mentioned.
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