Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, August 2, 2021:
DELTA LATEST
Dr. Fauci warned that "things are going to get worse" in this current Delta wave, but said he did not think the country would go back into lockdowns given that enough people are vaccinated to avoid a repeat of last winter. Fauci again urged the roughly 100 million unvaccinated eligible Americans to get their shots. Of the 164 million vaccinated Americans, new data compiled by NBC shows less than 0.1 percent have tested positive for COVID, and 0.001 percent have died. This data visualization shows how uncommon symptomatic breakthrough infections have been: SEE IT
BILES NOT DONE YET
Simone Biles plans to compete in the balance beam final tomorrow, her last possible event in Tokyo. Biles has been training at a local gym since she backed out of competition last week over mental health concerns. She later explained that she's dealing with a severe case of the "twisties," a kind of mental block that gymnasts get in which they lose the sense of where they are in the air. Team USA will put up Biles and Suni Lee on the beam. Their teammate, MyKayla Skinner, took silver in the vault final after she was tapped to replace Biles, and Jade Carey won gold in the floor exercise. NBC NEWS
MORE FROM TOKYO
There's a new fastest man in the world: Marcell Jacobs of Italy ran the 100m dash in 9.8 seconds to take gold in the event previously dominated by Usain Bolt. On the women's side, Jamaica swept the 100m with Elaine Thompson-Herah setting a new Olympic record of 10.61 seconds. In the pool, the Americans Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke won gold again — the fifth for Dressel, who is now one of just four people to win five gold medals in a single Olympics for the U.S. On the field, while the U.S. women lost to Canada in the semis. UPDATES
IRAN DRONE ATTACK
U.S. and British intelligence believe Iran was behind a drone attack on an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf last week that killed two people on board. The Japanese-owned tanker was managed by a maritime company owned by an Israeli billionaire. It's thought to be the first fatal attack on commercial shipping in the region, where tensions have been escalating since the Iran nuclear deal fell apart. REUTERS
VAX MANDATES
Walmart and Disney announced vaccine mandates for their employees on Friday, following similar mandates from Facebook, Google and others. Walmart's policy has one glaring hole: it doesn't cover store or warehouse workers, which make up the vast majority of the company's 1.6 million-strong workforce. Similarly, Disney's mandate doesn't cover union workers, who make up about a fifth of its employee base. NY TIMES
BUY NOW PAY LATER
The fintech company Square is buying the buy-now-pay-later platform Afterpay for $29 billion. Square, which popularized those point-of-sale tablets you see at many small businesses, plans to integrate Afterpay into that system for merchants as well as its consumer product Cash App. Buy-now-pay-later systems like Afterpay have become popular among young people who may not have access to traditional credit. They don't charge fees or interest as long as you make the installment payments on time. BLOOMBERG
NHL TANKING ALLEGATION
Hockey star Evander Kane of the San Jose Sharks is vehemently denying allegations from his estranged wife that he bet on, and then tanked, games he played in. In a series of scathing social media posts, Kane's wife, Anna, claimed that he was a gambling addict who intentionally tried to lose games for-profit and abandoned her and their toddler without any money. Kane said it's not true and that he just completed the best season of his career. The NHL has opened an investigation into the tanking allegations. ESPN
DABABY DROPPED FROM LOLLA
DaBaby was pulled from Lollapalooza's final night lineup at the last minute as the rap star remains embroiled in controversy over recent homophobic remarks. DaBaby, who had the #1 song last summer and is featured on Dua Lipa's recent hit Levitating, made offensive comments about men living with HIV and AIDS a week ago — then again in a viral video — before he apologized. Many musicians, including Dua Lipa and Elton John, condemned those remarks. CHICAGO TRIB
SPOTTED...
…American shot put medalist Raven Saunders, raising her hands in an 'X' on the podium, the highest-profile protest yet of the Tokyo Games: SEE IT
...D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, maskless and officiating a large indoor wedding after re-imposing the city's mask mandate: SEE PIC
… J. Lo and Ben Affleck, continuing their PDA-filled European tour in Naples: SEE PICS
LEFTOVERS: MMM...BACON
In a few months, it could get very hard to find bacon in California. The state is preparing to enforce an animal welfare proposition that was passed in 2018 and calls for more humane treatment of farm animals like chickens, calves, and pigs. Egg and veal producers say they can meet the new requirements, but not the hog producers. Unless the courts intervene, that means California could lose its entire pork supply come January. If even half the supply went offline, bacon prices in the state would jump 60 percent, according to one study. AP
Updated on August 2, 2021, at 10:50 a.m. ET removing the USMNT soccer team's victory over Mexico, which was at the Concacaf Gold Cup final in Nevada.
