Simone Biles returns to competition in Tokyo, 70% of U.S. adults at least partially vaccinated: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: 70% of U.S. adults are at least partially vaccinated. Simone Biles returns to competition in Tokyo, climate change begins to shape where Americans relocate, whistleblower Alexander Vindman has a new book and air quality alerts remain in effect amid western wildfires.
Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 3rd of August 2021. Today, Simone Biles returns, plus 70% of American adults are now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, and more.
Taylor Wilson:
Here are some of the top headlines.
- American Airlines canceled more than 400 flights on Monday representing 14% of its scheduled flights. Spirit Airlines also canceled nearly 300 flights around the country Monday, 36% of its scheduled flights. Airlines are largely blaming cancellations this summer on operational challenges and weather.
- Senator Lindsey Graham has tested positive for COVID-19. The Republican said he has mild symptoms and is glad he got vaccinated.
- And NBA free agency has begun. Kyle Lowry is heading to the Miami Heat after nearly a decade in Toronto. And Chris Paul is staying with the Phoenix Suns.
Taylor Wilson:
Simone Biles is back. The gymnast and four-time gold medalist withdrew from multiple events at the Tokyo Olympics last week. She cited concerns for her mental health and physical safety. Biles developed a bad case of the so-called twisties, a loss of awareness in the air that can have catastrophic consequences for gymnast. But USA Gymnastics said this week that Biles would do the last event final, the balance beam on Tuesday. USA TODAY Sports Dan Wolken has the latest from Tokyo.
Dan Wolken:
It looks like we'll get to see Simone Biles compete one more time in Tokyo after all. On Monday, Biles decided that she will compete in Tuesday's balance beam final after previously withdrawing from the team all around in event finals due to a case of the twisties. Speaking of gymnastics, without Biles in the floor exercise, the USA's hopes rested on Jade Carey. And she delivered the American second gold medal in gymnastics of these Olympics. The news wasn't as good for the US women's soccer, which put a lot of pressure on Canada in the second half of that game, but could not get a goal through and lost the semifinals, one-nothing on a penalty kick in the 74th minute. They'll have to settle for a chance of the bronze medal. On the track, American Keni Harrison finished second in a photo finish behind gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico in the women's 100-meter hurdles.
Dan Wolken:
USA's JuVaughn Harrison's hope for a long jump medal came up short. And on the sand, the duo of April Ross and Alix Klineman kept their quest for gold alive and will move on to Tuesday's quarter finals. Let's move on from Monday and take a look at what's to come in Tokyo on Tuesday. It's the final night of gymnastics with the men's parallel bars and the horizontal bar finals and the women's balance beam final. Sport climbing makes its Olympic debut as the men kickoff qualification in speed, bouldering, and lead. Americans Anita Alvarez and Lindi Schroeder compete in artistic swimming. And track has another full day with finals in the men's pole vault, the women's 800 meters, the women's hammer throw, and lots more.
Taylor Wilson:
Biles is the reigning world champion on balance beam and also won bronze at the event at the 2016 games in Rio. Before her case of the twisties, Biles came to Tokyo as arguably the biggest star at the entire games projected to win a record five gold medals. Still, she already won a silver in Tokyo earlier at these games during the artistic team all-around, an event she later withdrew from. Overall in Tokyo, China continues to lead with 30 gold medals, and team USA is in second with 22, followed by host Japan with 18. The US does lead in overall medals with 65. For all the latest, head to olympics.usatoday.com.
Taylor Wilson:
70%, that's the chunk of American adults that are now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19. The milestone comes about a month later than President Joe Biden's 4th of July goal. But as White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said Monday, there has been a recent increase in vaccinations.
Jeff Zients:
With these ongoing efforts, there's a strong sense of progress and you see it in the number of shots we're getting into people's arms each day. Over the past few weeks, we've seen a nearly 70% increase in the average number of new people getting vaccinated each and every day. In the last seven days alone, three million Americans have gotten their first shot. That's the highest seven day total since July 4th. And just today, we hit 70% of adults with at least one shot, including 90% of seniors with at least one shot. These are significant milestones in our fight against the virus. And it's very important to note in the states with the highest case rates, daily vaccination rates have more than doubled. The eight states with the highest current case rates have seen an average increase of 171% in the number of people newly vaccinated each day over the past three weeks.
Taylor Wilson:
The uptick comes as more and more companies are mandating or greatly incentivizing their employees get vaccinated. Local governments are increasingly telling their workers to get the shot and some universities around the country will require them for in-person classes this fall. There are still breakthrough infections where fully vaccinated people still get the virus, especially the more contagious Delta variant. But out of CDC reports of breakthrough infections, only about one in 25,000 cases resulted in hospitalization or death. That shows getting extremely sick from COVID-19 while vaccinated is still very rare, but not the case for the unvaccinated.
Taylor Wilson:
Florida broke its record for coronavirus hospitalizations on Sunday and cases were up in the last week of July compared with the last week of June all around the country. Tennessee showed a nearly 3500% increase in that time, and Louisiana and California more than a 1000%. As for how Americans feel about the ongoing pandemic, the vaccinated are getting increasingly worried compared with the unvaccinated. An Axios/Ipsos Poll showed 44% of vaccinated adults in July were concerned about the virus, up eight percentage points since June, but the percentage of unvaccinated adults concerned remained at a stable 23% from June to July.
Taylor Wilson:
Climate change is starting to shape where Americans relocate. 49% of respondents to a survey by real estate website Redfin said they planned to move in the next year, blaming extreme temperatures, and the increasing frequency or intensity of natural disasters for a role in their decision. And based off that data, Redfin beginning Tuesday will announce that it's adding local climate risk data to real estate listings on its site. The figure will warn possible movers of potential issues in that area all the way through 2050. That's basically the average 30-year mortgage. For more on how Americans might move in the coming years of climate disaster, search climate change relocate on usatoday.com.
Taylor Wilson:
Alexander Vindman, don't remember that name? He's the retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who testified in November of 2019 before the House Intelligence Committee about an explosive quid pro quo. He said he heard then President Donald Trump offer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Alexander Vindman:
Frankly, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was probably an element of shock that maybe in certain regards my worst fear of how our Ukraine policy could play out, was playing out, how this was likely to have significant implications for US national security.
Taylor Wilson:
That testimony was one of the most significant of Trump's first impeachment hearing and through Vindman into the public eye, ultimately getting him fired from his job on the National Security Council. Now Vindman's talking about his side of the story in a new book out Tuesday called Here, Right Matters. He told USA TODAY that his decision to whistle blow was a tough one, particularly when it came to his dad.
Alexander Vindman:
My dad being a refugee from the Soviet Union, that kind of visceral reaction is to respond, not to the far, right? Like in the pejorative sense, but just to be more conservative. It's the antibody to the left of communism. It definitely led to some disagreements and tensions. And he would have, he wanted me to kind of reconcile with President Trump. He had this image of me marching in to the Oval Office, saluting sharply and saying, okay, President Trump, how do we fix this? And that would be the end of it. And that just, it wasn't the way it was and it wasn't the right thing to do.
Taylor Wilson:
For more of that interview, search Alexander Vindman on usatoday.com.
Air quality alerts will remain in effect on Tuesday in several states around the country. That's because of smoke from massive wildfires around the American West. On Monday, smoke impacted air quality in parts of the interior Northwest, and also Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and even the upper Midwest according to the National Weather Service. Wildfires put out huge amounts of microscopic smoke particles that researchers say can be harmful if breathed in. Children, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions are most at risk. Firefighters did make progress over the weekend containing some of the largest fires like the Bootleg in Oregon and Dixie Fire in Northern California.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us wherever you get your audio, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Thanks as always to Shannon Green and Claire Thornton for their great work on the show. 5 Things is part of the USA TODAY Network.