What A Day - Midnight Train To The Senate

Episode Date: November 17, 2020

Pharmaceutical company Moderna announced yesterday that its vaccine is 94.5% effective, according to early data. This comes after Pfizer's announcement last week and raises the prospects that two vaccines could cleared for use on a limited basis by the end of the year.With two senate runoffs set for January, all eyes are on Georgia. We talk about the candidates, the issues, and the organizers animating the race.And in headlines: more than 92,000 people have filed abuse claims against the Boy Scouts, “Stop The Steal” lawsuits stopped in four states, and more on this weekend’s NASA-SpaceX launch.Show Links:Sign up to Adopt Georgia: votesaveamerica.com/georgiaDonate to Warnock & Ossoff: votesaveamerica.com/getmitchDonate to grassroots organizations in Georgia: votesave.us/everylastvote

It's Tuesday, November 17th. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick, and this is what? A day where we are finally getting over not being featured on Obama's playlist. Like, I definitely think that we could have been featured right between Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder and Lose Yourself by Eminem, but fine. Those are the energies that we bring, I think. you know, is right in the middle pocket there. On today's show, what to know about the candidates running in Georgia's runoff, then some headlines. But first, the latest. You spoke about the need to access the outgoing administration's COVID vaccine distribution plans. What do you see as the biggest threat to your transition right now,

given President Trump's unprecedented attempt to obstruct and delay a smooth transfer of power? More people may die if we don't coordinate. Look, as my chief of staff, Ron Klain, would say, who handled Ebola, a vaccine is important. It's of little use until you're vaccinated. So how do we get the vaccine? How do we get over 300 million Americans vaccinated? That was President-elect Joe Biden talking about the challenges involved in vaccine distribution, as well as the Trump administration's lack of cooperation with his transition team at the moment. The upcoming months are likely to be devastating in terms of the pandemic,

but there was another piece of very good news yesterday on vaccine development. That is right. So Moderna announced yesterday that an initial analysis of its vaccine found it was 94.5% effective, which is amazing. This comes a week after Pfizer's initial announcement of their own vaccine. And Moderna said that in its trials, which involved giving people the vaccine and others a saltwater placebo, 95 participants had contracted COVID-19, with five of them being people who were vaccinated and the other 90 being those who got that placebo. They also said that there were 11 severe cases, which were all in the placebo group. Now,

it's a good sign if none of the vaccinated people got severe COVID here. Overall, they had 30,000 people enrolled by the end of October. And according to the New York Times, they ended up with 37% enrollment from communities of color and 42% from high-risk populations. That's due to age or other health factors. And as was the case with Pfizer, the fact that the pandemic is so fundamentally out of control in the United States seemed to speed their trial process along. Moderna has said that they want to complete the trial before applying for authorization from the FDA. And now their CEO is actually saying that that could happen in the next seven to 10 days, which is nuts. And that raises the prospect that there could maybe be two vaccines cleared for use on a limited basis by the end of the year. Wow, it is a true Christmas miracle.

And we know that with both of these companies, the information came out in press releases of interim analyses, which means we're not seeing all the data and there's still more data to collect. So it's not entirely conclusive yet. Yeah, for sure. I mean, the other piece of potential good news, though, again, is if these numbers hold is the way in which both of these vaccines were structured. So Moderna and Pfizer relied on a new way to build vaccines out of what's called messenger RNA. I am not a scientific person, but I understand it to mean that genetic material that is basically instructing the body on how to defend against the coronavirus. Experts say that's a positive sign for other COVID vaccines

that rely on similar technology, and that this new tech, if you will, could be vital in creating vaccines for other infectious diseases. Beyond the questions, though, about whether the effectiveness is going to change as the study goes on, there are other things researchers are still curious about. How long will the immunity from Moderna's vaccine and others last? Is it as effective across all age groups? And if you don't have symptoms, does it actually help decrease infectiousness? Well, one of the other things people were talking about in regards to Pfizer's vaccine is the challenge of keeping it cold for storage and transportation. What's the word on Moderna's vaccine when it comes to that? Yeah, so as I understand it, Moderna's vaccine is also going

to need to be stored in cold temperatures, but it's something like negative four degrees Fahrenheit versus negative 94 for Pfizer. Quite a big difference. But Moderna is also seeming to try to get the upper hand on Pfizer by saying that their researchers found the vaccine could have a shelf life in a normal refrigerator for up to a month and for 12 hours in room temperature. And that led some experts to think that Moderna's vaccine could actually end up being the one better suited for pharmacies, doctor's offices, and even potentially more rural areas in the country where logistics are more challenging. All right. So let's say everything goes well here and both of these vaccines could get authorized in the coming weeks or so. How many doses do we really expect by the end of the year? Yeah. So Moderna has been saying that

they can produce 20 million doses by the end of the year, and Pfizer has a deal with the US for another 20 or so million. Because both vaccines would require two doses, though, that comes out to about 20 million people in the US that would be able to get vaccinated by the end of the year. It's possible then that younger, healthier adults could start getting vaccines around next April, which still would be a remarkable and truly, truly welcome achievement. So we'll stay on top of all that, of course. But in other news, we have been talking quite a bit lately about the two Senate runoffs in Georgia. So we thought it would be a good idea to discuss the candidates and the actual races in a little more detail. There's Kelly Loeffler versus Raphael Warnock and David Perdue versus John Ossoff. So

let's start with this Loeffler-Warnock race. All right. So Kelly Loeffler versus Raphael Warnock and David Perdue versus John Ossoff. So let's start with this Loeffler-Warnock race. All right. So Kelly Loeffler is the Republican incumbent. Our listeners will probably remember her for selling off millions of dollars in stock after a closed door Senate briefing about coronavirus back in January. Loeffler said she was unaware of the trades and she underwent an ethics investigation, which found that she didn't break any Senate rules. Interesting.

But there was enough outcry that she promised to divest from all of her individual stock holdings, which, good, you know, Senate rules should be stricter. This was obviously a major issue for her, and this race was actually the first time she was facing voters since she was appointed to her Senate seat after the previous Georgia senator retired last year. If this show was longer, I would tell you even more horrendous shit about Loeffler. We didn't even get into her whole yellow face ad. But lastly, just to give you a sense of her politics, she's super Trumpy and often talks about her 100% voting record with the president. That extends to his current delusion about the election. So she and Perdue have both backed Trump's refusal to concede and baselessly claimed that there were election failures in Georgia,

which undermines Republicans in the state who actually ran the election. That's right. Yeah. And there are some Republicans now chattering about the fact that all of this infighting and back and forth, with Trump also being mad at Governor Kemp and others in the state, is messing things up for them and not letting them have a focus message against the Democrats. I love it. And speaking of which, yesterday, Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who's overseeing the hand recount in the state, went on the record with the Washington Post to say that Senator Lindsey Graham and other Republicans have been pressuring him to question the validity of legal votes. In one instance,

he says Graham asked him whether he had the power to throw out all mail ballots in counties with higher rates of non-matching signatures, which just crime in a public now. Yeah. I mean, it's sort of like, imagine the Senator from New York, Senator Schumer calling the secretary of state in Texas and being like, Hey man, is it cool if we just toss these ballots? Like that's how much different is that? Anyway, let's talk about Democrat Raphael Warnock, who's running against Loeffler. He actually got more votes than her on November 3rd, but that was partly because Republicans split their vote between Loeffler and another Republican in that race. Historically, too, this is what runoffs have been designed for, potentially diluting the black vote after a general election.

So a win on its own is just not enough. Right. And a little background on Warnock. He's originally from Georgia. He grew up in public housing. He became a pastor at Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which you probably know as Martin Luther King's Church. He also chaired the New Georgia Project, one of the grassroots organizations that work to register new voters and flip the state blue this year. Warnock is a major advocate for Medicaid expansion as well as protecting voting rights. We also know from his campaign ads that he likes dogs and dogs like him right back. Anyways, Loeffler and Perdue are now attacking Warnock and Ossoff and saying that if they win,

a Democratic Senate would pave the way for socialism, which is kind of an awkward message, though, since Loeffler and Perdue are also claiming that Trump could still win the presidency. So following their logic, it's confusing why the Senate needs to be the last line of defense at all. Yes, and exactly why there are some people in the party getting a little bit annoyed here. So let's talk quickly about the Perdue and Ossoff race. All right. So Perdue's been in office since 2014. Before that, he was the CEO of Dollar General. Our listeners might remember him as the asshole who thought it would be fun to mispronounce Kamala Harris's name at a Trump rally in October. He backs Trump's mishandling of the pandemic, thinks the science is still out on climate change, and has voted to

repeal the ACA. Like Loeffler, he also bought and sold a bunch of stock before the market crashed due to the pandemic this year, but was also cleared by a Senate investigation. Hmm, super interesting. For Ossoff, this is his second big Georgia election. In 2017, he lost a special election runoff for Georgia's 6th House District, which is a traditionally red Atlanta suburban district. That race came just after Trump had won the presidency, was the most expensive House race in history, and Ossoff came within just a few percentage points of the Republican, but ultimately just couldn't snag the seat. In 2018, though, Democrat Lucy McBath won the district on a message of gun

control. Yeah, so lots of money is also expected to flow into these runoffs and a lot of attention and organizing with it. And it seems like Republicans want to not piss off the Trump voters, which kind of inherently nationalizes it. And then some Democrats are nervous that too much money and attention also nationalizes it in a way that may not be helpful. No one really knows what's going to happen here. But what do we know about how this is going so far? All right. Well, we know a lot of grassroots organizing is still taking place in Georgia. So with Biden winning the state, it's been super encouraging for groups like Fair Fight Action, New Georgia Project, and Black Voters Matter Fund that, you know, they've been working

for years to register and engage new voters. And they're working to keep up the momentum, you know, turn people out and even get people who are just turning 18 years old to vote. According to estimates, there are over 20,000 17-year-olds who will become eligible in time for the runoff, which could make a difference considering Biden won the state by around 14,000 votes, plus or minus, you know, depending on the final recount. So we've put a link in our show notes about how to support organizers on the ground in Georgia, and we'll dive into more in the coming days and weeks, but that's the latest for now. It's Tuesday, WOD Squad, and today we're talking about TV shows coming back again. A fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion comes out on HBO Max this Thursday, and it looks good.

Here's a clip. There will always be a piece of all of us in that living room. Our show meant black excellence to people. The excellence was the way that we loved each other. I couldn't celebrate 30 years of Fresh Prince without Janet. So the Janet that Will Smith is referencing there is Janet Hubert, the first actress to play Aunt Viv, who was recast after three seasons. The reunion will feature both Aunt Vives, which is what I call movie magic.

So, Giddy, we've had a lot of 90s reboots and reunions this year. What 90s sitcom reunions do you still want to see? Did they do a Seinfeld one? They did, right? They did like a sort of... I actually don't know. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, that's probably like the easy answer, right?

Like, those people are all still basically around. I actually don't know. I don't know. I mean, that's probably the easy answer, right? Those people are all still basically around. I don't really know. Is Richards kind of a persona non grata at this point? I'm assuming that Richards is a person from the show and not his own sitcom. No, no, no. He's the guy who played Kramer. Kramer, got it.

Yeah, no, that guy sucks. So obviously they wouldn't invite him to come back right that's what yeah i i think that like he's he's basically out of the mix um but that that would be fun you know like a post pandemic return to the diner etc we get some new york stuff going on jld uh, is, is like even more in her prime now. So that would be great. That's a good point. Same question for you, Akilah, what 90s sitcom are you thinking about in reunion? So my initial feeling is like family matters, obviously, you know, we got to check in with Urkel. We got to see what's going on with Laura, you know, check out the whole family, talk about maybe if Carl has some regrets being a cop in the year 2020.

But if not that, you know, as we were talking, I'm like, I know this isn't a sitcom, but I would love for there to be like a Power Rangers reunion. Like, I just want to know what's up. Unfortunately, with Mighty Morphin, there are also some cast members that are no longer with us, namely Trini the L-Ranger. But I think that I would want to hear about what they're up to. What do you do after that? Also, I'm just curious in general about Power Rangers.

How do you prepare to be on that show? I don't know. May I also add, their look is kind of a COVID look. It would translate pretty easily. They got helmet situations going on. They could be in environments where the pandemic is not really a concern to them. They could be fighting the pandemic as a unit. Oh, I love that.

Just a thought. I love that. Well, you know what? Just like that, we checked our temps. Stay safe. If you're a Power Ranger, I hope sparks fly when you kick COVID in the face. And we'll be back after some ads. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. Yesterday was the last day for victims to file sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America.

And more than 92,000 people have filed those claims, which is far more accusations than have been filed against the Catholic Church. A majority of the claims date back to the 60s, 70s, and 80s before the organization properly screened their staff and began targeted efforts to curb abuse. The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in February following a mountain of sex abuse settlements and declining membership. The size of the bankruptcy fund to compensate victims has not yet been determined, but a group of survivors representing the victims say that the tragedy had unprecedented numbers, so the remedy should be unprecedented as well. Wow. You can't say they didn't try. Voters in four states who sued to disrupt Biden's win all dropped their cases yesterday. The cases involved voters in Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania who followed Trump's

lead by alleging voter fraud because people voted by mail. But even their own lawsuits admitted that they didn't have evidence of fraud and could only claim that, quote, experts would eventually reveal illegal votes. By the way, those experts are all models and pro skateboarders and the voters are dating them, but it makes sense you don't know about them because they're, you know, from a different school. Anyway, lawyers representing the voters all decided to dismiss their cases yesterday, three days after an appeals court shut down one legal path they hoped to pursue. All the suits were backed by the firm of conservative attorney James Bopp Jr., real lawyer, not a character from a Chuck E. Cheese

game who you hit with a mallet to score tickets. All of this follows the dismissal of nine similar cases last Friday and seven Trump campaign lawsuits in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Good timing because at some point it must stop being funny for the judges and become kind of sad. Yeah, they are all crying into their robes. As Trump prepares to leave office, he's ramping up attacks on one of his foremost enemies, the gorgeous green planet where we all live. Great. So today, the Trump administration is asking oil and gas companies to identify areas where they want to drill in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge, a 1.6 million acre coastal plain that's home to caribou, polar bears and foxes. This action could give the companies enough time to buy drilling rights

before Biden takes office, though it'll be tight. This is exactly why type A climate terrorists know how to plan ahead, folks. Biden has said he would oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Congress approved in 2017, in which one think tank said could release 4.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide once the oil has been extracted. Good God. In fact, drilling in the Arctic is so unpopular that major banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs say they won't finance projects there, to which I say, banks, you're my best friends now. But if I hear you've done one thing that's bad,

you can seriously get lost. One environmental advocate said Biden's administration may be able to avoid leases if they're not finalized before Biden takes office. So let's hope in these next nine weeks, the government doesn't become suddenly fast. This is just the most evil on its face thing I've ever heard. Well, one small step for man, one giant step for vacation. NASA carried out its first truly commercial launch this weekend, sending four astronauts to the International Space

Station on a capsule built by SpaceX. Earlier this year, a SpaceX ship took two astronauts to the International Space Station on a capsule built by SpaceX. Earlier this year, a SpaceX ship took two astronauts to the ISS, but that was considered a test flight. Sunday's mission was the real deal, and it symbolizes that American space travel has shifted into the private sector, where wealthy tourists who are tired of Paris can finally visit Moon Paris, which is a big crater with a little bit of ice. The astronauts aboard Sunday's flight docked on the ISS last night. Among them was Victor Glover, who will be the first black astronaut to serve as a long-term crew member on the ISS. Honestly, it's about damn space time.

Aboard the station, the astronauts will run experiments including growing radishes, which I'm guessing is just something they just got into in quarantine and find really relaxing. Looking ahead to next year, one company already has plans to fly citizens to the ISS for fun, and three tourists have booked their seats. Sorry to whoever gets the middle one. That's that. And those are the headlines. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review,

get your space ticket before they are gone, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just lawsuits from the office of James Bopp Jr. like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick.

And we'll see you in Moon Paris. Bonjour. Bonjour. Ah, oui, oui. Fromage, Moon. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tan is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein,

and our executive producers are Katie Long, Akilah Hughes, and me. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kshaka.