CNN 5 Things 11/04/22 in News stories

Friday 11.04.22

The enormous rocket at the heart of NASA’s mission to return humans to the moon is being rolled out of its hangar today. After a series of issues and poor weather thwarted the first two launch attempts, the agency has spent weeks troubleshooting and is now gearing up for another attempt to get the rocket off the ground. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.

By Alexandra Meeks

1. Twitter

Elon Musk will begin laying off Twitter employees this morning, according to a memo sent to staff, as several employees sue the billionaire alleging the layoffs are in violation of labor law. An email sent Thursday evening notified employees that they will receive a notice by 12 p.m. ET today that informs them of their employment status. The memo comes after previous reports said Musk had planned to lay off up to half of the company’s staff after acquiring it last week for $44 billion. Twitter had around 7,500 employees prior to Musk’s takeover. He started his tenure at Twitter by firing its CEO and two other executives, according to two people familiar with the decision. Musk also dissolved Twitter’s former board of directors.

2. Flu

Health officials are reinforcing their recommendations for people to get flu vaccines as this year’s strain picks up its pace across the US. There have been at least 880,000 cases of influenza, nearly 7,000 hospitalizations and 360 deaths from the flu so far this fall – including one pediatric death – according to data from the CDC. The numbers also show there haven’t been this many cases of influenza so early in the season since 2009. After recently receiving Covid-19 vaccines and boosters, some people have been waiting until later in the season to get the flu vaccine, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. However, since it takes about two weeks to reach optimal immune protection after receiving a flu vaccination, people who haven’t gotten one yet should do so now.

3. January 6

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol has interviewed more Secret Service witnesses, including the head of former Vice President Mike Pence’s detail. The committee is also expected to interview at least another half dozen Secret Service witnesses in the coming weeks, including current and former officials and agents, multiple sources told CNN. The panel’s efforts to secure testimony from an expanding list of current and former agents during the closing months of its probe shows the committee is intensifying its push to learn more about what the Secret Service knew about looming threats to Pence and other government officials ahead of the attack.

4. Student loans

President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program remains on hold while a federal appeals court considers a legal challenge brought by six Republican-led states. The Biden administration is still accepting applications for student loan forgiveness, which is worth up to $20,000 per borrower, but it is not currently allowed to cancel student loan debt until the hold is removed. The Biden administration is also facing lawsuits from an attorney general and conservative groups that claim he does not have the legal authority to broadly cancel student loan debt. As for what happens next, an appeals court will decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction requested by the states. If granted, the student loan forgiveness program could be kept on hold while the court hears from both parties. If it’s not granted, debt cancellation may begin while the appeal plays out. The ruling could come at any time.

5. Brittney Griner

US Embassy officials visited detained WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner in Russia on Thursday and “saw firsthand her tenacity and perseverance despite her present circumstances,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. They had not been able to visit Griner since early August but spoke with her by phone last month. After months of internal debate, the Biden administration previously offered to exchange a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US prison sentence as part of a potential deal to secure the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, who has been detained in a remote prison camp in Russia on espionage charges since 2018. US officials say they have continued to follow up on their offer and emphasized that the Americans’ detentions remain a top priority.