Senate to take up voting rights legislation, asteroid to brush by Earth: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Senate to take up voting rights legislation

Democrats were able to pass a bill through the House, but doing so in the Senate may be impossible without eliminating the filibuster. Plus, research from Israel shows a 4th COVID-19 vaccine dose may not be as effective against omicron, we hear some tips on finding at-home COVID-19 tests, Tonga remains isolated after a tsunami and a massive asteroid passes by Earth.

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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 18th of January, 2022. Today voting rights, plus new research on a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and more.

Here are some of the top headlines:

1. A pair of earthquakes slammed Western Afghanistan yesterday, killing at least 22 people. That death toll may rise as rescuers work to reach remote villages in one of the country's most underdeveloped regions.

2. A drone attack at an oil facility in Abu Dhabi has killed at least three people and also sparked a fire at the international airport. The attack was claimed by Houthi rebels from Yemen as the United Arab Emirates continues to support Yemeni militias fighting the Houthis.

3. And the Las Vegas Raiders have fired general manager Mike Mayock. He held the job for three seasons as the Raiders improved their record each year, but they lost their first round playoff match up to the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend.

Taylor Wilson:

The Senate today will take up voting rights legislation that already passed the House last week. The House passed a bill that combined two pieces of voting rights legislation. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore the justice department's oversight of election law changes in states with the history of discrimination, and the Freedom to Vote Act would set minimum federal requirements for early voting and mail-in voting. President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders had been hoping to pass voting rights laws by eliminating the filibuster rule that would require 60 votes instead of the 50, in a simple majority vote. Republicans in the Senate remain unanimously opposed and Democratic senators, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are opposed to changing Senate filibuster rules. Vice President Kamala Harris spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day yesterday, pushing for Senate action on voting rights.

Kamala Harris:

Today, our freedom to vote is under assault. In Georgia and across our nation, anti-voter laws are being passed that could make it more difficult for as many as 55 million Americans to vote, 55 million Americans. That is one out of six people in our country. And the proponents of these laws are not only putting in place obstacles to the ballot box, they are also working to interfere with our elections.

Taylor Wilson:

More locally, activists continue to push for voting rights reform. In Chicago yesterday, a caravan worked for voting rights. Bishop Tavis Grant spoke from Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a group founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Tavis Grant:

No matter what you do to stop us, you will not stop the vote. No matter what you do to stop us, you will not stop the vote. The vote is alive, the dream is alive, and the push is on.

Taylor Wilson:

And MLK's own son, Martin Luther King III, yesterday criticized how legislation has stalled.

Martin Luther King III:

We're here to call on President Biden and the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote John R. Lewis Act and to warn that our democracy stands on the brink of serious trouble without these bills. Last week, the president said, "He's tired of being quiet about voting reps." Well, we're tired of being patient. Since January 6th, 2021 when the insurrectionists attacked our Capitol, 19 legislatures have passed 34 laws, clawing back voting rights for their citizens. States like my home state, where new laws, I should say of Georgia, are designed to confuse voters so they don't know where to go. They kick people off the voter rolls so they show up to vote and find out they're not registered. They close polling stations and limit voting hours. So working parents and folks without access to transportation, can't get there in time.

Taylor Wilson:

For their part, Republicans have accused Democrats of trying to pass a federal election bill that benefits them. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last month, "It isn't about voting rights it's a naked power grab." McConnell last week blasted President Biden after Biden spoke to the country on voting rights.

Mitch McConnell:

12 months ago, this president said disagreement must not lead to disunion. But yesterday he invoked the bloody disunion of the Civil War, the Civil War to demonize Americans who disagree with him. He compared, listen to this, a bipartisan majority of senators to literal traders. How profoundly, profoundly unpresidential.

Taylor Wilson:

For all the latest today and throughout the voting rights fight stay with USATODAY.com.

There's troubling news out of Israel. Research there found that the increase in antibodies produced by a fourth shot of COVID-19 vaccine is not enough to prevent infections from the omicron variant. In the clinical trial, 274 medical workers at Sheba hospital near Tel Aviv received a fourth dose last month. Some received Pfizer and others Moderna after all previously received three Pfizer shots. Both groups showed that the boost in antibodies was slightly higher than after the third vaccine last year, but that it did not prevent the spread of omicron. The variant now dominating the world. The Israeli government says more than half a million people have received a fourth dose there, though the country has seen a recent outbreak that caused a record setting number of cases and rising hospitalizations. Some health officials there though have emphasized that the four dose campaign has still been worthwhile because the second booster returns the level of antibodies to what it was at the beginning of the third booster.

Meanwhile, cases driven by omicron appear to be dropping in the U.S. In the week ending Sunday, the U.S reported 5.44 million cases around the country compared to 5.66 million in the week ending Saturday. But that may be driven by a lack of reporting in recent days, in some places. 62.7% of people in the U.S are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with 74.6% at least partially vaccinated.

Taylor Wilson:

COVID-19 at-home tests can still be hard to find around the country. While the White House is preparing to launch a website this week with free tests, many Americans are still searching for them in pharmacies and other stores, often with little success. But there are some tricks if you know where and when to look. Reviewed.com's, Felicity Warner has more.

Felicity Warner:

Obviously at home tests are super scarce at the moment especially with the recent spiking cases with the omicron variant. And while tests are selling out quickly, a majority of retailers are actually working to keep up with the demand and replenish them. So it's a matter of being pretty consistent about looking. So you can get tested places like Amazon, Rite Aid, Target, CVS, Walmart, and other major pharmacies and grocery chains. And you might even want to check some of your smaller pharmacies and chains locally to you. And as I mentioned currently with the demand you may need to be extra persistent in your search right now. So that means maybe calling multiple stores in your area or checking retailers outside of where you normally shop.

If you can't find at home tests, you should try to see what local facilities or pharmacies are conducting COVID-19 tests. I think that's your best next option. You may also be able to get tested through your healthcare provider as well. And also look for information from your local and state health departments, too. There's often popup testing sites locally, where you can get tested as well.

Although rapid at home COVID tests, those are the antigen tests are slightly less sensitive than PCR tests which means they tend to be less accurate, experts are saying that it's accurate enough to detect an infection and can be super helpful in determining a positive case. The accuracy also depends on factors like how you're administering the test since you're doing it at home by yourself. If you're not following the manufacturer's instructions for nasal swabbing, for example, that may affect the accuracy of the test. So you're going to want to make sure you follow the manufacturer's instructions. Sometimes they'll have videos or detailed information on their website that you can follow to make sure you're getting peak accuracy.

Taylor Wilson:

For more help on what to buy and how to get the most out of what you've already got, head to Reviewed.com.

A British woman has been found dead after the weekend tsunami in the Pacific island country of Tonga. Fifty-year-old Angela Glover had been living in Tonga since 2015 with her husband and founded the Tonga Animal Welfare Society there. Her brother told Sky News that she was killed after trying to rescue her dogs. Her death comes after the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano erupted on Saturday underwater some 40 miles from the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa that led to tsunami was crashing ashore. Officials in the country have not yet confirmed any other deaths related to the tsunami, but the United Nations said that two people were reported missing. It's not clear if Glover was one of them.

Across the Pacific two people drowned at a beach in Peru from waves created by the volcano and flooding caused damage from New Zealand to Santa Cruz, California. The eruption cut internet across Tonga and even government websites remained without updates for much of the weekend. The company that owns the single underwater fiber optic cable that connects the country to the rest of the world said it was likely broken during the eruption and repairs could take weeks.

A massive asteroid will pass by earth today. The space rock is the biggest asteroid to come within 2.3 million miles of us this year. And it's so big you might be able to see it in the sky. It's called 1994 PC 1 and has an estimated width of 3,600 feet. The asteroid was first discovered in 1994 and if it were to hit earth would cause nearly complete catastrophe, destroying everything within a 25 mile radius of the impact, but it's expected to only get as close as about 1.2 million miles away.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us all year long, seven mornings a week on Apple Podcast, Spotify, your smart speaker device, or wherever you get your audio. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate takes up voting rights, asteroid looms: 5 Things podcast