Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony, J&J booster data: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of 5 Things: Frances Haugen told lawmakers Facebook needs to be better regulated. Plus, the Senate will vote on a debt limit procedural rule, the Department of Education announces an overhaul to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, Johnson & Johnson submits booster data to the FDA for clearance and the National League Wild Card game follows a Red Sox win over the Yankees in the MLB Postseason.
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, Wednesday, the 6th of October, 2021.
Taylor Wilson:
Today, the threat of a debt-ceiling crisis heats up. Plus what a Facebook whistleblower said to Congress, and more.
Taylor Wilson:
Here are some of the top headlines.
- There are new developments surrounding the California oil spill. Federal regulators said yesterday that Amplify Energy, the company that owns the ruptured pipeline, did not shut it down for more than three hours after being alerted of the leak. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard found that a cargo ship's anchor may have hooked the pipe, dragging it more than 100 feet to cause the leak.
- Germany has expanded pensions to more Holocaust survivors. Compensation will extend to Jewish survivors who endured the World War II siege of Leningrad and two other groups who had not received any monthly pensions from the country.
- And the National Women's Soccer League will resume play today after the league agreed not to play over the weekend. That was in light of a report that now-former Coach Paul Riley had emotionally abused and sexually coerced his players.
Taylor Wilson:
Facebook whistleblower, Francis Haugen, testified yesterday in front of Congress, continuing to ring alarms about several of the company's business practices. The former project manager at the company told a Senate subcommittee that Facebook put profits before people and asked for Congressional action to reign in the company. She also released documents to The Wall Street Journal, documenting Facebook's attempts to market its products directly to children, showed the severity of the platform's public health misinformation crisis, and research that Instagram is destructive to young girls' mental health.
Francis Haugen:
But I'm here today because I believe Facebook's products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy. The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed. They won't solve this crisis without your help.
Francis Haugen:
I saw Facebook repeatedly encounter conflicts between its own profits and our safety. Facebook consistently resolved these conflicts in favor of its own profits. The result has been more division, more harm, more lies, more threats, and more combat. In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.
Francis Haugen:
The severity of this crisis demands that we break out of our previous regulatory frames. Facebook wants to trick you into thinking that privacy protections or changes to Section 230 alone will be sufficient. While important, these will not get to the core of the issue, which is that no one truly understands the destructive choices made by Facebook except Facebook.
Francis Haugen:
Facebook likes to present things as false choices like you have to choose between having lots of spam. Like let's say, imagine we ordered our feeds by time, like on iMessage or on... There are other forms of social media that are chronologically based. They're going to say you're going to get spammed, like you're not going to enjoy your feed. The reality is that those experiences have a lot of permutations. There are ways that we can make those experiences where computers don't regulate what we see. We, together, socially regulate what we see. But they don't want us to have that conversation because Facebook knows that when they pick out the content that we focus on using computers, we spend more time on their platform, they make more money.
Francis Haugen:
The dangers of engagement-based ranking are that Facebook knows that content that elicits an extreme reaction from you is more likely to get a click, a comment, or a reshare. And it's interesting because those clicks and comments and reshares aren't even necessarily for your benefit. It's because they know that other people will produce more content if they get the likes and comments and reshares. They prioritize content in your feed so that you will give little hits of dopamine to your friends so they will create more content. And they have run experiments on people, producer-side experiments, where they have confirmed this.
Taylor Wilson:
Haugen also said that Facebook's disbanding of a civic integrity team after the 2020 election helped lead to the January 6th attack on the US capital. As for who to blame for these problems, Haugen pointed the finger at founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
Francis Haugen:
Mark holds a very unique role in the tech industry in that he holds over 55% of all the voting shares for Facebook. There are no similarly powerful companies that are as unilaterally controlled. And, in the end, the buck stops with Mark. There's no one currently holding Mark accountable but himself.
Taylor Wilson:
Zuckerberg had remained silent this week on her claims but he broke that silence yesterday, saying that many of Haugen's accusations don't make sense. He said, "At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritize profit over safety and wellbeing. That's just not true."
Taylor Wilson:
He also said that the idea they push content that makes people angry for profit is illogical. Congress is next expected to call on Zuckerberg himself to testify.
Taylor Wilson:
The threat of a possible debt-ceiling crisis is heating up. Republicans have refused to vote with Democrats to raise the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow to pay its bills. And Democrats have been reluctant to use the reconciliation maneuver, which would require a majority vote in the Democrat-led Senate to raise the debt limit without Republican votes. If Congress does not raise the limit by October 18th, the government could default on its debts, potentially setting off a domino effect of economic problems.
Taylor Wilson:
Yesterday, Republican Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, reiterated that Democrats must take care of the debt ceiling on their own.
Mitch McConnell:
I said in July, I said in August, I said in September, there's a clear path to achieve raising the debt ceiling, which must happen. America must not ever default. And doing it with Democrats only. They've had plenty of time to execute the debt ceiling increase and have chosen not to do it. Now, they have plenty more time because, clearly, the pause button has been pushed on the larger reckless tax and spending bill.
Mitch McConnell:
I implore them, one more time, not to play Russian roulette with the American economy. The debt ceiling needs to be addressed. The only question is who should address it? We've laid out a path for two months here that it's easily done. There's plenty of time, additionally, this month to do the job. And I hope our friends on the other side will step up and take care of it.
Taylor Wilson:
Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, said the Senate must advance debt ceiling legislation by the end of this week.
Chuck Schumer:
Look, we all know that Senate Republicans have manufactured a crisis that threatens to plunge our economy back into recession. We do not have the luxury of using a drawn-out, convoluted, and risky process. We could prevent a catastrophic default with a simple majority vote tomorrow. If Republicans would just get out of the damn way, we could get this all done.
Chuck Schumer:
The Senate must send President Biden legislation to raise the debt ceiling before the end of the week. Downgrade is hovering over us. Democrats will do the responsible thing and vote tomorrow to prevent a default. It's not too late, but it's getting dangerously close.
Taylor Wilson:
The Senate is expected to vote today on a procedural rule that would allow a measure suspending the debt limit until December of 2022.
Taylor Wilson:
Meanwhile, negotiations continue on President Joe Biden's broad human infrastructure bill. The legislation would help fund universal community college and childcare, among other priorities. But not everyone can agree on its $3.5-trillion price tag. Democratic divisions on that bill are also holding up the $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill. House Progressives continue to say they'll vote down that measure if the larger package is not settled first, while Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema oppose that larger bill. Biden has suggested a price tag closer to $2 trillion that would still go beyond what Manchin has said is a $1.5-trillion limit.
Taylor Wilson:
At an appearance on the road in Michigan yesterday, Biden continued to make his case for both pieces of legislation.
President Joe Biden:
We invested to win the space race. We led the world in research and development. We led to the creation of the internet, and you know... But then something happened. We slowed up. We stopped investing in ourselves.
President Joe Biden:
America's still the largest economy in the world. We still have the most productive workers and the most innovative minds in the world. But we risk losing our edge as a nation. All those investments have fueled the strong economy. We've taken our foot off the gas. I don't know what's happened.
President Joe Biden:
The world has taken notice, by the way, including our adversaries. And now, they're closing the gap in a big way. So, it's essential that we regain a momentum that we've lost. That's why I propose two critical pieces of legislation.
Taylor Wilson:
For daily developments from Capitol Hill, stay with our live Congress updates page on usatoday.com.
Taylor Wilson:
The Department of Education has announced a sweeping overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The move erases the debt of some 22,000 borrowers immediately and wipes debts for another 27,000 borrowers if they prove they were employed in an eligible Public Service job. The changes will also shorten the amount of time that more than half a million borrowers, who have already consolidated their loans, are required to make payments to qualify for forgiveness.
Taylor Wilson:
The program's update is the Biden Administration's latest attempt to address the country's growing $1.7 trillion in student debt.
Taylor Wilson:
Some Progressive Democrats have called on Biden to forgive up to $50,000 in loans per borrower but the executive branch has instead rolled out targeted relief for only some. Still, it will help thousands of people. The Student Borrower Protection Center Advocacy Group's Executive Director, Seth Frotman, has often criticized the Education Department's handling of student loans, including this program, but he made clear he's encouraged by these recent changes. He said, "This is a good day for teachers, nurses, service members, and millions of workers serving on the front lines of the pandemic." For a full list of changes, search loan forgiveness on usatoday.com.
Taylor Wilson:
Johnson & Johnson said yesterday that it has submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration showing that a booster shot on top of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is not only safe but also significantly increases protection from the disease. Its data was first published last month and shows that a booster given 56 days after the first dose gives 94% protection against symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% protection against severe disease. If cleared, the FDA will decide at what interval to recommend getting a J&J booster.
Taylor Wilson:
An FDA advisory committee is already set to meet later this month to consider a Moderna request for booster authorization, and Pfizer's vaccine booster has already been authorized and is in use. Booster reviews come as 2021 has already passed 2020 for COVID-19 deaths in the US. The country still leads the world, by far, in overall COVID-19 deaths with more than 704,000, a milestone the Washington National Cathedral marked yesterday.
Taylor Wilson:
But cases, deaths, and hospitalizations from the virus are finally, again, trending downward nationwide. Compared to a month ago, hospitalizations for the most recent week are down 26.9%. ICU beds occupied by likely COVID patients are down 25%. And deaths are down 12% from a September 22nd peak.
Taylor Wilson:
What we now know the American League Wild Car Champion, the Boston Red Sox, comfortably beat their rivals, the New York Yankees, last night, 6 to 2, to move on to the division series. And the MLB playoffs continue tonight with the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card game. The Dodgers narrowly missed out on winning the NL West Division with 106 wins, while the Cards finished with 90 wins after a late-season surge, including a 17-game winning streak, the longest in franchise history. In the regular season, the Dodgers had a narrow advantage over St. Louis, winning four of the seven matchups.
Taylor Wilson:
USA Today Sports Mackenzie Salmon looks ahead at tonight's game.
Mackenzie Salmon:
It's a true David vs Goliath, except David is on fire. The NL Wild Card matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the LA Dodgers could be a classic.
Mackenzie Salmon:
St. Louis, as a team, no one even saw making the playoffs just a month ago but a historic 17-game winning streak catapulted them to the second Wild Card position. In that streak, they showed they can win with pitching, hitting, defense, and just overall clutch performances, a recipe they'll need to be arguably the most talented team in all of baseball in the Dodgers.
Mackenzie Salmon:
But all eyes will be on Adam Wainwright who gets the start on the mound for St. Louis. He could end up being the great equalizer in this matchup. As a part of their 17-game winning streak, Wainwright pitched 8-plus innings against LA and got the victory the last time these two met.
Mackenzie Salmon:
And, speaking of the Dodgers, they're absolutely loaded everywhere and are, by far, the best team to ever have to play in a Wild Card game. LA is deep, and expect Dave Roberts to throw the kitchen sink at the Cards to get past this one-game play-in. In all honesty, they have to win this game or the season will be considered one of the most disappointing finishes in franchise history. But the Cards are hot and playing with house money. Expect a spectacular game to kick off postseason baseball.
Taylor Wilson:
Tonight's winner will face the San Francisco Giants, who won the NL West a game ahead of the Dodgers with 107 wins, the most in all of baseball. You can tune in tonight just after 8:00 PM Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, on TBS.
Taylor Wilson:
And you can find new episodes of 5 Things wherever you're listening right now. We ask if you have a second, please drop us a rating and review on your podcast app of choice.
Taylor Wilson:
And thanks, as always, to Shannon Green and Claire Thornton for the great work on the show. I'll be back tomorrow with another edition of 5 Things from the USA Today Network.