Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 30, 2020. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)
Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, July 16, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: With caseloads continuing to rise, more school districts say they can’t safely bring students back in person, and will begin the school year online. Houston and San Francisco are the latest cities to say they’ll start virtually. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has tested positive, the first governor known to contract the virus. Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci is pushing back after White House officials have moved to undermine him, urging them to “stop this nonsense” and get on the same page about fighting the virus. THE ATLANTIC
POLL-A-PALOOZA: President Trump’s approval numbers keep getting worse, according to the latest batch of national polling. Joe Biden now leads Trump by 15 points, 52-37, in the new Quinnipiac poll -- his largest national lead yet. For the first time in that poll, the president is now underwater on the question of his handling of the economy. The new NBC/WSJ poll has Biden up 11. Other battleground state polls show Biden leading in must-win states like Wisconsin and Florida; Biden and Trump are even neck-and-neck in Texas, with 110 days to go. THE HILL
TWITTER HACK: The Twitter accounts of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Kanye West, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and other high-profile figures were taken over in a major coordinated hack that threw the service into chaos for hours. Twitter says it believes the accounts were compromised from within, meaning that a hacker or group of hackers got into the accounts of Twitter employees who had access to the platform’s internal admin systems, rather than hacking the individual accounts. That would be one of the biggest security failures in social media history. THE VERGE
We got hacked too. Our follower is very upset.
REPARATIONS: A city in North Carolina has approved reparations for its Black residents. Asheville, N.C. has formally apologized for its participation in slavery, and to make amends it will fund social programs to increase homeownership and business opportunities for Black people, who make up about 10 percent of the city’s population. It will not provide direct cash payments, which is considered the hallmark of a reparations program. CITIZEN-TIMES
PLUMMETING FERTILITY RATE: Researchers are raising alarm about the drop in the global fertility rate. The number of babies being born is approaching 2.1 per woman, the level at which experts say the size of the population starts declining. These trends predate the pandemic and reflect more women around the world having access to contraception, education and work. BBC
Anyone who still thinks there’s gonna be a “covid baby bump” doesn’t already have kids.
NO MASK, NO SERVICE: Walmart, the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, as well as Sam’s Club, will begin requiring masks at all stores nationwide as of Monday. Kroger will follow, instituting a mask mandate next Wednesday. Starbucks and Best Buy have also made face coverings mandatory in stores, and Costco’s had the rule in place since May. CNN
That means you, Karen.
ZOOM IN A BOX: Zoom has announced its first piece of hardware: a 27-inch touchscreen device that comes preinstalled with Zoom’s video conferencing software, high-end microphones and three wide-angle cameras. Cost: $600. The company has been on fire since the pandemic began; this is an effort to make an “out-of-the-box” product for people who use the service a lot but don’t want to fuss with it. TECHCRUNCH
That’s some Apple pricing right there.
NBA BUBBLE UPDATE: The NBA “bubble” in Florida is going about as well can be expected. Several players have been forced to re-quarantine after they got caught for infractions like leaving to pick up food; several others, including Russell Westbrook, have tested positive and been forced to leave entirely. There’s now an anonymous tip line for players and team personnel to report violations -- so far it’s been used by someone to complain about Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler dribbling in his room. ESPN
One thing's for sure, no one will be snitching on any Knicks players, because they aren't there...because they suck.
NICK CANNON FIRING: Nick Cannon is hitting back at ViacomCBS after the media conglomerate fired him over anti-Semitic remarks he made on a podcast. Cannon apologized on Facebook to “my Jewish Brothers and Sisters” but accused Viacom of underpaying Black talent for years, and said he demanded ownership of the show Wild ‘N Out, which he helped create. NPR
Those Mariah Carey alimony checks about to come in handy.
LEFTOVERS: UP IN THE SKY: There’s a pretty good chance to see a rare comet flyby this week if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere. Comet Neowise is trucking through the solar system and will come within about 60 million miles of Earth in a week. These next few days will be the best chance to spot her: About an hour after sunset, keep your gaze on the northeast horizon; the further away from bright lights, the better. If you miss it, Neowise will be visible again in a mere 6,800 years. SPACE.COM
M&T Bank rang the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning as the company celebrated a milestone of opening 100 new multicultural banking centers. David Femi, head of multicultural banking, joined Cheddar to discuss the culturally inclusive expansion as part of the bank's overarching goal to increase financial access in racially and ethnically diverse communities. "By designating branches as multicultural is just one way for us to be intentional in making sure, that number one, when [customers] come into these branches, they see people that look like them, they see people that speak their language," he said.
A second Starbucks location in the U.S. has officially voted to unionize. On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board announced workers at the Starbucks store located in the Buffalo, NY suburb of Cheektowaga voted 15-9 in favor of being represented by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. The New York Times reports votes were tallied in December but remained inconclusive as the union challenged the ballots of several employees it said did not work at the store. A Starbucks spokesperson has said that it may appeal the labor board's decision, which comes as several other Starbucks stores across the country are also pushing to form a union. Danka Dragic, shift supervisor for the second Starbucks store in the country to unionize, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Technology-driven sustainable waste management platform, RoadRunner Recycling, recently raised a $70 million Series D round from BeyondNetZero, the climate investing venture of General Atlantic. RoadRunner says it creates and manages end-to-end waste and recycling solutions for businesses of all sizes and that its proprietary technology can boost cost savings and improve recycling rates for companies, which in turn drives sustainability for the waste industry and our world. RoadRunner Recycling founder and CEO Graham Rihn joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Apple TV+ is in serious talks for the rights to stream MLB games next season, the first foray into sports content for the platform, according to the New York Post. Lee Berke, president and CEO of LHB Sports, sat down with Cheddar to discuss how such a deal might impact the tech giant and the sports content industry. "Quite often with new media platforms one of the quickest ways to create and implement a programming strategy — and actually one of the most expensive ways — is to offer up sports content," Berke noted. "So, with this package available, it puts Apple literally in the game and gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their skills in offering up a major league sport."
A.I.-enabled fintech company Qraft Technologies recently closed a $146 million investment from SoftBank Group Corp.
The companies say they are entering a partnership to accelerate artificial intelligence in the asset management industry. Qraft has already developed A.I. solutions that have been used by major financial institutions and says its new approach to asset management maximizes investment efficiency. Qraft Technologies U.S. CEO Robert Nestor joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Peacock has announced a slate of original Olympic games documentaries set to premiere throughout January. The first series, 'Meddling' is now available to stream. The four-part docuseries details the 2002 winter Olympic scandal which alleged that the pairs figure skating competition had been fixed to favor Russia. Tara Lipinski, Olympic gold medalist, champion figure skater, and executive producer of ' Meddling,' joins Cheddar News discuss the series.
A decade ago, long before streaming services, the amount of binge-watching viewers could take part in was slim. Now, streaming services have established binge-watching as a viewing norm. However, how can viewers know when they've crossed the line from innocent entertainment to harmful addiction? Judy Grisel, professor of psychology at Bucknell University, joins Cheddar News to discuss a new study that identifies psychological predictors of problematic binge-watching.
Glassdoor has officially revealed its list of the best places to work in the year 2022. The top 10 on the list include tech companies and just one retail company. Senior economist at Glassdoor, Daniel Zhao, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Students in the Chicago Public School system will head back to class tomorrow at long last. The move comes after four days of canceled classes due to clashes between teachers and the city, including Chicago Mayor Laurie Lightfoot. National Educational Reporter at USA Today, Richard Erin, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Sixteen of the country's most prestigious universities have been hit with a lawsuit claiming those schools illegally conspired to eliminate competitive financial aid offers for students. Just some of the schools mentioned include Yale, Brown, Columbia, UPenn, and Cornell. Author of "Who Gets In and Why" and Professor of practice at Arizona State University, Jeff Selingo, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
