Alex Vance (L) speaks with medical assistant Lydia Rezene as he donates blood at Bloodworks Northwest on March 17, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Schools provide 25 percent of local blood donations and their closing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has officials worried the region could see a shortage. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
Americans capable, willing, and able to donate blood are encouraged to do so during an era of social distancing.
"Social distancing doesn't have to mean social disengagement," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said during the Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Thursday, warning of blood shortages.
American Red Cross Senior Vice President Paul Sullivan told Cheddar he's concerned about an already low blood supply in the U.S., compounded by a recent wave of coronavirus-inspired blood drive cancellations, numbering more than 5,000 drives resulting in some 170,000 fewer donations.
Sullivan said he still plans to continue donating.
However, the Red Cross is changing its normal precautions in response to coronavirus concerns. Sullivan told Cheddar those new precautions include temperature checks before entering the donation space and changing gloves between each collection.
Surgeon General Adams also explained beds are six feet apart and staff members are disinfecting surfaces more often.
"So give blood today. You'll feel good about it, and you'll be helping your country and community during this crisis. And you might even save a life," he said.
Red blood cells only have a shelf life of 42 days and platelets just 5 days, so blood donations must continue in order to continue vital medical procedures to keep people alive.
"As this progresses, the way it will challenge our healthcare system … it will be just that — it will be very challenging," Sullivan warned. "No one gets a transfusion if they don't need it. We don't want to put the medical community in a situation where they have to pick who gets blood and who doesn't."
Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon are just a few of the nominees announced for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2022 induction. Results of the voting will be released in May, however, the ceremony date has yet to be announced.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of HereAfter AI discusses how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed; Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover' explains how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Humboldt Current.'
According to the Federal Reserve, the investment gap between Black and white Americans has remained substantial, with only 34 percent of Black households joining in on the historic rise in the markets. Stacey Tisdale, the first Black woman to have reported from the NYSE and the CEO and president of Mind Money Media Inc., said that the data might not be as disheartening as it seems. "I think that number is very deceiving. That Federal Reserve study is actually from 2019, and it's very important that we all look beneath that number and look beneath the surface because there is nothing short of an investing revolution going on in the Black community," Tisdale said.
James Vlahos, Co-Founder and CEO of HereAfter AI, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed.
Ava Rathenberg, Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover,' joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community.
An award-winning performance by the LSU Tiger Girls dance team is going viral on TikTok, but like many other viral tiktoks, this one had a larger story to tell. The story goes back to 2021 when for the first time in 22 years, the LSU dance team was informed it could not compete at Universal Dance Association Nationals. The team made their anticipated return to UDA Nationals this year with a performance that delivered a strong and clear message to their university. The LSU Tiger Girls walked away from the competition with their first national championship title in 12 years, redemption against the university that held them back, and of course- millions of new fans and friends on TikTok.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL over racial discrimination, exposing a long-running problem the NFL has had with diversity in its top coaching and management positions. Eric Mitchell, the president and CEO of public relations and communications company LifeFlip Media, joined Cheddar News to delve into the scandal rocking the pro football world just before the Super Bowl. "There is a problem. If you look at who owns teams in the NFL, it's right, it's a good old boys club, it's a bunch of old white guys," he said. "So, it's exposing something that's been around for ages and now that we're sitting in 2022 has come up."
This April, Madison Square Garden will be hosting the first-ever women's boxing match to headline at the arena in its 140 years of history in boxing. Undisputed lightweight champion, Katie Taylor, and seven-division champion, Amanda Serrano, will go head-to-head for a career-high guaranteed seven-figure purse for both of them. The pair joined Cheddar News to talk about the upcoming "fight of their lives." "I mean, this is the first step I believe," said Serrano. "Unheard of, two women headlining the Garden, we get in the biggest paydays of our career, I hope it continues to break down barriers."
