Members of the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz kneel together around the Black Lives Matter logo on the court during the national anthem before the start of an NBA basketball game Thursday, July 30, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, Pool)
Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, July 31, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Herman Cain, a prominent Republican businessman who ran for president in 2012 and was close with President Trump, has died following a long hospitalization with the coronavirus. There’s no way to know how or when Cain got infected, but he posted photos of himself without a mask while attending the Trump rally in Tulsa, two weeks before he was hospitalized. Federal jobless benefits run out today and senators have left D.C. for the weekend without coming to an agreement on a new rescue package. Dr. Fauci testifies in front of the House this morning on the topic of vaccines, testing and school reopenings. NY TIMES
ISAIAS IS COMING: Isaias (pronounced ee-sah-ee-as) is now a Cat 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds as it tracks toward Florida after pounding Puerto Rico with heavy rain and winds, knocking out power. Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach are under tropical storm watches. The latest projections have Isaias swiping southern and eastern Florida this weekend, and then riding up the eastern seaboard next week. TRACK
OBAMA ON LEWIS: Former President Obama eulogized John Lewis as a “founding father” of America’s future, delivering a rousing tribute to the civil rights icon while simultaneously condemning those in power for their record on Lewis’ legacy of voting rights. Obama, who has reportedly been increasingly candid in private about what he thinks of the current administration, also called for the elimination of the filibuster, statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico, and making Election Day a holiday. AXIOS
TRUMP FLOATS ELECTION DELAY: Top Republicans rejected President Trump’s suggestion, floated as part of a tweet complaining about mail-in ballots, that the November election be delayed. (The president does not have the authority to delay an election.) The tweet came minutes after the government reported the worst economic data ever recorded, and as polls show Trump losing to Joe Biden both nationally and in swing states. AP
ECONOMIC DISASTER: The U.S. economy had its biggest collapse on record last quarter. GDP -- the measure of all the goods and services produced in the country-- dropped 9.5 percent, or the equivalent of an annual drop of about 33 percent. That’s twice the rate of GDP decline during the Great Recession, and it happened in three months as opposed to three years. Nearly all of the recent economic data suggests that the recovery is stalling. MARKETWATCH
BLOWOUT TECH EARNINGS: A day after the top four tech CEOs took a lashing from Congress, all of their companies reported earnings, and the results were eye-popping. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google each easily topped expectations for the quarter, which was about as unusual as a fiscal quarter can get. Combined, the four companies made $28 billion in profits. The one big catch: for the first time, Google reported a decline in its revenue as many companies cut back on advertising. THE STREET
NBA BUBBLE GOES LIVE: Players may have looked a bit rusty, but the NBA’s return to play gave fans two close, exciting games. The Jazz pulled off a comeback victory against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, followed by LeBron James and the Lakers delivering a crunch time win against the Clippers. Players from all four teams knelt during the national anthem. ESPN
OPRAH GIVES UP COVER: One face has been on every cover of O Magazine since it launched 20 years ago -- until now. Oprah Winfrey gave the cover of the September issue of her namesake mag to Breonna Taylor, the Black woman in Kentucky who was shot to death by police while sleeping in her bed. In an essay, Oprah explains that she couldn’t stay silent about Taylor’s death, writing: “We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice.” READ IT
MORE 'ELLEN' ALLEGATIONS: Warner Bros. has been investigating The Ellen DeGeneres Show after several media reports highlighted what former employees called a “toxic” workplace environment at the syndicated daytime talker. A new report from BuzzFeed cites dozens more former employees who say the show’s executive producers engaged in “rampant” sexual misconduct behind the scenes. DeGeneres has apologized to the show’s staff in a letter. BUZZFEED NEWS
LEFTOVERS: TOPO CHICO, BUT WITH BOOZE: Topo Chico, the Texas sparkling water brand with a cult following, will release a hard seltzer this year, first in Latin America and then in the U.S. in 2021. Coca-Cola bought Topo Chico in 2017 to get a leg up on the seltzer craze. This will be Coke’s first foray into alcohol in the Americas (they sell an alcoholic soda in Japan). AUSTIN 360
Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
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."
