Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, June 26, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Texas has put its reopening on pause and is moving to free up hospital beds as its ICUs approach capacity with both COVID and non-COVID patients. Apple is closing nearly all of its stores in Florida as the state’s caseload explodes. The CDC estimates that the real case number in the U.S. is possibly 10 times higher than the official tally of 2.3 million. CDC Director Robert Redfield said that probably anywhere from 5 to 8 percent of the population has been infected. NBC NEWS
YOUNG FUELING SURGE: As more data comes in about the current outbreaks across the South, it’s increasingly clear that young people are accounting for a significant portion of the virus’ spread. In Florida, the median age of positive cases has dropped from 65 in March to 35 now. Though younger people are less likely to be hospitalized or die -- which would track with why the overall death rate is falling -- the CDC says it’s worried that asymptomatic carriers in their 20s and 30s are acting as transmission vectors in their communities. NY TIMES
FACEBOOK AD BOYCOTT: Verizon is the latest -- and by far the largest -- company to join the Facebook and Instagram advertising boycott in July. It’s a serious blow to Facebook, which has been working behind the scenes to contain the revolt. The #StopHateforProfit campaign is demanding that Facebook take more concrete steps to guard against hate speech and misinformation. REUTERS
NASCAR NOOSE INVESTIGATION: NASCAR has released a photo of the noose found hanging in Bubba Wallace’s garage stall, after the FBI determined that no hate crime was committed and the rope had been there since last October. NASCAR says it continues to investigate, and noted that no other garage had a similar pull-down rope knot. SEE THE PIC
UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS: The number of people filing for unemployment has held steady at about 1.5 million every week in June, a worrisome sign that the recovery is plateauing. The question is now whether that number starts to rise again if more businesses pause or reverse their reopenings. WSJ
AMAZON ARENA: Amazon has bought the naming rights to Seattle’s KeyArena, but instead of naming it Amazon Arena or Amazon Prime Center, Jeff Bezos announced it will be called the Climate Pledge Arena. The CEO wrote on Instagram that the name will be a reminder of the “urgent need for climate action,” and the arena will be the first net-zero carbon stadium in the world. Amazon has an otherwise decidedly mixed environmental record. KING
NBA LEGEND RETIRES: It’s the end of an era in the NBA. Vince Carter, who played for 8 teams over a 22-season career and is the only player to have played in four different decades, is retiring. Carter is 19 on the all-time scoring list, and became known early in his career for his ferocious slam dunks -- including one of the greatest dunks in history, when he jumped over the head of a 7’2" French player during the 2000 Olympics: WATCH IT
SPLASH MOUNTAIN MAKEOVER: Disney will completely rebrand and retool its classic Splash Mountain ride at both Disney World and Disneyland, amid pressure over the ride’s ties to the controversial 1946 movie Song of the South. The new ride will be built around The Princess and the Frog, the 2009 animated film featuring Disney’s first-ever Black princess. THR
DIXIE CHICKS NAME CHANGE: The Dixie Chicks are changing their name to simply: The Chicks. After 30 years together, the socially conscious country trio -- who were famously blacklisted from the industry after criticizing the Iraq War in 2003 -- say the “Dixie” connotations with the Mason-Dixon line are not appropriate and they want to “meet this moment.” REFINERY29
LEFTOVERS: SHHHHHH! A funny thing has been happening since the PGA Tour returned to play a couple weeks ago: professional golfers have been recording remarkably low scores, with several records being broken along the way. The theory is that since there’s no fans packed onto the greens, players are more focused. Jordan Spieth said the fan-less tournaments make it “easier to just be zoned in on pure golf.” The Tour plans to welcome spectators back for the Memorial Tournament in Ohio next month. AXIOS
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!
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
Catching you up on today's entertainment headlines with the Tribeca Film Festival has kicked off in NYC, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped its first full trailer, the musical "Come From Away" based on a true story set during 9/11 will be closing on Broadway this October, and more.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The Elevate Prize Foundation is donating $10,000 to different grassroots organizations based on a theme every month to help scale their work, focusing on a different theme each time. Upcoming prizes will help uplift an organization supporting the LGBTQ community and one mobilizing to help end gun violence. The foundation's CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram joined Cheddar to discuss the initiative and why it's important to uplift these grassroots organizations. "We are identifying social entrepreneurs around the world to help them scale their work. but the ultimate purpose of that is to create the first-ever fanbase for good," she said. "We're trying to make good famous and by inspiring people to think about the role they can play in doing good in the world."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tattoo artist Katrina "Kat Tat" Jackson, famous for starring in the VH1 hit series "Black Ink Crew: Chicago," is also the first Black woman to own a tattoo shop in Beverly Hills. She joined Cheddar News to discuss her trailblazing work, the stigma BIPOC tattoo artists face in the industry, and the way the space has changed for artists of color since her start. "In the beginning, I remember walking into a tattoo shop just like, hey, I wanna learn, I wanna be a tattoo artist and kind of just being laughed at, not taken seriously," she said. "Even with the tattoo conventions, a lot of African American tattoo artists were almost scared to go to conventions because it's not a welcoming environment."
