Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, August 7, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: The State Dept. has lifted its global ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory that has been in place for the past four months, saying it will issue alerts on a country-by-country basis. American travelers still face travel restrictions that keep them from traveling to many countries. The governor of Ohio tested positive for COVID-19 just before he was set to meet President Trump -- but then tested negative several hours later, illustrating the convoluted testing landscape that’s still in place across the country. NY TIMES
TIKTOK EXECUTIVE ORDER: President Trump signed two executive orders that give Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat 45 days before they are banned in the U.S. over national security concerns. That effectively starts the clock for Microsoft to complete an acquisition of TikTok. CNN
PEOPLE VS. NRA: New York’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the NRA, alleging that CEO Wayne LaPierre and other top officials drained the gun lobby of $64 million over years, using the money to fund their own lavish lifestyles. At a news conference, AG Letitia James said she wants the NRA to be dissolved, citing a pattern of alleged “brazen illegality,” and for LaPierre and others to be banned from working at other nonprofits. The NRA immediately counter sued, calling the suit a political stunt. NBC NEWS
REVISED HURRICANE FORECAST: The tropics are looking pretty quiet right now, but don’t expect it to last. NOAA has revised its forecast for the Atlantic hurricane season, now predicting 19 to 25 named storms to form this year (we’ve already had nine). NOAA has never before forecast up to 25 storms. After 21, forecasters will have to turn to the Greek alphabet for the names. PALM BEACH POST
HISTORY MADE AT VATICAN: Pope Francis has appointed six women to the council that oversees the Vatican’s finances, the most senior roles at the Church ever given to females. Francis had pledged to elevate more women into top roles at the Vatican, which is dealing with a financial crisis made worse by the pandemic. GUARDIAN
CRITICAL JOBS REPORT: There will be a clearer picture of the delicate state of the economic recovery when the July jobs report is released this morning. Economists expect about 1.6 million jobs to have been added in the month, a far cry from the 4.8 million added in June. Other recent employment data suggests that may be a generous prediction, and some analysts say there may actually be a loss in jobs for the month. If the number is grim, it will put even more pressure on lawmakers to come to an agreement on a new rescue package. CNN
GENETICISTS, REJOICE: It’s apparently easier to rewrite the human genome than it is to rewrite Excel. A group of scientists in charge of standardizing the names of genes is changing some of their names, all because of how Microsoft Excel auto-formats data. For example, the gene ‘Membrane Associated Ring-CH-Type Finger 1’ is abbreviated as MARCH1, which Excel converts to the date March 1st. It’s a surprisingly common issue that has serious implications for published research. One study found a fifth of all genetics papers had these kinds of Excel errors. THE VERGE
NFL OPT OUTS: The deadline has passed for NFL players to advise their teams if they plan to opt out of the upcoming season. At least 66 players say they won’t be suiting up, citing the pandemic. The Patriots saw eight players opt out, the most of any team. Meanwhile, the players union says 56 players tested positive in the first rounding of testing since they returned to training camps. AP
KANYE PRESIDENTIAL BID: In his latest interview, Kanye West suggests his presidential bid is an effort to siphon votes from Joe Biden. The rapper tells Forbes that he’s “walking...to win.” When confronted with the fact that it would be impossible for him to win 270 electoral votes, he replied: “I’m not going to argue with you. Jesus is King.” GOP operatives, including a lawyer with ties to the Trump campaign, have been working to get West on the ballot in several swing states. FORBES
SPOTTED...
...French President Emmanuel Macron mobbed by crowds of people as he walked the streets of Beirut, offering to mobilize aid for the devastated city: SEE VID
...Eligible bachelor Bradley Cooper and newly single Jennifer Garner, hanging out on the beach in Malibu: SEE PICS
LEFTOVERS: DULL BLADES: Shower thought: if razor blades are made of steel, why do they get dull so quickly just from removing soft hair? Researchers at MIT were curious, so they put disposable razors under an electron microscope as they cut through strands of facial hair, and were shocked to find that the hairs were creating tiny chips in the blades. The more you shave, the more chips are created. Thus why you have to replace those blades so often. SEE THE EXPERIMENT IN ACTION
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