Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, July 15, 2020:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Travelers from 22 states are now being told to quarantine or face a heavy fine if they come to New York, as the Tri-State area worries about getting caught in a second wave of infections brought on by outsiders. Florida’s death rate is now trending up, following a spike in hospitalizations, and the CDC director is warning that the coming fall and winter are shaping up to be “one of the most difficult times we’ve experienced in American public health.” NY TIMES
VACCINE PROGRESS: Moderna has announced that Phase 3 trials for its coronavirus vaccine candidate will start later this month after reporting promising early results in a peer-reviewed journal. Phase 3 will include 30,000 volunteers; it’s the final phase before FDA approval, though it can take years in normal circumstances. NBC NEWS
VISA RULE DROPPED: The Trump administration is dropping a controversial policy that would have stripped visas from international students enrolled in colleges where coursework is being done entirely online in the fall, putting them at risk of deportation if they remained in the country. The policy was widely criticized, and the government was immediately sued over it, with universities like Harvard and companies like Google saying it was needlessly cruel and harmful to both students and the country. USA TODAY
In-person classes: It doesn’t get any more boring than us
Online classes: Hold my beer...
PRIMARY RESULTS: Former AG Jeff Sessions was humiliated in his primary bid to retake his old Senate seat in Alabama, losing by double digits to Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach. Tuberville will go on to face the Democrat Sen. Doug Jones in November. In Maine, Democrat Sara Gideon won the chance to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the most closely watched races that could determine which party controls the Senate. POLITICO
GHISLAINE DENIED BAIL: Ghislaine Maxwell was denied bail and will remain in federal custody ahead of her trial, scheduled for next July. The former associate of Jeffrey Epstein pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges during her arraignment. NPR
Let’s try to keep her alive this time.
AIRBNB HOST DONATIONS: Airbnb is getting mocked over a new tool that encourages users to send “kindness cards” and cash donations to hosts whose homes they’ve stayed in if the hosts have been impacted by the pandemic. Airbnb doesn’t say how many of its hosts have multiple property listings, but has acknowledged that there’s been an increase in “professional hospitality entrepreneurs” on its platform. BI
Won’t anyone think of THE LANDLORDS?!
ONE SHOE OR TWO: Zappos is testing a new way to sell shoes, allowing customers to buy a single pair in two different sizes, or even a single shoe at a time. The Amazon-owned e-commerce company says the pilot program is aimed at amputees, people with different sized feet, or anyone with non-traditional footwear needs. CNN
STREAMING WARS: Another streaming platform launches wide today, but this one’s got a catch: it’s (mostly) free. Peacock, from NBCUniversal, goes live with 20,000 hours of content, including its flagship first original series, Brave New World. Here’s how to watch depending on what device you have: CNET
Finally a streaming service that doesn’t require someone else’s password.
TV HOST CHANGES: ViacomCBS has fired Nick Cannon after he floated antisemitic conspiracy theories on his podcast. Cannon had hosted programs on MTV, VH1 and TeenNick. Over at ABC, Tyra Banks will replace Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews as host of Dancing with the Stars when it returns for its 29th season in the fall. The show had said it wanted to go in a new creative direction. VARIETY
LEFTOVER: TURMOIL AT GREY LADY: Bari Weiss, a writer and editor for the Opinion section of the New York Times, has resigned from the paper, writing a scathing letter to the publisher in which she cites an “illiberal environment” for differing opinions and a “hostile work environment” at the Times. Weiss writes that she’s been the victim of bullying from colleagues for columns and tweets that go against the paper’s reputation for liberalism, and that the paper did not publicly support her. READ IT
