Tune in to 'Wake Up With Cheddar' at 8:30 am ET on Friday, May 8 for the biggest headlines coming from the April jobs report.
Businesses from coast-to-coast were forced to closed their doors when the coronavirus outbreak arrived in the U.S. Practically overnight, 33 million Americans (so far) suddenly lost their livelihoods. Cheddar is speaking to some of these workers who have found themselves unexpectedly unemployed in today's turbulent environment.
Unexpectedly Unemployed: New Orleans Tour Guide Charlotte Jones
Unlike many industries hit hard by the economic downturn, tour guides in New Orleans never saw a decline in business. Carriage drivers like Charlotte Jones were giving tours right up until the city's stay-at-home order went into effect.
"I think a lot of us tried to just do as many tours as possible on that Saturday [March 14]. But on that Sunday it was clear we should not work. And on Monday, we were shut down," she said
Louisiana has been hit hard with COVID-19 cases, and its tourism-reliant economy is bearing the brunt of the illness.
"Even if my colleagues were able to go out and conduct tours at six feet apart, it's in no one's best interest right now, particularly since our health and safety comes first," Jones explained. Read more...
Courtesy of Charlotte Jones
Unexpectedly Unemployed: Peace Corps Volunteer Sasha Kogan
For Sasha Kogan a Peace Corps volunteer, border closures caused by the pandemic meant a frantic multi-day evacuation from Cameroon to Washington, DC, culminating with her far from her NYC roots to find herself in Illinois without benefits or a clue as to what's next.
"I'm really sad — really, really sad — that I can't finish, at least not for the foreseeable future," she said. Read more...
Courtesy of Sasha Kogan
Unexpectedly Unemployed: Seattle Journalist Lester Black
Lester Black, a Seattle journalist, saw the coronavirus pandemic coming, covering the crisis from the epicenter of the original American outbreak. He also became one of the first pandemic employment casualties in the U.S., after being laid off from his position as a staff writer for Seattle’s alternative newspaper, The Stranger.
“We already were at a place where there was a news crisis in America,” Black said. “Before you knew the word coronavirus, there was a crisis of news in this country; there just is not enough reporters. And now what's left is being cut even further.” Read more...
Courtesy of Lester Black
Unexpectedly Unemployed: Tattoo Artist Nokomis Fairbanks
Nokomis Fairbanks started tattooing professionally three years ago and recently set up shop at Oracle Tattoo Guild in Lexington, Kentucky. Today, she has no idea when she will be able to pick up her needle again.
Still, she is finding small ways to cope.
"We humans, by nature, are productive. And even when we think that we're doing nothing, we want to do something," she said. Read more...
Courtesy of Nokomis Fairbanks
Unexpectedly Unemployed: Commis Chef Andrew Branca
Empty tables were the first sign that it wasn’t business as usual. Andrew Branca is a commis chef at high-end restaurants Roister and the St. Clair Supper Club in downtown Chicago. As fears over coronavirus heightened this month, he saw the restaurant’s business fall off.
“We went from 160 covers at dinner to 60 covers a day,” Branca explained. “Twenty at lunch and 40 at dinner.”
After that, things happened pretty quickly.
Like many Americans, COVID-19 has left Branca at home, social distancing and trying to manage a life totally online.
But it is virtually impossible for service employees to Zoom in to serve tables or Skype a haircut, so people like Branca are not working right now. Read more...
Andrew Branca, far left, with coworkers in the kitchen of Roister / St. Clair Supper Club in Chicago. Branca was furloughed from his position in March. (Photo Courtesy of Andrew Branca)
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
