Wednesday, March 11th, 2020
Biden’s Lead, Census Begins & Texting 911
All the news you need in 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by www.Rothys.com/newsworthy
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...
Mini Super Tuesday Results
It seems Democrats are close to picking President Trump’s November challenger. The AP said the nomination is now former Vice President Joe Biden’s to lose. As of early this morning, results were still coming in from what’s being called “Mini Super Tuesday,” when people in six states voted. Already, Biden is the projected winner in at least four states. Again, President Trump cruised to victory in his Republican primary against former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. He swept all six states.
Super Tuesday II Results: NYT, AP, Politico
Containing Coronavirus
The National Guard is moving into a New York suburb that’s reported the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases in the country. They'll clean public places and deliver food to quarantined people in New Rochelle, NY, where a new 'containment' policy goes into effect tomorrow to ban large indoor gatherings. Schools, churches and synagogues will be closed, but this doesn't include travel restrictions. That said, shares on Wall Street bounced back after Monday’s historic drop, but the economy is still taking a hard hit. Two music festivals got postponed: Coachella and Stagecoach. Meanwhile, President Trump pitched an economic stimulus to Congress. It includes a payroll tax break, but Republicans want more details before supporting it. Democrats want support for their own plan, which includes low or no-cost virus testing.
NY ‘Containment Zone’: NYT, CBS News
Travel & Events Impacted: Vox, WSJ, LA Times, Yahoo
Latest Economic Impact: AP, Boston Globe
Surgeon General Guidance: ABC News, Coronavirus.gov
Census Bureau Site
The 2020 Census has officially begun in the U.S. The Census Bureau launched its new website this week. This is the first time most people are encouraged to answer questions online, but they can also respond by phone or mail. The online form is available now. Americans will start getting paper notices in their mailboxes tomorrow. Census results impact how much representation each state gets in Congress and where federal tax dollars are sent.
Read More: AP, Census 2020
Dick’s Closing Hunting Dept.
A popular sporting goods store is getting rid of hunting departments. Dick's Sporting Goods is making the change at 440 stores, which is more than half of its stores in the U.S. It’s just the latest change the company made since the Florida school shooting in 2018. In the last couple of years, Dick’s stopped selling assault rifles and increased the minimum age to buy guns to 21.
Read More: USA Today, CNBC, WSJ
Insurance Merger
Two insurance brokers are coming together in what's called the largest-ever merger for the industry. English company Aon agreed to buy its Irish rival Willis Towers Watson for nearly $30 billion in stock. Together, they’ll be the world’s largest insurance broker.
Read More: Reuters, WSJ, Axios
Uber Text to 911
Uber is expanding its text-to-911 feature across the country. This means riders can text 911 from the app and communicate with emergency dispatchers discreetly. It will automatically include the rider’s current location, where they’re headed, and a vehicle description. The feature should be available now. Just look in the app’s safety toolkit.
Read More: Engadget, ABC News
High-Tech Medical Records
Your medical records might soon be going high-tech. New federal rules allow your records to be stored in the app of your choice. Supporters say it will empower patients, but critics worry it will put sensitive data at risk of privacy violations.
Read More: Mashable, NYT
Billionaires Chip In
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are funding the purchase of two more diagnostic machines to test for the new coronavirus. They’re hoping to quadruple the number of people who can be tested in the San Francisco area as early as next week. It follows a contribution by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for at-home testing kits and treatment research. Amazon has also said it'll donate $5 million to small businesses in the Seattle area working to stay afloat during the outbreak.
Read More: The Verge, Vox, TechCrunch, Business Insider
Sneakers in Space
Adidas wants to see how its sneakers hold up in space. It sent some shoe materials to the International Space Station. It wants to find out how zero gravity affects them, if at all. This isn’t the first time random objects have gone to space in the name of science. In fact, the ISS has hosted more than 200 research projects.
Read More: CNN, Space.com
Work Wednesday: Remote Working
Rural cities are getting people to move in by offering cash incentives. Tulsa, Oklahoma was one of the first cities to try it out. Instead of offering tax incentives to businesses, they paid the workers directly. The city offered $10,000 and affordable housing in exchange for remote workers staying there at least a year. So far, it seems to be working: a lot of people in the pilot program say they’ll stay longer than the required one year.
Read More: CityLabs