Friday, March 13th, 2020
America Shuts Down, Virtual Campaigning & Thrift Store Surprise
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
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...
Coronavirus Impacts
People all over the U.S. are hunkering down, hoping to contain COVID-19. Major U.S. professional sports leagues have stopped games and the NCAA has cancelled its basketball tournament. In New York, all gatherings of 500 people or more are banned. In California and Washington, the ban extends to gatherings with 250 people or more. On Wall Street, coronavirus fears caused the Dow to drop 10%, making it the worst day since the “Black Monday” crash of 1987. On Capitol Hill, the Senate cancelled its planned recess, saying it’s ready to make a deal for economic relief. House Democrats are already negotiating a plan with the Trump Administration.
Event Cancellations: USA Today, CBS Sports, Buzzfeed, ABC News, CNN
Cases,Testing, Vaccine: CDC, WaPo, IBT, WSJ, BBC, CNBC
Economy, Travel & Emergency Aid: Politico, AP, NYT, Boston Globe, CNN, The Guardian
U.S. Iraq Airstrike
The United States launched airstrikes at a militia group in Iraq. The Pentagon says it was in retaliation for a rocket attack that killed 2 American troops and a British service member earlier this week. U.S. fighter jets hit 5 locations. Most of them were weapons facilities owned by militia inside Iraq.
Read More: AP, CNN
Presidential Race Updates
Another debate will happen this Sunday. For the first time this election cycle, only two presidential candidates will be on the stage. It will be a one-on-one debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Coronavirus will likely be a topic, and the debate will go on without an audience there. It was also moved from Phoenix to D.C. to prevent cross-country travel.
Dems on Coronavirus: USA Today, Yahoo, NYTimes
Debate Sunday: USA Today, TIME, Politico
Labor Market
Fewer people filed for unemployment last week, marking two consecutive weeks of declines. It’s unclear what’s going to happen next, but for now, the number of job postings is also up. While some industries are struggling amid the coronavirus outbreak, others are looking for new hires to deal with it. Think: cleaning, healthcare and communications.
Read More: ABC News, CNBC, Glassdoor, MarketWatch
New Planets
Scientists have discovered new planets in our solar system (sort of). They’re called ‘minor planets,’ meaning they don’t get the same classification as others. Still, nearly 140 of these minor planets have been discovered orbiting the sun. They’re beyond Neptune. Scientists think they could lead them to a new full planet in our solar system.
Read More: Space.com, USA Today
Editing Tweets
It’s now easier to undo and edit your tweets. A new Twitter client called Brizzly Plus provides an undo button that lets you set a delay before your tweet actually posts. If you have second thoughts during that time, you can click “undo,” so it never posts at all. It also streamlines the process of re-doing a tweet or allows you to auto-delete after a certain amount of time. Brizzly Plus will cost you about $6 a month.
Read More: The Verge, TechCrunch
Airbnb's Home-Building Contest
Airbnb is giving away $1 million to help people build their dream homes, but there’s a catch. The company is looking for people who want something unusual, like a boot-shaped or UFO-shaped home. Emmy and Tony award winner, Billy Porter, will help with the design. Ten winners will be picked to get $100,000 each. You can apply now through April 15.
Read More: USA Today, MarketWatch, AirBnb
Thrift Store Surprise
A piece of art donated to a thrift store ended up being the work of Salvador Dali, one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. One of his wooden carvings caught the eye of a volunteer at the store. She took it to an art dealer who confirmed it was Dali’s work. Dali had even signed it. The store auctioned it off for $1,200.
Read More: CNN, People
Feel Good Friday – Animals' New Lives
Animals who were used in government testing can now be adopted as pets. The FDA recently changed its policy, allowing healthy lab animals to "retire." They’ll go to shelters in sanctuaries after experiments are over, instead of being euthanized. They include common pets like dogs, cats, rabbits, and some farm animals who will now have new homes.
Read More: The Hill, People