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Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

Historic VP Pick, Fall Football Canceled & Blockbuster Airbnb

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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 reading about the latest happenings…


Biden Picks Running Mate

Former Vice President Joe Biden announced his running mate in the race for president. It’s U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris. Today, they’ll make their first public appearance together since the big announcement. Harris is the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be named to a major-party presidential ticket in the U.S. If Biden wins in November, Harris would become the first woman vice president in American history. The Trump campaign responded to Biden’s choice by calling Harris a phony, and saying she’s proof Biden will hand over control to an extreme leftist agenda.
Read More: APWaPoWSJAxiosPoliticoFOX NewsNAACP

Big 10 and Pac 12 Postpone Fall Sports
Two of the most powerful conferences in college sports, the Big 10 and Pac 12, have postponed their fall seasons. The conferences say they’re worried about the health of their players. However, they’re hoping to hold their football, soccer, and other fall seasons in the spring instead. This decision could end up having a domino effect. More conferences are expected to bow out soon.
Read More: ESPNSports IllustratedNBC NewsNY Times

Georgia, Florida Death Toll Records
Both Florida and Georgia recorded their highest single-day death tolls since the start of the pandemic. In both states, schools are already back in session. However, it’s been tough so far for one Georgia district in particular. It tried to reopen for in-person classes, but this week, hundreds of students and teachers have been told to quarantine because they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Read More: Johns HopkinsWaPoAxiosAPAJC

Different Masks Tested
Scientists at Duke University recently tested 14 types of face coverings to find out which ones worked best. They found the most effective ones are the fitted N95 respirators. Next, they found the cotton cloth masks are about as effective as standard surgical masks. However, bandanas and neck gaiters made out of thin, stretchy material might be worse than no mask at all. 
Read More: WaPoABC NewsSF ChronicleFull Study

UPDATE: Researchers at Virginia Tech have since run a new, different test using two types of gaiters and had different results. The new experiment found both neck gaiters prevented some droplets better than no mask at all. More research is needed. Read more about the Virginia Tech research here: NYT


Russia Announces COVID-19 Vaccine
Russia approved the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine even though it hadn’t been thoroughly tested yet. Russia says it’s going to start vaccinating people by the masses this fall. Teachers and medical workers will start getting the shots this month. Public health experts, like Dr. Anthony Fauci in the U.S., have doubts about whether it will be safe and effective.
Read More: CBS NewsAPReutersAxios

Moderna Announces U.S. Vaccine Deal
The Trump administration struck a $1.5 billion deal with the drugmaker Moderna. In exchange, Moderna will provide about 100 million doses of vaccine. It’s the most advanced one in development, compared with others being tested now. Dr. Fauci has said he hopes to know by November or December whether it works. The U.S. has already invested billions of dollars in vaccine research, as well as supplies like vials and syringes.
Read More: WSJCNNCNBCAxios

Phoenix Heat Records
This is now the hottest Phoenix summer ever recorded. The average temperature has been 96 degrees this year. However, it has been a lot hotter than that at times. Phoenix met or exceeded 110-degree temperatures 36 days this year. Things aren’t cooling off soon either. The National Weather Service says Phoenix can expect to top 110 degrees every day this week. Temperatures could even reach 116.
Read More: Arizona RepublicKSAZNWS

Apple CEO Becomes a Billionaire
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has just crossed into the so-called three comma club. He joins the ranks of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and about 2,000 other billionaires around the world. It’s not clear exactly how much Cook is worth now, but reports estimate it’s just more than $1 billion.
Read More: CNNThe VergeBloomberg

Walmart Tests Same-Day Delivery
Walmart is partnering with Instacart to offer same-day delivery. The two will work together to deliver things like food, home decor, electronics, and more in as little as one hour. However, Walmart isn’t rolling out the service nationwide. For now, it’s only being tested in four cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego in California; as well as Tulsa in Oklahoma.
 Read More: EngadgetThe VergeCNBC

Hamilton’s Popularity on Disney+
Hamilton is dominating the streaming platforms. The recorded version of the hit broadway musical debuted on Disney+ last month. Variety reported new research that found Hamilton was watched more in July than any other programming on Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, or Apple TV. Viewership was nearly triple that of the second-most streamed show, the reboot of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix.
Read More: VarietyForbesFOX Business

Blockbuster Sleepover on Airbnb
The world’s last Blockbuster video store is now available for sleepovers. The manager listed it on Airbnb for $4.99 a night. However, it’s only available for people who live in that county, and they only have three nights to choose from. Guests will be able to watch movies on a retro ‘90s television. eat candy, and sleep on a pullout sofa. The manager said she listed it to thank the community for keeping the store in business for so many years.
Read More: CNNEngadgetUSA TodayMashableAirbnb

Work Wednesday: CEOs to Hire 100k Low-Income New Yorkers
27 CEOs are promising to hire 100,000 low-income and minority workers in New York City over the next decade. The CEOs include the heads of JP Morgan, Bank of America, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. The companies hope to place the diverse workers in jobs with long-term potential and help them grow within the company.
Read More: CBS NewsABC NewsPress Release

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