Thursday, October 29th, 2020
Hurricane Zeta’s Impact, Tech Giants Testify & MLB Investigates
All the news you need in about 10 min:
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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 to peruse the latest happenings...
Hurricane Zeta Update:
Nearly a million people are without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after Hurricane Zeta made landfall in Louisiana. The hurricane hit with more power than originally expected. It made landfall as a category 2 hurricane, though it’s now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it continues to move across the Deep South. At least one death is blamed on the storm.
Read more: The Weather Channel, AP, USA Today, CBS News
Europe, France Back in Lockdown:
As COVID-19 cases surge around the world, France is now planning a second nationwide lockdown. The new measures mean people are only allowed to leave their homes for essential work or medical reasons. It’s in response to what the French president called a second wave that could be tougher than the first. The nationwide lockdown is set to start Friday and last through at least the end of November. Germany also announced a slightly-less-severe emergency lockdown that includes certain businesses shut down around the country. In fact, multiple countries around Europe continue to see a jump in new cases and deaths, and therefore, new restrictions.
Read more: BBC, NYT, CNN
Surge of Infections Impacts Wall Street:
The U.S. also continues to see a surge of new infections. In the past seven days, the U.S. reported a record half-a-million new cases. The white house testing czar said this week it’s not just because of more testing. He points to hospitalizations rising, too. Meanwhile, the rise in coronavirus infections around the globe, and the lockdowns in Europe, took a toll on Wall Street yesterday. U.S. stocks saw the worst day in four months. The Dow fell more than 900-points as investors lose confidence that an economic recovery is around the corner.
U.S. Cases, Hospitalizations Rise: USA Today, The Hill
Wall Street Impact: WSJ, AP, WaPo
Ransomware Warning for Hospitals:
Several federal agencies put out a new warning to hospitals around the U.S. about cybercrime and telling healthcare providers to make sure they have precautions in place. They warned that hackers are likely to try to strike again with ransomware – a type of malicious computer virus that locks up computers until a ransom is paid. If this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve talked about it before. Already, multiple U.S. hospitals have been hit by these types of ‘coordinated’ computer attacks. The federal government continues to investigate.
Read more: Bloomberg, CNN, Reuters
Author of Anti-Trump Op-Ed Revealed:
Remember that 2018 op-ed in The New York Times that blasted the Trump White House?
It got a lot of attention because it was said to be written by a senior trump administration official who stayed anonymous. Later, there was a book also by ‘anonymous’. Now, the person behind it has come forward. It’s Miles Taylor -- the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security. In a post on Medium, Taylor now says he chose to stay anonymous for the op-ed in an effort to get the White House to focus on what he was saying instead of placing the focus on insulting him. President Trump responded by calling Taylor a ‘fraud.’
Read more: : NBC News, Medium, Twitter, NYT (2018 Op-Ed)
Tech Giants Testify:
The heads of Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s parent company Alphabet were back in the hot seat testifying before lawmakers. All three CEOs were grilled by a Senate committee yesterday over how they review and moderate content. Of course: that’s been a hot button issue in the run up to the election. Some lawmakers, especially Democrats, say the tech giants don’t do enough to prevent hate speech, misinformation and extremism, while Republicans accused the tech giants of bias and censorship against conservatives online. There were some tense exchanges over the four-hour hearing, and Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey probably faced the harshest questions from Republicans.
Read more: Wired, WSJ, Politico, Watch (YouTube/TechCrunch)
Apple Gets into Search?
A new report says Apple is quietly stepping up its efforts in the world of search. The Financial Times says Apple is working more on developing its own search technology for iPhones. The company may see an opportunity now that the U.S. Justice Department sued Google over what it claims are anti-competitive practices. Right now, Google reportedly pays Apple billions of dollars a year to be the default search engine on Apple products, but if the government were to break that deal up, Apple’s new efforts could pay off. Already, Apple’s newest software, iOS 14, is showing its own search results when you type in the search bar on the home screen. Still, at this point, Apple isn’t saying anything about this, so we don’t know yet what, if anything, it will really lead to.
Read more: Financial Times, CNBC,
MLB Investigates World Series Player:
The LA Dodgers may still be celebrating their World Series win, but now one of their players is under investigation. Major League Baseball is investigating Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner. Why? It started when he tested positive for COVID-19 and was pulled from Tuesday night’s game. But instead of staying in isolation and following the league protocols, he was seen celebrating with his teammates as the Dodgers declared victory. At times, he wasn’t wearing a mask. The MLB says, “He chose to disregard the rules… and he put other people at risk.” In response, the league has ramped up testing among everyone who played in the World Series.
Read more: Axios, NBC News, CBS News
Spice Boom:
Companies that sell spices are seeing a huge uptick in sales during the pandemic. That’s likely because more and more people are cooking at home. For example: Spiceology says consumer sales are up 500 percent. Experts say there’s a lot of younger or first-time cooks who are stocking up on seasonings, and a lot of people have turned to cooking too de-stress this year. However, even though consumer sales are on the rise, spice companies have taken a hit elsewhere. Sales to restaurants, for example, have slumped.
Read more: WaPo, WSJ
Harley-Davidson’s E-Bike:
Harley-Davidson has unveiled its newest ride, but it’s not a motorcycle. It’s an electric bicycle that is from the new e-bike division and brand called “Serial One Cycle Company.” The newest e-bike should be available in spring of next year. Pre-orders could start as early as next month. The company says it wants to tap into the e-bike market since it expects the industry to see huge growth over the next few years.
Read more: The Verge, Engadget, Harley Davidson
Whitney Houston Makes History Again:
The late singer Whitney Houston has made history, again. She is now the first Black artist to have three diamond-certified albums. That’s an award reserved for top-selling records. It used to mean the album had sold more than 10 million copies, but now it takes into account digital streaming as well. It was just announced this week that Houston’s 1987 album called ‘Whitney’ was her third to reach Diamond status. By the way, Houston is also expected to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next week.
Read more: AP, Forbes, Billboard
Thing to Know Thursday: Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday, November 1st at 2am. Yes, it’s that time of year when clocks ‘fall back’ and we get an extra hour of sleep. It also means it’ll get darker, earlier in the evening. So why do we even have Daylight Saving Time in the first place? It was meant as a way to reduce electricity usage and make better use of the day’s light in the evening. In the U.S., only Hawaii, most of Arizona, and U.S. territories, like Puerto Rico, do not observe Daylight Saving Time. Several other states have taken steps to either make it permanent, or get rid of the time change, but those changes would need federal approval first.
Read more: CNN, NJ.com