| | Dose Of News Useful Today Thursday August 15th | | | | Going DOWn
| Happy Thursday. If you run into traffic on your way to work, we’d suggest not playing Pokémon Go on eight different phones while in your car… but hey, gotta catch em all. | | | Daily Sprinkle | “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” -Mae West | | | We use a rating system powered by MediaBias/FactCheck. These ratings are SUBJECTIVE & should be treated as such. Learn more. | | |  | Hong Kong Protests | After weeks of demonstrations in the streets, protesters at the Hong Kong airport shut down the busy transportation hub for two days, resulting in the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Yesterday, the protestors apologized for their increasingly confrontational tactics. The pro-democracy protests began in June in reaction to an extradition bill. The bill would’ve allowed those facing trial in Hong Kong to be transported to mainland China. In response to the protestors, China has threatened the use of force, and has begun amassing military troops and vehicles on the mainland near Hong Kong. Police and demonstrators have already clashed several times, with the police using tear gas and rubber bullets. So, what next?
As the protests stretch into their tenth consecutive week with no end in sight, many have opinions on the situation. | | Let’s see what they have to say… | | | | Share Today’s Dose of Discussion | | |  | Planes, pains & automobilesDelayed flights are annoying. But when it means missing the birth of your child? That’s tragic. That’s what Sgt Seth Craven was facing when storms canceled his flight home from Philly. He had already traveled from Afghanistan and was not going to let a little speed bump like a cancelled flight stop him. But when his second flight was delayed, things started looking grim. Word about his situation got around to other passengers, including Charlene Vickers, who happened to be headed the same way and was also on a deadline – she was getting to her destination “come hell or high water.” When Charlene offered a ride in her car, Craven didn’t miss a beat and hopped in shotgun for the 8 hour drive. He made it just in time to see his son born, and all Charlene asked for in return was pictures of the healthy baby. | | Sunny Skyz → | Color my worldA 7-year-old asking for crayons and coloring books for her birthday isn’t unusual – what is unusual is what Gracie Chambers wants to do with them. Sure she loves coloring, but the little Texan also really cares about other people. Coloring makes her happy, so she wants to share that with others. That’s why she asked for coloring books and crayons for her birthday so that they could be donated to sick children in the hospital. Her mom shared the story on social media, and lo-and-behold the donations started pouring in. By the end, Gracie had over 600 coloring books to pass around the hospital. But she’s not stopping there, next year she’s aiming for 700. | | Inspire More → | The incurable cure (pt. 2)Tuberculosis has now surpassed AIDS as the world’s leading infectious cause of death. It affects 10 million people each year, though most strains are treatable – but not the XDR strain, where 75% die before they even receive a diagnosis. Worse still, it is resistant to the antibiotics typically used to fight the disease… or it was. Researchers have developed a new treatment with a ~90% success rate for treating the lethal strain. The new regiment cuts the treatment period from 18-24 months to 6 months, and patients use 5 pills instead of the normally 50 pill regiment – the best part? The FDA has now endorsed the treatment, which dramatically accelerates the approval process for European regulators and the World Health Organization. This would make the treatment widely available across the world, saving close to 1.5 million lives each year. | | The Telegraph → | | | | |  | Philadelphia shootoutAt least 6 Philadelphia police officers were shot after attempting to serve a warrant to a house in the city’s Nicetown district. The officers are expected to survive, and the shootout turned into a 7-hour standoff after which the gunman was taken into custody. | | Sleeping on the jobAccording to reports, the 2 staff members responsible for watching Jeffrey Epstein’s cell fell asleep, failed to check on him and falsified records to cover up their mistake. The staff members have been placed on administrative leave. | | False alarmThe Russian military told residents of a village near a navy testing range to evacuate, but cancelled the order hours later. The orders came after a missile explosion last week that caused a brief spike in the area’s radiation levels. | | | | | |  | We need some WorkWeWork unveiled its IPO prospectus yesterday, revealing the company generated $1.54 billion in revenue and posted a net loss of ~$700 million over the first half of 2019. The company is expected to IPO as early as next month. | | Wall Street Journal → | “Net” worthJoseph Tsai, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, will purchase the remaining 51% of the Brooklyn Nets he does not own in a transaction valuing the franchise at $2.35 billion. This is the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise, topping the $2.2 billion acquisition of the Carolina Panthers two years ago. | | New York Post → | Going DOWnThe Dow dropped more than 800 points yesterday, its biggest one day drop of 2019, amid concerns of an impending recession. The US 30-year treasury yield also fell to a new historic low. | | Reuters → | Hanging by a ThredOn the heels of a poor Q2 earnings report that caused its shares drop more than 13%, Macy’s announced the launch of an apparel subscription and resale service. The department store partnered with resale marketplace ThredUp to pilot the initiative at 40 of its locations starting this month. | | CNBC → | | | | |  | Making (micro)waves | via Popular Mechanics What do a magnetron and a melted candy bar have in common? | (keep scrolling for the answer) | | | | |  | Get Your FREE Stuff | Step 1. Click the share button below | Step 2. Share the DONUT with friends | Step 3. Cash in on tons of rewards | |  | | | | | | | Dose of Knowledge Answer | They were crucial in the (accidental) discovery of the microwave. When a Raytheon engineer realized the candy bar in his pocket had melted while he was working with a military-grade magnetron, he tested other foods with low doses of electromagnetic radiation to see if they would “cook” too. | | |
