Sunday, Mar 8 2020

Dose Of News Useful Today

Monday, March 9th

See The Light

Good morning. If losing an hour of sleep yesterday caused you to question the merits of daylight savings time, you’re not alone. A 2019 AP-NORC survey found that 71% of respondents were in favor of sticking to either daylight savings time or standard time year-round, and 32 states are currently considering 77 different bills regarding daylight savings (though Congress first must vote to allow such a change).

#LockTheClock #DitchTheSwitch

Daily Sprinkle

“We tend to get what we expect.”

– Norman Vincent Peale

This Week at a Glance

Tuesday: Six states hold primaries or caucuses (365 delegates at stake), Taliban to meet with Afghan gov’t, Purim begins

Wednesday: Harvey Weinstein sentenced in NY trial, Holi Festival is held

Thursday: Invitations sent out for the 2020 U.S. Census

Friday: Feb. 2020 U.S. consumer sentiment index released

Wonder Women

Sunday was International Women’s Day - a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women - and although it’s a day late, we couldn’t sit back and miss out on all the fun. Women have made great strides over the past decades, highlighted by a few notable trends in…

The Workplace

Women now hold more than half of all payroll jobs in America for only the second time in history.
In 2019, college-educated women outnumbered college-educated men in the U.S. labor force for the first time ever.
Last year saw the largest annual gain in global board seats held by women since 2009.

Politics

A record 131 women (out of 535) currently serve in the 116th U.S. Congress, 16 more than the previous record set by the 115th Congress.
Six women were candidates for the presidency in 2019 - the first time in history more than two women competed in the same party's primary process.
Nevada became the first state to have women hold a majority of state legislative seats last year (32 of 63, or 50.8%).

Athletics/Entertainment

40% of the top-grossing films in 2019 featured female protagonists, up from 11% in 2011.
Women’s participation in the Olympic Games has more than doubled since the 1970s.
Pioneering female coaches in men’s U.S. professional sports include Becky Hammon (SA Spurs - assistant coach), Katie Sowers (SF 49ers - offensive assistant coach), and Alyssa Naken (SF Giants - assistant coach).

So… what are people saying?

Questions about the rating system we use?
Learn more

Share Today's Dose of Discussion

New White House Chief of Staff

President Trump reassigned Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to a role as special diplomatic envoy to Northern Ireland on Friday. Mulvaney, who spent a little over a year in the position, will be replaced by Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), the fourth chief of staff this term.

LEFT CENTER → NPR	RIGHT CENTER → New York Post

Alleged Coup in Saudi Arabia

As first reported by the WSJ (no $ needed), Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrested two rival princes and dozens of their supporters for allegedly planning a coup against the crown prince. Guards detained Saudi King Salman’s younger brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef, on Friday.

LEFT CENTER → Al Jazeera	RIGHT CENTER → Wall Street Journal (no $)

Coronavirus Update

Global cases rose above 110,000 with more than 3,800 deaths. According to the NYT, the latest number of U.S. confirmed cases is 544 (across 34 states) with 22 deaths.

World:

Italy has placed more than 16 million people in its northern region under quarantine until April 3.
Iran on Sunday reported 49 new deaths from the virus - the country has reported 194 total deaths out of 6,566 confirmed cases.

U.S.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown both declared separate states of emergency Sunday, as the state-wide number of confirmed cases rose to 106 (NY) and 14 (OR) respectively.
Vice President Mike Pence in a press conference late Friday said the CDC would distribute more than 1.1 million tests by the end of the weekend.

SXSW Crossed Out

South by Southwest (SXSW) - an annual Austin, TX tech, film, and music conference - has been canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. Other notable events postponed or canceled due to the virus include:

Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O
Geneva International Motor Show
Mobile World Congress
Facebook’s F8 Developer Conference

More: Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter have all pledged to pay their hourly workers full rates during the outbreak, even if they’re asked to stay home due to the virus.

Oil Change

Oil prices fell as much as 30% in early trading Sunday night after Saudi Arabia announced massive price discounts (along with production increases) beginning next month. Previously agreed upon OPEC+ production cuts are set to expire at the end of March, leaving Saudi Arabia and Russia - who have thus far been operating under capacity - theoretically free to pump as much oil as they want.

What is OPEC+? A coalition of 24 of the world’s major oil-exporting nations, OPEC+ member nations control a combined 75% of the world’s oil reserves. Learn more here.

A Quick Bite

Short-video streaming platform Quibi announced its full lineup of 7 to 10-minute shows on Friday, exactly one month ahead of its official launch. Quibi also announced it is offering an initial 90-day free trial, but customers will have to sign up on the company’s website before the April 6 launch date - afterward, rates are $4.99 per month with ads and $7.99 per month without.

That’s What I’m Talkin’ About

There are more than 7,000 different languages currently spoken by people across the globe - however, hundreds of languages are considered to be endangered, and at risk of dying out entirely.

Along with over 1,000 volunteers, Daniel Udell - co-founder of Wikitongues - has made it his mission to interview native speakers of endangered languages, preserving them for future generations in his comprehensive online library.

The Brother’s New Groove

Some people take immense pride in always keeping a promise, no matter what - including University of Akron student, Mendl Weinstock, who in 2015 made a unique guarantee to his sister.

At his sister’s wedding earlier this month, Mendl came through on his 5-year-old promise - he showed up with a real-live llama in tow, with the animal dressed to the nines in a custom-sewn tuxedo and yarmulke.

Sister From Another Mister

When two girls grow up together and remain best friends their entire lives, they often refer to each other as ‘sisters,’ despite the fact that no blood connection is shared between them.

Ashley Thomas and Latoya Wimberly have been best friends for the past 17 years, but the two recently discovered that they were in fact actual long-lost sisters who share the same biological father.

TOGETHER WITH

Want to ignite your business? All it takes is a spark...

88% of people can recall the company and brand on a promotional product. A stylish t-shirt, trendy coffee mug, fashionable backpack - the list goes on and on.

Luckily...
Firesign is here to help. They create, design, and supply a wide variety of branded merchandise and apparel. But they also take it a step further: Firesign’s personalized service makes it feel like they're an extension of your team.

And just like your team...
Firesign provides ideas and solutions to help ignite your business. We are more than just tchotchkes, we light fires! Because what is life without a little spark?

Best of all, you’ll receive 15% off your first order if you mention the DONUT at checkout. Ignite your business today by visiting our website or calling (678) 574-2461.

Closing the Book… book publisher Hachette has canceled plans to release Woody Allen’s memoir following backlash due to accusations that Allen sexually abused his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow.

Enormous Explosion… last week, astronomers documented the largest explosion ever seen in the universe.

The time has come… various health experts and studies have called for an end to daylight savings Time due to widespread sleep disruption and increased health risks.