Coronavirus Update

Global cases rose above 422,500 yesterday with more than 18,500 deaths. The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose to nearly 55,000 with 782 confirmed deaths.

• India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the country’s 1.3 billion citizens to remain confined to their homes for the next 21 days.
• The 2020 Summer Olympic Games have been officially postponed “to a date beyond 2020 but no later than summer 2021.”
• FEMA chief Peter Gaynor told CNN on Tuesday that the Trump administration would be invoking the Defense Production Act for the first time to acquire ~60,000 test kits and 500 million masks.
• Health officials reported the first child in the U.S. under the age of 18 has died from the virus in Lancaster, California.
• The White House has asked those who have been in NYC recently to self-quarantine for the next 14 days.
• Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks all closed their gates to the public on Tuesday.

U.S. Pulls $1 Billion In Aid To Afghanistan

The Trump administration pulled $1 billion in aid earmarked for Afghanistan late Monday, shortly after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo returned from an unannounced diplomatic visit to the country. The U.S. threatened further withdrawal of support if Afghanistan’s two self-proclaimed presidents did not come to an agreement on an inclusive government.

More: The two political rivals each held their own inauguration as president following a bitterly disputed election. This comes after the U.S. & Taliban struck a peace deal late last month contingent on participation from the Afghan government.

Hawaii Issues (Then Cancels) Tsunami Watch

A tsunami watch was issued (and later canceled) for Hawaii after a massive earthquake struck near the Kuril Islands in eastern Russia, a few hundred miles north of Japan. The earthquake initially registered at 7.8-magnitude, but the U.S. Geological Survey later gave it a magnitude of 7.5.

The Coronavirus Effect

• The Dow rose more than 11% (S&P +9.3%, Nasdaq +8.1%) to post its best day since 1933, as futures for Wednesday stayed flat in overnight trading.
• The release of DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 has been pushed back from June 5 until August 14.
• The owners behind the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils reversed their initial decision to cut employee pay by 20% due to the sports hiatus.
• Streaming services across the board have seen an uptick in subscribers compared to last week - Disney+ leads the pack with a 300% increase in new subscriptions.
• Ford, GE, and 3M announced a partnership to produce respirators, ventilators, and face shields to combat the virus.
• The past couple days has seen a large number of partnerships between tech companies and federal and local governments - check out a few examples here.
• YouTube announced that videos on the site will default to standard definition quality worldwide in an attempt to limit bandwidth.

Teaming UP(S)

UPS has partnered with German drone maker Wingcopter to develop a new type of delivery drone to put to use in the U.S. and global markets. This is UPS’ first partnership with a drone manufacturer since its aviation department received FAA approval to build a ‘drone airline’ last October.

Private First Class

Mozilla is partnering with Scroll to release the beta version of a subscription-based, privacy-first Firefox web browser extension. A portion of the membership - $2.99 per month for the first 6 months, $4.99 afterwards - will go towards funding content writers and publishers directly.

Foster The People

Robbie, 8, had spent years in foster care before he was adopted by Maria and Charles Gray. Having suffered severe physical and emotional injuries in the past, Robbie was slow to warm up to the couple but immediately connected with their two rescue dogs.

Slowly but surely, Robbie came out of his shell with the help of the two sweet pups. After one of them passed away, Robbie launched a campaign that has inspired thousands of others to help out with rescue dogs at their local shelter.

On, Wisconsin!

After finding themselves overwhelmed with hundreds of animals in need of new homes due to the recent coronavirus crisis, the Wisconsin Humane Society made a plea to the local community asking for help in their time of need.

Just one week later, the shelter made an incredible announcement: every single animal (319 rescues in total) had either been adopted or fostered!

Surprise Savior

In recent weeks, the threat of infection has driven many senior citizens indoors, with the forced social isolation adding another level of danger to those with preexisting health conditions.

Amy McDonald has made it her mission to check in on her elderly neighbors each day to make sure they’re alright. One day, she noticed one woman answered the door looking sickly so she called 911 - Amy’s quick thinking ended up saving the woman from a surprise heart attack.

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