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| | Dose Of News Useful TodayWednesday, April 22nd |
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| | Down To Earth
| Good morning. Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, first conceived and organized by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. You may not be able to venture into the great outdoors this Earth Day, but there are several special events you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home: |
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Daily Sprinkle | “Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.” -Hazrat Inayat Khan |
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 | The ‘Phase 3’ Stimulus Bill In Action | On March 27, President Trump signed into law a bipartisan ‘Phase 3’ stimulus package, called the CARES Act, which allocated more than $2T in relief to Americans. Let’s Get Down To Business
As we’ve previously covered, the bill provided $877 billion in aid split into two programs for small businesses (under 500 employees) and large businesses (over 500 employees). - The $500 billion for large business aid mostly went towards generating loans through the Federal Reserve, with the airline industry also receiving $58 billion. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has previously indicated that taxpayers will be compensated for some of the relief given to airlines.
- The $350 billion SBA loan program ran out of money last Thursday. The measure has come under fire after large chains including Potbelly’s and Shake Shack secured $10 million loans (plus $20M for Ruth’s Chris), though Shake Shack later returned the money.
Cash Me Outside
The Phase 3 bill also designated $300 billion towards one-time cash payments to Americans who make less than $99,000 per year, with an additional add-on for each dependent. But according to a former IRS commissioner, that’s the easy part. - Millions of other qualified Americans who aren’t signed up for direct deposit will have to wait for paper checks, which the Treasury Department only recently began to mail out at a pace of 5 million per week.
- If you’re still waiting on a paper check, find out exactly when you can expect to receive it by visiting this link.
Looking Ahead
The Senate on Tuesday came to a bipartisan consensus on a “Phase 3.5” economic stimulus bill. The measure provides $310 billion in additional funds for the bankrupt SBA loan program, along with $100 billion towards healthcare providers. The House is expected to vote on the bill when it returns to session on Thursday. So… what are people saying? |
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 | Coronavirus UpdateGlobal cases rose to nearly 2.56 million yesterday with more than 177,400 deaths. The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose to more than 819,800 with 45,316 confirmed deaths. - Missouri became the first state to sue the Chinese government over how it handled the coronavirus crisis, though law experts say the suit is likely to fail.
- Hundreds of protesters gathered in the state capitals of NC, MO, and AL - recent polls indicate ~20% of Americans share their anti-lockdown sentiment.
- Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday became the 35th state to extend the closure of K-12 schools until the end of the academic year.
- Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the state will transition to a ‘safe-at-home’ order once its current stay-at-home order expires this coming Monday.
- German officials on Tuesday announced the cancellation of Oktoberfest for the first time since World War II.
- The FDA yesterday authorized the first coronavirus test that allows patients to collect their own sample at home. Produced by LabCorp, the tests will initially only be offered to health care workers.
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| Intelligence Committee Verifies Russian InterferenceA bipartisan investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee has unanimously validated the Jan. 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The findings of the 2017 report - which the bipartisan Intelligence Committee described as accurate, thorough, and untainted by political bias - show a concerted Russian effort to help Donald Trump win the election. | |
Amnesty International Publishes Execution ReportAccording to a review published by Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia executed a record 184 people in 2019, a step up from 149 executions the year before. Amnesty’s review pegged China as the world’s leading executioner (though its exact number remains a state secret), with Iran second and Saudi Arabia third. | |
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 | The Coronavirus Effect- United Airlines announced plans to sell more than 39 million shares of stock amounting to a value of ~$1 billion.
- Major U.S. stock indexes fell roughly 3% on Tuesday, while overnight futures traded up.
- Private aviation company JetSuite has grounded its entire fleet and furloughed crews. Customers say they have not heard about their deposits made with the company, which total $50 million or more.
- Snap, Netflix, & Chipotle all announced much stronger revenue numbers in their earnings reports than analysts expected.
- Patreon on Tuesday laid off 30 workers (13% of its workforce), while home renovation platform Houzz likewise dismissed 155 employees (10% of its workforce).
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To The MaxAT&T-owned WarnerMedia on Tuesday announced their new streaming service, HBO Max, will launch on May 27, the Wednesday after Memorial Day weekend. At a price of $14.99 per month, HBO Max will include all content from HBO, as well as original content and popular reruns including “Friends” and “South Park.” |
That’s So MavenGeneral Motors on Tuesday said it will close down its Maven car-sharing business, with operations expected to cease by this summer. A GM spokesperson said the closure was partially related to the coronavirus pandemic, but also due to the business’ lack of profitability. More: Founded in 2016 to unite several of GM’s existing car-sharing programs under a single brand, Maven was offered in 17 U.S. cities at its peak prior to Tuesday’s announcement. |
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 | Joy To The WorldMany elderly citizens have been forced into social isolation due to the coronavirus outbreak, with many missing their families and other loved ones they’ve been unable to see. A group of high school students from Calgary, Canada launched a toll-free hotline (1-877-JOY-4-ALL), where seniors can dial in and hear a friendly voice offer up their choice of stories, jokes, poems, or even motivational messages. | |
Tip The ScalesThe recent stay-at-home order has forced Colonial Steakhouse in Pine Bluff, AR to transition to a takeout model and reduce operations to just three days a week, with financial pressure on the restaurant beginning to mount. Things took a turn for the better last week when one generous customer shocked the Colonial Steakhouse staff by tipping his entire stimulus check (a $1,200 amount), causing the employees at work to burst into tears of joy. | |
IKEA DIY: Meatball EditionWhile many restaurants are still able to maintain at least some level of operation during the extended quarantine, meatball lovers looking for a fix have been unable to enjoy the taste of IKEA’s Swedish meatballs - until now. The furniture chain recently published a recipe for an at-home alternative to their world-famous meatballs for devoted fans to enjoy while in quarantine. Bon appétit! | |
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 | 💼 Work In Progress… learn which coronavirus-inspired changes to the workplace will remain in place even after the threat of the virus passes, according to 30 top tech execs, VCs, and analysts.
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 | College GameDay | America’s Electoral College consists of how many electors? A) 545
B) 517
C) 560
D) 538 | (keep scrolling for the answer) |
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| Dose of Knowledge Answer | D) 538
As you may have gathered from Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, the Electoral College consists of 538 electors, with a majority of 270 electoral votes required to become the U.S. President.
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