Dose Of News Useful Today

Monday, May 4th

A New Hope

Good morning and May the Fourth be with you. We’re happy to hear that, for the most part, our readers are doing well - a majority of the answers to last Friday’s Sentiment poll fell in the ‘glass-half-full’ category.

Here’s hoping that your glass only continues to fill. If it's not, we're always here to help - just let us know. Onward and upward.

Daily Sprinkle

"A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall."

- Serena Williams

This Week at a Glance

Monday: Senate reconvenes, Supreme Court begins teleconference hearings

Tuesday: Cinco de Mayo, National Teacher Day

Wednesday: National Nurses Day

Thursday: Weekly unemployment report

Friday: April jobs report, the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender to the Allies

Coronavirus: Fact or Fiction (Part 7)

With the coronavirus outbreak dominating recent news coverage, it can be difficult to parse through and identify sources of misinformation. Here’s part seven of “Fact or Fiction,” where we compile a list of frequently asked questions - or inaccurately made statements - and set the record straight (One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six):

Will There Be A Second Wave Of Coronavirus?
Uncertain, But Likely Yes - Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci said: “As we get into next season, in my mind, it is inevitable that we will have a return of the virus, or maybe it never even went away.” A University of Minnesota study published Thursday laid out three possible scenarios for the future of the pandemic, including one with a vicious second wave this fall (similar to the 1918 Spanish Flu). The study recommends that government messaging emphasize the concept that the pandemic will not be over soon.

What Is The State Of Testing In The U.S.?
6.8 Million Tests Conducted To Date - Trump administration officials last week said they expect the U.S. to have the capacity to test 2 million individuals per week by the end of May. Top health experts have estimated the capacity to conduct between 3 million and 4 million tests per week is needed before most Americans can safely go back to work.

COVID-19 Was Man-Made
False - The WHO on April 21 said that the available evidence indicates COVID-19 was not manipulated or produced in a laboratory. The U.S. Intelligence Community on Thursday released a statement concurring with the WHO’s assessment. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said there was “enormous evidence” to support a theory that the virus, while not man-made, may have escaped containment at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, though no evidence has yet been made available.

What Is The Status Of States That Have Reopened?
Too Early To Tell - Several states have made moves to reopen, but epidemiologists have said any potential aftershocks from reopening will not be seen in the data for some time (the virus has an incubation period of up to two weeks, and the testing process adds additional time before numbers can be reported). For an in-depth look at each state’s reopening status, check out this link.

How Long Can COVID-19 Stay On Surfaces?
It Depends - There have been two studies to date (The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine) regarding the virus’s survivability on inanimate surfaces. The results:

Plastic & Stainless Steel: 3 to 7 days
Copper: Up to 4 hours
Paper & Glass: Up to 4 days
Cardboard: 24 hours
Wood: Up to 2 days

It’s important to note that while the virus can be detected on these surfaces after a period of time, its viability is unknown due to a number of external conditions.

On A Positive Note…
Before you go further down the newsletter, here are a few stories about people coming together during this difficult time:

Homeless woman and her dog aided by kindness of strangers

Charlotte Observer

Outpouring of community support helps keep health care workers' spirits up

Des Moines Register

'The biggest gift I've ever gotten': Restaurant owner gets a hand after helping so many others

KGW8

Any act of kindness makes a difference': How a Gallatin girl is helping healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic

The Tennessean

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Coronavirus Updates

Global cases rose above 3.56 million yesterday with more than 248,100 deaths. The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose to nearly 1.20 million with 68,589 confirmed deaths.

Spain on Sunday recorded its lowest one-day death toll and case increase since March 18.
The FDA on Friday authorized Gilead’s drug remdesivir for emergency use in treating coronavirus patients. The company donated 1.5 million doses to the U.S. government, which will begin to ship to hospitals early this week.
Russia on Sunday reported 10,000 new cases - its highest one-day total to date.
The Blue Angels on Saturday flew over D.C., Baltimore, and Atlanta to show appreciation for frontline health care workers (video).
Italy is set to reopen manufacturing and construction on May 4 after its almost eight-week lockdown.
The FDA on Sunday authorized an antibody test by Swiss drugmaker Roche that reportedly features near-perfect accuracy, with more than 100 million tests to be produced monthly by the end of 2020.

Kim Jong Un Makes Public Appearance (Per State Media)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first appearance in 20 days on Friday to celebrate the opening of a fertilizer plant (per NK state media). Shortly after his supposed appearance, shots were fired between North and South Korea along the demilitarized zone - no casualties have been reported from either side.

More: Kim Jong Un’s absence from multiple national events, in addition to unconfirmed reports of poor health, led many to believe that the North Korean leader had passed away.

Even more: Kim Jong Un is not the first to pull a disappearing act without explanation. Here’s how two other North Korean leaders inspired premature reports of their demise.

LEFT CENTER → Business Insider	RIGHT CENTER → Washington Times

Venezuela Stops Colombian Mercenaries

The Venezuelan government on Sunday reportedly stopped a group of Colombian mercenaries on its Northern coast, killing eight members and detaining two others. President Nicolás Maduro claimed the mercenaries were coming to murder government leaders, while members of the opposition party dismissed it as a staged incident.

More: Read how an Ex-Green Beret with an army of 300 volunteers attempted to raid military bases in Venezuela last year in hopes of overthrowing Socialist President Nicolás Maduro.


NEUTRAL → United Press International	NEUTRAL → Reuters

The Coronavirus Effect

Berkshire Hathaway reported a Q1 loss of almost $50 billion on Saturday, though the company’s operating profit rose 6% to nearly $6 billion.
See the effect of COVID-19 on U.S. agriculture (photos), as farmers have been forced to destroy billions of pounds of produce and euthanize millions of animals due to supply chain disruptions.
Market research firm IDC said Q1 smartphone sales suffered their worst year-over-year decline ever, with shipments falling nearly 12%.
Uber reportedly plans to require riders and drivers to wear face coverings while using the platform in certain countries, including the U.S.
Spirit Airlines on Sunday joined several major airlines in requiring all passengers and crew to wear face masks on their flights starting May 11.

House Guest

The House Judiciary Committee on Friday sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, requesting that he appear to testify before the committee or face a subpoena. A WSJ investigative report regarding Amazon’s use of third-party seller data published last month appears to show that Amazon lied to Congress in testimony last summer.

Virgin Flight

Virgin Galactic successfully completed the first glide flight of its VSS Unity spacecraft in New Mexico on Friday. The company has not yet set a date for the first commercial flights - which will take passengers to the lower reaches of space - but has previously said it hopes to do so later this year.

Senior Moment

After Palm Beach County High School’s graduation was canceled, a new social media campaign took the city by storm. Dubbed ‘adopt-a-senior,’ this campaign ensures each of the local high school’s 600 seniors is showered with gifts (such as school supplies and texts of encouragement).

While much of the participation is from adults, the campaign was started by teenager Ka’Nedria Boldin, who has taken on the equivalent of a full-time job to facilitate hundreds of adoption pairings.

Mutual Fund

As an Asian American, 15-year-old Valerie Xu has been on the receiving end of recent discriminatory acts due to the coronavirus outbreak. Rather than let those acts get her down, Valerie has used them as an inspiration to show her support for health care workers in a time of crisis.

In March, Valerie began to raise money to purchase masks for a local hospital - her effort soon went viral. The high school freshman raised nearly $6,000, donating more than 12,000 masks to the community.

It Pays To Be Kind

Caffe sospeso - an Italian term for ‘suspended coffee’ - was first popularized after the end of WWII (it essentially means ‘paying it forward’). Now a more generous version, dubbed ‘suspended shopping,’ is sweeping the nation, just as it begins to lift COVID-19 restrictions.

With many of their fellow countrymen out of work due to the virus, Italians everywhere have gotten into the habit of paying grocery tabs for anyone unable to afford to feed their families.

TOGETHER WITH

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🐝 Bee-ware… Asian giant hornets (also called ‘murder hornets’) have been spotted in the U.S. for the first time ever, with four confirmed sightings in Washington state. These hornets rely heavily on honeybee colonies as a food source, and reportedly kill up to 50 people per year in Japan.

🏋️ Ain’t No Mountain Stronger… Hafthor Bjornsson (“The Mountain” from Game of Thrones) set a new world deadlift record on Saturday by lifting 501 kg (1104 lbs). Here’s the video.

🧠 The Sixth Sense… while artificial intelligence can be famously proficient in many areas, scientists are still struggling to make seemingly-simple connections. Take an inside look at their journey to give computers common sense.