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| | Dose Of News Useful TodayThursday, May 14th |
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| | Get Your Goat | Good morning. If you’re stuck inside yearning for an adventure, just know you’re not alone. One daring goat in San Jose rounded up a few hundred pals and flew the coop for a night out on the town. Dare we say the G.O.A.T. among goats? |
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Daily Sprinkle | “If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.” – Steven Wright |
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 | The Crusade For A Cure | Global cases of COVID-19 rose to nearly 4.40 million yesterday, with over 296,000 deaths. Billions of people are currently under some form of restriction as scientists work to develop a treatment for the virus. A Shot In The Arm
The WHO Director-General on Monday said there are around seven or eight unspecified “top” candidates for a vaccine, out of more than one hundred currently being researched around the world. - The furthest-along candidate is a repurposed tuberculosis vaccine created by medical institutions from the U.S., Australia, and the Netherlands, which is currently recruiting volunteers for a Phase 3 trial in Australia.
- Moderna is recruiting volunteers for a Phase 2 study of its vaccine candidate after the FDA successfully reviewed its Phase 1 trial on COVID-19 patients in Washington state.
- Sinopharm - a state-owned Chinese pharmaceutical giant - last month said its vaccine candidate received approval for concurrent Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials following a review by China’s version of the FDA.
Treat Yo’ Self
On Monday, the FDA issued two new guidances intended to accelerate the development of products designed to treat or prevent COVID-19. The agency said there are currently 144 active clinical trials of potential COVID-19 treatments, and more than 450 additional programs still in the development stages. - Gilead is currently conducting two separate Phase 3 clinical trials of its failed Ebola drug, remdesivir, and released initial study results on April 29. The FDA issued emergency use authorization for remdesivir earlier this month.
- Researchers on Monday published a study on malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, showing no noticeable advantage for patients that took the drug paired with the antibiotic azithromycin. The FDA had issued emergency use authorization for the drug back in March but later cautioned against its use outside of clinical trials due to heart complications.
- Fujifilm - a Japanese healthcare and photography company - last month accelerated production of its antiviral influenza drug, Avigan, as it is currently the subject of at least 14 separate clinical trials.
On A Positive Note…
Before you go further down the newsletter, here are a few stories about people coming together during this challenging time: |
| | Oberlin, OH greenhouse donates $1 million in orchids to coronavirus frontline workers across country (photos) | Cleveland.com | John Krasinski Teams Up With “Office” Cast To Throw Couple Unforgettable Zoom Wedding. | Inspire More | Valley 101 podcast spotlights good news and acts of kindness during the COVID-19 pandemic | Arizona Republic | Retirees, isolated by virus, become DJs for new radio hour | Associated Press |
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 | Coronavirus UpdatesThe number of confirmed U.S. cases rose past 1.43 million with 85,197 confirmed deaths. - 113-year-old Maria Branyas - believed to be the oldest person in Spain - has recovered from COVID-19 after testing positive back in March.
- Los Angeles county beaches reopened on Wednesday for the first time in two months, though some restrictions remain in place.
- The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced they will investigate reports of hackers linked to the Chinese government attempting to steal U.S. COVID-19 vaccine research.
- Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was released from prison to serve the remainder of his 7.5 years from home due to COVID-19 fears. Manafort was arrested in 2019 and convicted as part of the Mueller investigation into Russian election meddling. (Left Center - BBC | Right Center - Detroit News)
- Washington D.C. on Wednesday extended its stay-at-home order until June 8. See where all 50 states stand on lockdowns and reopenings here.
- The FBI seized the phone of Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) after serving a search warrant at his residence on Wednesday. Burr is under investigation for violating Congressional insider trading laws.
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| Intelligence Director Releases Information ListMore than a dozen Obama-era government officials - including Joe Biden - are on a list of people who, before leaving office, requested intelligence information that may have potentially been connected to former national security advisor, Michael Flynn. The list of names was provided to Senate Republicans on Wednesday by acting Director of National Intelligence, Richard Grenell. More: The DOJ recently dropped the case against Michael Flynn, stating that a key interview was unjustified. Flynn was one of the subjects of the Mueller investigation, and in 2017 pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI.
Even More: A U.S. District Court judge last night released an order appointing a former federal judge to present arguments against the DOJ’s bid to drop the case.
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Special Elections In CA & WISpecial elections were held over the past two days to replace vacant House seats in Wisconsin and California previously occupied by Democrats. Tom Tiffany (R) claimed victory in WI’s 7th district on Tuesday, while Mike Garcia (R) won CA’s 25th district on Wednesday. | |
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 | The Coronavirus Effect- Major U.S. stock indices fell across the board Wednesday (Dow -2.2%, S&P -1.7%, Nasdaq -1.5%) but futures rose slightly in after-hours trading.
- Venture capitalist data shows a 25% decrease in investment activity over the past month-and-a-half, though the average deal size has remained relatively constant.
- Uber announced a set of new safety features to take effect starting Monday, including a tool that checks if drivers are wearing face masks before the beginning of each trip. The company also committed $50 million to obtain and provide PPE to its drivers.
- Condé Nast, a multinational media publisher, announced plans to lay off 100 U.S. employees and furlough about 100 more, a combined ~7% of its American workforce.
- Officials in Alameda County, CA late Tuesday said they had reviewed Tesla’s reopening plan for its factory located there, and held “productive discussions” with the company’s representatives. The factory opened on Monday in defiance of county ordinance.
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Join The Club, GrubhubAccording to the WSJ, Uber is discussing a takeover offer with Grubhub that values the delivery company at roughly $6 billion. The two companies are reportedly considering an all-stock deal that would value each Grubhub share at ~1.9 Uber shares, after previous reports indicated Grubhub was seeking a price of 2.15 Uber shares. More: The meal delivery industry by market share: Doordash - 42%, Grubhub - 28%, Uber Eats - 20%, Postmates - 9%. |
Trial by FireAmazon announced two new tablets yesterday: a Fire HD 8 entry model starting at $89.99, and an upgraded Fire HD 8 Plus model for $109.99. Amazon’s strategy is to sell the tablets - which start shipping June 3 - at low prices, and then profit once customers purchase digital content like books, movies, and TV shows on its platform. |
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 | You’ve Got A Friend In MeKevin Alton and Martel Hedge have been best friends since they were nine years old. Thirty years later, the two pals have teamed up to provide food support to their local Pittsburgh community during the COVID-19 crisis. Kevin and Martel started in March, making a few dozen lunch bags with sandwiches, chips, and juice for local youths in need. The two friends now lead a staff of 10 who provide the community with several hundred lunch bags each day, along with more than 100 hot meals for seniors. | |
I’m Lovin’ ItTwo-year-old Marekura's absolute favorite meal is a cheeseburger from McDonald's, so naturally, she requested it for her birthday dinner last month. Unfortunately, all McDonald's locations are closed in New Zealand, where Marekura lives with her brother and parents. Marekura's parents devised a plan to give their daughter her special birthday treat. They recreated an entire McDonald's drive-thru experience for their two kids, featuring entirely homemade food served in bags wrapped with the iconic golden arches. | |
Left To Their Own DevicesDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, most hospitals and healthcare facilities, such as nursing homes, are restricting visitor access for the near future. While these measures help prevent the spread of the virus, they may also lead to feelings of isolation among some patients. New Jersey resident John Lynch's father recently passed away in isolation. Following his death, John and his "Lunch with Lynch Foundation" collected and donated over 60 iPads and other devices to local healthcare facilities so residents can virtually visit with friends and family they've been restricted from seeing. | |
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 | Emoji Etymology | What does “emoji” mean? A) Picture character
B) Visual emotion
C) Digital face
D) Miniature symbol | (keep scrolling for the answer) |
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| Dose of Knowledge Answer | A) Picture character The word “emoji” comes from the Japanese 絵(E)文(Mo)字(Ji) which translates to ‘picture character.’ |
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