Keeping It Light

Coronavirus Updates

Global cases rose to nearly 6.4 million yesterday, with more than 377,000 deaths. The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose to nearly 1.86 million, with 106,912 confirmed deaths.

• Spain on Monday reported no COVID-19 deaths over the past 24 hours for the first time since March.
• Hong Kong police on Monday banned the annual Tiananmen memorial vigil for the first time since the 1989 massacre, citing COVID-19 concerns (the event was scheduled for Thursday).
• Michigan Gov. Whitmer lifted the state’s stay-at-home order on Monday, allowing restaurants to open for dine-in services next week. See where your state stands on reopening here.

Nationwide Protests

More than 7,200 people were arrested over the weekend as protests spread to 100+ cities.

• A Minnesota county medical examiner report released yesterday ruled George Floyd’s death a homicide that occurred in police custody. A private autopsy commissioned by Floyd’s parents (released earlier in the day) found his cause of death to be asphyxiation from sustained pressure.
• The National Guard deployed 12,000 more Guardsmen to 23 states and D.C. on Monday, bringing the total number of activated Guardsmen to 67,000 - the most in U.S. history.
• New York City imposed an 11 p.m. curfew on Monday, joining more than 40 cities as protests continue. Take a city-by-city look at what’s happening amid the widespread unrest.

Putin Sets Date For Constitutional Referendum

Russian President Vladimir Putin set a nationwide vote on constitutional changes for July 1, after the original April 22 vote was postponed due to COVID-19. The proposed changes would allow Putin to serve two more six-year terms if reelected. Russia’s Supreme Court and parliament have already endorsed the changes, which could potentially keep Putin in power until 2036.

More: We’ve previously covered Putin’s political rise to power and subsequent reign as leader of Russia, swapping between the president and prime minister positions to comply with the term limits imposed by Russia’s constitution.

Protests & The Coronavirus Effect

• Uber, DoorDash, Lyft, & Postmates all suspended their services in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and downtown Los Angeles at the request of local officials.
• Starbucks said it will further cut employee hours to match the reduction of in-store operations due to COVID-19.
• Read the memo sent by Robert F. Smith, head of private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners and the richest black man in the U.S., to his staff regarding the current racial unrest in America.
• Moderna announced the first participants have been dosed with its vaccine candidate, marking the start of its Phase 2 trial.

Proof Of Identity

Facebook last week said it will begin to require profile pages on its platform with large followings in the U.S. to verify their identity. The company also said profiles with sizable audiences that display a pattern of inauthentic behavior (and often go viral) will be asked to complete identity verification or face reduced distribution of their viral posts.

More: President Trump last week signed an executive order targeting protections for social media platforms, though experts say the order is unlikely to survive legal scrutiny.

The Game Is Afoot

Zynga on Monday announced the acquisition of Turkish mobile game company Peak Games for a price of $1.8 billion, half in cash, and half in stock. This is the second time Zynga has made a major Peak Games purchase - in 2017, it acquired the company’s mobile card games business for $100 million.

More: Peak Games’ top two titles - Toon Blast & Toy Blast - together total more than 12 million daily active users.

Turn Of The Century

Due to record high unemployment, food banks in Minnesota and North Dakota have experienced a 900% increase in food insecurity since the beginning of the pandemic. Remembering the long lines that stretched out of soup kitchens during the Great Depression, 99-year-old World War II veteran and Minnesotan Mickey Nelson is taking steps toward helping his food-insecure countrymen.

Inspired by British centenarian Tom Moore – a fellow veteran who raised $37 million for the UK’s National Health Service by walking 100 laps in his garden – Mickey is celebrating his 100th birthday by walking 100 miles to raise money for the Salvation Army’s feeding programs. The initiative has raised over $42,000 since the veteran began walking in May.

Mow-town

Although the city of Detroit boasts over 300 public parks, many of them are unusable – mangled by overgrown vegetation and buried in overwhelming amounts of litter. The city simply does not have the resources to maintain all of its green spaces.

Armed with mowers and weed whackers, the Detroit Mower Gang (a group of local lawn care lovers) have emerged as the city’s unofficial groundskeeping team. Seeking to make the parks accessible for children to play in, members collaborate to spruce up unruly parks – even participating in annual 12-hour mowing competitions where the winner earns a belt.

Lost and Hound

Pet lovers who foster animals know how easy it can be to grow attached to the strays they care for as they await a forever home. For Seneca Krueger, experiencing the adoption of Zelda - a beloved German shepherd mix she had fostered for seven months - was heart-wrenching. Even more devastating was a call ten days later that the dog had run away.

After 97 days missing, Zelda reappeared, having traveled 30 miles to find her way back to her foster mom. Upon learning of the reunion, Zelda’s adoptive family granted full ownership of the persistent pooch to Seneca.

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