Dose Of News Useful Today

Monday, June 15th

‘Tis The Season

Good morning. If you woke up in a panic yesterday, never fear. Father’s Day is still a week away. Here’s a list of several notable sales, along with potential gift ideas. Happy shopping!

Daily Sprinkle

“Every day may not be good... but there’s something good in every day.”

- Alice Morse Earle

This Week at a Glance

Tuesday: Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivers semi-annual report to Senate

Wednesday: English Premier League returns; Powell delivers House report

Thursday: U.S. jobless claims

Friday: Juneteenth

A Closer Look At COVID-19 In The U.S.

Last week, the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased in 22 states, remained level in eight, and decreased in 20 (See how cases are changing in your state). Overall, the number of U.S. cases rose ~6.7% since last Monday.

Who Is Dying From COVID-19?

Nearly 80% of U.S. deaths have been individuals aged 65+, according to the CDC.
About one-third of U.S. deaths reportedly come from nursing home employees and residents, despite only 10% of cases occurring in such facilities.
According to NYC Health data, individuals with known underlying medical conditions accounted for 99% of reported deaths prior to May 12 (though in ~25% of deaths, the existence of underlying conditions is unknown/under investigation).

What’s Next?
All 50 states are at least partially reopened (state-by-state reopening procedures). Climbing diagnoses and fears of a second wave have delayed some local reopenings.

Nashville will remain in Phase Two of its reopening process for the near future, as the number of cases over the past two weeks remained elevated.

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Protest & Coronavirus Updates

Global cases rose above 7.98 million yesterday (up ~400k from Friday), with over 435,100 deaths (up ~12.3k). The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose past 2.16 million (up ~70k), with 117,853 confirmed deaths (up 1,837).

Beijing reentered partial lockdown after discovering a cluster of COVID-19 cases over the weekend.
The CDC released new "Deciding to Go Out" safety guidelines on Friday. You can read them here.
Hundreds of thousands of people participated in protests across more than 2,000 U.S. cities and towns between May 26 and June 9. See the NYT interactive article on how BLM protests touched America.
A Jefferson Davis statue in Frankfurt, Kentucky, was removed on Saturday - hidden inside, workers found a bottle of bourbon and a newspaper copy dating back to 1936.
Atlanta's Police Chief Erika Shields resigned on Saturday after the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks outside a Wendy's Friday night. You can read more about the incident here.

Colombian Detained In Africa On U.S. Charges

Colombian businessman Alex Saab - an associate of Venezuelan President Maduro - has been detained in the West African country of Cape Verde on U.S. money-laundering charges. Last July, South Florida prosecutors charged Saab with creating a global network of businesses to launder hundreds of millions of dollars for Maduro's government.

More: Cape Verde does not share an extradition treaty with the U.S., though officials are reportedly considering the option to expel Saab and allow him to be picked up by U.S. authorities.

LEFT CENTER → Al Jazeera	RIGHT CENTER → WSJ (No $)

ACA Gender Discrimination Protections Altered

The Department of Health and Human Services reversed an interpretation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act that protected transgender patients from discrimination in healthcare on Friday. HHS said they will now enforce sex discrimination protections "according to the plain meaning of sex as male or female."

LEFT CENTER → NYT (No $)	RIGHT CENTER → New York Post

The Coronavirus Effect

More than 1,300 Chinese medical suppliers registered to sell PPE in the U.S. used a bogus company as their American representative in violation of federal law, according to a WSJ investigative report.
AstraZeneca signed a contract with European nations for up to 400 million doses of its potential vaccine, which is in development at the University of Oxford.
These five charts track the recovery of the U.S. economy as lockdowns are phasing out.

But Wait… There’s More!

India’s Reliance Jio Platforms announced additional investments from two U.S. private equity firms on Saturday. TPG agreed to purchase a 0.93% stake in Jio Platforms in exchange for $600 million, and L Catterton accepted a 0.39% stake for $250 million. Both deals value Jio Platforms at $65 billion.

More: TPG and L Catterton became the eight and ninth investors to back Jio over the past eight weeks. The largest mobile network operator in India has raised $13.7 billion in exchange for a combined ~22.3% stake in the company.

Express Success

China’s central bank granted American Express permission to process local currency transactions on Saturday, making it the first foreign payment network allowed to do so. Beijing approved AmEx as part of a joint venture with Chinese fintech company Zhejiang LianLian Technology. The two companies are required to begin bank card clearing services within six months.

Stand By Me

Joyce and Don Huffman of Indianapolis, IN, were married on July 13th, 1952, and have been together for more than 67 years. After raising two children and four grandchildren, the couple was happily living in their retirement community until May 1st, when Joyce tested positive for COVID-19.

After five weeks in quarantine – the longest they have ever been apart – Joyce and Don were reunited in a surprise ceremony. Surrounded by their caregivers' applause, the two 90-year-olds kissed and cooed romantic expressions of glee to one another.

Their Hearts Were Set

The adoption process for rescues at Oklahoma’s Broken Arrow Animal Shelter operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. After the shelter’s Facebook post about a border collie with a heart-shaped patch of fur on her chest was shared more than 27,000 times, one family was determined to be the ones to take home the lovable dog.

Kyle Johnson and his family arrived at the Broken Arrow at 8:30 a.m. last Wednesday morning. They then proceeded to camp outside the shelter for 27 straight hours to be the first in line when the dog came up for adoption. Kyle named the peculiar pooch Luna and plans to give her to his sister-in-law as a wedding gift.

Momma, I Made It

University of Missouri graduate Melinda Oliver battled with exhaustion and discouragement while studying for the LSAT - the law school entrance exam. The 25-year-old co-owns a nonprofit yoga studio in Washington, D.C., and works full-time for a marketing agency to pay off her undergraduate student loans.

In a video that went viral on Twitter last Tuesday, the diligent student surprised her adoptive mother with the news of her acceptance into the DePaul University College of Law with a $40,000 scholarship. Her mother’s jubilant reaction caught the attention of Daniel Franchise, a lawyer who offered to pay for Melinda’s textbooks and airfare for the upcoming semester.

TOGETHER WITH

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🧪 CO₂-Ya Later… chemical engineers from UNSW Sydney have developed a new technology that converts carbon dioxide emissions into precursors for viable industrial chemicals.

🚀 Third Time’s A Charm… on Saturday, SpaceX launched its third rocket in the past two weeks, successfully delivering 58 Starlink satellites and three Planet SkySats into orbit. If you’re curious about Starlink’s service availability in your region, check this out.

💰 Don’t Kill My Bribe… officials in Ukraine have seized a $6 million cash bribe - the largest in the country’s history - intended as a payoff to two top anti-corruption officials.

🎥 Academic Review… the organization that hands out Oscars committed to developing diversity and inclusion guidelines films must meet to be eligible for an award. The rules will not apply to films competing for Academy Awards at the next ceremony in early 2021.

Fast Pass

The fastest speed limit in the U.S. (85 MPH) can be found in which state?

A) North Dakota
B) Wyoming
C) Texas
D) Nevada

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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Dose of Knowledge Answer

C) Texas

Texas State Highway 30 features a 40-mile stretch between Austin and San Antonio where the speed limit is 85 MPH. Several other states have stretches of road with speed limits of up to 80 MPH - MT, NV, OK, SD, UT, & WY.