Dose Of News Useful Today

Thursday, June 25th

I'll b There For You

Good morning. With the movie industry grappling with a potential return to work amid COVID-19, one film has snagged a lead actress immune to such worries. A $70 million science fiction film, called b, recently cast an AI robot named Erica to star in the movie.

Daily Sprinkle

“Make yourself proud.”

– Peter W. Smith

The System to Rival GPS

China launched the final satellite in its global navigation system, named Beidou, on Tuesday.

A deeper dive…
Beidou is a $10 billion endeavor that’s intended to compete with the internationally popular Global Positioning System (GPS) - which is owned by the U.S. government. A team of Chinese engineers originally conceived the idea for Beidou in the 1980s.

In 2000, China created an experimental Beidou navigation system consisting of 3 satellites (one backup).
China upgraded the network in 2009, using dozens of more advanced satellites to expand its global reach.
As of late last year, roughly 70% of Chinese smartphones were equipped to support the technology. With Tuesday’s launch, China finalized the fully global Beidou navigation system.

What’s next?
Beidou will increase Beijing’s autonomy in line with President Xi Jinping’s Made in China 2025 plan to boost the economy and decrease reliance on foreign technology.

While China currently has twice the number of satellites in orbit as Russia (363 to 169), both countries are still far behind the U.S. (1,327).
Tensions between the two space agencies spiked in March, when NASA rebuked China after rocket debris crashed in West Africa following a failed Chinese launch. Beijing has denied NASA’s allegations.

China’s near-future space plans include sending a robot to Mars this summer (the country’s first trip to the red planet) and sending their first crewed mission to the Moon.

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Protests & Coronavirus Updates

Global cases rose past 9.51 million yesterday (up ~170k from yesterday), with over 483,800 deaths (up ~5k). The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose above 2.46 million (up ~40k), with 124,235 confirmed deaths (up ~770).

The Department of Defense activated roughly 400 unarmed D.C. National Guard Members on Wednesday, placing them on standby to protect monuments in the city.
NY, NJ, & CT imposed a 14-day quarantine for travelers entering from regions with spiking COVID-19 cases. In Hawaii, the DOJ sided against the governor’s 14-day quarantine rule for travelers, deeming it unconstitutional.
A grand jury indicted all three men involved in the death of Ahmaud Arbery on malice and felony murder charges yesterday.
Lincoln County, Oregon has exempted people of color from its face mask requirement in an attempt to prevent racial profiling.
Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s police reform bill yesterday, calling it “inadequate” and highlighting opposition from key civil rights groups.

Court Orders Flynn Case Dismissed

A federal appeals court ordered the dismissal of former national security advisor Michael Flynn’s criminal case yesterday. The move comes after the DOJ filed a motion last month to dismiss the charges against Flynn stemming from the Mueller investigation. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017, but his sentencing was delayed after he later withdrew his confession.

More: Separately, Attorney General William Barr agreed to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee in late July regarding potential political interference in the sentencing of Trump associate Roger Stone.

LEFT CENTER → The Guardian	RIGHT CENTER → WSJ (No $)

2020 Election Update

Voters in VA, KY, and NY cast their ballots in primaries on Tuesday, with runoffs in several other states. Official results are still rolling in, but here’s what we know so far:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) won her primary by ~70%.
24-year-old Madison Cawthorn defeated a Trump-endorsed candidate in NC’s GOP House primary. If elected, Cawthorn would be the youngest member of Congress in modern history.
Rep. Eliot Engel was defeated in NY’s 16th district primary, meaning a new House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman will be chosen next session.

The Coronavirus Effect

Apple will temporarily close seven stores in the Houston, TX area due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. Last week, the company took the same approach at locations in FL, NC, SC, & AZ.
Speaker maker Sonos announced plans to cut 12% of its employees (~175 workers), citing challenges faced due to the pandemic.
Nonprofit XPRIZE launched a $5 million contest, called ‘Rapid Reskilling,’ where contestants will attempt to retrain a cohort of lower-skilled workers over a period of 60 days, and then place them in more sustainable occupations.

Bayer’s Billions

Bayer said it will pay more than $10 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits that allege the company’s herbicide, Roundup, causes cancer. Bayer still faces roughly 25,000 claims from plaintiffs who did not agree to be a part of the settlement.

More: The German pharmaceutical giant acquired Roundup when it purchased Monsanto in 2018, but later eliminated the Monsanto name while maintaining their brands.

CSI: Amazon

Amazon announced a new “Counterfeit Crimes Unit” in charge of identifying the sale of knock-off goods on its platforms. The unit, which is made up of former federal prosecutors, data analysts, and investigators, will aid law enforcement in pursuing criminal action against perpetrators.

Lasagna Legend

When Michelle Brenner of Gig Harbor, WA, was furloughed from her job in March due to the pandemic, she sought emotional solace in her favorite comfort food – lasagna. Realizing how effectively the homemade dish lifted her spirits, the lifelong lasagna-lover began cooking up a way to spread satisfaction to others in her community.

Following her grandmother's original recipe, Michelle used her $1,200 stimulus check to buy enough ingredients for 60 pans of lasagna for local healthcare workers and struggling single parents. Spurred by her initial batch's success, Michelle has now made and donated more than 1,200 trays of her authentic cuisine.

The Gift Of Music

Ayden Morgan was born with rare brain cancer that caused him to go blind by age three. Without his sense of sight, Ayden developed a deep appreciation for music over the past seven years. He shared this sentiment with his favorite country music singer, Kelsea Ballerini, when he met her after a concert in April 2019.

Moved by his love of both making and listening to powerful music, Kelsea sent her young fan a brand new white electric guitar with the name 'Ayden' engraved in Braille. In a Facebook video shared by his mother, Ayden is moved to tears as he receives the star's empowering gift.

Working In Concert

Beong-Soo Kim and his wife, Bonnie Wongtrakool, of Pasadena, CA, are not professional musicians. While they occasionally play the cello and the violin on their front porch for leisure, they spend most of their time focusing on their work as a lawyer and a portfolio manager, respectively.

Nevertheless, Kim and Bonnie’s casual instrumental practice sessions have transformed into spontaneous classical music concerts, drawing crowds of dozens of neighbors. The phenomenon, which began as a stress reliever for the talented couple, has sparked unexpected comradery among community members, who thank Kim and Bonnie with cards and fresh fruit.

TOGETHER WITH

Are Your Construction Friends & Family Ok?

We are fighting daily to get everyone in construction paid what they earn in a timely fashion and give them peace of mind. You’d be surprised how difficult it is, even without a global pandemic!

In fact, we recently found that 50% of contractors and suppliers don’t get paid within a month of doing work - or even close to it. With a pandemic making it difficult to do new work, accessing every penny currently owed NOW is extra important.

Imagine asking your boss when your paycheck is coming just before rent’s due, and getting shrugged off or asked if you were really owed it at all. This is a reality for the construction industry and you can help us change it.

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🏥 Charity Case… for the past five years, Global Support and Development (GSD) - the secretive disaster charity founded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin - used super-yachts, drones, and a gigantic new airship to rapidly deliver humanitarian aid during high-profile disasters.

🎭 Faces In The Crowd… in what could be the first-ever case of its kind, a Michigan man was arrested for a crime he did not commit because of a faulty facial recognition match.

🚁 Get To The Choppa… as part of its next Mars mission, NASA is sending along an experimental helicopter to fly through the planet’s atmosphere. Learn more here.

❌📂 The Truth Is Out There… members of the Senate Intelligence Committee voted on Tuesday to require U.S. intelligence agencies to compile and release a public analysis of all data collected on “unidentified aerial phenomenon,” or UFOs.