Three’s Company

Coronavirus Updates

Global cases rose above 10.56 million yesterday (up ~170k from yesterday), with nearly 513,000 deaths (up ~5.6k). The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose above 2.72 million (up ~40k), with 130,005 confirmed deaths (up ~1.2k).

• The Treasury Department will not be extending the individual income tax-filing deadline for a second time. The final U.S. deadline remains July 15.
• NY, NJ, & CT added eight more states to their two-week quarantine order for travelers, bringing the full list up to 16 states.
• Arizona ordered the shutdown of all bars, gyms, movie theaters, and water parks in the state for at least 30 days, while Los Angeles County closed its beaches for the weekend of July 4th. See how cases are changing in your state.
• The EU reopened its borders to 15 countries starting today (not including the U.S.).

NY Judge Blocks Release Of Trump ‘Tell-All’

A New York judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the publication of a tell-all book by President Trump’s niece, Mary Trump. The book will not be released until after a July 10th hearing, where the fate of its publication will be decided.

More: John Bolton published his tell-all book last Tuesday (as ruled by a federal judge the week before) despite the Trump administration’s efforts to block it.

Supreme Court Rules On Religious School Funding

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Montana provision banning state taxpayer aid to church schools, claiming that it’s unconstitutional. The 5-4 ruling - which fell along party lines - found that states can’t exclude religious schools from programs that benefit nonreligious private schools.

More: The Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 that firing protections given to the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) placed an unconstitutional restriction on the president’s ability to oversee agencies of executive branches.

Protests & The Coronavirus Effect

• All three major U.S. stock indexes wrapped up their best quarter in over 20 years on Tuesday.
• Airbus said it plans to cut 15,000 jobs (~11% of the company’s workforce), citing COVID-19’s impact on the aviation sector.
• Cirque Du Soleil filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada, and furloughed its 3,500 employees.
• Adidas’s global head of HR announced her retirement after a group of employees filed a complaint against the company’s lack of diversity.
• The Senate unanimously agreed to extend the SBA’s authority to continue approving PPP loans until Aug. 8. The move came less than four hours before the PPP was set to expire with $130 billion still available for loans.

An Offer You Can Refuse

Postmates has received acquisition offers from Uber and an unnamed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), according to CNBC. A SPAC is a shell company with no operations that acquires private companies to transition them to publicly traded entities. Postmates had been planning an IPO before receiving the acquisition offers, and reportedly could still choose to pursue that path.

More Companies Unfriend Facebook

Chobani, Pfizer, and SAP on Tuesday joined the list of companies to temporarily suspend ad spending on Facebook. The move is part of the “Stop Hate For Profit” campaign organized by a coalition of civil rights organizations, including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, which began on June 17. So far, more than 240 companies have committed to halt advertising on Facebook.

More: Facebook on Tuesday announced it removed hundreds of accounts and groups associated with the far-right extremist movement known as “boogaloo.”

Once Upon A Time In Nollywood

In Hollywood, it can seem like a high-end project needs a multimillion-dollar budget and a cast of superstars to be successful. However, a group of enthusiastic teenaged boys in Nigeria defied that narrative by using a simple camera and upcycled props to catch the eyes of Los Angeles producers.

After sharing their homemade remake of the trailer for the movie Extraction on social media, brothers Babatunde, Muiz, and Malik Sanni, along with their cousin Fawas Aina, received a glowing review from Netflix themselves. The industry professionals were so impressed that they invited the young filmmakers to the Hollywood premiere of Extraction 2.

Hold Me Closer

Lucy Blaylock and Tori Holmes know that a warm hug from a loved one is one of the most valuable gifts a person can receive during a time of hardship. The girls - ages 11 & 13, and hailing from TN & NY, respectively - also recognize that it can be hard to carry out a cozy embrace while staying socially distant.

To recreate the affectionate comfort of a hug, both Lucy and Tori sew homemade fleece blankets for children and families suffering through emotional and medical hardships. Through their initiatives Lucy’s Love Blankets and Operation Starways, the sensitive seamstresses have made and given away a combined 600 blankets.

Flower Power

Bees are an essential part of our planet’s ecosystem, with many agricultural products relying on the support of the buzzing pollinators. Nevertheless, several species of bumblebee have experienced a 70% decline in their populations over the last century, due in large part to habitat loss from agricultural development.

UK brothers Mark and Paul Hayward have planted 81 acres of wildflowers on their pig farm to support the population of bees in their hometown of Suffolk, England. The flowers - rich in the nectar bees need to survive - can collectively feed up to one million of the honey-makers in a single day.

Are you too busy with the daily “fire drills” to tackle your to-do list? Prowess Project helps companies get stuff done by harnessing the skills of women. We have tapped into a pool of 3+ million “MBA moms” who have taken time off to raise a family and want to get back into the workforce. Prowess Project certifies this educated, experienced talent in project management, the latest technology and emotional intelligence. The untapped (wo)manpower then is matched with companies to provide skilled, vetted talent at a lower cost.

So, how can we help? We specialize in:

• Business operations
• Sales workflow build outs
• Social media & content marketing
• Project management

… and much, much more. Want info? Contact us.

OR, have a mom in mind who would like to join our talent pool? Send her here.