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EPA Rolls Back Methane Emission Regulations

The Trump administration on Thursday announced the roll back of Obama-era regulations designed to reduce methane emissions. Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules, oil-and-gas producers would no longer be required to have systems and procedures to detect methane leaks in their systems.

DOJ Accuses Yale Of Admissions Discrimination

The Department of Justice said that Yale University has discriminated against Asian-American and white applicants as part of a two-year investigation into the school’s admissions practices. In a letter to the school, the DOJ gave Yale two weeks to agree to several demands - including an agreement not to consider race or national origin in its upcoming admissions cycle - or face a lawsuit. A spokeswoman for Yale said the school has no plans to change its practices, which “absolutely comply with decades of Supreme Court precedent.”

Tropical Storm Josephine Forms In Atlantic

Forecasters for the National Hurricane Center said a new tropical storm, named Josephine, formed in the Atlantic Ocean Thursday morning. Tropical Storm Josephine is the tenth named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, breaking the previous record for earliest formation of a J-named storm (Aug. 22, 2005). In an average hurricane season, the tenth named storm doesn’t form until Oct. 19.

Worth Noting: Imperial College London released the results of a >100,000-person, non-peer-reviewed study indicating ~3.4 million people in the UK had COVID-19 by the end of June.

Say Goodnight To Fortnite

Apple and Google both removed Fortnite from their respective app stores on Thursday in response to an update by developer Epic Games that allowed users to pay Epic directly for in-app purchases. Both the App Store and Google Play Store require developers to use their methods of payment when offering in-app purchases for a game downloaded from their stores, and take a 30% fee. Fortnite remains available for direct download on Android, but not iOS.

The Big Apple Is Shrinking

The number of empty apartments available for rent in Manhattan surpassed 13,000 for the first time in the 14 years since data started being collected, according to a real estate industry group. July saw the largest month-to-month fall in rental rates in nearly a decade (10%), with landlords reportedly now offering an average of 1.7 months of free rent as extra incentive to attract tenants.

Jobs Report Card

U.S. unemployment claims fell for a second straight week according to the Labor Department, which reported a seasonally adjusted 963,000 new applications on Thursday. The number of new weekly jobless claims fell below one million for the first time since mid-March.

Worth Noting: NCAA President Mark Emmert on Thursday said the organization will not hold D1 fall championships this year (which covers every college sport except FBS football).

One off-the-wall thing: The NFL’s Seattle Seahawks cut rookie CB Kemah Siverand this week after he was reportedly caught on video trying to sneak a female visitor disguised as a player into the team hotel.

Going By The Book

Emma Smrecker, a French teacher from Oklahoma, was flipping through a used book in 2018 when she came across an old café receipt left pressed between the pages. Struck by the manner in which subtle memories are preserved through the passing of books from one person to another, Emma began obsessively scavenging for abandoned bookmarks in used bookstores.

Last summer, after discovering a 13-year-old old photo strip of a father making silly faces with his young daughter, Emma launched an intensive media campaign to find the pair, successfully returning the pictures to them this month. Emma previously found a 125-year-old missing letter preserved in a used book and delivered it to the letter writer’s surviving family.

Employee Of The Month

A stray dog named Tucson Prime visited a Hyundai car dealership in Brazil each day for years, gradually winning over the facility staff's hearts. Over time, the dealership's manager, Emerson Mariano, began leaving food and water out for the homeless pup, eventually letting Tucson live in the building full-time – on the condition that he work for the company.

After officially adopting Tucson, Emerson hired the dog as a "car consultant," a position with the critical responsibilities of greeting customers, attending meetings, and keeping the staff company. The Hyundai team also created an Instagram page for Tucson, where the dedicated dog keeps his more than 129,000 followers up to speed on his new life at the dealership.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

As the country experiences its eighth month fighting COVID-19, assisted living facilities continue to limit the number of visitors to protect their vulnerable residents from the spread of the virus. This extended reduction of social contact has left many seniors feeling isolated and under-stimulated.

To combat the epidemic of loneliness, assisted living facilities in four states have partnered with the company Ageless Innovation to provide seniors with realistic robotic pets, which offer the companionship of a cat or dog without the responsibilities of caring for an animal. According to the company, the automated animals (which feel and sound like their living counterparts) are 70% successful in reducing feelings of isolation in seniors.

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