The Big Three

By The Polls: Vaccine Edition

A nationwide Gallup poll released yesterday found that roughly 50% of Americans are willing to take an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine if it was available right now. The number represents an 11 point drop since the poll’s last edition in late August, in large part due to a 25 point drop in willingness from Democrats (compared to a 12 point rise in willingness from Republicans).

Trump's New Senior Ad Campaign

President Trump's re-election campaign launched a new "eight-figure" ad campaign explicitly targeting senior voters. A Trump campaign official said the campaign purchased national broadcast slots and more targeted efforts in ten battleground states -- AZ, FL, GA, ME, MI, MN, NV, NC, PA, & WI.

UK PM Unveils Lockdown Plan

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a new three-tier coronavirus lockdown plan yesterday. The proposed legislation, which applies to England but not the rest of the UK, uses infection rates to separate areas into medium, high, and very high alert levels, and would also place restrictions on businesses depending on the caseload in a particular area. Lawmakers will vote on the measures later today.

Worth Noting: A case study published in The Lancet on Monday confirmed that a Nevada man was infected twice with COVID-19 six weeks apart -- the fifth confirmed reinfection case worldwide and first in the U.S.

Facebook Denies Holocaust Denial

Facebook announced yesterday that it will update its hate speech rules to prohibit content that would attempt to deny or distort the Holocaust, effective immediately. The policy change is a reversal on Facebook’s 2018 decision not to strictly ban posts that featured Holocaust denial due to the possibility of users making unintentional mistakes.

Renovating The House Of Mouse

Disney revealed plans on Monday to centralize its media businesses into a single organization responsible for content distribution, ad sales, and streaming services. Effective immediately, production of new media material for Disney will fall under three groups: Studios, General Entertainment, and Sports. The company said the changes are part of its wider direct-to-consumer strategy.

Today’s Tech Talk

1. Amazon Prime Day began this morning and will last through midnight tomorrow. Initially scheduled for July, Prime Day gives Amazon Prime subscribers access to more than one million discounted items over 48 hours -- some of the best deals.
2. Apple is holding its online "Hi, Speed" event today at 1 p.m. ET. The company is expected to reveal this year's iPhone launch lineup, including a 5G compatible option and the phone’s first major exterior redesign since 2017. Dig deeper.

A Shot In The Arm

Jaines Andrades of Boston was working at a fast-food restaurant ten years ago when she received a job offer from Baystate Medical, a not-for-profit health system in Springfield, MA. Jaines, who was trying to earn some money while attending nursing school, was eager to be in proximity to patient care and was excited to accept a position within the organization.

Shortly after, the young medical student began working at Baystate as a member of the custodial staff. Nevertheless, last month Jaines was rehired by Baystate, this time as a nurse practitioner. The accomplished medical specialist, who had previously served as a nurse at the facility, takes pride in the values of integrity and humility instilled by her time cleaning the medical facility where she now treats patients. (Video)

Labor Of Love

When David Branscome, a professor at Florida State University, teaches his 180-person course in ancient mythology over Zoom each week, he is usually greeted by a sea of blank screens, as students opt to keep their cameras off during lectures. Despite this technological divide, David still attempts to make his young learners feel recognized and appreciated, bidding them heartfelt farewells at the end of each lesson.

Last week, the passionate professor received an unexpectedly endearing response after the day’s lecture, as one of his students signed off of the call by saying, “I love you.” Delighted by David’s authentic reaction to the remark, the other students in the class have now taken to ending each lecture by saying, “I love you” to their professor, recording the heartwarming practice on TikTok, where it has gone viral.

Call Of The (Re)Wild

Charlie Burrell was just 21 years old when he inherited his family’s 3,500-acre farming estate in West Sussex, England, in the late 1990s. The young Charlie was soon convinced that the land he had acquired was cursed, as more than 200 years of use had drained the soil of nutrients, making it nearly impossible to produce crops using conventional farming techniques.

Having just graduated from agricultural school, Charlie teamed up with his wife, Isabella, to attempt a revolutionary conservation technique to save the Burrell Family land. Through a process known as “rewilding,” over the past two decades, the Burrells have converted the area into one of the most biodiverse regions in all of Britain, filling in irrigation canals and bringing in native animals to return the land to a completely natural state. The land, which is now agriculturally bountiful, is also used for camping and wildlife safaris. (Video)

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?