Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020

Late-Night Debate, 2020 Census & Cluster Hiring

All the news you need in 10 min:

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Story Summaries

All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...

Rather read? Here's a quick overview of what we're talking about:

Late-Night Debate: 
The debate about the ground rules for the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump went on for about 12 hours, starting yesterday afternoon and wrapping up around 2am today. The set rules mean each side will have 24 hours total -- spread out over three days -- to make their opening arguments. The Senate ultimately agreed to allow all the evidence House Democrats have already gathered, but voted to block Democrats’ efforts to subpoena new witnesses and related documents for now. Another vote will likely happen after the opening arguments.
Read more: Politico, NYT, The Hill, NBC News, Washington Post

New Virus Confirmed in U.S.: 
The first case of a new virus has been confirmed in the U.S. The man is from the state of Washington and recently returned from a trip to China. He's reportedly doing well. The new strain of coronavirus originated in China and has sickened hundreds of people there. Health officials are keeping a close eye on the outbreak, and the World Health Organization will decide today whether it should be declared a public health emergency.
Read more: CNN, Washington Post, NBC News

2020 Census Begins: 
The U.S. has officially started the 2020 census, which counts every person in the country every 10 years. This year's census started in remote Alaska this week, where officials will need to go door-to-door and count people in-person since some areas don't have access to phones or the internet. The rest of us can expect to get instructions on how to participate in March. The census is mandated by the Constitution and the population results can impact the 2022 elections and beyond.
Read more: AP, NPR, Reuters AP

Southeast Gets Cold: 
Temperatures in the Southeast are expected to be in the 30s today -- which is pretty cold for Florida. Freeze warnings and chill advisories are in effect. It’s even cold enough iguanas may start falling out of trees. The cold temps immobilize them, but they usually recover.
Read more: Washington Post, NBC News, USA Today

Uber Rule Changes: 
Uber is testing a new feature that lets some California drivers set their own rates if they take riders to and from airports in Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, and Sacramento. The reason? A new California law says Uber drivers should be classified as employees rather than independent contractors. Uber argues if they’re able to set their own rates, they can operate independently. Testing starts this week.
Read more: Engadget, WSJ

Phone Addiction Apps: 
Google just launched three new experimental apps designed to cut smartphone addiction. One has users print out a phone-sized paper envelope to seal their phone and only be able to make calls. Another feature shows how much time you’ve spent on your phone right on your home screen.
Read more: The Verge, Engadget, Android Central

Venmo's New Stickers: 
Venmo is partnering with other companies to add custom, branded animated stickers or GIFs to transaction notes (in addition to the common emojis). All the animations are tailored to the type of transactions made. The goal is to make the app more fun and make Venmo more attractive as a payment option at brick-and-mortar stores. The GIFs are available to some users today and everyone by the end of this month.
Read more: TechCrunch, The Verge

Starbucks Sustainability: 
Starbucks is adding more plant-based food options to its menu. It’s part of a plan to become more environmentally friendly over the next ten years. By 2030, the company also plans to cut carbon emissions in half in its operations, conserve or replenish half of the water it uses, and cut half of the waste it sends to landfills..
Read more: Mashable, Starbucks

MLB Hall of Fame: 
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has two new members: Derek Jeter and Larry Walker. Yankees legend Derek Jeter was only one vote short of being a unanimous pick. Larry Walker played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals in his career.
Read more: ESPN, CBS Sports

Work Wednesday - Cluster Hiring: 
Today we’re talking “cluster hiring”: when companies hire applicants in groups. Applicants are brought in together and split into groups; those with the most potential are hired together. The idea is that if a group of strangers can work together to produce solid work in a short amount of time, they could continue to do so when hired. We could start seeing this more in the business world as a way to build stronger teams.
Read more: WSJ