Thursday, February 27th, 2020
Pence Takes Over, Sharapova Retires & 'Bachelor' for Seniors
(+ Talking about the Newly-Formed Space Force)
All the news you need in less than 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...
Coronavirus: Pence Takes Over, Community Spread:
Vice President Mike Pence is taking over the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. Also, for the first time, there are more new cases outside of China than in it, and in the U.S., a case in northern California is the first case thought to be from 'community transmission' in America (no direct links to overseas travel). Experts say Americans don’t need to worry, but should be prepared.
Read more: NPR, The Hill, WSJ, Wired, NYT, CNN
Shooting at Molson Coors:
A 51-year-old Molson Coors employee stormed the brewery’s large campus in Milwaukee yesterday and ultimately killed five of his co-workers before turning the gun on himself. No word yet on a possible motive. It’s one of the worst shootings in Wisconsin’s history.
Read more: AP, USA Today, CBS News
U.S. Homes Sales Surge:
New home sales in the U.S. hit a 12-year high in January. It’s a positive sign for the economy, especially at a time when the coronavirus is hurting other aspects of economic growth. New home sales jumped to the highest since 2007 thanks to mild weather and lower mortgage rates from the three interest rate cuts last year. That said, there aren’t a ton of properties on the market, which means prices are going up.
Read more: CNBC, Reuters, AP
Maria Sharapova Retires:
Tennis legend Maria Sharapova is retiring after a 19-year professional career. She turned pro at 14 years old and won five Grand Slam titles. Things started to go downhill in 2016 when she failed a drug test for a banned substance and was suspended. Later, shoulder injuries made it tough for her to have a comeback. She wrote an essay in Vanity Fair to make the announcement...
Read more: Vanity Fair, ESPN, CBS Sports
Walmart Health Clinics:
Walmart is expanding its low-cost health care centers with clinics that will offer checkups, teeth cleanings, lab tests, therapy, and more. Patients will be told how much their visit will cost before they’re seen, and those prices are often half of what other places might charge. Walmart hasn’t said how many of these clinics it plans to open, but the plan could compete with Walgreens and CVS.
Read more: Bloomberg, Axios
Facebook Bans Coronavirus Ads:
Facebook is banning ads that promise a cure or guaranteed prevention for the coronavirus, especially when the ads create a sense of urgency about it. Amazon is also taking action by removing all fake products from its site promising to treat or cure the new coronavirus.
Read more: Business Insider, Mashable, Reuters
Earth's Mini-Moon:
Astronomers recently discovered an asteroid in Earth's orbit, and it's apparently been caught in Earth's gravity for three years. It's now considered a 'mini-moon.' Of about a million asteroids we know about, this is only the second one to stay in Earth’s orbit.
Read more: CNET, Forbes
Bachelor Senior:
The Bachelor is casting for a new version of the show with senior citizens. The popular ABC show revealed a casting call this week for active and outgoing single men and women -- 65 and older -- who are looking for romance.
Read more: The Wrap, CNN
Thing to Know Thursday:
SPACE FORCE
Read more: CSIS, Air Force Times, Space.com
Guest: Todd Harrison
Todd Harrison is the director of the Aerospace Security Project and Defense Budget Analysis at CSIS. As a senior fellow in the International Security Program, he leads the Center’s efforts to provide in-depth, nonpartisan research and analysis of space security, air power, and defense funding issues.
He teaches classes on military space systems and the defense budget at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a class on the defense budget at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing, and a member of the Defense News Advisory Board.