Friday, March 20th, 2020
“Stay at Home,” Internet Overload & Movie Marathon
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by www.Blinkist.com/news and www.MagicSpoon.com/newsworthy
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...
'Stay at Home' Order & The Economy
California’s governor issued a “stay at home" order until further notice. It means, starting now, people in the state should only leave their homes when necessary and non-essential businesses will be closed. Exercising outside and getting food or medical care is still OK. With so many restrictions in place around the country, more people are now out of work. The number of Americans filing new jobless claims surged by 70,000 last week, and an economist told the AP he predicts that number to hit a million or more in the next few weeks. That said, a bi-partisan group of Senators will meet with members of the Trump administration to negotiate details of a $1 trillion stimulus package.
CA “Stay at Home” Order: AP, LA Times
Rise in Jobless Claims: NYT, ABC News
Markets Stabilize: NPR, CNBC
Travel Warnings & Restrictions
The U.S. State Department is urging Americans not to travel abroad until the new coronavirus pandemic subsides. It issued the highest-level travel warning. Meanwhile, President Trump could soon announce the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to all non-essential travel. The U.S. is reporting the most confirmed cases in North America. That number is nearing 14,000 and is expected to go up more as more testing kits become available.
Read More: State Department, CNN, Politico, Reuters, Johns Hopkins
Italy Death Toll & Medical Shortages
Italy now has more deaths connected to COVID-19 than anywhere else in the world. It now has reported more than 3,400 deaths. That’s even more than China, which has a population that’s 20 times larger than Italy. In China, things are looking up a bit. For the first time since January, China reported zero new local cases of COVID-19. Back in the United States, health care workers are facing a shortage of masks, surgical gowns and eye gear to protect them from the virus. If the number of cases keeps growing, there won’t be enough hospitals to admit all the patients, so the military is preparing to step in. Army officials say they’ll soon deploy a couple mobile field hospitals. Two navy hospital ships are already preparing to take on hospital overflow. Meanwhile, Carnival says cruise ships will be available to serve as temporary hospitals, too.
Italy’s Death Toll: NYT, Washington Post
More Makeshift Hospitals: CNN, Fox News, AP, KIRO
Promising Treatments
President Trump says the FDA will fast-track potential treatments for COVID-19. Two drugs already approved for other purposes are under review for COVID-19 patients. One is a Malaria drug. The other is designed to treat Ebola. Since they aren’t yet approved for the new coronavirus, there could still be months of research ahead.
Read more: NBC News, ABC News, NIH, The Verge
Presidential Race Updates
Connecticut is delaying its primaries from late April to June. The state’s governor said it’s to protect the health of the public. Also, Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has dropped out of the presidential race. She endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden instead. Now that she’s out, only two democratic candidates are left: Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Connecticut Delays Primary: Axios, The Hill
Tulsi Gabbard Drops Out, Back Biden: NBC News, USA Today
Stepping Up To Help
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he might use his now closed car and solar panel factories to start making medical equipment, like ventilators, to send to hospitals in low-supply. GM and Ford are considering the same thing. Also, TV medical dramas are donating their stash of healthcare gear to hospitals. Shows like The Resident and The Good Doctor have handed over extra masks, gloves and gowns, so doctors can stay protected while treating patients. Also, Rosie O’Donnell is bringing back her talk show for one night, but this time, it will be live-streamed for charity. It will raise money for performers who’ve been put out of work amid the coronavirus outbreak. The show will be streamed this Sunday at 7p.m. ET.
Factories to Make Ventilators: Engadget, ABC News
TV Shows Donate Gear: Mashable, CNN
Rosie O’Donnell Charity Show: Hollywood Reporter, Variety
Digital Overload & Netflix
As more people need to connect online-only, Slack (the popular chat application for workplaces) added 7,000 new paid customers in the last month and a half. Also, telehealth companies are reportedly overwhelmed. They’re getting a backlog of patients and working to upgrade their tech systems to handle it all.
To help Internet providers handle the extra traffic, Netflix is reducing its video quality during peak watching hours, so it doesn’t use too much data. It’s only doing this in Europe for now over the next 30 days.
Slack Sees Boom: TechCrunch, Business Insider
Telehealth Services: STAT News
Netflix Switch to SD: TechCrunch, Engadget, BBC
Movie Marathon & More
One of the most recognized film festivals in the world is now on hold. Cannes was postponed from mid-May to sometime in June or July. Also, more movie release dates are being pushed back. The new Minions movie is the latest big release to be postponed. So, Hallmark is filling the void by holding a movie marathon this weekend. Starting today, it will air 27 of its “Countdown to Christmas” films.
Also, Nickelodeon is rolling out new content to keep kids occupied. It launched a site filled with tips, ideas and video content.
Cannes Film Festival Postponed: AP, NYT
New Minions Movie Delayed: WaPo, Variety
Hallmark Plans Christmas Movie Marathon: ABC News, Parade
Nickelodeon Launches New Content: Deadline, CNN
Feel Good Friday: Generous Tip
Some people are being extra generous during this tough time. A customer at an Ohio restaurant left a $2,500 tip for the staff. Timing couldn’t have been better, since the restaurant was just ordered to close. The restaurant wanted to give him credit, but the man chose to stay anonymous.
Read More: NBC News