Thursday, April 2nd, 2020
China’s Deception, Zantac Warning & Kobe’s New Kids Book
(+ Internet Overload)
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Care.com. Go to www.Care.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...
Fighting COVID-19
The U.S. recorded its deadliest day since the coronavirus outbreak began. With more than 1,000 new deaths yesterday, the pandemic has now killed more than 5,000 Americans. The White House estimates it will get worse, projecting 100,000 to 240,000 deaths by mid-June. That said, the U.S. Surgeon General says those numbers could improve if we all do our part. He says everyone should take part in social distancing for the next 30 days. Then, some places may be able to ease restrictions, while other places may have to ramp them up. Meanwhile, the Homeland Security Department says the government’s emergency stockpile of medical supplies is nearly exhausted due to the coronavirus outbreak. The U.S. is getting help though. Russia sent a cargo plane full of ventilators, masks, respirators and other equipment. At the same time, the White House decided to pause certain contributions to other countries to makes sure the U.S. isn’t shipping out medical supplies that are needed here.
U.S. Case Count: Johns Hopkins
New White House Coronavirus Model: NBC News, Politico
Protective Gear Nearly Depleted: Washington Post, Reuters
No FDA Approval on 2-Min Test: AP News
Russia Sends U.S. Medical Supplies: CBS News, FOX News
Trump Suspends PPE Shipments Abroad: The Hill, NY Post
Financial Fallout
A new report from the United Nations found the global economy could shrink by almost 1% this year. That’s a big change from the pre-pandemic forecast of a 2.5% growth. Also yesterday, Wall Street had another rough day, with stocks closing 4% lower. Today, the U.S. Labor Department will release its weekly jobless report. Last week, we saw the largest single-week increase in U.S. history with 3.3 million new unemployment claims reported. This week’s number is expected to be even higher. Still, some businesses are booming during crisis, like gun stores. FBI figures show 3.7 million gun background checks were done in March. That’s the most for a single month since the system began in 1998.
UN Economic Report: United Nations, AP
Stock Market: Washington Post, The Hill, WSJ
Jobless Report: NY Times, Politico
Gun Background Checks: FBI, Newsweek, Axios
Intelligence Report on China Coronavirus Lies
There is reportedly more evidence China misrepresented the number of total COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country. U.S. intelligence officers told Bloomberg News they found the Chinese public record was intentionally deceptive and China changed the way it counted cases several times.
Read More: Bloomberg, Fox News
President Trump Threatens Iran
Tensions could be ramping back up between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump tweeted that Iran or an Iran-backed militia was planning a “sneak attack” on American troops or assets in Iraq. He hasn’t cited any specific evidence yet, but he did threaten Iran, saying it would “pay a heavy price” if an attack was carried out.
Read More: NY Times, Washington Post, Twitter
T-Mobile-Sprint Deal Finalized
T-Mobile officially owns Sprint. The merger, now formally complete, combines the third and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers, creating a bigger competitor to AT&T and Verizon. The deal is valued at more than $30 billion. T-Mobile now says it won't raise prices for at least three years, along with other promises to regulators.
Read More: The Verge, Engadget, ABC News, Cnet
FDA Orders Zantac be Pulled
The FDA says a popular heartburn drug needs to be pulled off shelves immediately. It found Zantac, and generic versions of it, contain a chemical known as NDMA. When the drug was first tested, the amount of NDMA did not exceed the FDA’s standard. However, if the medicine is stored in a warm place, the chemical can increase over time to a level that’s linked to cancer. The FDA recommends not taking any Zantac you may have at home. Instead, medications like Pepcid, Prilosec and Nexium don’t contain NDMA.
Read More: FDA, CNN, AP, NBC News, STAT News
YouTube’s TikTok Rival
YouTube is apparently planning to reveal a rival to the popular video-sharing app, Tiktok. Google-owned YouTube will reportedly launch their version, called “Shorts,” by the end of the year. Users will apparently be able to share short videos using a catalog of licensed music within the new app.
Read More: The Information, CNET, 9to5Google
New Children’s Content
Country music icon Dolly Parton will be using YouTube and Facebook to help entertain your cooped-up kids. The Grammy winner is going to start virtually reading bedtime stories to children in a series called “Goodnight with Dolly.” You can watch the stream for free every Thursday at 7 p.m. eastern for the next 10 weeks. Families are also getting some much-needed entertainment from J.K. Rowling. The author of the Harry Potter book series just launched an online initiative called “Harry Potter at Home.” It features quizzes, games and other activities. Speaking of reading, the newest installment of Kobe Bryant’s book series is out. It’s called The Wizenard Series: Season One. Bryant worked on it before he died in January, collaborating with author Wesley King. The new book is about a basketball player hoping to become the best, but the gym where he trains is working against him in magical ways.
Dolly Parton Reads Bedtime Stories: CNN, NPR, Fox News
Harry Potter Hub: CNN, AP, HarryPotteratHome
Kobe Bryant Book Released: NBC News, Rolling Stone
Thing to Know Thursday:
Internet Overload During this Pandemic
Read more: Speedtest Tracking, The Verge, NYT How Stuff Works, Slate
Guest: Doug Suttles
Doug Suttles is the CEO and co-founder of Ookla, the Seattle-based worldwide leader in fixed and mobile broadband network intelligence, testing applications and related technologies.
Ookla’s portfolio includes the flagship Speedtest platform, which provides invaluable insights into the performance, quality and accessibility of networks worldwide; and Downdetector, the premier real-time services monitoring platform.