The Daily Valet. - 10/7/20, Wednesday

✔️ There's Just No Escaping This

Wednesday, October 7th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Tonight's debate will be more civilized, right?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

COVID Dominates the Campaign

The candidates push different views on how to handle the pandemic

President Trump’s hospitalization, and subsequent statements underplaying the virus again, have returned COVID-19 to the forefront of the presidential campaign, reports the Washington Post.

Even as an outbreak extended deeper into his White House staff, Trump continued to downplay its deadly nature and, though still currently infectious, vowed to attend next week’s second debate with Biden. Defying medical experts, he also insisted that the seasonal flu was far more dangerous, and he tweeted that he was “FEELING GREAT!”

Of course, many Americans aren’t feeling so good. Even if they’ve been spared the virus, the economic effects are crippling. Unfortunately, the president pulled the plug on ongoing coronavirus relief talks, putting off efforts to send more federal aid to households and businesses at least until after Election Day, reports the Wall Street Journal.

It was a surprise move that surprised lawmakers of both parties and sent stocks tumbling. And it came just hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of dire economic consequences if Congress and the White House don’t provide additional support to households and businesses disrupted by the pandemic. Jonathan Chiat, in the Intelligencer, called it the single greatest political blunder in the history of presidential elections.

Meanwhile, last minute arrangements are being made to fortify the Vice Presidential debate that will take place tonight in Salt Lake City. After some back-and-forth, Mike Pence's team agreed Tuesday night to allow the Commission on Presidential Debates to erect a plexiglass barrier between the candidates.

Sen. Kamala Harris' team, however, wanted the plexiglass, in part, because of the ongoing spread of coronavirus inside the White House. Yesterday, Trump's senior adviser and speechwriter, Stephen Miller tested positive . And his wife, Katie Miller, serves as communications director to Vice President Pence.

↦ FYI: The coronavirus has now claimed more American lives than the total number of U.S. soldiers killed during historic conflicts in Vietnam, Korean, Iraq, Afghanistan and World War I combined.

Congress Releases Tech Antitrust Report

The report says the tech giants run the marketplace while also competing in it.

Lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives accused Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple of "abuses of monopoly power" in a 449-page report released Tuesday, reports CNET.

After a 16-month investigation, the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee criticized the companies for buying competitors, preferencing their own services, and holding outsized power over smaller businesses that use their platforms.

According to The Verge, the report lays out a number of concrete policy recommendations that could fundamentally change how the tech industry operates. It urges Congress to consider passing commercial nondiscrimination rules that would make large companies offer equal terms to companies selling products and services on their platforms. It recommends barring certain dominant platforms from competing in "adjacent lines of business" where they’d have a huge advantage.

Axios reports that lawmakers repeatedly and pointedly refer back to the intent and enforcement history of existing antitrust laws, framing the proposals as naturally evolving out of the existing antitrust regime, rather than totally overhauling it. They say the new standards would protect not just consumers, but also workers, entrepreneurs and independent businesses.

↦ What's Next: The committee plans to take up consideration and adoption of the report when Congress's recess ends after the November elections.

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The Former CEO of Zappos Is Buying a Lot of Houses. But Why?

Tony Hsieh has purchased 71 bathrooms in less than three months

Ex–Zappos chief Tony Hsieh is buying up millions of dollars' worth of real estate in the small ski town of Park City, Utah, reports Curbed. And no one seems to know why.

After two decades as CEO, Hsieh quietly stepped down from the online shoe retailer this past August without much fanfare or even a formal announcement.

Of course, Park City is used to wealthy people snatching up properties. But according to public records, the scale and timeframe of Hsieh's purchases is unprecedented. After buying a large home in March, he bought three more houses and a vacant lot in July, then four more homes in August. All of this—worth at least an estimated $39 million—was purchased through a Nevada entity called Pickled Investments, which Hsieh manages.

This is most likely his next pet project. It's not the first time he's tackled something like this. In 2013, he relocated his Amazon-owned shoe company to Las Vegas's downtown district, investing roughly $350 million of his own capital to turn the rundown area north of the Strip into a hot spot with shipping-container buildings, pyrotechnic sculptures and a llama-themed Airstream trailer park. Or maybe it's just a really big retirement gift for himself.

↦ Dig Deeper: Inc. has the story on Hsieh stepping aside to support philanthropic causes and entrepreneurs who are working for social good.

Virtual Reality Is Better Than Our Reality

No surprise there, right?

With many borders closed and flights grounded, we're all looking for ways to venture to better places, and while streaming and gaming are at an all-time high, Highsnobiety reports that virtual reality is your real ticket out of the mess that is 2020.

And the new Quest 2 by Oculus (now available for pre-order) is just the headset to help you escape. It sports significant improvements to graphics, processing speeds and sound quality over the previous generation. But the really exciting part is that there is an absolutely huge range of apps and games available for the new headset—from shooters and Star Wars titles to immersive boxing, climbing and fishing experiences.

According to the Economist, computer-generated realities are becoming ubiquitous these days. They point to Travis Scott's Fortnite concert and a slew of weddings that have been hosted virtually. VR headsets have also been the only way for people to visit museums and experience art during lockdowns, as artists use the isolation for inspiration in new and interesting ways.

↦ FYI: Cinematographer Morton Heilig patented his invention of the first VR machine, named Sensorama, in 1962.

In Other News

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