The Daily Valet. - 12/11/19, Wednesday
✔️ Changes in Trade and With Your Food Deliveries
Wednesday, December 11th Edition
Is it too early to start thinking about what I should order for dinner delivery?
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today's edition is presented by
Today’s Big Story
The New NAFTA
A revised North American trade pact gains rare bipartisan backing
Just hours after announcing two articles of impeachment (more on that below), House Democrats reached a deal with the White House to move forward with the president's revised North American trade pact.
House Speaker Pelosi said the modified U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would be an improvement over both the current North American Free Trade Agreement and a version of the trade deal initially proposed by the White House, reports the New York Times.
“We’re declaring victory for the American worker,” Ms. Pelosi said. “It is infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration.”
The revised pact includes stronger environmental and labor standards intended to help American workers and will require Mexico to raise its minimum wage. It also contains provisions aimed at creating more manufacturing jobs, reports the Wall Street Journal. A greater proportion of material used in cars and trucks, for example, will need to originate in North America to avoid duties.
The job creation component is an important factor in all of this because the projected future American job loss to automation can vary wildly, from 10% to 47%. But even the most conservative calculations threaten millions of workers.
The House will likely vote on the trade deal next week, but on Tuesday the revised USMCA was signed by U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexico’s undersecretary for North America, Jesús Seade.
↦ A Closer Look: CBS News offers a breakdown of what's in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Democrats Announce Two Articles of Impeachment
Next, the full House will vote on whether to send the impeachment to the Senate for trial
House Democratic leaders on Tuesday formally called for President Trump’s removal from office, asserting that he “ignored and injured the interests of the nation” in two articles of impeachment that charged him with abusing his power and obstructing Congress. As you've likely heard, it's only the fourth time an American president has found themselves in this position.
“We must be clear: no one, not even the president, is above the law,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler. Trump dismissed the articles of impeachment as “very weak” outside the White House Tuesday night, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The two articles are a narrower approach than some Democrats had hoped. “The idea is to keep it focused on Ukraine and maybe not get bogged down in more legal minutiae,” says Washington Post political reporter Aaron Blake. “Once you bring up the topics of bribery, once you bring up obstruction of justice from the Mueller investigations, they may be put in the position of trying to satisfy statutory requirements that those crimes carry.”
The full House is expected to vote on the articles next week before leaving for its holiday break. Then the Senate will conduct a full trial with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts presiding.
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Why Didn’t Scientists Predict New Zealand’s Deadly Eruption?
Six people are dead, more than 30 are injured and still others are missing
On Monday, New Zealand’s White Island volcano unexpectedly erupted, blasting a superheated plume of ash, sulfur gas and steam 12,000 feet in the air and blanketing the crater’s floor in powdered rock and debris.
The eruption left several tourists dead, many more injured—including two badly burned Americans—and an entire country rattled by tragedy.
But how did scientists not see such a big eruption coming? Wired explores the topic, consulting seasoned volcanologists who track and monitor tremor readings. Unfortunately, at present time, it's hard to see whether surface change equates to a higher risk of explosion. Which means these types of eruptions continue to be hard to predict.
GoFundMe Is Now Helping You Craft Your Medical Fundraisers
Helpful, yes. But a sad commentary on the current state of health care
GQ has a compelling story on the rise of crowdfunding for medical bills. At a time when 60% of all bankruptcies each year are caused in part by medical debt, more and more people are looking for alternative ways to pay for their health care.
An estimated 250,000 campaigns for medical bills go up annually, but not everyone gets the funding they need though. A large part of that is algorithmic—the more donations you get, the more likely other people are going to find your campaign and donate. It's something the New Yorker explored this summer: when it comes to crowdfunding for medical costs, whoever has the most heartrending story wins.
Which is why GoFundMe just published an explainer titled, "Six Cancer Fundraising Tips to Help You Raise More Money," meant to "help you find financial relief so you can focus on your health."
Health care activist Ady Barkan, who has ALS himself, condemned the widespread need for medical GoFundMes in a testimony delivered to Congress in April. "This is an absurd way to run a health-care system. GoFundMe is a terrible substitute for smart Congressional action."
↦ FYI: GoFundMe says contributors have raised more than $5 billion in donations in the nine years it's been in business.
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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The Foods You’ll Be Ordering In 2020
According to Postmates, Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash
The year-end reports from the big four delivery aggregates—Postmates, Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash—are in and they show a big spike in meatless and plant-based meals, reports Forbes.
Those four companies, by the way, make up 95% of foodservice delivery market share, so this data is as telling as it gets when it comes to what people are craving and what they’re willing to pay delivery fees for.
For Postmates users, Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger products generated more than 385,500 orders so far in 2019. Meanwhile, Grubhub’s “Year in Food” report also shows heavy cravings for vegetarian dishes. The item gaining the most momentum this year? Cauliflower pizza, rising 650% in popularity.
↦ Related News: McDonald's could sell over 250 million Beyond Meat burgers annually (in the US alone).
What They’re Saying
'Tis the season for baking cookies. And good cookies require a proper cookie sheet. A simple kitchen staple, it might be okay to dismiss them as all the same. But the better ones all but guarantee better results. So whether you're baking a batch of chocolate chunks, roasting some winter vegetables or prepping a pan of nachos, make sure your pan is built to last. Here are the best ones on Amazon, according to real world reviews.
Nordic Ware Commercial Baker Sheet
/ 3,549 reviews
“You won't find heavier duty pans. And the size means two fit perfectly in the oven. They are much easier to clean than one huge pan, plus they're easier to store inside your cabinets.”
↦ Get It $22.35 at Amazon
USA Pan Aluminized Steel Half Sheet
/ 700 reviews
“The corrugated surface and silicone coating means that absolutely nothing sticks to these things. I don't even use parchment paper anymore. But hand wash them to protect the coating.”
↦ Get It $37.99 at Amazon
Rachel Ray Nonstick Bakeware Sheet
/ 358 reviews
“The deeper sides and silicone handles mean these are foolproof. And the serious nonstick coating makes for easy release of food and quick cleanup too.”
↦ Get It $29.99 at Amazon
Today’s Deals
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Morning Motto
Keep those priorities straight.
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