The Daily Valet. - 2/5/21, Friday

✔️ The Vaccine Passport

February 05, 2021

Friday, February 5th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I’ve got no money riding on this Super Bowl. What I have, is an order for extra hot wings.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

The ‘Vaccine Passport’

A smart path back to normality ... or problem in the making?

Among forward-thinking governments and the eager planners in the travel industry, a new term has entered the vocabulary: the vaccine passport.

Leaders around the world are exploring the potential use of these digital documents as a way of reopening the economy by identifying those protected against the coronavirus, reports Reuters.

Those developing the technologies however, say such tools come with consequences, and are urging lawmakers to think seriously about how they are used. For instance, there could be issues around discrimination, privilege and exclusion of the younger generation who would be last in line to be vaccinated.

The Swedish government on Thursday said it will be launching a digital coronavirus passport to allow people who have been vaccinated the ability to travel and help ease restrictions on public life. Denmark will do the same—the plan is to coordinate it with the World Health Organization and the European Union.

According to the New York Times, one of President Biden’s executive orders aimed at curbing the pandemic asks government agencies to look into linking vaccine certificates with other documents, and producing digital versions of them. And in a few weeks, several airlines will start using a digital travel pass, developed by the International Air Transport Association.

The challenge right now is creating a document or app that is accepted around the world, that protects privacy and is accessible to people regardless of their wealth or access to technology.

↦ One Option: BuddyCheque’s new vaccination passport app, ConfirmD, is now available for download on the Apple and Google Play stores.

The U.S. Navy Has Some Wild Tech

Their “UFO patents” sound like they’ve been ripped from a science fiction novel

After reporting on the bizarre saga of the Navy's “UFO” patents by aerospace engineer Salvatore Pais for over a year and a half, The War Zone has finally gotten an on-the-record comment from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, about the out-of-this-world experiments.

For the uninitiated, the U.S. Navy currently has a range of patents on some very strange and seemingly impossible technology, reports Vice. According to the documents, the military is working on a small fusion reactor that could power a city, an engine that works using “inertial mass reduction,” and a “hybrid aerospace-underwater craft.”

Popular Mechanics says the two technologies combined could theoretically create a UFO-like craft similar to the one seen by U.S. Navy pilots a few years ago. If this sounds too good to be true, you aren't alone. Navy authorities and even scientists in the field didn't quite believe in the theories being patented and Dr. Pais went through a lengthy review. But in the end, he was shown to be legitimate enough for the Navy as the branch says some of his impressive inventions somehow actually work.

According to the patents, some of the technology is listed as “operable.” That means the Navy is claiming some of Pais' wild tech works and has been demonstrated to military officials. Confused? You probably should be. But I'm sure there will be more to this story soon.

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Medical Debt Sucks. Buying It Back Is Good.

How one woman was able to erase over $40 million of crippling personal debt

Here is some good news to close out the week: A former high school teacher and her online community (where she continues to teach courses on civics and government) was able to raise enough money to forgive over $40 million in medical debt.

They worked with the nonprofit, RIP Medical Debt, which negotiates to buy bulk amounts of medical debt from lenders at deep discounts. They're able turn a $1 donation into $100 of forgiven medical debt.

With an initial goal of $20,000 to forgive $2 million, her students quickly spread the word and her online fundraiser has currently raised more than $437,000. This appears to be the largest single amount raised for RIP Medical Debt, all because people gave what they could to help strangers with crippling debt from going to the doctor.⠀

In the U.S., medical debt contributes to more than 60% of bankruptcies. Until satisfied, debt lingers on a person's credit report. But on Thursday, Democratic Senators unveiled a sweeping bankruptcy bill that addressed the problem, reports Forbes. If passed, it would remove settled medical debt from a patient's credit report and institute a year-long waiting period before new medical debt could be reported.

↦ FYI: 42.9 million Americans have unpaid medical bills, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A Historic Game

Sunday’s Super Bowl promises to be unlike any before it (and perhaps any to come)

Sunday, the Super Bowl will offer up history when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa. That alone is historic. It's the first time a team has played a Super Bowl in its home stadium.

Another groundbreaking moment happens when Sarah Thomas takes the field in her black and white striped jersey. She'll be the first female official to work the NFL's biggest game.

Unlike years past though, the pre-game betting remains even between the two teams. Jeff Stoneback, the director of trading for MGM's sportsbooks in Las Vegas, told Yahoo! Sports Thursday afternoon that he could't believe the betting pattern on Super Bowl LV. Most of the wagers for the Super Bowl come in over the weekend, with many bets coming in today, but the 50/50 divide between Chiefs and Buccaneers bettors was an interesting anomaly.

The Weeknd has made changes to the typical halftime show, too—taking the performance from the field to the stands. “Due to COVID and for the safety of the players and the workers we kind of built the stage within the stadium ... we wanted to do something that we've never done before,” he told CBS News.

↦ FYI: CBS Sports has your kickoff time, the best ways to watch and everything else you need to know about game day.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Rimowa’s Mars collection

Serena Williams’ trophy room

How Long Gone Radio

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