The Daily Valet. - 6/15/20, Monday

✔️ The Billionaires Will Be Okay

June 15, 2020

Monday, June 15th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Who knows what this week will bring, right?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Sobriety Test Turns Deadly

Demonstrators have taken to Atlanta’s streets since Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by a police officer

One minute, 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was chatting cooperatively with Atlanta police, saying he’d had a couple of drinks to celebrate his daughter’s birthday and agreeing to a breath test. The next, they were wrestling on the ground and grappling over a taser before Brooks took the weapon and ran before being shot in the back.

According to NPR, the Fulton County Medical Examiner confirmed on Sunday that Brooks died of gunshot wounds to his back, and labeled the death a homicide.

Atlanta’s police chief, Erika Shields, resigned over the shooting. The officer suspected of killing Brooks was fired (no charges yet filed), and the other officer involved in the incident, also white, was put on administrative leave, reports Reuters.

“While there may be debate as to whether this was an appropriate use of deadly force, I firmly believe that there is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a press conference. “I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force.”

The news of Brooks’ death spread and drew instant condemnation after weeks of nationwide protests over police killings of black people. Protests broke out around Atlanta, with some demonstrators setting a fire inside the Wendy’s where the shooting took place.

The shooting has drawn national attention amid the larger conversation about policing in America. Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost in her bid for Georgia governor in 2018, said protesters were right to demand accountability and should continue to push for change until meaningful reforms are made. HUD secretary Ben Carson said Brooks’ killing “was not clear cut” like the killing of George Floyd, as Brooks was resisting arrest.

↦ Meanwhile: Yesterday, Senate Republicans outlined a legislative proposal to enact police reforms—their answer to a sweeping bill introduced last week by House Democrats.

Record Spikes in New COVID-19 Cases

As the economy opens up, hospitalizations sweep parts of the United States

New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have reached record levels across many parts of America as states push ahead with reopening. Local health officials are partly attributing this increase to gatherings over the Memorial Day holiday weekend in late May.

Alabama reported a record number of new cases for the fourth day in a row on Sunday. Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina all have seen their highest COVID-19 counts over the past three days since the pandemic began, according to a Reuters tally.

As of Saturday, the daily number of new coronavirus cases was climbing in 22 states—shifting course from what had been downward or holding trajectories in many of those places, reports the New York Times.

It's pretty clear that we're not going to shut down entire states again. So it makes you wonder ... must we accept the continued rise in infections as an expected cost of reopening economies? But you've also got to be responsible. And you won't catch me in public without a mask.

↦ FYI: Every day, about 21,100 new known cases are reported in America, which isn't much lower than the numbers from a month ago.

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The Billionaires Are Doing Okay

44 million Americans filed for unemployment while billionaires got $637 billion richer

The past three months have been financially painful for many Americans—but not for billionaires. They've actually become $565 billion richer since March 18, according to a report published by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank.

During that same three-month period, over 44 million individuals filed for unemployment in the United States, with more claims being submitted on a daily basis, reports Business Insider.

Billionaires in the U.S. have seen their cumulative wealth go from $2.95 trillion to $3.58 trillion over the past 12 weeks, accounting for a nearly 25% increase. In the last week alone, their overall wealth jumped $72 billion. Conversely, 1.5 million unemployment claims were filed within the past week.

According to CNN, the numbers put an “exclamation point on the deep divide between haves and have-nots that is helping to fuel unrest across the United States.” And wealth inequality is likely to get even worse because of this crisis, experts say, due to the remarkable recovery of the stock market.

↦ FYI: According to Forbes, America is home to 623 billionaires.

Master of None?

Can you really learn from the successful people teaching MasterClass?

Have you been noticing MasterClass ads everywhere you turn? I sure have. But I've also been tempted to try it. Especially during these socially-distant times when I've nearly exhausted my traditional streaming options. After all, there's definitely a lot to learn.

If you're only vaguely familiar, MasterClass is an online platform that offers lessons (typically in 10-20 minute classes) from successful people at the top of their fields. Think Judd Apatow, David Axelrod, Frank Gehry and Serena Williams. The production is slick and the ad budget is heavy.

But what do you really learn from them? One man tried to find out. Dan Gentile of SFGate, said he “wanted to come out of this pandemic like a butterfly with new skills.” He was skeptical that he'd gain anything worthwhile from the glossy, cinematic video lessons, but he says every class left him with useful nuggets he'd actually use in his life.

And don't worry, you'll be seeing a lot more in the near future. The company just raised another $100 million in private investment to produce (and I'd guess, advertise) even more classes with A-list teachers.

↦ It's Not Cheap: An annual memberships will run you $180.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

LGBTQ+ athletes then and now

The stuff we’re buying right now

Slicing shoes in half

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