The Daily Valet. - 6/17/20, Wednesday

✔️ A Steady Rise

June 17, 2020

Wednesday, June 17th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Can I borrow $74,000?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Record Single-Day Increases

As states reopen, some are seeing a disturbing rise in COVID-19 cases

The coronavirus continued its steady spread across the Sun Belt on Tuesday, with state officials in Arizona, Florida and Texas all reporting their largest one-day increases in new cases yet.

The new daily highs came as all three states have increased testing and moved swiftly to ease social distancing restrictions and allow more businesses to reopen. They were among 20 states that have seen the number of newly reported cases grow over the last two weeks, according to a New York Times database.

Vice President Mike Pence, the leader of the administration’s coronavirus task force, is publicly painting a rosy picture of the pandemic through his words and actions amid the White House’s push to reopen the country and resume campaigning, reports CNN.

And despite their efforts, there’s a concerning uptick in people sick with the virus in at least 18 states. Which is why health officials have implored Americans to heed the CDC’s guidelines—including wearing a face mask in public and social distancing—to slow the spread, and a key model used by the White House is now projecting more than 200,000 deaths by October.

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, health officials on Tuesday announced the state’s highest single-day increase in new coronavirus cases since the virus was first confirmed in March, reports Newsweek. This, just days before President Trump is expected to resume holding indoor stadium campaign rallies, starting in Tulsa.

While we’re all ready to return to some form of normal life, these numbers tell a different story.

↦ FYI: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, says he’s nervous about re-openings and that he personally wouldn’t go to a gathering like Trump’s rallies right now.

🤔 What's wrong with wearing a mask?

Trump Signs Police Reform Order

But doesn’t mention racism or police brutality

Following weeks of national protests since the death of George Floyd, President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that he said would encourage better police practices. But according to the Associated Press, he made no mention of the roiling national debate over racism spawned by police killings of black men and women.

His plan was swiftly panned by Democrats and liberal groups as falling far short of the sweeping changes needed to address what they have called a culture of systemic racism and brutality that sparked the protests, reports the Washington Post.

At the event, the president surrounded himself with uniformed officers and police union officials. He had met ahead of the ceremony with the families of black people killed by police—including Atatiana Jefferson, Botham Jean, Jemel Roberson and others—but they did not join him for his remarks.

The text of Trump's order stipulated that Attorney General William Barr will be charged with encouraging local police departments to pursue “best practices” regarding use-of-force and de-escalation techniques, including the prohibition of chokeholds “except in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law.” But that last one does seem somewhat opaque, doesn't it?

↦ Dig Deeper: Read the full text of Trump's executive order on policing.

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Scientist Predicted 2020 Would Be a Mess

He called it a decade ago. Here is what’s next.

Peter Turchin, a scientist specializing in cultural evolution and mathematical modeling, made a prediction that 2020 would be mayhem, after analyzing declining wages, wealth inequality and other social pressures, reports Time.

His theory was published at the time in the scientific journal Nature and in 2013, he reiterated his prediction in an essay in Aeon.

“We are rapidly approaching a historical cusp, at which the U.S. will be particularly vulnerable to violent upheaval,” he wrote. “If we understand the causes, we have a chance to prevent it from happening. But we'll have to reverse the trend of ever-growing inequality.” Clearly, we didn’t do that ... and here we are.

“As a scientist, I feel vindicated,” Turchin old Time. “But on the other hand, I am an American and have to live through these hard times.” What's more, he warned that the worst may be yet to come—as societal crises like this typically last anywhere from five to 15 years.

Boston Dynamics Will Sell You a “Spot” Robot for $74,500

It’s like a Roomba that’s way more intimidating

Robotics company Boston Dynamics announced today that U.S. businesses can now purchase the “explorer” version of its robot Spot at a cost of $74,500, reports The Verge. This is the first time the company has made any of its robots available for sale.

It's definitely not cheap, but the company says you're getting the most advanced mobile robot in the world, able to go pretty much anywhere a human can (as long as there are no ladders involved).

According to Vice, the quadruped robot has been used to herd sheep in New Zealand and even used in parks in Singapore to promote safe physical distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

I know what you're thinking ... in the movies, this is where things go wrong. But the Boston Dynamics says it will enforce a code of use for the robot: no weapon attachments and no use cases that can “harm or intimidate people.” Personally, for the price, I think I'd rather get a Tesla Model S.

↦ FYI: The company has leased around 150 Spot units to customers so far.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Better cold-brew coffee

This interview with the Leatherman founder

Questioning happiness

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