The Daily Valet. - 7/13/20, Monday
✔️ From Bad ... to Worse
Monday, July 13th Edition
I hope you had a safe, relaxing and productive weekend.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s Big Story
From Bad to Worse
More than 15,200 new cases in just one day in Florida alone
New coronavirus infections topped 15,000 in Florida, the largest one-day increase in any state since the start of the pandemic, while more than half of U.S. states—including some that avoided a significant surge in the spring—were reporting steady climbs in new cases, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The number of daily infections in the U.S. surpassed 60,000 for a third consecutive day on Saturday, after reaching a record of more than 66,000 cases the previous day, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed.
And as experts feared would happen, COVID-19 deaths in America have started to rise, following a surge in newly diagnosed cases beginning in the middle of June. According to BuzzFeed News, while infectious disease specialists are hopeful that the number of deaths won’t grow to match the carnage seen in New York State back in April, where the death toll peaked at around 1,000 per day, it’s unclear how quickly deaths may rise in the worst affected states in the coming weeks.
And it’s not just the elderly dying. Young people—like the man in his 30s who attended a “COVID party” to test if the virus was real—died over the weekend.
The accelerating spread, which is fast moving beyond several big Sunbelt states to other pockets of the country, has some public-health experts voicing dire warnings. “We are now in a more severe state of the epidemic than we have ever been,” said Lisa M. Lee, a public-health expert specializing in infectious-disease epidemiology and public-health ethics at Virginia Tech University.
Meanwhile, MSN reports that the White House is seeking to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, as it works to marginalize him and his dire warnings about the shortcomings in America’s coronavirus response.
↦ FYI: The president wore a mask for the first time in public over the weekend, visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The TikTok Crackdown
Multiple companies are raising concerns
TikTok, already a fast-growing app globally, has grown immensely during the pandemic's lockdowns. But the concerns over the app might be growing even faster.
On Friday, Amazon asked all employees to immediately delete the app from any device that has access to their work emails. Later that day, the company retracted the request.
But according to The Information, Wells Fargo did officially ban the app from all company-owned devices. The bank said it was concerned about the social media app’s privacy and security practices.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is considering a ban on TikTok in the U.S., which has sparked a panicked reaction from influencers that are making big money from the app, reports CNN. Some have even threatened to leave the country if that happens. But I'm not sure if they realize that there aren't many countries that would accept them. Not because they're TikTokers, but because they're Americans and hardly no country wants our coronavirus risk in their country at the moment.
↦ FYI: U.S. government employees are banned from having TikTok installed on their mobile devices.
Will the Pandemic Fix Meat’s Eco Problem?
It’s already boosted alternative meat sales
The amount of nitrogen pollution emitted by just global livestock farming is more than the planet can cope with, prompting scientists to say we need to eat less meat and dairy products, reports New Scientist.
But thanks in part to pandemic-driven disruptions of conventional meat processing for beef and pork, sales and interest in plant-based alternatives are taking off, which could change the future of food as we know it.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports this week that global per capita meat consumption is projected to fall to the lowest level in nine years. And according to Bloomberg, American meat consumption isn't expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2025.
Meanwhile, grocery store sales of alternative-meat products rose 264% in the nine weeks ending May 2—faster than they were growing in the weeks before the pandemic, reports Axios. And Impossible Foods, the leading maker of alternative meat, says its grocery store footprint will increase 50-fold by the end of the year. Perhaps we can see this as an unexpected silver lining?
↦ FYI: The 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change will experience population booms in the coming decades.
Why the New Bronco Is Kind of a Big Deal
It’s positioned as more than an automotive event
It's been three years since Ford first announced the return of the Bronco at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. It's been a long wait, but now, we're finally on the cusp of seeing the new 2021 Bronco in all its blocky, nostalgic glory.
According to Car and Driver, Ford is looking to revive the franchise that's been dormant since 1996 and turn it into a lifestyle brand. Shunning the small screens of an online-only reveal, the Bronco's next chapter opens with a Super Bowl-like splash, airing on ABC, ESPN, National Geographic and Hulu—all around 8 p.m. ET tonight.
Jimmy Chin—who won an Oscar for the movie Free Solo—directed three mini Bronco films, one starring country singer Kip Moore to air on ABC, another starring Olympic-qualifying rock climber Brooke Raboutou for ESPN.
And what would a new-car launch be without reservations? Tonight, you'll be able to reserve your own Bronco with just $100. I'll have my credit card handy because I'm hopeful the 4x4 lives up to the hype.
↦ Dig Deeper: Road & Track explores how the original Ford Bronco aged into an icon.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Zoom Is Becoming a Permanent Fixture
So you’d better lose the rookie moves
Zoom saw daily meeting participants soar to a peak of 300 million in the latest quarter, up from 10 million before the pandemic, reports the Wall Street Journal.
And a recent Gallup poll found that roughly two-thirds of U.S. workers who have been working from home would prefer to continue working remotely as much as possible when pandemic restrictions are lifted.
Which means that we'll all be on video chats a lot more. Maybe permanently. And as the novelty of judging our colleagues' bookcases is wearing off, it's clear that it's time we all get a little better at it.
Both the Journal and Fast Company offer up some expert advice on raising your Zoom game—no more dogs and cats; no more avatar stand-ins; embrace the breakout rooms. It's time to enter a remote meeting as if it were a conference room.
What We’re Buying
If you weren't aware, “ABC” in Lululemon's “ABC Pants” translates to “Anti-Ball Crushing.” A signature cut for the brand, these pants allows your junk a bit more breathing room than typical pants. Gimmicky? Sure. But truthfully? They absolutely work. You can move freely all day in these slim-fit casual pants that take inspiration from the timeless details of five-pocket jeans. Usually ringing in over one hundred bucks, they're a bit of a stretch purchase. This sale though is knocking them down nearly fifty dollars.
↦ Get It $128 / $79 at Lululemon
Today’s Deals
Expires 7/13
Expires 7/13
Expires 7/27
↦ Want More? See all 61 sales
Morning Motto
Don’t let this situation slow down your creativity.
↦ Follow: @problempress
That’s all for today...
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