The Daily Valet. - 8/27/20, Thursday

✔️ A Big Moment

Thursday, August 27th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

We're almost there guys. Let's make it to the weekend.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

A Historic Moment in Sports

Professional athletes stage an unprecedented act of protest for racial justice

Three days after a police officer shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin—just 45 minutes south of where the Milwaukee Bucks play and practice—Bucks players held a strike in lieu of Game 5 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic, reports The Ringer.

This lead to a postponement of all playoff games scheduled for Wednesday. Players from WNBA teams chose not to play Wednesday either and instead link arms and kneel on the court. Major League Baseball followed suit, with three games postponed, according to ESPN.

In a tweet, Bucks SVP Alex Lasry explained, “Some things are bigger than basketball. The stand taken today by the players and org shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen.”

In a show of solidarity with the strike, Inside the NBA co-host Kenny Smith walked off the show's set on Wednesday. “As a black man, as a former player, I think it's best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight,“” Smith said. “And figure out what happens after that.”

It definitely sends a clear message and will get people talking today. And sports writer Howard Bryant made an interesting point, “After Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, the St. Louis Police union petitioned the NFL to have Rams players suspended for making a protest gesture entering the field,” he tweeted. “Six years later, players cancelled a slate of NBA playoff games to protest police brutality.”

It's an inspiring reminder that change is possible in America. It might be slower than we want, but it almost always catches up.

↦ Dig Deeper: The police shooting of Jacob Blake, explained.

Hurricane Laura Is Going to Be Brutal

It made landfall as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm

Hurricane Laura pounded the Louisiana and Texas coasts as it made landfall near Cameron, La., as a Category 4 storm early Thursday, reports NPR.

It arrived with violent 150-mile-per-hour winds and a wall of water that was predicted to reach as high as 20 feet. While most storms tend to weaken before landfall, three storms in recent years have continued to strengthen as they approach the shore: Harvey in Texas in 2017, Michael, and now Laura.

According to the New York Times, it could be one of the worst to hit the region in decades. The National Hurricane Center called the expected storm surge “unsurvivable,” and said that it could push as far as 40 miles inland.

For context, 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm, had an 18- to 23-foot storm surge. “This storm looks like it will be comparable as far as the levels of storm surge that we're seeing,” meteorologist Mike Chesterfield told WIRED.

Special Promotion

Something about this time of year makes me want new shoes. The current pair I’m eyeing, this Cali brand’s new throwback sneaker.

Jeff Bezos Is the First Person Worth $200 Billion

After Amazon stock saw a two percent increase

According to Fast Company, Amazon‘s 2% stock increase on Wednesday upped the founder’s net worth by nearly $5 billion, making his total net worth exactly $204.6 billion.

Forbes notes that Bezos’ fortune may be the largest ever amassed, even after adjusting for inflation. Near the height of the dot-com bubble, when Microsoft reached its peak, Bill Gates' net worth surpassed $100 billion (about $158 billion in today's dollars). Now Gates is ranked #2 with a $90 billion fortune.

Elon Musk,meanwhile, extended an extraordinary stretch of wealth gains to become a centibillionaire. Tesla shares rallied Wednesday, pushing his net worth to $101 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a listing of the world’s 500 richest people.

It's yet another surge in a topsy-turvy year defined by both booming markets and catastrophic human and economic loss. And will no doubt bring about more calls to eat (or at least tax) the rich.

↦ FYI: On March 13, the day Seattle's stay-at-home order became official, one share of Amazon's stock was worth $1,785. Now it is worth about $3,434.

CDC Abruptly Changes Position on Testing

A reversal on previous guidance

After encouraging people to get tested if they may have been exposed to COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly changed course on Wednesday, now telling the public testing might not be necessary, reports ABC News.

This is just a recommendation, but many believe it will dramatically decrease the number of tests done—at a time when public health officials have said they are seriously concerned about young people without symptoms transmitting the virus.

The Trump administration's testing coordinator, Adm. Brett Giroir, defended the move as trying to prevent a “false sense of security” that some people have after getting a negative test result. He also told reporters that the decision wasn't politically motivated.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was actually undergoing surgery and not in the meeting when this was decided. “I'm concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is,” Fauci told CNN.

↦ FYI: As college students and professors return to campus in the midst of a pandemic, coronavirus cases are turning up by the thousands.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The ‘West Wing’ reunion pics

This simple style staple

Surprising illegal activities

Special Promotion

The Perfect Fall Sneaker

The newest SeaVees style is a throwback sneaker with modern updates

I haven’t been in school for … well, let’s just say a bit. But every fall, I start itching to buy new shoes. There’s just something about this time of year that makes me want a fresh start when it comes to footwear. Thankfully, SeaVees just launched a new style. The old school California brand was revived after four decades with classic sneakers that are as comfortable as they are handsome.

The new silhouette is a go-anywhere type of sneaker, with a ridged double bumper outsole and vibrant suede uppers. Dubbed the Darby, I’m told the style is a tribute to the Teddy Boys subculture of the 1950s and their commonly worn creeper shoes. They may look simple but they’ve been engineered for all-day comfort, thanks to a contoured foam footbed with an extra heel-strike cushion and exclusive cooling airflow channels for breathability. The sneakers also boast a recycled cotton canvas lining and post-consumer recycled laces for a more responsible and sustainable build. The real question, is what color should I get?

↦ Get It: $120 at SeaVees