The Daily Valet. - 9/17/20, Thursday

✔️ Back to Normal Life

Thursday, September 17th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I'm not against watching more cartoons. Are you?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Back to Regular Life

The CDC says that we should be "back to normal" by next summer

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the U.S. should be able to secure enough doses of a forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine to get the country back to “regular life” by the third quarter of 2021, reports CNBC.

The CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield, relayed his expectation to a Senate panel that vaccines should be ready by November or December of this year. The catch? The vaccine will initially only be available in limited quantities for the most vulnerable population, like healthcare workers, for example.

As for the timeframe to get the rest of the country vaccinated, Redfield pegged that at around “six to nine months.” He added that this would still be a very quick response, telling senators that the Trump administration's coronavirus vaccine program, Operation Warp Speed, is churning at an unprecedented speed.

Later on Wednesday, President Trump announced a vaccine distribution plan and predicted availability as early as October, directly contradicting the CDC's timeline, reports Fox News. “I think he made a mistake when he said that,” Trump said, adding that he expects the government to be able to distribute a vaccine “sometime in October, though it may be a little later than that.”

Last week, nine drugmakers signed a pledge that they will not submit vaccine candidates for FDA review until their safety and efficacy are shown in large clinical trials.

↦ FYI: Dr. Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S.government may need to spend another $20 billion to ensure every American can get vaccinated.

Hurricane Sally Brings Historic Flooding

At least one dead and hundreds rescued

Hurricane Sally uprooted trees, flooded streets and destroyed homes and businesses on Wednesday as it brought what the U.S. National Hurricane Center called “historic and catastrophic” flooding to the Gulf coast, reports Reuters.

Moving at just 3 mph, or about as fast as a person can walk, the Category 2 storm dumped over two feet of water in some areas, killing one person while others remain missing.

And while the worst of the storm seems to be winding down, much of the damage continues to wreak havoc on residents. According to the Associated Press, Sally knocked out power to more than 550,000 homes and businesses. (And a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship the Nina that had been docked at the Pensacola waterfront is missing).

Sally has continued to lose wind intensity and is now designated as a tropical depression. However, very heavy rain and widespread flooding will likely continue as it makes its way up through Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

↦ FYI: Damage from Sally is expected to reach $2 billion to $3 billion, according to Enki Research, which estimates the cost of damage done by tropical storms.

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Who Takes Conspiracy Theories Seriously?

Apparently more people than you might think

I'm old enough to remember when conspiracy theorists were considered raving lunatics—disturbed individuals in foil hats worrying about the government spying on them or alien abductions.

But in 2020, such outlandish rumors and outright lies are permeating our everyday conversations and media consumption. According to Time, there are thousands of QAnon groups and pages on Facebook, with millions of members. Dozens of QAnon-friendly candidates have run for Congress—and at least three have won GOP primaries.

The misinformation campaigns have leaked out of politics and into the COVID-19 pandemic, and even into talk around the wildfires along the West Coast. Just yesterday, a new survey found that a disturbing number of young Americans have bought into Holocaust denial conspiracy theories.

A democracy relies on an informed public responding in rational ways to the facts and challenges we face as a nation. But we need to be on the same page when it comes to what's fact and what's fiction. You'd think that when none of these wild theories ever come true, that people would lose faith in them.

↦ Dig Deeper: Elemental examines why the human brain likes considering these wild conspiracy theories.

TV’s Future Will Be More Animated

In this case, phoning it in isn't so bad

Animation is one of the only sectors in the entertainment industry that hasn’t been forced to shut down during the pandemic, reports The Ringer. And that's leading to a boom for a format that was already on the upswing.

“It’s truly the one thing we can all do while we’re at home,” explains Jen Rudin, a former casting director for Disney and Amazon, who recently joined the talent agency ICM as a representative specializing in animation. “We don’t have to touch each other in order to make animation happen.”

Just a few weeks into quarantine, Deadline was reporting that animation hubs like Bento Box Entertainment, the studio behind Bob’s Burgers and other shows, were actively hiring while traditional production was still completely shut down.

Now, music videos are getting the cartoon treatment. And traditionally live-action show like black-ish and One Day at a Time are getting around social-distancing requirements by getting drawn. On Wednesday, black-ish gave viewers a sneak peek at its upcoming pre-season special by revealing the art that will animate Dre, Bow & Co. in an upcoming election-themed event.

In Other News

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Those cozy fall vibes

Controlling your dreams

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