By Hannah McKelvey
Executive Editor
Don’t have time to read the thousands of news articles coming out each day? Just don’t want to read the news? Every other day, we’ll summarize a batch of the most important daily news for you.
News RoundUp: May 2, 2020
Today marks the first day of finals for St. Mikes. Today will also be the last news roundup that I will be doing. Thank you for following along with me during our unexpected transition to a strictly online publication. I hope that this has brought you loads of helpful information and that you are all staying healthy and sane.
Now back to the news:
A while back, the SMC mailroom made the call to stop accepting all mail for residents who were no longer living on campus. If you had things sent to your SMC mailbox during the quarantine time, the mailroom either forwarded it to the address on hand or sent it back to the original mailer because it was not forwardable.
SMC will be holding a virtual graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020 on May 10, at 10 a.m. It will be about 40 minutes long and have speakers from the undergrad class as well as the graduate class. The link will be added to the SMC website the morning of.
With May 1 behind us, stay at home orders are beginning to be lifted across America. To see what states are lifting the ban and what states aren’t, check out the link below.
The Good News: Pakistan has recently hired thousands of newly unemployed residents in hopes to replant trees around the nation. Read more using the link: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/pakistan-hires-laborers-for-planting-10-billion-tree/
News RoundUp: April 30, 2020
On Monday the Pentagon released three videos that were shot by the U.S. Navy capturing footage of U.F.O.s. To see the videos, click the link: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/politics/pentagon-ufo-videos/index.html
As of May 1, the day most students have to decide on what college they will attend in the fall, colleges around the country are worried. According to the American Council of Education, which represents more than 1,700 institutions and amongst other organizations, colleges around the country are estimating that a total of $8 billion are being refunded to students across the country.
St. Mike’s has extended their commitment day to June 1st. This gives students the opportunity to figure out financial logistics and also gives the school the chance to bring in more students for the class of 2024.
The Good News: One scuba diving company is making a big impact by helping out with two causes. The scuba company is making and selling face masks out of recycled plastic they found in the ocean. Read the full article here: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scuba-group-making-face-masks-from-recycled-ocean-plastic/https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scuba-group-making-face-masks-from-recycled-ocean-plastic/
News RoundUp: April 27, 2020
Headache, sore throat, a new loss of taste or smell, muscle pain, chills, and repeated shaking with chills are all new symptoms the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have added to the COVID-19 list.
See what states will begin lessening restriction in the near future and which states are sticking to the stay at home orders: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/states-reopen-map-coronavirus.html
Globally, 2,995,456 people have tested positive to COVID-19 and the death toll has surpassed 200,000, the exact number coming in at 207,583.
The Good News: Need some bright colorful street art to brighten your day? Check out the link to see how artists around the world are reacting to COVID-19.
News RoundUp: April 23, 2020
As of last week, an additional 4.4 million people filed for unemployment, bringing the total to 26 million people filing for unemployment within the last five weeks.
New York City has started random testing for antibodies within people. Around 3,000 people have been tested and around 14 percent have come back positive. This means that if you were to take that number and project it onto a statewide scale, about 2.4 million people statewide have already been infected with COVID-19, making the 250,000 cases currently on record under-reported.
Additional money for the small business relief package passed in the House this morning. They have come to an agreement of $484 billion extra being added to the package.
The Good News: In honor of the 50 year anniversary of Earth Day yesterday, please enjoy these stunning images of our earth. Use the link to view the photos: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/volcano-lightning-storm-won-perfect-moment-photography-contest/
News RoundUp: April 21, 2020
In a tweet last night President Trump said that he plans to “temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” to create less competition for the job market as the economy begins to open up. If done this would mean that people from other countries who are coming for job opportunities would miss out on the opportunities or people would not be able to come live or visit with family.
Additional federal money for the small business funds, which ran out last week, will most likely not pass Congress until Thursday. Discussion about how much will be added has slowed down the process but lawmakers and Trumps Administration are saying around $500 billion will be added to the fund.
The Good News: While the US census is currently not the first thing on everyone’s mind it is important to fill out, and it’s required by the law to do so. I know for me personally, I was having a tough time figuring out what state I should fill it out in now that I am no longer living at college in Vermont. According to the census, if you would have regularly lived on campus as of April 1, you can fill it out in the state that you go to school in. For more information use the link: https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2020/04/16/heres-how-college-students-can-complete-u-s-census-vermont/5148949002/
News RoundUp: April 19, 2020
For people who are venturing out to stores occasionally and practicing social distancing, it is not to change clothes once they return home. An aerosol scientist from Virginia Tech Linsey Marr told the New York Times, “A droplet that is small enough to float in air for a while also is unlikely to deposit on clothing because of aerodynamics.”
In the United States, there have been 722,761 confirmed cases of COVID-19. While 64,840 people have recovered from the virus, 33,903 people have died.
Governors around the country are feeling the pressure to reopen the country in order to get the economy back up and running. Many governors want better access to more testing to know the extent of who is infected versus who is not. Trump administration officials say that the testing that is in place now is adequate.
The Good News: St. Mike’s Study Abroad photo contest winners are announced tomorrow! Use this link to see beautiful photos from around the world: https://www.smcvt.edu/academics/study-abroad/global-eyes-photography/
News RoundUp: April 17, 2020
Graduation for the SMC class of 2020 has been officially postponed until June 2021. Students will receive their diplomas in May of this year, but the ceremony will take place next summer. More updates to come.
Flareups of COVID-19 could last until 2022, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. More information here: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/04/14/science.abb5793
On Thursday the $349 billion relief program that was made to help the small businesses stay afloat during these hard times had run out of money. However, this does not mean that there is no more money for those businesses that have not received relief money yet. Congress and the Trump administration have been talking about adding hundreds of billions to the relief package to help but have not come to a decision yet.
The Good News: Switzerland has been projecting different countries’ flags onto the famous mountain, the Matterhorn, in solidarity because of the pandemic. To view pictures click on the link: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/swiss-village-projects-flags-onto-matterhorn/
News RoundUp: April 15, 2020
Vermont Governor Phil Scott last week extended the stay home order and only allowed essential travel within the state of Vermont until May 15. This means that some students’ move out dates have shifted. Students whose last names start with A – H’s move out dates have been moved to May 29 through June 1. Starting May 15, people who have I or J as the first letter of their last name can begin to move out. For people who had asked permission to move out earlier between the dates of May 8-10 and earlier than that have been dismissed and the school can no longer honor them.
In recent election news, former President Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren have endorsed Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
NYC Mayor de Blasio announced today that New York City will be spending upwards of $170 million to feed residents affected by COVID-19 over the next four months. In a news briefing, Mayor de Blasio said, “I pledge to you and I’m very confident making this pledge: We will not allow any New Yorker to go hungry.”
President Trump today cut funding to the World Health Organization while a review is conducted on how the WHO handled, managed, and covered the spread of coronavirus.
The Good News: If you focus on the upsetting things happening all around us here’s a bunch of good things that can ease your mind, such as Dolly Parton reading you a story, cute animal videos, and the Getty Museum holding a recreation of famous artwork contest. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/us/the-good-stuff-040420/index.html
News RoundUp: April 13, 2020
As of this morning, there have been 1,870,076 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally. The U.S. has reported 547,627 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 21,662 deaths because of the virus.
Texas, Lousiana, Mississippi, Georgia experienced more than 34 tornadoes Monday morning. The severe weather killed 11 people in Mississippi, six in Georgia, and one in Arkansas. More tornadoes and severe weather are projected to span from Florida all the way up to parts of New York through Monday.
Between May 4-13, the United States Supreme Court will be hearing cases via telephone conference.
A pork processing facility in South Dakota., one of the largest in the nation, has closed indefinitely because workers have fallen ill with COVID-19. The plant produces five percent of America’s pork. The FDA says “Currently there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19. Unlike foodborne gastrointestinal (GI) viruses like norovirus and hepatitis A that often make people ill through contaminated food, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is a virus that causes respiratory illness. Foodborne exposure to this virus is not known to be a route of transmission.”
Q: Can I get the coronavirus from food, food packaging, or food containers and preparation area?
A: Currently there is no evidence of food, food containers, or food packaging being associated with the transmission of COVID-19. Like other viruses, it is possible that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on surfaces or objects. For that reason, it is critical to follow the 4 key steps of food safety—clean, separate, cook, and chill.
If you are concerned about contamination of food or food packaging, wash your hands after handling food packaging, after removing food from the packaging, before you prepare food for eating and before you eat. Consumers can follow CDC guidelines on frequent hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; and frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces.
The Good News: As air pollution plummets because of India’s lockdown, the Himalayas are being seen in places that haven’t seen them in years. To read more about it, click on the link: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/himalayan-mountaintops-visible-for-first-time-in-30-years/
News RoundUp: April 11, 2020
The United States passed Italy in its number of deaths affiliated to COVID-19. The death toll has surpassed 20,000 in the U.s. as of yesterday.
Farmers around the country are destroying thousands of pounds of food because of restaurants closing and slowing down nationwide. Restaurant opportunities for take out for those who are choosing to partake does not make up for the sales and food products that were planted weeks in advance. The consequences: food rotting and farmers destroying crops.
With Easter this Sunday, churches around the country plan to hold in-person services for Easter. According to the New York Times, pastors in Mississippi and Michigan plan to hold in-person services and expect over 2,000 people to attend on Sunday.
The Good News: Need some good news with a broadway surprise in your life? Watch this episode of “Some Good News” with John Krasinski.
Click on the link to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oilZ1hNZPRM
News RoundUp: April 9, 2020
Nearly 6.6 million people filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total number of people who have filed for unemployment since the of COVID-19 quarantine began to more than 16 million.
Between April 1 to April 5 only 69 percent of renters within America paid their rent, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Last year, between those dates, 82 percent of people paid rent.
The Good News: Feeling anxious about this pandemic? Listen to this podcast on a few ways to make things a little less anxious. Click the link to listen: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/dr-brene-brown-on-ffts/
News RoundUp: April 8, 2020
Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 presidential election today, leaving Joe Biden the presumptive nominee to challenge President Trump.
As of today, two SMC employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine sent a public report to the White House stating that we should not get our hopes of COVID-19 diminishing during the summer, reports the New York Times. Through research reports, the panelist a panelist wrote this? Might just say the Academy concluded that there is no clear sign of it diminishing in the summer, as they initially hoped.
The Good News: Two pandas from the Hong Kong Zoo, who have never been interested in one another, finally mate after 13 years.
Click on the link to read the full article: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/giant-pandas-mate-amidst-covid-zoo-closures/
News RoundUp: April 7, 2020
As of today, there are 1,365,004 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 184 countries/ regions, with 76,507 deaths globally, according to Johns Hopkins.
Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, has been moved into the ICU because of COVID-19.
Today is the first day in which China reports there have been no deaths in the country because of COVID-19.
The Good News: Every time at 7 p.m., people around NYC lean out of their windows, go on their balconies, and head down to the sidewalks to cheer and show gratitude towards the medical officials that are working hard to help COVID-19 patients.
Click on the link to view: https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-apartment-applause-20200401-krgylnadfferrgqqp5tlm6vnay-story.html
News RoundUp: April 6, 2020
More than 10 thousand people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, but the New York Times reports that medical officials or coroners from around the country suspect that the deaths from the coronavirus are under-reported because of failed protocols and an inadequate number of tests to accurately test everyone. Coroners are saying that they do not have the test to determine if COVID-19 rather than influenza or pneumonia caused deaths. Medical professionals are now looking back at records from January through early March to see if any patient with coronavirus symptoms might have been misdiagnosed.
“We have to get back to work,” President Trump said in a briefing on Saturday. “We have to open our country again. We don’t want to be doing this for months and months and months. We’re going to open our country again. This country wasn’t meant for this.” Despite all this, economists are now saying that we will not have a normal functioning economy until people feel as if they can go about their business without catching the virus.
The Good News: As we slow down our lives, scientists and researchers who monitor the planet’s seismic activity, which detects earthquakes and volcanic activity, have realized that with our slower paced lives they can now detect a 5.5 magnitude earthquake that is on the other side of the earth. During our everyday lives, they would not be able to detect these because of how many vibrations are caused by cars, trains and other human activity.
News RoundUp: April 5, 2020
According to CNN, yesterday marked the most reported deaths in one day because of COVID-19. What this means is that the United States could be nearing the peak. “The next two weeks ar extraordinarily important,” said Deborah Brix, the White House coronavirus response coordinator. “This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe, and that means everybody doing the six feet distancing, washing your hands.”
As the Democratic convention was postponed by a month, former Vice President Joe Biden offered up the idea of holding a virtual convention during an interview with ABC. “We may have to do a virtual convention. I think we should be thinking about that right now. The idea of holding the convention is going to be necessary. But we may not be able to put ten, twenty, thirty thousand people in one place.”
The Good News: No need to fear anymore when leaving the house if you do not have an n95 mask or a medical facemask, make your own from home. The New York Times identified the best household items to make makeshift face masks.
Click the photo below to bring you to the article:
News RoundUp: April 4, 2020
New York City continues to be the epicenter of the United States. With more than 113, 700 COVID- 19 cases and deaths surpassing 3,500, the govern Andrew Cuomo predicts the peak for New York is just shy of a week. According to the New York Times, the Chinese government is planning on donating 1,000 ventilators to NYC.
With Italy being under lockdown for weeks at this point, they are starting to see a decline in the number of positive COVID-19 cases. What’s the next step? Well, the government hopes to slowly allow people out of lockdowns and start getting them back to work. But how does a country do this without setting bringing the numbers back up? According to the New York Times, scientists are going to begin testing people to see if they have the correct antibodies from coronavirus which would make them immune, at least that’s the theory. Scientists aren’t one hundred percent if the antibodies are a true way to show if you are immune but are hopeful.
A COVID-19 vaccine made by the University of Pittsburg Medical Center is ready for clinical trial as soon as the Food and Drug Administration gives permission. As of March 15, another vaccine entered clinical trials and a dozen more are being developed. While vaccines usually take a year in human clinical trials, because of the situations things may be able to get sped up.
1.1 million people have confirmed cases of the coronavirus and at least 62,000 people have died from the virus globally.
The Good News: Reading the news can be stressful. Heck, living during a pandemic can be stressful, so here is a list of the 75 best movies on Netflix. Sit back, relax, take some time to forget about the pandemic around you, and indulge in one of these awesome movies.
https://collider.com/best-movies-on-netflix-streaming/#the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower
News RoundUp: April 3, 2020
Wednesday night a scientific panelist at the White House told the press that they now believe through new research that the coronavirus can be spread through talking and breathing also, not just through sneezing and coughing. The CDC is now recommending that all people should wear nonmedical masks when they venture outside of their homes. “I’m not going to wear a surgical mask, because clinicians need those,” Harvey Fineberg, former dean of the Harvard School of Public Health told CNN. “But I have a nice western-style bandana I might wear. Or I have a balaclava. I have some pretty nice options.”
The FBI has put out a warning on “Zoom bombing.” Schools, in particular, are supposed to watch out because they are most targeted. “Zoom bombing” is when people pop into random zoom calls and share pornographic videos and images in place of people’s video icons, and racial slurs and offensive language in place of people’s names.
The U.S. Navy hospital boat in New York City Habor that has 1,000 beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients only has 22 patients as of Friday afternoon.
Two months before COVID-19 was believed to start infecting people, President Trump pulled a $200 million dollar program at the Agency for International Development that was in charge of researching potential pandemic diseases. According to the Los Angeles Times, when the program was up and running it helped identify 1,200 different viruses that have the potential to become pandemics. The main duties of this program were to identify these diseases, train scientists around the world to respond to these diseases if they ever became a pandemic.
The Good News: Youtube and the internet are notorious for making jokes and parodies about super serious current events. As you can imagine, just because we’re in a pandemic doesn’t mean people are going to stop now.
Check out the videos below to watch popular songs transformed into COVID-19 themed songs.
News RoundUp: April 2, 2020
More than 6.6 million people filed for unemployment claims last week. With last week’s claims coming in around 3 million, that means these past two weeks have set unprecedented records. To put things into perspective, during the recession of ‘08 the number of people who filed for unemployment claims in one given week all stayed well under a million people.
Some reminders and information about COVID-19:
Symptoms:
- People usually start to show symptoms five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms can also appear after two days all the way up to 14 days.
- The most common symptoms people are showing when they have Covid-19 are fever, dry cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, and fatigue.
What should you do?:
- Stay home and keep your distance from the people with whom you live.
- If you have symptoms that make it hard to breathe, persistent pain or pressure in your chest, confusion, or bluish lips or face, seek medical help.
How does the virus spread?
- The virus spreads through droplets in the air or on surfaces from people coughing or sneezing.
- Clean and disinfect commonly used surfaces regularly.
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with disinfecting soap every time you enter your home and regularly throughout the day.
- Never touch your face with unwashed hands.
The Good News: Enjoy watching one of our executive editors, Leanne Hamilton ‘20, dancing her way through quarantine.
Check out the video below to watch some stylish dance moves from a safe distance.
News RoundUp: April 1, 2020
Before we begin today’s News RoundUp, The Defender has an important and urgent announcement. We as a publication have come to the hard decision that we will no longer produce news for the remainder of the semester. It is just too hard with everything going on to report in a pandemic and with everyone being stuck inside there’s simply no news to report. We hope you understand. Please stay sane.
APRIL FOOLS!!!! Starting tomorrow The Defender will be putting out two-three articles each day from our third issue. The articles will run from April 2 to April 10. We have articles spanning all topics, so if you want coronavirus coverage, come our way, if you are tired of hearing about coronavirus, come our way.
Now back to the News:
New numbers came out according to the leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator During a briefing yesterday, they said that the number of deaths expected in the United States from the coronavirus will be 100,000- 240,000 people. The two experts pledged they will try to do everything they can to make that number lower.
The stock market continues to plummet each day. S&P fell almost four percent in early trading this morning and the stock market had its worst month since 2008.
“‘Covid-19 is the greatest test that we have faced together since the formation of the United Nations,” said the secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres on Wednesday. The world has now entered a global recession according to the International Monetary Fund and it will be unlikely to resolve until 2021. During this time, 25 million jobs could be entirely lost in the United States, meaning $1.3 trillion would be lost on labor income.
The Good News: For some uplifting news John Krasinski put together entries from the internet of good and uplifting news that has been happening in all the chaos.
Click on the link to check out “Some Good News with John Krasinski” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5pgG1M_h_U
News RoundUp: March 31, 2020
With hospital beds popping up in Central Park, two other temporary hospitals made an appearance yesterday. A U.S. Navy ship arrived in the New York City Harbor with 1,000 extra hospital beds onboard. In Manhattan, the Javits Center was also converted into a makeshift hospital, opening up even more beds throughout the city. All of this is a part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to have a makeshift hospital in every borough.
According to Johns Hopkins University, coronavirus cases worldwide have surpassed 788,522.
Thousands of retired doctors and nurses are returning to the medical field to help in the Covid-19 battle. According to the Wall Street Journal, medical schools around the country are allowing their students to graduate a couple of months early in order to fill the demand of doctors and nurse’s needs within hospitals around the country.
A new model, according to the White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, says that by mid-April, when coronavirus is supposed to reach peak cases for the U.S. up to 2,000 people here in the U.S. could be dying every single day. That number relates to the prediction of around 82,000 people dying from the coronavirus by August. This was the same model that President Trump based his extension of social distancing and quarantine policies on, according to CNN.
According to Politico, seed sales have been seeing record high sales. As the coronavirus becomes worse, people are becoming warier of food security and the hygiene of where their food is coming from.
The Good News: Need a couple of minutes to forget all the things going wrong in the world? Watch this live feed of jellyfish floating around their enclosure at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
News RoundUp: March 30, 2020
Last week, on the Fox News Channel President Trump said, “I would love to have the country opened back up and just raring to go by Easter.” But in his press conference Sunday, he postponed nonessential travel and social distancing for at least another month until April 30. If needed, the postponement could go until the beginning of June.
The Summer Olympics have been officially postponed from this summer until July 2021. The new dates are planned for July 23-August 8, 2021.
With around 60,000 cases of coronavirus alone in New York City, gov. Andrew Cuomo has taken drastic precautions, including the creation of makeshift hospitals in Central Park, and plans to create temporary hospitals in all NYC boroughs. According to CNN, NYC is now enforcing social distancing by fining people $250-$500 if they break the policies.
In a recent video interview on CNN Business, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which does significant philanthropic work to empower the poorest and combat infectious diseases, said he predicts that the peak of coronavirus infections will be late April.
The Good News: Haven’t left your house in a week? Check out these hilarious coronavirus tweets to lighten your mood. Click on the link below:
https://ruinmyweek.com/tweets/coronavirus-tweets/
News RoundUp: March 29, 2020
According to the New York Times, New York postponed its presidential primary election to June 23. In total this now makes 14 states that have moved the date for their primary election. Alaska, Hawaii, and Wyoming have all chosen to do their primaries entirely by mail. The new dates span April all the way through July. What this could mean for the general election is unknown.
Yesterday evening, tornadoes popped up around Iowa and Arkansas. The worst one hit at 5 p.m. Saturday in Jonesboro, AR injuring 22 people. There were no life-threatening injuries reported.
As the death toll from coronavirus reaches 2,000 in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday put out a travel advisory warning in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey urging people to not participate in nonessential domestic travel.
The Good News: Being stuck inside can really make a person crave adventure and the outdoors. How does one quench this desire? For nocturnal adventures, click on the link below for a live stream of the aurora borealis from the comforts of your own home.
https://explore.org/livecams/aurora-borealis-northern-lights/northern-lights-cam
News RoundUp: March 28, 2020
Covid updates:
There are now 600,000 cases of coronavirus infection around the world. The United States currently has the most reported cases with more than 104,000.
Friday afternoon President Trump signed the $2 billion Stimulus Package to help relieve economic collapse triggered by the pandemic.
President Trump is discussing an “enforceable” quarantine on the state of New York, and parts of Connecticut and New Jersey. The Washington Post said President Trump might make a decision later today.
Severe storms are predicted to hit portions of the midwest sometime Saturday. The severe storms include a high chance of hail and tornados. The further you go south the less likely the severe storms, but the southeast is experiencing record-breaking warmth with highs in the 90s.
The Good News: Click on the link to watch a Spanish man sharing a drink with neighbors in a unique way amidst quarantine. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/watch-spanish-man-share-drink-with-neighbors-two-floors-below/
News RoundUp: March 27, 2020
Yesterday Saint Michael’s College canceled l in-person classes for the remainder of the semester. They have also decided to postpone graduation, to a later, as yet undetermined date. As for moving-out your belongings from campus, the schedule went up this morning. Starting May 8 people with the last name starting with A and B have from until 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. The schedule follows two letters in alphabetical order for each day expect M, R, and S. T through Z last names will be the final day of pick up on May 24. If you are an international student or live more than 8 hours away, contact Melissa Holzman at mholzman@smcvt.edu to plan a day when you can move out.
While the stock market was up the past three days, this morning the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ all fell more than 3 percent.
While initial thoughts were that the Stimulus Package would get through the House with flying colors, it has taken a sudden halt. One Congressional representative, Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), is threatening to vote no on the Stimulus package. The votes planned on being done virtually to stay under quarantine and lockdown guidelines. However, if Massie or anyone else votes no on this legislation, that would result in at least 216 members flying to D.C. to cast a revote in person.
A $1 billion deal was pulled off the table by the Trump Administration sometime yesterday that could supply America with 80,000 additional ventilators. The deal proposed that General Motors use their car parts, while a company called Ventec uses their technology to make the Ventilators. The bill was pulled off of the table because General Motors was asking for large sums of money upfront. The New York Times says that government officials are still talking about the $1 Billion deal but other deals are being discussed as well.
The GOOD News: In spite of a Pandemic, the African Black Rhino has made a significant spike in the population by several hundred through the help of conservation efforts, such as moving individual animals to new areas, protecting them with stricter law enforcement, and guaranteeing to breed. While the coronavirus may have more harmful impacts than good, with the virus raging through the world, it is thought to put a decline in big game hunting said The Guardian. With this decline, it might give the Black Rhino and other endangered species a chance for at least a few months.
News RoundUp : March 26, 2020
A record breaking number of more than 3.2 million people in America filed for unemployment last week.
According to the New York Times, people could be receiving their Stimulus package within three weeks.
An economics professor from the University of Louisiana conducted a recent study that showed that Louisiana may be experiencing the fastest growing rate of new cases of coronavirus in the world.
As India enters its second day of lockdown, people are still heading to the streets looking for work. The BCC reports that people know the risks of the Coronavirus and the fact not many people would be hiring these days, but they are more fearful of watching their families go hungry.
The Good News: Hotels in New York City and the UK are opening up free rooms for hospital workers putting in 18-hour shifts helping to combat COVID-19. The hope is to give those workers a place to sleep that is closer to work than their home.
Click on the link below to view how COVID- 19 has affected popular areas around the country:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51948578
News RoundUp: March 25, 2020:
Congress has finally come to an agreement on a $2 Trillion Stimulus package that will send money to the Americas during these pandemic times. The package has many stages to it but on an individual level, the first phase is taxpayers who make less than $75,000 will receive $1,200 with an additional $500 per kid. The second phase on the individual level will be taxpayers who make more than $99,000. The other money within the package goes to bailing out small businesses, helping businesses keep employees on the payroll, lending money to businesses, extending unemployment packages, and money that goes to hospitals and medical facilities. The legislation is likely to be passed over from Congress to the White House to make final changes late Wednesday.
New York City and the surrounding suburbs now account for 5 percent of the global cases of Coronavirus.
President Trump said yesterday he hopes to have the “U.S. opened up” by Easter, April 12, 2020. What this means for the country and the world is unknown. According to the New York Times, many public health officials say that if this happens, people will return to normal interactions around the peak of the virus. President Trump, on the other hand, says that the outcome of social isolation and a crippled economy will have worse outcomes than the virus.
As of 5 p.m. March 25, Vermont will have a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” ordinance, ordered by Gov. Phil Scott. All nonessential businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations, etc. will be closed until April 15.
Today was the first day of India’s Lockdown, becoming the world’s largest lockdown with 1.3 billion people. The lockdown will last 21 days, but health officials in India said they believe it will last longer.
Good news? Yale’s most popular class, all about happiness, is now online for free: https://www.businessinsider.com/coursera-yale-science-of-wellbeing-free-course-review-overview
News RoundUp: March 24, 2020
What is a “shelter in place”? Shelter in place or “stay home” is a less strict way to urge people to stop leaving their homes unless it is for essentials, such as groceries, pharmacies, etc.
What is a lockdown? A lockdown is much stricter than a shelter in place. Lockdowns usually come with a curfew and consequences following if you are caught without a valid reason.
The following states have either declared a lockdown and/ or shelter in place for certain areas within the state or the whole state itself: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin
The 2020 Summer Olympics taking place in Tokyo, Japan has been postponed until the summer of 2021 by the International Olympics Committee and the Prime Minister of Japan.
Italy remains at the epicenter on COVID-19 with 6,077 deaths and 63,928 active cases. New York City now has 26,000 cases.
According to banking investment firm Goldman Sachs 2.25 million people are predicted to file for unemployment claims as coronavirus cases worsen around the country.
The deadline to file federal taxes, usually on April 15, has been postponed until July 15.
The Good News: According to Johns Hopkins research more than 100,000 people have fully recovered from the COVID-19 infection.
Click on the link to view 20 hilarious TikToks about COVID-19
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/coronavirus-quarantine-funny-tiktoks