Excuses will be offered. Justifications will be made. But Americans who should not be dying are dying.
Trump has taken a more active public role in recent weeks protecting statues of long-dead Confederate generals than either trying to stop the spread of Covid-19, which is clearly exploding around the country after he encouraged states to reopen early, or getting to the bottom of attacks on US service members paid for by Russia.
Russian bounties on US troops: Reports that Russians may have placed bounties on US forces in Afghanistan have been met with a shrug by the White House.
Excuses include:
The reports are unverified.
The President was not briefed.
"Rogue intelligence officers" are out to embarrass the President.
Anything with regard to Russia is complicated by his friendly attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin has had everyone from his former FBI director to the speaker of the House wondering if Vladimir Putin has something over Trump. And CNN's Stephen Collinson points out that Trump has seemed to use kid gloves with regard to Russia, to the point where it's a punchline:
There's one constant in each new twist of the drama over Russia that has overshadowed every day of Trump's term in the Oval Office.
Each time there's a damaging story on the issue, he makes exactly the same move -- dumping on the US intelligence that lies behind it. It was a similar story when the President used a Helsinki summit with Putin to throw US intelligence agencies under the bus over their assessments that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help him win.
Trump is equally dismissive of science when it comes to coronavirus. While the Russia bounty reports required Trump's attention, his refusal to lead Americans, specifically on the issue of face masks, requires willful indifference to obvious fact and disregard for the power he holds to help save lives.
"We must have no stigma, none, about wearing masks when we leave our homes and come near other people. Wearing simple face coverings is not about protecting ourselves, it is about protecting everyone we encounter," McConnell said on the Senate floor Monday.
A political debate that's costing lives. And Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who is retiring and so ever-so-slightly willing to speak his mind, nailed the mask debate on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
"Unfortunately this simple lifesaving practice has become part of a political debate that says: If you're for Trump, you don't wear a mask. If you're against Trump, you do," Alexander said.
Ergo: people will die when folks follow the President's lead. That's an undeniable fact as coronavirus runs rampant in the US, while other countries seem to contain it.
Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, used wartime language and said Trump had "surrendered" on coronavirus.
The excuses sound the same even when lives aren't at stake. The White House said the President didn't know the guy with the Trump sign in the golf cart yelled "White Power!" in the video he retweeted.
He never knows. It's always someone else's fault. And usually that someone or something is specifically trying to bring him down. Often, he'll blame Barack Obama.
Wash, rinse, repeat is a cycle that is getting very repetitive more than three years into the Trump administration. But now, with so many American lives on the line, it's a pattern that's harder to dismiss.
New Englanders planning road trips over state lines this summer should know that self-quarantine rules due to the coronavirus pandemic vary from state to state.
Here are the latest self-quarantine rules for every New England state:
Out-of-state visitors must self-quarantine for 14 days. Beginning July 1, travelers from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and New Jersey who enter Massachusetts will be exempt from the rule.
“These surrounding states, like Massachusetts, are seeing a significant decline in cases and new hospitalizations,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Lodging establishments are asking visitors to sign a document stating that they self-quarantined for 14 days.
Anyone visiting from an area that’s still under a stay-at-home order or similar type of restriction must self-quarantine for 14 days.
Visitors from counties with fewer than 400 active cases of COVID-19 per one million residents can travel to Vermont without self-quarantining. Travelers can find out which spots meet that criteria here. All others must complete a 14 day self-quarantine or a seven-day self-quarantine followed by a negative COVID-19 test.
All out-of-state travelers booking lodging must sign and complete a Certificate of Compliance saying they have met all self-quarantine requirements.
Maine visitors are exempt from the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine if they provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of their arrival.
“Additionally, the State will exempt residents of New Hampshire and Vermont from the testing and 14-day quarantine requirement altogether because, when adjusted for population, the prevalence of active cases of COVID-19 in these states is similar to that in Maine,” according to the office of Gov. Janet Mills.
As of July 1, Maine visitors who are not residents of New Hampshire or Vermont will be asked to sign a “Certificate of Compliance,” which indicates that they’ve received a negative COVID-19 test result, will quarantine in Maine for 14 days, or have already completed a quarantine in Maine. The form must be provided during check-in at all Maine lodging, campgrounds, seasonal rentals, and overnight camps. Visitors may be asked for proof of the negative test result.
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Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey issued a travel advisory asking for visitors from states experiencing high infection rates to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“All travelers entering Connecticut from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or higher than a 10 percent test positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average, shall self-quarantine for a period of 14 days,” according to an executive order by Gov. Ned Lamont.
Connecticut joined forces with New York and New Jersey “in order to ensure that the tri-state area is protected from community transmission of COVID-19, while permitting free travel between and among the states,” according to the order.
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A new juice bar will open in Downtown Boise near the Grove Plaza.
Kwench Juice Cafe plans a full-service juice, smoothie, and CBD shop in the former location of the Snake River Tea Room on 8th St. near Main St. in Boise.
Snake River Tea shifted to an online-only model at the beginning of the year, closing its physical retail store.
The franchised Kwench menu includes raw juices, juice cleanse programs, juice shots, smoothies, and açai and pitaya bowls. It sits directly across the 8th street pedestrian street from Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which also offers juices and smoothies – as well as food items.
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Kwench currently features nine locations across the country, with another ten in the works, including Boise.
Even before a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, some activists are ready to attack it; this woman attended a “Reopen Virginia” protest in Richmond in April.
Science’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center.
Within days of the first confirmed novel coronavirus case in the United States on 20 January, antivaccine activists were already hinting on Twitter that the virus was a scam—part of a plot to profit from an eventual vaccine.
Nearly half a year later, scientists around the world are rushing to create a COVID-19 vaccine. An approved product is still months, if not years, away and public health agencies have not yet mounted campaigns to promote it. But health communication experts say they need to start to lay the groundwork for acceptance now, because the flood of misinformation from antivaccine activists has surged.
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Such activists have “kicked into overdrive,” says Neil Johnson, a physicist at George Washington University who studies the dynamics of antivaccine groups on social networks. He estimates that in recent months, 10% of the Facebook pages run by people asking questions about vaccines have already switched to antivaccine views.
Recent polls have found as few as 50% of people in the United States are committed to receiving a vaccine, with another quarter wavering. Some of the communities most at risk from the virus are also the most leery: Among Black people, who account for nearly one-quarter of U.S. COVID-19 deaths, 40% said they wouldn’t get a vaccine in a mid-May poll by the Associated Press and the University of Chicago. In France, 26% said they wouldn’t get a coronavirus vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now working on a plan to boost “vaccine confidence” as part of the federal effort to develop a vaccine, Director Robert Redfield told a Senate committee this week. Advocates urge campaigns that include personal messages and storytelling. “We better use every minute we have between now and when that vaccine or vaccines are ready, because it’s real fragile ground right now,” says Heidi Larson, an anthropologist and head of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Even before the pandemic, public health agencies around the world were struggling to counter increasingly sophisticated efforts to turn people against vaccines. With vaccination rates against measles and other infectious diseases falling in some locations, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 listed “vaccine hesitancy” as one of 10 major global health threats.
Any coronavirus vaccine will face additional hurdles, especially the lack of a long-term safety record, Johnson says. The frenetic pace of vaccine development may play into that concern. Even advocates have worried that the rush for a vaccine raises the risk it could be ineffective or have harmful side effects. Consider the very name for the U.S. vaccine initiative, Operation Warp Speed, says Bruce Gellin, president of the nonprofit Sabin Vaccine Institute. “What is a worse name for something that’s supposed to give you trust in a product that you want everybody to take?”
Do you plan to get a coronavirus vaccine when one is available?
For some in the United States, the answer is no, according to a survey of 1056 people in mid-May.
(GRAPHIC) V. ALTOUNIAN/SCIENCE; (DATA) Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago
Del Bigtree, a U.S.-based vaccine critic, claims scientists are pursuing one of “the most dangerous vaccines ever attempted,” for a virus that poses little risk to most people. He says he spreads his message through an online talk show, Twitter, and presentations, and that “we have seen incredible growth” since the pandemic started.
In addition to safety concerns, activists have embraced a plethora of other antivaccine messages. In May, a documentary-style video, “Plandemic,” purporting that COVID-19 related deaths were exaggerated and a vaccine could kill millions, got more than 7 million views on YouTube before it was removed because of its unsubstantiated claims. U.S. activists in late April hosted an online “Freedom Health Summit” featuring antivaccine leaders and railing against “medical tyranny” during shutdowns. Other outlandish claims include that vitamin C can cure COVID-19 and that the disease is a conspiracy involving philanthropist Bill Gates. Statements by French doctors that coronavirus vaccines might be tested in Africa led to fears of Africans being exploited in trials.
Social media posts that create the impression of a real debate over vaccine safety can tap into psychological habits that make people think doing nothing is safer than taking action, says Damon Centola, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania. He fears such concerns could spread more easily among people already suspicious of medical authority, including minority communities. For example, many Black people are keenly aware of the history of medical experiments such as the infamous federal Tuskegee Study, which failed to treat Black men with syphilis. “That, to me, is the major issue of the day that I’m very worried about,” Centola says.
Accuracy and authority are at a disadvantage in a media environment that favors speed, emotion, and memorable stories, says Peter Sheridan Dodds, a complex systems scientist at the University of Vermont who studies how ideas move through social media. Antivaccine activists have used those factors to attract followers, Dodds says. “In the end, it’s story wars.”
Vaccine promoters say they need to start now to counter all this, because epidemiologists estimate that to break the pandemic, 70% of the population may need to develop immunity, either by getting a vaccine or becoming infected. Health communication experts suggest taking some pages from the antivaccine playbook. When more than
40 experts from around the world gathered online for a strategy session organized by experts with the City University of New York and LSHTM, a top recommendation was to develop faster, more creative ways to communicate with the public that “speak more directly to the emotions.”
Traditional messages promoting vaccination—authoritative and fact-filled—just don’t cut it with people worried about vaccine safety, says Larson, who helped organize the 20 May meeting. “We don’t have enough flavors” of messages, adds Larson, whose book about vaccine rumors is about to be released. “I’ve had people say to me, ‘All these social media platforms can send us to WHO or CDC. … We’ve been there, but it doesn’t have the answers to the questions we have.’”
Some current initiatives have pioneered a more story-based approach. The National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, which promotes vaccination against the human papillomavirus, a leading cause of cervical cancer, uses YouTube videos of women who survived cervical cancer. “We need to get better at storytelling,” says Noel Brewer, a behavioral scientist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and chair of the HPV roundtable. “We need to carry positive stories and also negative stories about the harms of not vaccinating.” The downsides of refusing a coronavirus vaccine might include not visiting grandparents and continuing to traverse the produce aisle as if it were a minefield.
In West Africa, officials are deploying the same tools that spread rumors about vaccines to counter them, says Thabani Maphosa, who oversees operations in 73 countries for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which supplies and promotes vaccines around the world. In Liberia, for example, officials are using Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging app to survey people and to address the rumors behind a drop in routine vaccinations. “We need to use this as a teachable moment,” Maphosa says.
In the United States, the nonprofit Public Good Projects plans to recruit volunteers to swarm outbreaks of vaccine misinformation online and eventually develop memes and videos, says CEO Joe Smyser.
But the most effective tools may lie outside the digital realm. Real-world nudges and infrastructure, such as phone call reminders to come in for a shot, may be more powerful than any social media campaign, Brewer says. Social media doesn’t have “as much of an effect as you would imagine from the noise it’s generating,” he adds.
Public health agencies should consider taking vaccinations out of medical settings and into places where people work or shop, adds Monica Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist at Johns Hopkins University. That also means talking to leaders in various communities to understand their views. Such outreach could prove particularly important with minority communities. “You really do have to meet people where they are both figuratively and literally,” she says.
Carl Reiner, the American comedy master who died Monday at 98, was one of the most staggeringly versatile personalities in show business. In a rich career that spanned the Eisenhower era to the age of Twitter, Reiner rose from variety show "second banana" to Hollywood giant, earning laurels as a stand-up comic, actor, director, screenwriter, author and producer.
Here's a look — in chronological order — at some of Reiner's most essential cultural contributions, and where you can watch them.
"Your Show of Shows" (1950-1954)
The legendary comics Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca starred in this 90-minute variety showcase, an ancestor to edgier series such as "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and "Saturday Night Live." But it was also a launching pad for Reiner, one of the featured performers and writers, alongside lifelong friend Mel Brooks and playwright Neil Simon. (The backstage antics on "Your Show of Shows" inspired the film "My Favorite Year," produced by Brooks, and the play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor," written by Simon.)
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Reiner and Brooks became one of the leading comedic duos of the 20th century with this mostly improvised routine immortalized on five record albums. The premise was simple — Brooks played the titular character, a kvetchy fellow who has seen it all ("I have over 1,500 children and not one of them ever comes to visit!"); Reiner played an expertly deadpan interviewer — but the schtick was endless. The last album, "The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000" (1997), won a Grammy.
Where to watch (and listen): YouTube has clips of Reiner and Brooks performing the act on television, as well as a half-hour animated television special released in 1975. Amazon sells the classic albums on CD.
"The Dick Van Dyke Show"(1961-1966)
Reiner created and co-wrote this Emmy-winning, era-defining sitcom that followed the life and times of TV comedy scribe Rob Petrie (Van Dyke) and his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), with Reiner making occasional on-screen appearances as Alan Brady, the vain and impetuous star of Rob's fictional show. (Reiner returned to the character on a 1995 episode of "Mad About You," a guest appearance that earned him an Emmy Award.)
Where to watch: Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, plus DVD and Blu-ray editions for sale on Amazon.
"Oh, God!" (1977)
Reiner made his directorial debut with "Enter Laughing" (1967), an adaptation of his own novel and stage play. But he achieved greater commercial and critical attention for his fourth outing as a director. "Oh, God!" stars country crooner John Denver as a supermarket employee who is selected by God (George Burns, a comedy legend in his own right) to spread the gospel in our modern, media-saturated world. In the year of "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters," Reiner's gentle satire was a sleeper hit.
Where to watch: It's available for rent via iTunes, Google Play, Vudu and a few other video-on-demand services.
"The Jerk" (1979)
The button-pushing humor in this Reiner-directed film — a 95-minute romp about the misadventures of the white adopted son of Black sharecroppers — is no doubt problematic by today's standards. But the movie, a surprise box-office success that catapulted Steve Martin to Hollywood stardom, has nonetheless found new audiences over the last four decades. Reiner and Martin teamed up on three other movies: "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid," "The Man with Two Brains" and the cult favorite "All of Me."
Where to watch: Starz; also available for rent via iTunes, Google Play and a few other video-on-demand platforms. ("The Jerk" was distributed by Universal Pictures, a unit of NBC News' parent company, NBCUniversal.)
"Ocean's" film series (2001-2007)
If you're of a certain age, Reiner may be most familiar as the cranky but sharp-tongued con artist Saul Bloom in Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven" and its two follow-ups. George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon took center stage as the series progressed, but Reiner remained a memorable, soulful presence as an aging crook trying to keep up with his younger compatriots. The first and third installments give Reiner a chance to show off his wry comic chops and fondness for accents.
Where to watch: All three movies are available for rent on the usual VOD platforms, but they're also on basic cable virtually every day.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – JULY 3: Fans seated on the baseball field watch the patriotic fireworks light up the sky atop the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum after the Oakland Athletics lost 3-4 against the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Jul. 3, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
You might not be watching any actual fireworks displays this year, but you can still listen to songs about fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Here are some of the top songs that mention, reference or allude to fireworks:
“Fireworks,” Katy Perry (2010)
I’ll start with perhaps the most obvious choice: Perry’s uplifting blockbuster from her terrific third studio album, “Teenage Dream.” And I don’t use the term “blockbuster” lightly here. “Fireworks” is one of the biggest singles of all time, having been certified 11-times platinum, and it’s video has been viewed over 1.2 billion times on YouTube alone.
“Afternoon Delight,” Starland Vocal Band (1976)
Sure, most people believe there is some sexual innuendo in the fireworks-themed lyrics — “Sky rockets in flight / Afternoon delight” — but I have a strict policy of never reading too far into the meaning of Starland Vocal Band songs. It is odd, however, that someone would choose to shoot off skyrockets in the middle of the afternoon.
“Fireworks,” First Aid Kit (2018)
The Swedish folk-pop duo is one of my favorite acts of the last 10 years. And the two sisters — Klara and Johanna Söderberg — definitely do not disappoint on this haunting, shimmering ballad from their must-have sophomore release, “Ruins.”
“4th of July,” X (2007)
The legendary Los Angeles punk band delivers this roots-rock gem, with Joe Doe on lead vocals and Exene Cervenka adding exquisite harmony work, on its sixth studio album, “See How We Are.” Chalk it up as further proof that X needs to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“Fireworks,” Drake featuring Alicia Keys (2010)
The Canadian hip-hop megastar kicks off his debut album, “Thank Me Later,” in memorable fashion with this smoldering track. Drake’s rapping skills are on full display here, nicely complemented by Keys’ mesmerizing work with the chorus.
“Just Watch the Fireworks,” Jimmy Eat World (1999)
If you only know Jimmy Eat World for “The Middle” — which, admittedly, just might be the best pop-punk tune ever recorded by a band not named the Buzzcocks or the Mr. T Experience — then make time to listen to the emo-classic “Clarity,” which presents a very different side of the band. And one of the highlights of that album is this powerful “Fireworks” number.
“Sparks Will Fly,” J. Cole featuring Jhené Aiko (2013)
Cole is at the top of his game on this fiery number, which features tremendous vocal work from Aiko on the chorus. You can find this bonus track on the extended edition of “Born Sinner,” which, for my money, remains Cole’s best album.
“Fireworks,” Embrace (1997)
It’s a breathtaking beauty, delivered with gentle care by the British indie-rock act Embrace in advance of the release of its debut album, “The Good Will Out.” Warning: Don’t be surprised if “Fireworks” leads to multiple hours of listening to Embrace music.
“Fireworks at Dawn,” Senses Fall (2008)
The New Jersey post-hardcore/screamo act leads off its third studio album, “Life Is Not a Waiting Room,” with this emotionally raw and poignant number. The song builds nicely for about the first minute and then really takes off like a rocket, propelled by Garrett Zablocki and Heath Saraceno’s guitar work.
“Your Hand in Mine,” Explosions in the Sky (2004)
With a name like Explosions in the Sky, I figured I had to include at least one soaring instrumental from the Texas post-rock powerhouse on this list. And this number from the “Friday Night Lights” soundtrack is an absolute gem. Honorable mentions go out to other bands with firework-friendly names, including the Bottle Rockets and Catherine Wheel.
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Simon Property Group might want to own bankrupt J.C. Penney in order to be able to redevelop some of its best real estate and make it even better, according to one analyst.
"We believe Simon wants to control the J.C. Penney boxes and land so that it can ultimately redevelop many of these in order to densify and introduce mixed use elements," Compass Point real estate analyst Floris van Dijkum said. "A redevelopment (that would require zoning approvals, capital, and time) could unlock significantly greater value while boosting traffic for the retail."
Simon is considering teaming up with Brookfield Properties and Barneys New York parent company Authentic Brands Group to make a bid for J.C. Penney, a person familiar with the talks told CNBC. The person requested anonymity because the discussions are private and remain ongoing.
Simon, the biggest mall owner in the country, has a Penney store in about 50% of its U.S. malls, based on van Dijkum's analysis. It had 63 Penney department stores as of the end of the first quarter. The land value for Penney's owned stores, not the leased locations, is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, he said.
Still, Penney will be left with hundreds of stores even after those closures, and will remain one of Simon's largest anchor tenants, only behind the department store chain Macy's, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Representatives from Simon, Brookfield and ABG were not immediately available to comment on this story. Penney declined to comment.
Before the Covid-19 crisis forced America's malls temporarily shut, Simon was bringing in $673 in sales per square foot, on average, according to Compass Point. A Penney store tends to take up 12% of a total mall's square footage, but has very low productivity, bringing in sales of roughly $114 per square foot, van Dijkum said.
Penney is still open at some of Simon's highest-grossing, so-called A-rated malls, including Roosevelt Field in East Garden City, New York; Fashion Valley in San Diego; Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida and Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois.
"The anticipated joint bid by Simon and Brookfield Retail, the second largest owner of U.S. malls, with Authentic Brands for J.C. Penney makes sense from a strategic perspective ... as these two landlords could control the redevelopment at some of their best assets," van Dijkum explained in a Tuesday note to clients.
"We have little insight into the financial aspects at this stage but could see significant value creation potential should mall owners increase control over their most valuable assets and land sites."
This deal, if completed, would mark Simon's third takeover of a retailer of late. It bought the teen apparel retailer Aeropostale out of bankruptcy in 2016. And then, with Brookfield and ABG, it bought Forever 21 out of bankruptcy in February at an $81 million price tag.
"I think there is a place for J.C. Penney," Salter said in the phone interview. "They have been floundering. They haven't really found their spot. ... But I think there is a play for J.C. Penney. I think J.C. Penney needs a purpose. And I have my ideas on what it should be."
Salter did not comment directly on any talks with Penney during bankruptcy proceedings.
Although Simon CEO David Simon has touted publicly how the real estate owner has made money off of its Aeropostale deal, hinting the company could do more such acquisitions, not everyone on Wall Street thinks these are safe bets.
"I think investors would rather see them spend capital on their business," Mizuho Securities analyst Haendel St. Juste told CNBC.
"It feels like it is a slippery slope," he said. "I get it, these are large tenants. But that's not your business."
Meantime, Simon is trying to get out of its deal to buy the high-end mall owner Taubman, arguing the pandemic has impacted Taubman's business disproportionately.
Simon on June 10 said it was terminating the merger, which had been announced on Feb. 10. But Taubman responded by saying it would "vigorously contest Simon's purported termination." The dispute has since moved to a mediation phase, with a trial set for later this year.
Simon shares were up about 1% Tuesday afternoon. The stock has fallen more than 54% this year, bringing the company's market cap to $21.1 billion.
In a press release Monday, Simon said 199 of its 204 properties in the U.S. have reopened during the Covid-19 pandemic. Together, the properties generate 95% of its net operating income. It said the final five properties should be reopened in the next week.
"Since reopening, many tenants have reported higher-than-expected conversion rates and sales," Simon said.
“While the decision to close is a difficult one, the realities that restaurants across the country face are truly sobering,” the post said. “It is with this in mind, that we say goodbye to Café Cancale and focus our attention to steering our collective of restaurants through to the other side of this storm. … From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for the continued support and warmth we feel from the Chicago community.”
Also this week, One Off leaders announced they were shuttering Blackbird, the Michelin Star restaurant in West Loop, saying it could not continue to operate under the current coronavirus restrictions.
In April, employees of One Off spoke out against the restaurant group‘s handling of the COVID-19 shutdown, claiming the group mishandled more than $90,000 in GoFundMe donations.
The owners said they did the best they could under difficult circumstances and they even kicked in $180,000 extra to extend employees’ health insurance benefits.
Now, the city’s rules for Phase 4 of reopening allow bars and restaurants to serve at 25 percent capacity indoors, among other restrictions.
Some industry leaders say that isn’t enough to save Chicago’s struggling dining scene. Other restaurateurs either can’t operate their businesses with the city’s new requirements — or don’t want to.
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Editor's note: Updated on June 30th with the latest information regarding the amount remaining for PPP loans.
When the Paycheck Protection Program sunsets at midnight on July 1, the historic business stimulus program will have doled out more than $518 billion in forgivable loans to more than 4.7 million American businesses. But with PPP money already running low for many companies and the continuing spread of the coronavirus threatening to shut them once again, there's surprisingly little argument on Capitol Hill about what to do with the $134 billion that remains in the program.
In recent weeks, lawmakers have been increasingly voicing support for the Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program Act, or P4, which extends the application deadline for initial PPP loans from June 30 to December 30, or longer. It would be up to the discretion of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which would continue to administer the program. The bill, which would be open only to companies that already got PPP loans, would offer stricter eligibility requirements than the PPP and create additional carve-outs for the companies hardest hit by the pandemic. It would also disqualify publicly traded companies from participating.
"There's consensus that a follow-up PPP would need to be more targeted and [have to have] some refinements made," says Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, a nonpartisan advocacy group in Vienna, Virginia. She notes that the original version of the PPP lost steam largely because of the program's restrictions, which were mostly ironed out through subsequent legislation but still turned many business owners off. "Its structure just didn't work for many types of small businesses," Kerrigan says.
While the terms and conditions could change as the House and Senate reconcile their versions of the bill, here's what companies can now expect from the P4:
Small businesses--including sole proprietors and self-employed individuals--with 100 or fewer employees may access the program. The original PPP allowed companies with 500 or fewer employees to participate.
Businesses must already have exhausted a PPP loan or be on track to do so.
Companies need to demonstrate that the pandemic caused revenue loss of 50 percent or more. It's unclear over what period businesses would need to show the loss. Under the original version of the PPP, companies needed to show only that they expected to be harmed by the pandemic.
The lesser of $25 billion or 20 percent of P4 funds would be earmarked for businesses with 10 or fewer employees, as well as for small businesses in underserved and rural communities.
The SBA would be directed to issue new guidance, giving priority to businesses with 10 or fewer employees. The agency must also request demographic information of P4 and PPP loan recipients.
Eligible small businesses could access as much as 250 percent of monthly payroll costs worth up to $2 million. Hospitality and lodging businesses with multiple locations would be limited to an aggregate loan amount of $2 million. The original PPP offered loans of up to $10 million.
P4 recipients could apply for loan forgiveness as soon as eight weeks after the loan disbursement.
This measure is expected to fit into a larger Phase 4 bill currently being considered by Congress, and movement could come soon, says Kerrigan. But it's hardly a done deal. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), chairman of the committee overseeing small businesses, is still assessing the bill and has requested more information from the SBA, according to Kerrigan.
Further, Kerrigan says that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will be tough to win over, as he has stated publicly that he doesn't favor more stimulus for businesses. But, she adds, this bill's more directed approach--contrasted with the original PPP's fire-hose strategy where almost everyone qualified--could make a difference. "There's growing Republican support for a targeted bill like this."
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 63,497 as of Monday, including 5,915 deaths, state officials report.
New cases have increased slightly in the last week, while deaths remain flat in Michigan. Testing has remained steady, with an average of more than 14,000 per day in the last two weeks. There was a slight uptick in hospitalizations last week.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will provide an update on the state’s handling of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Tuesday afternoon.
The update is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
For the first few months of the pandemic, Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun provided almost daily COVID-19 updates. But as the increase in cases flattened, the updates became more spread out.
Whitmer’s return-to-school plan
Whitmer is expected to announce a back-to-school plan for Fall 2020. Whitmer said earlier this month that Michigan schools will be allowed to resume in-person learning within phase four of her reopening plan. She is expected to release her “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap” on Tuesday.
Three people who tested positive for COVID-19 reported being at Fifth Avenue Royal Oak on June 19 during the evening, prior to the start of their symptoms.
The COVID-19 potential exposure was identified through case investigations conducted by the Oakland County Health Division.
The individuals reported crowded conditions at the establishment, which describes itself as catering to sports and entertainment patrons.
Fifth Avenue is located at 215 W. 5th Ave. in Royal Oak.
The annual event usually attracts an estimated 1.5 million people to the Woodward Corridor in Oakland County. This year’s Dream Cruise was scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15.
“The timing right now is not right for this,” said Birmingham City Manager Joe Valentine. “What we are trying to avoid are people coming in from out of town, the state and the world that are attracted by promoting. We advise them now is not the time to come to Birmingham and Woodward Corridor.”
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities have accounted for more than 1 in 5 coronavirus deaths here in Michigan and have become a major point of contention within the state.
Signing with five other leading congressional Republicans who sit on the House Subcommittee on the coronavirus, they demanded answers about why the state ignored advice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which warned not to release COVID patients into long-term care.
“Everybody was feeling good about the situation,” said city councilperson Aimée Fluitt. “And then on Wednesday, we had two more cases.”
A new wave of COVID-19 appeared and the Wayne County Health Department said there are a few dozen recent cases making its way through the Grosse Pointe communities.
“Then on Friday yesterday, we had 12 Market Park cases, so that was a 25% increase in our cases just in one day,” Fluitt said. “So, in the last four days we’ve gone from 48 cases to 68 cases.”
The Republican arm of the ‘Return To Learn’ plan pledged an appropriation of $1 billion, ostensibly to stop the bloodletting of frightened, desperate school distracts that have seven days to turn in budgets and are opting for worst-case scenarios with layoffs.
They proposed a $1.3 billion plan to help K-12 schools reopen during the pandemic, saying districts should have flexibility to start when they want and to offer remote instruction as an alternative if necessary.
Meanwhile, Gov. Whitmer is expected to reveal her own return-to-school plan on Tuesday, June 30.
The electric vehicle maker turned 10 years old as a publicly traded company on Monday, a stretch in which it rallied from its IPO price of $17 a share to over $1,000.
Just this year, shares have risen more than 130%. The stock is on track for its best quarter since 2013.
Ari Wald, head of technical analysis at Oppenheimer, said Monday that one key level should indicate whether the stock has more room to run.
"It still screens positively in our trend work, and for that reason we stick with it," Wald told CNBC's "Trading Nation."
"Here's a stock that's trying to break through its February peak. And I think from a trading basis, you like to see the stock price hold above its 50-day moving average at around $900 support if this this breakout is going to occur sooner rather than late."
"More broadly speaking, we continue to expect these higher-growth companies to receive a premium in this low-rate and low-commodity world so you have top-down portfolio tailwinds to boot. Stick with it," said Wald.
In the same "Trading Nation" segment, Quint Tatro, president of Joule Financial, said he sees it as a stock that trades more on faith than fundamentals.
"Tesla just has this wonderful history of proving every single person wrong, so it's very tough to bet against this company – the stock or [CEO Elon Musk]," Tatro said. "We've been in the same camp that we've been in for a long time — that is, it's not a fundamental play, it is a play based on your belief in him as a visionary and as an entrepreneur."
However, he added, after such a steep run-up this year, now might be the time to jump in.
"It pays to really buy this company in the stock when it's beaten up and everybody thinks it's going to go out of business and then [Musk] comes and pulls a rabbit out of his hat and it's off to the races," said Tatro.
A health worker sprays disinfectant inside government offices as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus. ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Imageshide caption
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ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images
Last week, I went into Planet Money's vacant office in midtown Manhattan to pick up some stuff. It felt like visiting the ruins of a bygone age. It reminded me of a time when you could hop in a crowded subway car, stroll into work without a mask, and interact with your colleagues without having to stare at their disembodied heads through a computer screen.
Our building is still mostly abandoned, but our building's manager had already taken precautions for that elusive day when we might all return. There were stand-six-feet-apart circles in the lobby to encourage social distance. Our elevators could only fit four circles, and they didn't even seem like they were actually six feet apart. This being a skyscraper, it had always been a pain in the butt to wait for the elevator. The already-mobbed lines would be insane in a world where elevators could only fit four people at rush hour. Door handles, bathrooms, coffee machines, meeting rooms, and the office kitchen all seem like radioactive sites for the virus. And that doesn't even get into the HVAC system pushing bad air all around.
The experience really hammered home that the grand experiment of remote work will be here for a while. And it really is grand. A new study by Erik Brynjolfsson, at MIT, and five other economists, digs into the numbers on remote work. They conducted two major surveys in April and May, and they find that about half of the entire American workforce is now remote, which is higher than previous estimates. That bears repeating: half of the entire workforce is now working remote.
In a previous newsletter, we gave a bearish case for the future of remote work. We spoke with the Stanford psychologist Jeremy Bailenson, whose research shows how existing technologies like Zoom are a poor substitute for face-to-face interactions. A computer screen can't match the physical office when it comes to opportunities for social bonding, managerial oversight, mentorship and support, and random collisions between colleagues that lead to new ideas.
But there's also the bullish case for remote work. Brynjolfsson, who has spent years studying the intersection of technology and economics, points to its many advantages. Workers don't have to waste time or resources commuting. And they can live where they want. Companies can save money on commercial real estate, which is insanely expensive in places like Manhattan and Silicon Valley (side note: this also shifts the cost of real estate to workers, but that's another discussion). A virtual office offers a virtually unlimited labor pool for companies to recruit from. In econ jargon, there are better "matching" opportunities. "You get to tap into the best people wherever they are," Brynjolfsson says. Moreover, he argues, this shift is pushing companies to focus on performance and output as opposed to just "clocking hours."
A large number of blue-chip companies — including Twitter and Facebook — have said that they are freeing all or many of their employees to become roving nomads forever. Companies, Brynjolfsson believes, are now realizing remote work is less scary than they had imagined and that it's actually making them more efficient and productive. Brynjolfsson says "this portends a much bigger shift in the economy."
Yet, the technology we're all using to do remote work has been with us for decades now. And at the very same time this tech burst on the scene, companies — and especially high-tech companies — doubled down on having offices. Think Google's Googleplex and Apple's "Mothership," which opened only a few years ago. In 2013, the CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, even banned working from home.
"There's a lot of inertia in the way people work," Brynjolfsson says. "And it's actually quite hard to change the processes, the culture, the training, the types of work and tasks that people are doing. And so unless there's a shock, most people will tend to continue to do things the old way."
When it comes to the utilization of new technologies, Brynjolfsson sees a process he calls "the Productivity J-Curve." The J-curve refers to a pattern he sees in the data, showing that companies are slow to adopt new technologies, and when they do, productivity actually dips at first. They have to invest time and money adopting it, which slows them down. But, like any investment, it ends up paying off.
The core idea of the J-Curve, he says, is "when you have a powerful new technology like electricity or the Internet or the steam engine or artificial intelligence — work does not instantly change to take advantage of it." After electricity was invented, he says, it took over thirty years for factories to be retooled and for society to see big gains from it. "Likewise, with remote work, I don't think people really were forced to think through all the things that we could do and how well it could work," he says.
Brynjolfsson recognizes that the physical office offers some social and economic benefits. "It's probably a good idea for people to come in sometime," he says. But this grand experiment of remote work, he says, is forcing companies to rethink their operations, drop an outdated mindset, and discover more efficient ways of working. He believes many of these changes will stick once the pandemic ends.
After visiting the Planet Money office, I left wondering how long it'd be until we'd come back. And I hopped in my car to go home because there's no way I'm riding the subway these days.
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