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Stranger Than Fiction
A brief daily note of things you might find interesting or useful
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TOP NEWS
State governments seek reimbursement from federal government for cost to fight COVID-19. State governments in the U.S. estimate the collective expense of fighting the pandemic at some $45 billion, which most want the federal government to repay in full. FEMA says they’re only entitled to 75% of those costs.
States begin to reopen, but rules vary widely. In Connecticut, stores, museums and offices are allowed to reopen. However, in nearby New Jersey, the reopening is limited to curbside pickup at retail stores and allowances for certain industries. By the end of this week, Alaska will be full reopen as it was pre-pandemic.
Birth rates in U.S. fall to record low. Birth rates in the United States started to fall during the 2007-09 recession and never fully recovered. About 3.75 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2019, down 1% from the prior year. The general fertility rate fell 2% to 58.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, its lowest level since the government began tracking the figure in 1909.
Asian American doctors and nurses face sharp increase in racist verbal abuse and physical attacks. Some COVID-19 patients refuse to be treated by them. And when doctors and nurses leave the hospital, they face increasing harassment in their daily lives.
WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO
THE COMMENT
“No amount of government aid is going to persuade many people to buy work clothes they don’t need, eat at a recently shuttered restaurant, enjoy an exercise class wearing a mask or take a long trip. That spending hasn’t been replaced by alternatives; it’s just gone, and it will be a long time coming back to where it was in February. In some cases, it never will.” - Megan McArdle
THE STRANGEST
THE AV ROOM