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Stranger Than Fiction
A brief daily note of things you might find interesting or useful
I helped to create a great new newsletter for WSJ that is sent every Saturday. I think you’ll really enjoy it, it’s called Notes on the News. Check it out here.You can support the newsletter that you’re reading right now using PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, or purchase a subscription on Substack.Don’t forget to join us in the Stranger Slack for access to source documents and a running feed of news throughout the day.
TOP NEWS
More than 3.8 million Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, raising the total to over 30 million. States are struggling to keep up with the flood of claims sent to antiquated, decades old systems.
Despite a devastated economy, Wall Street investors have pushed the tech index into positive territory. Nasdaq has nearly recovered all of its losses from this year. Five tech companies, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet have such a huge market cap that their strong performance has helped sustain the overall market. Amazon and Apple will release earnings today.
Trump officials have pushed intel agencies to look for evidence to bolster the claim that COVID-19 was created in a lab in China. Some analysts are worried the pressure to come to a conclusion that China was responsible may distort the findings.
Millions of vaccines may be ready by January. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House COVID task force, said it is possible that hundreds of millions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine could be ready by January, as the Trump administration seeks to speed vaccine development.
WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO
Doctors in Italy and the U.K. have raised the alarm over a small but growing number of children displaying symptoms of a rare blood-vessel disease that may be linked to COVID-19
Young, inexperienced doctors are being thrust into caring for COVID-19 patients
Swiss say young children can hug their grandparents, experts aren’t so sure
THE COMMENT
“The problem workers face, said Debbie Berkowitz, director of the worker health and safety program at the National Employment Law Project, is that while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has provided “guidance,” it has so far “declined to issue any requirements” for coronavirus safety at the plants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also issued “guidance.” But Berkowitz noted that it’s “very vague” and “keeps getting vaguer.”
“Trump has created a false choice between worker safety and feeding America,” Berkowitz, who has spent decades working on safety issues in meat processing, said in an interview. ‘We can do both. Other parts of the economy are doing both.’ ” - E.J. Dionne Jr.
THE STRANGEST
THE AV ROOM