- Stranger Than Fiction
- Posts
- Stranger Than Fiction
Stranger Than Fiction
A brief daily note of things you might find interesting or useful
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
U.S. expected to accuse China of attempting to steal information from coronavirus vaccine researchers. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are expected to issue the alert, accusing Beijing of working to steal from American institutions intellectual property and health information related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatment through hacking and other illicit means and may come within days.
Suburban single-family homes expected to become more desirable and more difficult to buy for even the relatively well-heeled. Rent collections and tenant retention have proven far better than commercial property amid COVID-19. April showings for American Homes rose 5% over the previous year.
South Korea sees new wave of COVID-19 cases. The country, which had earlier appeared to tame the spread, reported 35 new cases, its biggest single-day rise since April 9. The wave of new cases comes related to clubs and bars in a popular Seoul neighborhood.
White House comes closer to COVID-19. Trump’s personal valet and Katie Miller, the spokeswoman for Vice President Pence, have tested positive. “It is scary to go to work,” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Sunday during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “But, you know, it’s the time when people have to step up and serve their country.”
WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO
THE COMMENT
“U.S. case numbers have not declined as much as case numbers in other countries because we have not applied the aggressive measures that some Asian and European countries have. At best, the United States has had a piecemeal approach. Some states never issued stay-at-home orders. Social distancing was intended to buy time to prepare hospitals and scale up capacity to test, trace and isolate coronavirus infections. Hospitals are better prepared than they were two months ago, but the country still lacks the resources for mass testing and contact tracing/isolation on the scale needed to tamp down infections. New Zealand and other countries have been successful when they combined social distancing with public health measures. U.S. inaction has limited the benefits we could have realized.” - Leana S. Wen
THE STRANGEST
THE AV ROOM