Tuesday, May 19, 2020
5:05 pm ET: How 'Trolls: World Tour' Changed the Way We Watch Movies
Cheddar's own Max Godnick breaks down how the way we watch movies will be forever changed thanks to a few colorful animated characters. Trolls: World Tour raked in $95 million in rental fees in the first 19 days of release after it broke theater exclusivity in April.
3:52 pm ET: Biden Campaign Advisor Symone Sanders: 'Being at Home Hasn't Hurt Joe'
Locked in a tight battle with Donald Trump, but with public campaigning frozen by coronavirus lockdowns, the former vice president has been forced for the past two months to make his case to American voters via webcam broadcasts from the basement of his Delaware home.
And while President Trump has emerged from the White House twice in the past two weeks for factory visits in battleground states, Biden remains hunkered down.
Why? "We are listening to the scientists," Biden campaign senior advisor Symone Sanders told Cheddar on Tuesday. "Vice President Biden said just last week he can't wait to get back out there on the campaign trail, but we're going to do so when it's safe." Read more...
— Jim Roberts
3:10 pm ET: Trump Should Be 'Debunking' Anti-Malaria Drug Myths, Says Doctor
On Monday, President Donald Trump said during a press conference that he had been taking the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as unproven protection against COVID-19. The fallout has left health experts scrambling again to explain that the drug has not been shown to work against the novel coronavirus — and that it can have dangerous side effects.
While the drug is approved by the FDA for certain illnesses such as malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting public health professor at George Washington University, told Cheddar that only patients with those particular diseases or those in approved clinical trials for COVID-19 should be on the controversial treatment. Read more...
— Mike Nam
2:04 pm ET: Deaf Community Creates New Solutions for Misinformation, Isolation
From White House press briefings where top officials offer contradictory advice to social media feeds riddled with incorrect or competing information, the coronavirus pandemic has become a communications challenge as much as a health care crisis.
For those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, the problem is made worse by a lack of resources at every level of government, as well as within the healthcare system, according to Chris Soukup, CEO of Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD). Read more...
— Alex Vuocolo
2:02 pm ET: Study Shows Carbon Emissions Falls 17 Percent at Pandemic Peak
The world cut its daily carbon dioxide emissions by 17% at the peak of the pandemic shutdown last month, a new study found.
But with life and heat-trapping gas levels inching back toward normal, the brief pollution break will likely be “a drop in the ocean" when it comes to climate change, scientists said. Read more...
— The Associated Press
11:45 am ET: Zipcar Rethinks Car-Share Experience
As the pandemic took hold in the U.S. in March, GM hit pause on Maven, its experiment in the car-share space, before shutting it down for good last month. But Zipcar, which is now a sort-of elder statesman of the new mobility sector, sees opportunity amid the crisis. Last week, the company, a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, announced it would make it easier for customers to access its fleet of cars without having to go through a sign-up process. The feature, dubbed Instant Access, allows licensed drivers to snag an available car within minutes. Read more...
— Carlo Versano
10:53 am ET: Stock Indexes Are Mixed on Wall Street
Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street Tuesday, a day after the market had its biggest jump in more than five weeks. Banks were posting the biggest losses in the early going, while technology companies kept up their winning streak. Earnings reports from major retailers showed how differently those companies are faring during the coronavirus pandemic. Walmart rose after reporting a surge in sales as people stocked up on crucial supplies as they sheltered in place. But Kohl's, whose stores are closed, swung to a $541 million loss as its revenue fell more than 40%. Read more...
— The Associated Press
10:51 am ET: Amazon Helps Rhode Island Handle Influx of Unemployment Claims
As the number of unemployment claims continues to rise, states are turning to big tech companies for help, and Rhode Island is working with Amazon Web Services on the issue. Read more...
— Megan Escamilla
8:25 am ET: Need2Know: Trump Taking Unproven Drug, Promising Vaccine & Where’s Ryan Seacrest?
Get your news over easy every morning by listening to the Need 2 Know podcast (Stitcher, iTunes) and signing up for our morning newsletter.
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: President Trump says that he has been taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive treatment for the coronavirus for more than a week. The FDA has warned that the drug can cause heart abnormalities and should not be used outside of the hospital or closely monitored clinical trials. Many doctors, including the chief medical editor at Fox News, called the president’s announcement “highly irresponsible.” The White House also sent a letter to the World Health Organization saying that the U.S. would pull out and permanently end funding unless it made serious changes. NY TIMES
RACE FOR A VACCINE: Moderna, one of several American biotech companies furiously working on a COVID-19 vaccine, says the first human tests of its vaccine candidate were successful. Eight healthy volunteers, each given two shots, made antibodies that stopped in the virus from replicating in test tubes. Bigger human trials are now on tap. The promising development helped lift the stock market by 900 points. BLOOMBERG
TRUMP FIRES WATCHDOG: The Trump administration has ousted another government watchdog, this time at the State Department. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he asked President Trump to fire the department’s inspector general, Steve Linick, who was appointed by President Obama. Pompeo said Linick was sacked for “undermining” the department. Pompeo is reportedly under internal investigation for misusing department resources. CNN
CYCLONE DIRECT HIT: A massive tropical cyclone is headed for a direct hit on the India-Bangladesh border, with a potential for catastrophic damage to two countries already struggling to contain their coronavirus outbreaks. Super Cyclone Amphan has strengthened into the equivalent of a strong Cat 4 hurricane and is forecast to make landfall tomorrow near poor, densely-populated and low-lying areas that could be devastated by a strong storm surge. TRACK
AMAZON EYES JCPENNEY: Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire some or all of JCPenney’s assets out of bankruptcy. Amazon is said to be considering converting JCPenney stores into either cashier-less Amazon retail stores or fulfillment centers. WWD
MORE UBER LAYOFFS: Uber is cutting another 3,000 jobs, less than two weeks after it laid off 3,700 employees. Uber’s CEO told staff that the ride-hailing company is shutting down 45 offices and is considering further cuts, given the pandemic’s toll on its core business. CNBC
DISNEY EXEC JUMPS TO TIKTOK: The man most responsible for the rollout of Disney+ is leaving the Mouse House to become CEO of TikTok. Kevin Mayer, who led Disney’s streaming service and was recently passed over for the CEO job, becomes one of the most high-profile American executives to leave for a Chinese company. WSJ
SPOTTED...Mel Gibson, his 29-year-old girlfriend, Rosalind Ross, and their son, Lars, on a grocery run in L.A.: SEE PICS
SEACREST STROKE DENIAL: A rep for Ryan Seacrest says the TV host did not have a stroke, tamping speculation on social media that Seacrest had been unwell during Sunday’s American Idol season finale. At the end of the broadcast, Seacrest seemed out-of-sorts reading the teleprompter, and appeared to have an issue with his left eye. He was absent from his other job, hosting Live with Kelly and Ryan, yesterday, but his spokesperson says he just needed a day off. PEOPLE
LEFTOVERS: REALDOLLS, FAKE CROWD: The South Korean soccer club FC Seoul has apologized to fans after it accidentally populated the team’s empty stands with sex dolls. TV viewers noticed that the mannequins looked...different, and appeared to be holding up signs advertising porn sites. The club says it was an honest mistake, blaming a mix-up with their supplier. SEE IT
