POLITICS 🏛️

Democrats postpone presidential nominating convention

• The convention has been pushed back to the week of August 17 from its original July 13-16 date due to COVID-19
• There might also be attempts to scale back the size of the convention, presumably determined by the status of the virus and the state of the economy

WORLD 🌎

Confirmed global coronavirus cases surpass 1 million

• According to Johns Hopkins University’s figures, the U.S. accounts for the highest number of confirmed cases, while Italy holds the highest death toll
• The virus has been confirmed in at least 181 countries and regions, as experts warn that we are only in the beginning of the pandemic spread
• Though the tally kept by Johns Hopkins records one million confirmed cases, the actual number is thought to be much higher

BUSINESS 💰

Instacart workers’ strike successfully leads to safety issues being addressed

• The online grocery delivery company Instacart will distribute free health and safety kits to full-time shoppers 
• This move comes days after both Instacart and Amazon workers went on strike, demanding that changes be made to keep them safe as demand for online shopping and grocery delivery increases 

TECH 📱

 “Zoombombing” becomes latest security issue for Zoom

• Zoombombing is a form of cyber harassment where Zoom calls are intruded by unidentified individuals who spew hateful language or share graphic images
• The Zoombombing trend has picked up steam as YouTubers and internet users popularized the action by encouraging fans to send them their class links in an attempt to create comedy videos
• The FBI has received multiple reports of video conference calls being interrupted by "pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language" and claim they are taking action to prevent them

US 🦅

Trump invokes the Defense Production Act

• General Motors has been instructed by the Trump administration to start producing ventilators, but the status of production and the level of oversight over the company’s production isn’t quite clear
• The order comes amid fears of shortages of medical equipment, a growing concern as COVID-19 cases proliferate in the US

ENTERTAINMENT 🎞️

SXSW film fest goes virtual 

• Amazon Prime Video is partnering with South by Southwest Film Festival to launch films that had been scheduled to screen at the 2020 SXSW film festival
• The Film Festival Collection will be open to all users with an Amazon login in the US for ten days, though an opening date has not been announced yet

EXTRA BLING ✨

• Science ⚗️. Elusive 'missing link' black hole discovered by Hubble
• Health 💉. What Coronavirus does to your body that makes it so deadly
• Sports ⚽. New England Patriots plane returns from China with coronavirus N95 masks
• Wholesome 🤝. No elephants were poached for entire year in African park
• Culture 👨‍🎤. Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine granted early prison release due to coronavirus concerns
• Interesting 🔎. Shenzhen becomes first Chinese city to ban eating cats, dogs

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