Washington Post (May 20)
“Cryptocurrency investors woke up to grim news Wednesday: A brutal sell-off sent prices crashing across the board, wiping more than half a trillion dollars off the market.” It’s unclear if or when the dramatic turnaround will end. The cryptocurrency market “has roared since the coronavirus pandemic first gripped the world,” with “hordes of new investors…drawn by the allure of sudden price spikes and life-changing winnings.”
Tags: Allure, Brutal, Coronavirus, Crashing, Cryptocurrency, Investors, Life-changing, Pandemic, Price spikes, Sell-off, Winnings
Houston Chronicle (May 19)
“The International Energy Agency, the body that advises governments on energy and is widely respected among politicians of all stripes, warned Tuesday that nations need to halt oil and gas development this year if they are to meet their target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and avoid catastrophic climate change.”
New York Times (May 18)
“With much of the country under a state of emergency and deaths climbing,” Japan’s “yo-yoing economic pattern” is expected to continue “until the country has vaccinated a significant portion of its population.” Given the “plodding” pace of its vaccination program, this “dynamic could potentially push the country back into recession — defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction — later this year, as it struggles to check the spread of deadlier and more contagious coronavirus variants.”
Tags: Contagious, Contraction, Coronavirus, Deadlier, Deaths, Economy, Japan, Recession, Spread, State of emergency, Struggles, Vaccination, Yo-yoing
The Guardian (May 18)
“The enormous plastic waste footprint of the top 20 global companies amounts to more than half of the 130m metric tonnes of single-use plastic thrown away in 2019. Single-use plastics are made almost exclusively from fossil fuels, driving the climate crisis, and because they are some of the hardest items to recycle, they end up creating global waste mountains. Just 10%-15% of single-use plastic is recycled globally each year.”
Tags: Climate crisis, Enormous, Fossil fuels, Plastic, Recycle, Single-use plastic, Top 20, Waste footprint
Wall Street Journal (May 17)
“It’s déjà vu all over again in the Middle East as another round of Israeli-Palestinian combat follows a tragic and familiar path: another spasm of violence, another media firestorm over civilian casualties, another wave of demonstrations around the world, another diplomatic kerfuffle as would-be mediators jostle, and another donnybrook in American politics over how Washington should respond.”
Tags: Casualties, Combat, Déjà vu, Familiar, Firestorm, Israel, Media, Mediators, Middle East, Palestine, Spasm, Tragic, Violence
San Francisco Chronicle (May 16)
“Pandemic or not, restaurants can’t find rental space.” The real estate landscape is “nearly as heated as pre-pandemic levels.” One would expect “tons of options on the market at reasonable rates, but there are few deals—and competition for what’s available is intense…. Landlords, meanwhile, are hesitant to offer discounts because they’ve lacked income over the pandemic themselves.”
Tags: Competition, Deals, Discounts, Heated, Income, Landlords, Market, Pandemic, Pre-pandemic levels, Real estate, Rental space, Restaurants
USA Today (May 14)
“From cars to groceries, prices are skyrocketing.” From March to April, the “eyepopping prices” have included “used car prices climbed 10%; airline fares, 10.2%; hotel rates, 7.6%; car rental prices, 16.2%; admission to sporting events, 10.1%; household furnishings, nearly a percentage point; and car insurance, 2.5%.” It remains unclear whether this is “just a recovery blip, or a return of 1970s-like inflation.”
Tags: 1970s, Airline fares, Car rental, Cars, Eyepopping, Furnishings, Groceries, Hotel rates, Prices, Recovery blip, Skyrocketing, Sporting events, Used cars
Mercury News (May 12)
“From Mexico to far-flung Argentina, thousands of Latin Americans are booking flights to the United States to take advantage of one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, as rollouts in their own countries sputter.” The increased demand is evident. “Flight prices from Mexico to the United States have risen an average of 30%-40% since mid-March.”
Tags: Argentina, Boomed, Campaign, Demand, Flight prices, Flights, Latin America, Mexico, Rollouts, Sputter, U.S., Vaccination
New York Times (May 12)
“Pressing ahead with the Olympics risks drinking poison to quench our thirst for sport. The possibility of a superspreader catastrophe is not worth it for an optional sporting spectacle. It’s time to cancel the Tokyo Olympics.”
Tags: Cancel, Catastrophe, Olympics, Optional, Poison, Risks, Spectacle, Sport, Superspreader
Chicago Tribune (May 11)
“COVID-19 vaccines finally are headed for more kids as U.S. regulators Monday expanded use of Pfizer’s shot to those as young as 12, sparking a race to protect middle and high school students before they head back to class in the fall.”
Tags: 12, Class, COVID-19, Expanded use, High school, Kids, Middle school, Pfizer, Protect, Race, Regulators, Students, U.S., Vaccines
