As nations around the world begin to wind down restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters will be joined by scientist, businessman and philanthropist Dr. William A. Haseltine—a pioneer in the fights against HIV/AIDS and cancer—for a Newsmaker discussion on COVID-19, the race for a vaccine and the pandemic’s impact on the future of public health. Continue reading
For the first time in history, NASA astronauts have launched from American soil in a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley lifted off at 3:22 p.m. EDT Saturday on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Read more
Many families have struggled to help their children adjust to distance learning since schools closed in March due to COVID-19. In a recent blog post from Stanford Children’s Health, experts offer ideas and advice for parents and families, including for children with special needs. Read more
Over Q1 2020, COVID-19 has developed from an emerging threat to a transformational reality with potentially long-lasting effects on economic growth. All optimism for commodity markets at the start of the year was quickly extinguished as the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China. Prices have been dragged down further by dire market fundamentals which were a result of government-imposed lockdowns in the major global economies. Both supply and demand have been lowered across the board, but demand has been harder hit and will be slower to make a recovery. Most commodities have further to fall from here. There has been a profound human cost to the pandemic and the economic fallout of governments’ responses is just starting to be counted. Read more
Finastra research reveals that 86% of global banks are looking to use open APIs to enable Open Banking capabilities in the next 12 months. In addition, 30% of banks surveyed believe Open Banking is already making a tangible impact in delivering improved overall customer experience. This is against a backdrop where regulation is perceived to be tighter than a year ago and close to half (48%) of those audited believe that regulators are holding back innovation. Read more
A new bulletin from the New Jersey Hospital Association reviews the “rise and fall” of COVID-19 in New Jersey hospitals, charting the peak day of hospital activity on April 14 and the steady decline that is bringing the state’s hospitals close to pre-COVID capacity levels. Read more
An Alabama man was mortified when an envelope for him with the return address HIV Prevention Team in bold red lettering turned up in his workplace mailroom. An Indiana man, who is so protective of his confidentiality that he fills his HIV-related prescriptions at a different pharmacy chain from where he gets his other medications, was shocked to receive the same mailing. Read more
Digital commerce is capturing a growing share of consumer and business-to-business sales, and COVID-19 is accelerating that trend, according to the Consumer Insider, an industry report released by Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL). Read more
Sogou Inc. (NYSE: SOGO) (“Sogou” or “the Company”), an innovator in search and a leader in China’s internet industry, today jointly launched the world’s first 3D AI News Anchor with Xinhua News Agency, a national news agency in China. The 3D AI News Anchor features the latest generation of the Sogou AI Vocational Avatar technology, which employs 3D modeling and cutting-edge AI technologies to create true-to-life avatars of human beings. The breakthrough demonstrates comprehensive improvements in movement and flexibility, interaction capability, and applications, which will further drive innovation in the news industry. Read more
Flirtey, the pioneer of the commercial drone delivery industry, announced today it has been granted a critical patent for the safe and precise drone delivery of packages. This key patent describes a combination of hardware and software that enables the delivery of packages by a drone, potentially lifting the package to pick it up, holding it securely and lowering it once at the point of delivery. Read more