Week of July 6th, 2020

Also on tap for today’s happy hour episode: comets, TikTok and a farewell to Carl Reiner.

Plus: the Goya boycott, college sports and back-to-school shopping when it’s not clear who’s going back to school.

The company makes Latinx grocery staples. Its CEO just praised President Trump. Latinx activists aren’t happy.

Because…are the kids even going back to school this year?

College sports bring TV contracts, corporate donations and other income that could be lost this year due to COVID-19.

Social distancing guidelines and nervous customers are pushing business to change how they operate. Some of the changes may be permanent.

The drugstore giant also reports a quarterly loss of $1.7 billion. It and rival CVS are delving deeper into the health and wellness field.

The price of lumber is at a 2½ year high, driven by a sawmill slowdown and more interest in home projects.

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, some executives have forgone their salaries. But that doesn’t always mean they got paid that much less.

Wells Fargo is preparing to cut thousands of jobs, according to Bloomberg. What does this new round of layoffs across the economy mean? And, one civil rights leader who’s met with Facebook describes how the company needs to change.

“It shouldn’t be my nonprofit that has to be monitoring and focusing its energy on a corporation that makes $70 billion a year,” said Color of Change President Rashad Robinson.

The problem is worse among households earning $50,000 a year or less.

A Supreme Court decision Thursday affirmed about half of Oklahoma is Native American reservation land. Hong Kong is closing all schools again after a spike in COVID-19 cases. And, why Puerto Rico is giving up control of its power grid.

Emirates airline warns it could make up to 9,000 job cuts because of COVID-19. Could the U.S. lose its appeal to international students? And, how restrictions on the hajj pilgrimage are hurting businesses in Saudi Arabia.

Three years after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s electric grid, the island is still dealing with unreliable service and intermittent power outages, especially in rural areas.

Civil rights experts say Facebook doesn’t enforce its policies against hate speech consistently.

Y’all mind if I scream (inside my heart)?

United Airlines warned 36,000 employees Wednesday that they could be furloughed in October.

Plus: What’s ahead for airlines, pharmacies and retail as the pandemic stretches into a fifth month.

A California woman has sued her employer, saying she was fired because of her child care responsibilities.

Retailers are coming to terms with the fact that this virus is going to be with us for a long time.

A family business that’s endured for five generations figures out new ways to stay relevant.

Soon the Schwagerls of Browns Valley, Minnesota, will need “all hands on deck.” But they are facing fall with without child care or school.

Lenders will not have to verify whether borrowers have the ability to pay back high-interest loans

States that are seeing large spikes in COVID-19 cases are also seeing jumps in first-time unemployment claims. The Supreme Court rules on who can have access to President Trump’s tax records. And, should internet service be treated like a utility?

The idea is that internet is not a luxury, but a fundamental part of participating in the economy.

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a prosecutor’s demand for President Donald Trump’s tax returns as part of a criminal investigation.

The extra $600 every week is set to run out at the end of this month.

The six states that have had to reverse business reopenings make up one-third of the economy.

More than 30% of June’s job gains came from bars and restaurants.

Many bar and restaurant employees went back to work in June. New COVID-19 spikes and shutdowns might be sending them back home. Plus, potential furloughs for United Airlines. And, how Americans are spending pandemic unemployment insurance.

The wealthy city-state of Singapore heads to the polls amid rising concerns about socioeconomic inequality. Australia ignites more fury from China, its biggest trading partner. As disease ravages global pork stocks, could fake meat be the answer?

A recent study showed most of the pictures in a well-used dataset were gathered without consent and included racist and pornographic images.

Plus, a listener’s heartbreaking housing dilemma, why Molly is canceling cable (again), and a “Hamilton” close read.

Plus: How some states are starting to close the racial pay gap, what bankrupted Brooks Brothers and why Disney World is reopening as COVID-19 cases spike. 

The 200-year-old company has been hit hard by the pandemic. But suit sales have been on the decline for years.

The Walt Disney Co.’s other enterprises, including Disney+ and ESPN, may not be generating enough revenue.

When impulse buys dropped, Gelateria Uli’s owner had to find a new business model to keep the Los Angeles ice creamery afloat.

Tax revenue is down, expenditures are up and the future’s uncertain.

New research shows evidence that pay gaps are related to salary negotiations.

Despite thousands of demolitions and rehabs, the number of empty buildings has barely budged for a decade.

President Trump pushes for schools to reopen this fall. Looking forward to Thursday’s forthcoming jobless claims numbers, as we wait to see if people are getting back to work amid COVID-19 spikes. And, how summer camp closures are hitting parents.

The main argument is that it’s worse for kids to stay at home and stick to remote learning when compared to the risk of illness or even death.

More than half of the companies making cuts say they helped avoid layoffs, for now.

Over religious or moral objections, employers can deny the coverage that’s required by the Affordable Care Act.

An investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting shows workers in rehab programs often don’t get paid. Plus, global joblessness is rising 10 times faster than during the Great Recession. And, how pay cuts have helped save jobs.

The U.K.’s $2.5 billion “kick-start scheme” to create more jobs for young people after the pandemic. The latest on how the coronavirus is squeezing jobs in China. The CEO of Loon on providing internet to rural Kenya using balloons.

At least 300 rehab facilities in 44 states required unpaid labor from participants, investigators found.

Ilya Fushman of Kleiner Perkins explains what his company is doing to improve representation in Silicon Valley.

America’s child care system has been in crisis long before this pandemic.

Corporations, schools and sports leagues are putting additional pressure on testing supplies.

Plus: Why test shortages persist, what fall holds for foreign students and the problem with the Beige Book.

International students are being given the option to transfer to a university that is holding in-person classes.

Most of it went to hiring back furloughed employees — or hiring new ones.

“I do feel optimistic,” says Edward Gillespie, an instructor at the city’s police academy. “But it’s not going to be an easy fight.”

Many are questioning just how inclusive and diverse one of the Fed’s regular reports on the economy is.

As we approach the deadline for the expanded coronavirus unemployment payments to end, we look at some of the key questions around benefits.

How COVID-19 is changing where people live. Will we see a rebound in the demand for labor after declines in the spring? Job openings numbers for May are out today. And, how the U.K. has kept its unemployment rate down.

Almost a quarter of adults have either moved because of the pandemic or know someone who has.

It’s clear the loans went to some enterprises that are once again prompting questions about who really needed the government aid.

Unless Congress extends the $600-a-week program, benefits are set to expire at the end of July.

Capturing carbon is expensive, so most brewers usually just release the gas into the atmosphere. That’s changing during the pandemic.

So far, the nation’s businesses have avoided laying off 9.3 million workers.

The PPP data raises questions, again, about whether aid helped well-off businesses rather than those most in need. Extended federal unemployment benefits are coming to an end. And, why it matters that carbon dioxide is currently in short supply.

TikTok has said it will withdraw from Hong Kong after China imposed a new security law on the city. Also, whether the U.K. furlough scheme for workers has saved millions of jobs or just delayed the inevitable.

Some providers are starting to bring back their data caps at a time when a lot of people are using more of their home internet.

Maybe some Quibi gossip will cheer us up.

With challenges from environmental groups and state governments, the idea of natural gas as a bridge fuel may be fading.

Plus: Corporate debt, home equity and other things that will help businesses and families survive this crisis.

Housing wealth and other protections advantage owners over renters.

A tentative new Writers Guild contract deals with the thorny issue of residuals from streamed content.

Author Marcia Chatelain examines the fast-food chain’s relationship with its Black franchisees and consumers.

Some borrow less because they’re optimistic, some because they’re pessimistic and some because they’re cautious.

Multimedia artist Atiya Jones says she makes art about “small, accumulative actions.” But the form of that art has changed during COVID-19.

There’s been some recovery in passenger numbers since the peak of the COVID-19 lockdowns, but not much.

Uber is buying food-delivery service Postmates. Plus, an early look at why market futures were up all morning. And, how does the cancellation of minor league baseball this year affect the towns where teams play?

Hannah Keyser of Yahoo! Sports says more than half of minor league teams could go under.

The companies announced Monday that Uber will acquire Postmates for about $2.65 billion in an all-stock deal.

Dominion Energy also just announced it’s giving up on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline joint project with Duke Energy.

For years, analysts have been working to find financial tools for curbing certain behaviors.

During the pandemic, some internet providers have been offering service for free and waiving late fees.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy has announced it will acquire Dominion Energy’s natural gas transmission and storage business. The Louvre Museum in Paris is reopening. And, is a tax on the meat industry and its carbon emissions coming soon?

Visitors have been welcomed back to Paris’ Louvre Museum for the first time since March. Plus, the biggest shake-up in U.K. accounting in decades. And, two years since the U.S.-China trade war began, where things stand now.

The problem is that ethics can be really hard to measure.