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With congressional support, what are the prospects for movie theaters?

Dec 21, 2020
Ticket sales have been dismal this year, and studios are delaying their releases.
A sparse crowd waits for the show to start at a movie theater in Las Vegas. Attendance has been way down in 2020.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

California adopts emergency workplace safety rules for COVID-19

Nov 20, 2020
OSHA has declined to create national rules during the pandemic.
A security guard checks a customer's temperature outside a retail store. Efforts to prevent virus transmission in the workplace are gaining steam.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images

People are growing tired of COVID-19 safety measures, even as the virus surges

Nov 10, 2020
The human body isn't wired to stay in a constant state of fight-or-flight.
People have lunch at Bottino Restaurant in Chelsea as New York City restaurants open for limited capacity indoor dining on Oct. 1.
Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images

What Biden's COVID task force can do before inauguration

One immunization expert says the Biden team should be talking to state leaders about what they'll need to roll out vaccines.
"The transition team can do a lot to amplify and reinforce the messages of scientists and public health experts," says Dr. Kelly Moore of  the Immunization Action Coalition.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

QR codes are finally having a moment in the pandemic

Oct 23, 2020
They've been around for over 25 years, so why now?
People scan a QR code with their smartphones to check their health status to enter an area on a Beijing street. As Rivero notes, QR codes are already widely integrated into life in China.
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Here's why some are too optimistic about the pandemic

Oct 15, 2020
Behavioral economics helps explains why we're prone to letting our guard down.
Optimism bias can cause some to flout safety guidelines, like mask wearing and social distancing.
Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images

Will gyms go extinct?

Sep 17, 2020
The pandemic is reshaping how, and where, we get exercise. Many gyms are out, exercise apps are in.
People exercise in workout pods at a gym in Redondo Beach, California, in June.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Hotel industry struggling during the pandemic

Sep 7, 2020
Four in 10 hotel employees are still not working and two-thirds of hotels remain at less than 50% occupancy.
A worker wipes down ropes near the reception of a reopened Las Vegas hotel. Even as hotels reopen, two-thirds remain at less than 50% occupancy.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

A shopping mall embraces a different normal

Sep 3, 2020
After closing for a month, the Butte Plaza Mall sees an increase in foot traffic and acceptance of new rules.
Shoppers at a mall in Costa Mesa, California. Many retail locations are reopening with reduced capacity and new safety rules.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Pandemic complicates emergency response to Hurricane Laura

Aug 28, 2020
Officials had to find alternatives to big, crowded evacuation centers.
A couple leave the hotel in Galveston, Texas, where they had taken shelter from Hurricane Laura on Thursday.
Ellie Cherryhomes/AFP via Getty Images