Wednesday, November 25, 2020

People waited up to 14 hours for food at one of Colorado’s first In-n-Out Burger locations

Countless people on Friday waited several hours to be served at one of the first In-n-Out Burger locations in Aurora, Colorado last Friday (11/20), police said. Aurora Police Department tweeted on Friday that the drive-thru line at the Aurora location went around a nearby mall twice and was impacting traffic on nearby highways. At one point, the police department estimated the drive-thru line stretched for up to 2 miles. Some of those people reportedly waited between 12 and 14 hours for burgers and fries, the police department said. They even suggested that people consider going elsewhere for food. “They will close before you get to the window most likely. Meanwhile many other local eateries do not have a wait hint hint,” the police department said in one of its tweets. The burger chain has more than 350 locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon and now, Colorado. (Aurora, Colorado Police Department)

Cash not accepted at Super Bowl this year

The NFL will not accept cash at the Super Bowl this year. Fans in attendance at the reduced-capacity championship game in Tampa, Florida will only use contactless payment options. Fans who bring cash can use it in one of eight “reverse ATMs” at the stadium, which will give a gift card in the amount of up to $500. The coronavirus pandemic helped speed the move. Credit card company Visa, which has a partnership with the football league, has been converting the league’s larger events to cashless. Attendance for the game, scheduled for February 7th at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, is expected to be capped at 20%. (CNBC)

Wave of closures hits indoor dining

Restaurants across the country are once again bearing the brunt of some of the tightest restrictions as COVID-19 cases keep rising. Much of California, Illinois, Michigan, Washington and other states have banned indoor dining, while New York City’s mayor said it’s “just a matter of time” before the same happens in the Big Apple. Yet, some restaurant workers in the Bay Area tell the SFGATE that they are “relieved,” about the measures, especially following a recent CDC report that found that those who had tested positive for the virus were twice as likely to have reported dining in a restaurant. (Bloomberg)

Big city tech workers making a move

As the work-from-home movement continues with no end in sight, some tech workers in high-paying jobs from cities such as San Francisco and New York are rethinking their lifestyles. Smaller tech firms in the Midwest say they’ve seen an influx of applications from tech workers at the likes of Google, Tesla and Facebook applying to smaller startups. This talent migration may “meaningfully affect businesses, their home cities and even the flow of venture-capital funding,” say experts. (The Wall Street Journal)

Student loan losses are spiking

Toxic debt from the federal student loan program is now projected to cost American taxpayers $435 billion. That figure is far more than previous government estimates, including last year’s Congressional Budget Office projection of $31.5 billion over the next decade. Analysis shows the losses are approaching the $535 billion in losses incurred by banks during 2008’s subprime mortgage crisis. The government can borrow trillions of dollars at low rates to absorb toxic student loan debt, but taxpayers will ultimately pay through a combination of taxes, budget cuts and swelling deficits. (The Wall Street Journal)

Hong Kong health minister promises HK$5,000 handouts for low-income residents who test positive

Hong Kong will give HK$5,000 (US$645) to poorer residents who test positive for the coronavirus, the health minister has revealed, as an outbreak tied to dance clubs across the city ballooned into the second-largest cluster since the pandemic began. Authorities hope the one-off handout will convince any infected residents who fear losing pay due to quarantining to come forward, helping to break silent transmission chains in the community. The step is part of the government’s strategy to combat a rapidly escalating fourth wave of the coronavirus. (South China Morning Post)

With the help of renowned artists, an Italian fisherman has created an underwater museum of marble artworks to help prevent illegal fishing in the Mediterranean

Trawling, a fishing technique that relies on dragging nets along the seafloor to catch fish, is illegal off the Italian coast because it destroys marine habitats such as Posidonia, a seagrass where fish and crustaceans lie their eggs. Frustrated because some fishing boats still use trawling at nighttime to avoid detection, a fisherman and activist teamed up with artists who have created huge sculptures that he later dropped on the ocean floor. The sculptures create both a physical barrier for fishing nets and an underwater museum. (The Guardian)

Instead of choosing one word of the year for 2020, the Oxford English Dictionary has chosen several “Words of an Unprecedented Year”

In its Word of the Year 2020 report, the dictionary said that “2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other.” Coronavirus, a word that was previously only used by scientists and medical experts, became one of the world’s most used nouns in March. COVID-19, which first appeared on a WHO report on February 11, quickly became a mainstream word. “Pandemic” has seen a 57,000% usage increase, the report says. The use of the phrase “following the science” has increased by more than 1,000% compared with last year. Other words and expressions that have seen a boost in usage are: “Black Lives Matter,” “furlough,” “support bubbles,” “keyworkers,” “social distancing,” “flatten the curve,” and “shelter-in-place.” Rival dictionary Collins has picked “lockdown” as its word of the year. In 2019, the Oxford English Dictionary chose “climate emergency” as its word of the year. (Oxford Languages)

DPS Crew Discovers Mysterious Monolith From Air In Remote Utah Wilderness

While counting sheep from a helicopter in the remote Utah wilderness, state employees spotted a metallic monolith standing amid red rock formations. The crew landed near the site to investigate and take pictures and videos. The object, which has sharp edges and is about 10-feet high, appears to be manmade. The monolith resembles a scene from the Stanley Kubrick film “2001: A Space Odyssey” in which a group of apes finds a tall slab. The crew did not release details about the monolith’s location because they fear that people may get stranded in the remote mountain area while looking for it. (KSL TV)

GM recalls millions of cars in US

General Motors is recalling 6 million vehicles in the United States due to problems with air bags that have been blamed for 27 deaths. The automaker had been fighting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 2016 to avoid the costly recall, but that appeal was denied earlier this week. About 100 million of the Takata air bags had already been recalled worldwide after a number of deadly explosions. The GM recall mainly affects the company’s pickup trucks and SUVs and will cost the company approximately $1.2 billion, about one-third of its net income so far this year. (Associated Press)

Young Americans can’t catch a break

The pandemic has only widened the generational wealth gap, dealing an especially heavy blow to younger Americans who were already struggling to catch up. Those under 35 are 23% poorer than they were 30 years ago, despite millennials being one of the best-educated generations yet. The pandemic has disproportionately put younger Americans out of work, many of whom are saddled with student debt. Meanwhile, low-interest rates have boosted the value of real estate, stocks and other assets owned by older generations, while rising prices have prevented young people from buying homes. (Bloomberg)

Apple’s head of security faces probe

Apple’s global head of security has been indicted on bribery charges by a grand jury in Santa Clara, California. In a scheme worth about $70,000, the Security Head allegedly promised 200 iPads to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in return for four concealed gun permits for Apple employees. The charges date back to a larger investigation into the sheriff’s office from 2019, according to several reports, and two officers from the sheriff’s office have also been indicted. However, the security leader denies the allegations. (The Wall Street Journal)

Home and logged on for the holidays

Are U.S. professionals changing up their holiday plans due to the pandemic? Over 75% say they will spend less time traveling this year, and 49% will be taking less vacation time. Those results are even starker in certain regions, such as New England and the Rocky Mountains. Respondents overwhelmingly cited coronavirus safety precautions and government regulations as influencing their plans. Others, including many millennials, also cited their finances and flexible work situation. (LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index)

Wednesday Shines With:

• Blase’Day
• International Day For the Elimination of Violence Against Women Day
• International Hat Day
• Jukebox Day (Day Before Thanksgiving)
• Parfait Day
• Play With Dad Day
• Shopping Reminder Day
• Spitegiving (Always The Day Before Thanksgiving)
• Tie One On Day (Day Before Thanksgiving= honors Aprons)