Mortality among infants and pregnant women has decreased significantly since 2000, but 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns still die each year, mostly from preventable causes, according to a report from UNICEF and the World Health Organization. United Nations Population Fund official Anneka Knutsson warns that sustainable development goals will not be reached "unless we dramatically increase and accelerate our efforts to improve maternal health care by bolstering overall sexual and reproductive health care."
⋅ Reuters
It's difficult to extract big lessons about private-company valuations from WeWork's situation, two major tech investors say. Scott Kupor of Andreessen Horowitz said the situation is a result of several factors, and Glen Kacher of Light Street Capital Management said rapidly changing valuations for private businesses should not be surprising.
Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg this week told members of the US Congress to "save your praise" of her efforts and instead "unite behind the science" and take action on climate change. Thunberg, who sailed from her native Sweden to the US to avoid emissions, was one of a group of students who are urging action through testimony and climate strikes around the world.
The Federal Reserve has reduced the benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 1.75% to 2%. Chairman Jerome Powell says that prospects for the US economy are favorable and that any future interest-rate adjustment would be made "meeting by meeting."
Stop & Shop has added The Mini Bakery from Wilkinson Baking Co. at a store in Massachusetts. The Mini Bakery machine, also known as "The Breadbot," can freshly bake 10 loaves of artisan bread every hour.
Hospitals are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks due to their reliance on confidential information and technology, and attacks could pose major threats to their operations and revenues, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service. Small hospitals that lack updated technology and resources are likely to be hit hardest by these attacks, the report said.
The viral "Storm Area 51" event may have been officially cancelled but Arby's and Bud Light are continuing their support of related celebrations, with the former's sandwich truck headed to the Alien Research Center in Hiko, Nev., for a "Storm Area 51 Basecamp" event, where it will serve products such as the E.T. Slider. Bud Light is sponsoring a Las Vegas "Area 51 Celebration," has created alien-themed cans for sale in Nevada, Arizona and California and unveiled a beer fridge that can only be opened by extraterrestrials.
Amazon has pledged to meet goals of the Paris climate agreement 10 years early. CEO Jeff Bezos announced the company has ordered a fleet of electric vans and plans to have all of its vehicles running on renewable energy by 2030.
⋅ BBC
The blacklist that prohibits Microsoft and other US companies from selling technology to China's Huawei threatens to "draw some new digital iron curtain down the Pacific Ocean" that would harm the US and other democracies, Microsoft President Brad Smith said in calling for an end to the ban. He rejected the idea that US security would be undermined if Huawei used the Windows operating system or Office apps in its products.
⋅ Reuters
Novartis AG unit Sandoz said it will stop distributing generic versions of heartburn drug Zantac following the discovery of contaminants. The move comes after an investigation in the US and EU into the presence of N-nitrosodimethylamine and a Health Canada request for drugmakers to halt distribution for the time being.
Silicon Valley companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook are likely to jump into the bidding for National Football League TV rights that expire in 2021 and 2022, ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said, though he expressed confidence his network would retain an NFL deal. Pitaro also pointed to the success of ESPN+, a premium streaming service with more than 2 million subscribers.
A report on rezoning for SoHo/NoHo that was due this summer is being delayed to later this month. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office cites vacation and other glitches for the delay in releasing the report, which takes into account recent feedback from residents and businesses on proposals for future land use.
High school students have inspired throngs of activists and ordinary citizens worldwide to join the Global Climate Strike today to demand action on climate change from their national leaders. Over a million students were excused from school in New York City to participate in strike protests, while similar demonstrations are occurring in major cities all over the world.
United Airlines is playing "a major role" in the Hurricane Dorian relief effort, carrying supplies and personnel "on an almost daily basis" to the Bahamas from its hubs at Houston and Newark, N.J. United is working through its partnership with Airlink, an organization that connects its aviation partners with NGOs responding to humanitarian crises.
Hotels in college and university towns are leaving behind the tradition of drab functionality as boutique brands and the schools themselves make selling points of trendy design and appealing amenities. "Everyone is looking to do hotels right now," says Matthew Arrants of Pinnacle Advisory Group, a consultancy that has helped Villanova University and Swarthmore and Amherst colleges open or renovate hotels in recent years.