Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, urged Americans, businesses and hospitals to prepare for potential community spread of the emerging coronavirus, noting "disruption to everyday life might be severe." CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat and HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the immediate risk in the US remains low, but rising cases in other countries suggest the US will see an increase beyond the current 57 documented cases.
Company leaders can improve the work experience for black employees by addressing inequities in employment, making available "resources on systemic racism" and designing programs that build trust and respect among the workforce, write Trudy Bourgeois, founder of the Center for Workforce Excellence, and Julia Taylor Kennedy, executive vice president at the Center for Talent Innovation. "Over time, as you and your team build new habits, you will begin to think of the 'third rail' not as shocking, but energizing everyone and moving your organization forward," they write.
Students at Freeman Elementary School in Flint, Mich., put on a "museum" in honor of Black History Month by dressing up as the figure of their choice and delivering a speech about the person's accomplishments. Among the notable persons featured were NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, whose story was featured in the film "Hidden Figures" and who passed away this week at age 101, and basketball player Kobe Bryant, recently killed in a helicopter crash.
⋅ CNBC
The landscape for the online brokerage industry continues to shift as this all-stock deal follows in the footsteps of Charles Schwab's acquisition of TD Ameritrade in the fourth quarter of last year.
Cracker Barrel will revamp its menus with a design upgrade and new dishes. The chain also plans to make improvements to some menu items, including the chicken pot pie and country fried pork chop.
Facebook is banning ads that "create a sense of urgency" about COVID-19 or suggest cures or preventive measures, and the platform will remove posts that contain false information about the virus that could put people at risk, according to a spokesperson.
Oribi analytics firm is reporting that Google drives more e-commerce traffic and sales than Facebook and Instagram because it "reaches consumers who are more intent on making a purchase," writes Robert Williams. The primary drivers of e-commerce site traffic are email and apps, and consumers tend to gravitate toward less expensive products on Facebook and Instagram, Oribi reports.
Luxury platforms including Farfetch, Moda Operandi and Net-a-Porter now account for more than 40% of online sales of luxury goods, and there's growing competition among them to win exclusives on new merchandise. The rivalry was on display at New York Fashion Week, where Moda Operandi executive Lisa Aiken worked to win an exclusive on jewelry from the Proenza Schouler show and had the pieces for sale three days after the show.
Google has fixed a Nest camera bug after a software update triggered a 17-hour outage that left users unable to record or see live footage. The malfunction also affected Nest Hello Doorbells and the Nest Hub Max.
The FDA has launched a searchable, online version of the Purple Book database of biological product information.
The database includes proprietary and proper product names, the biologics license application number and the approval date, among other information.
HBO Max will complement sister service HBO when the streaming service launches, WarnerMedia's Robert Greenblatt explains in an interview where he expounds on the company's strategy for HBO Max for its May debut. "We're trying really hard to assign the same quality level and curated feeling that HBO has. It'll never be 50,000 hours of programming," he says.
More than four dozen children died in hot cars in the US last year, and as companies work on solutions to that problem, restaurant owner and father Ibrahim Mahmoud has patented the Child Car Seat Safety System. It uses a weight sensor that activates when a child is in the seat, then alerts the driver via Bluetooth if the child is left behind.
Extremely thin two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide and graphene hold promise for the manufacturing of phones, headphones, solar cells and more. They can also be combined into three-dimensional blocks and deposited on silicon wafers for experiments.
⋅ Vox
Starting Oct. 1, Real ID-compliant identification will be required to fly within the US; a regular driver's license no longer will be accepted at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. States are seeing an influx of people at motor vehicle departments seeking Real ID-compliant licenses, which usually feature a star in the upper right corner, and they are urging residents to check with the DMV ahead of their visit for specific rules and required documents.
The American Gaming Association and the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, along with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, want to see a court case in the commonwealth determine that "games of skill" outside casinos as unregulated devices that can be seized. Pace-O-Matic and manufacturer Miele Amusements, whose 15,000 machines are in gas stations, bars and other noncasino locations, insist their games are legal and want the state to tax and regulate them.