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[Misc] (HL-20200906~20200912) Weekly Headlines Review
최고관리자  |  20-09-04 09:46

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!!! A state-by-state breakdown of US coronavirus cases !!!
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(Mon) McDonald's sued for racial discrimination
맥도날드, 인종차별 혐의로 피소

McDonald’s Corp is being sued by 52 Black former franchise owners who say the company racially discriminated against them. They accuse McDonald’s of steering them to depressed, crime ridden neighborhoods, setting them up for failure – and are seeking up to $1 billion in damages in the federal court in Chicago. In a phone interview with Reuters, the plaintiffs' lawyer Jim Ferraro said: "It's systematic placement in substandard locations, because they're Black” adding ...“Revenue at McDonald's is governed by one thing only: location." The accusers say they were saddled with standard 20-year franchise agreements at stores that needed high security and insurance, with sales coming in below the national average. Many venues became bankrupt. McDonald’s denies treating Black franchises differently, and new CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a video to employees that the company stands for “diversity, equity and inclusion.” But that …"our franchisee ranks should and must more closely reflect the increasingly diverse composition of this country and the world." McDonald's U.S. restaurants are run by around 1600 franchises. The plaintiff’s lawyer Ferraro says the number of Black-owned franchises has fallen in the last two decades from 377 to 186.

(Tue) A bike boom in Mexico City amid COVID-19
코로나로 인한 멕시코시티의 자전거 붐

In sprawling Mexico City - authorities have long faced an uphill battle over how to get commuters onto bikes to reduce traffic in the congested Capital - home to over 20 million people. Now, the coronavirus pandemic has made the task a little easier with many - like Ivan Pastor – opting to cycle. Pastor says he's too afraid to use public transportation and likes the exercise. "I prefer to get on the bike rather than on the metro, so as to not expose myself to the situation that we are going through. Also, it's a healthy habit." The metro system was once the backbone of Mexico City's transport system and in pre-pandemic times transported some 5 million commuters daily, who squeezed together in cramped carriages - not very social-distancing friendly. Because of that, shop-owners in Mexico City, like Valentin Najjera, say bikes sales are on the rise. "Many people have opted to buy a bike and to use it, out of fear of public transport, to get to work, to go out and about, to be active. There has been an increase in sales since the pandemic." Mexico City's local government is responding to the acceleration in bike sales with new urban planning projects. Recently, authorities announced more than 40 miles of lanes exclusively for bikers in hopes that the shift among commuters stays around well beyond the pandemic.

(Wed) Immunity concern over some COVID-19 vaccines
코로나 백신 면역 효과에 대한 우려

The COVID-19 vaccines being developed in Russia and China are some of the earliest to go into production. But scientists say they are concerned about how effective they will be given they are based on the common cold virus, which many people have already been exposed to. China's CanSino's Biologics vaccine, approved for the military, uses a modified form of the adenovirus type 5 or Ad5. Russia's Gamaleya Institute has developed a vaccine that is also based on Ad5 and another less common adenovirus. But experts say about 40% of people in places like China and the United States, already have high levels of antibodies from Ad5 - in Africa it could be as high as 80%. And that could be a problem. Some scientists worry that antibodies against Ad5 could cause the immune system to attack the vector instead of responding to the coronavirus, making these vaccines less effective. Anna Durbin from Johns Hopkins says: "The Ad5 concerns me just because a lot of people have immunity," and…"I'm not sure what their strategy is ... maybe it won't have 70% efficacy. It might have 40% efficacy, and that's better than nothing, until something else comes along." There are more than 150 different potential vaccines globally aiming to end the COVID-19 pandemic that's killed more than 850,000 people. On Sunday, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in the Financial Times they'd be willing to fast track a vaccine, authorizing it before Phase Three clinical trials are complete - as long as officials are convinced that the benefits outweigh the risks.

(Thu) 'Operational mistake' not to remove militia page -Facebook
페이스북, 무장집단 페이지 삭제 못한 것은 ‘운영상 실수’

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said that his company made an “operational mistake” by not acting sooner to remove a page for a militia group that posted a call to arms in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Zuckerberg, speaking in a video message on Facebook, said that after a second review his company “recognized that this violated the policies” and took it down. The social media company said on Wednesday it had removed the page for the Kenosha Guard, and an armed group's event, as it violated the company's policy against "militia organizations." Facebook's action comes after two people were shot and killed during protests in Kenosha on Tuesday night - following the shooting by a white police officer that left a Black man, Jacob Blake Jr, paralyzed. Zuckerberg said Facebook had not found any evidence to show that the person charged with Tuesday's fatal shooting followed the Kenosha Guard page. News website BuzzFeed quoted an internal Facebook report as showing the event associated with the Kenosha Guard was flagged at least 455 times, and quoted a Facebook worker as saying it accounted for 66% of all event reports that day. Facebook declined to comment on Buzzfeed’s findings, but did say it would continue to evolve its policies for identifying potentially dangerous organizations.

(Fri) TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer quits
틱톡 CEO 케빈 메이어, 결국 사임

He's just three months into the job, but TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has already quit. Mayer - who worked at Disney before joining the short video app in June - also acted as chief operating officer of TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance. The American businessman joined at a time when the company faced growing pressure from the Trump administration. The U.S. government believes TikTok poses a national security risk and could share user data with Chinese authorities. Trump has threatened to ban TikTok, and Microsoft and Oracle have both been in talks to buy the app's operations in North America, Australia and New Zealand. The headwinds facing the app have now proven too much for Mayer. In a statement released Wednesday, he said the political environment had 'sharply changed', and that he had reflected on the 'structural changes' the company would need to make. In light of that, he decided to leave. Mayer will be replaced by U.S. General Manager Vanessa Pappas on an interim basis. ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming said they were 'moving quickly' to resolve the issues faced by the company. Mayer's resignation also comes just days after TikTok sued the Trump administration. That after the U.S. president signed an executive order that gave ByteDance 90 days to divest of TikTok's U.S. operations - or else face being banned from the country.

** Other Latest Headlines **

* Row rises over bill on dispatching medical staff to North Korea

Controversy is rising over a bill that aims to send South Korean medical staff to North Korea in the case of a medical emergency there. Doctors' groups are criticizing the move, saying they are not "goods" that can be moved around according to government decisions, and the main opposition party is also slamming the administration for trying to "draft" doctors. The bill was submitted by Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in July to establish what she claims is a law on establishing inter-Korean medical exchanges and emergency support. According to the bill, if the North suffers a disaster that requires health or medical support, the South Korean government should make efforts to jointly deal with it and provide emergency aid such as medical personnel, equipment and medicine. It gained attention recently, coupled with another bill submitted by Rep. Hwang Un-ha of the DPK last month to revise a law on disaster and safety control, which is aimed at adding "personnel," such as doctors, to the list of disaster-related "resources" managed by the authorities along with equipment, materials and facilities. However, according to doctors' groups and the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), the two bills combined would provide the legal grounds for the administration to forcibly send medical workers to North Korea.

* Gyeonggi governor criticizes Moon for providing relief money selectively

A ruling bloc heavyweight has criticized the government's decision to provide emergency disaster relief money selectively to those in a poorer financial situation, warning the Moon Jae-in administration of public anger and distrust of its policies. The criticism was made by Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who has called for a universal payment of a second round of relief funds aimed at minimizing the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. His comments show the government's selective payment decision faces opposition from some members within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), who are concerned that such a selective support could bring social division. "It is clear to me that the conflict and confusion caused by division, the feeling of alienation due to exclusion (from the handouts), and the resentment against and sense of betrayal by the Moon Jae-in government and the DPK, further against the state and community, are spreading like flames," Lee wrote on Facebook, Sunday. "I also see the forces of deep-rooted evil and malicious conservative media seeking a chance to strike back again behind the veil, wearing a contented smile."

* States plan for cuts as Congress deadlocks on more virus aid

Spending cuts to schools, childhood vaccinations and job-training programs. New taxes on millionaires, cigarettes and legalized marijuana. Borrowing, drawing from rainy day funds and reducing government workers’ pay. These are some actions states are considering to shore up their finances amid a sharp drop in tax revenue caused by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. With Congress deadlocked for months on a new coronavirus relief package, many states haven’t had the luxury of waiting to see whether more money is on the way. Some that have delayed budget decisions are growing frustrated by the uncertainty. As the U.S. Senate returns to session Tuesday, some governors and state lawmakers are again urging action on proposals that could provide hundreds of billions of additional dollars to states and local governments. “There is a lot at stake in the next federal stimulus package and, if it’s done wrong, I think it could be catastrophic for California,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, a Democrat from San Francisco and chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.

* Waste disposal crisis looming large in Seoul metropolitan area

A waste disposal crisis is looming large in the Seoul metropolitan area for 2025 as Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province struggle to find alternative landfill sites that can replace the current one, according to environmental engineering experts. In 2015, Seoul and Incheon cities, Gyeonggi Province and the Ministry of Environment set out to find a site to replace the current Sudokwon Landfill Site (SLS) which many claim is the world's largest. Opened in 1992, it receives an average of 12,000 tons of garbage daily, mostly home- and construction-related waste from Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province where half the country's population lives. Years of meetings have been fruitless and a look into these reveals the complexity of waste management issues in Korea and conflicts of interest. "Incheon has been the host of the unpleasant site for more than 20 years. We've had residents nearby the site lose their businesses and their health because of the negative effects from the site. We no longer want this site in Incheon. The landfill site should be closed down and each government should find their own solution within their own jurisdiction," an Incheon official said.

* AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine study paused after one illness

Late-stage studies of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate are on temporary hold while the company investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot. In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the company said its “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.” AstraZeneca didn’t reveal any information about the possible side effect except to call it “a potentially unexplained illness.” The health news site STAT first reported the pause in testing, saying the possible side effect occurred in the United Kingdom. An AstraZeneca spokesperson confirmed the pause in vaccinations covers studies in the U.S. and other countries. Late last month, AstraZeneca began recruiting 30,000 people in the U.S. for its largest study of the vaccine. It also is testing the vaccine, developed by Oxford University, in thousands of people in Britain, and in smaller studies in Brazil and South Africa. Two other vaccines are in huge, final-stage tests in the United States, one made by Moderna Inc. and the other by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Those two vaccines work differently than AstraZeneca’s, and the studies already have recruited about two-thirds of the needed volunteers.