Newsweek 5/29-6/5/2020

1952 Newsweek reported that in 1951 “blazes burned 10,781,039 acres of forest lands, destroying almost $50,000,000 worth of growing timber.” However, Smokey Bear was helping raise awareness and reduce wildfire incidents. “Since he started his crusade [in 1944], forest fires have decreased 90 per cent of the normal prewar level, despite the fact that 45 per cent more human beings have taken to the woods.” Last year, Smokey Bear celebrated his 75th birthday, just after California experienced its worst fire season on record, with an estimated 1,963,101 acres burned. 1970 “Churning into the second half of 1970, the U.S. economy presents a confusing outlook of recession blended with inflation,” said Newsweek. During this recession—which lasted less than a year—GDP fell 0.6 percent in 1970’s first quarter. By comparison, GDP fell 4.8 percent in…

ON APRIL 6, 12 MILLION AMERICANS WATCHED AS ABC news anchor David Muir called coronavirus “our Pearl Harbor, our 9/11 moment.” Beginning that day and for the rest of the following week ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir did something that even the late, great Walter Cronkite had been unable to do: beat out everything else on television to become the highest-rated show on the air. World News Tonight was the highest-rated show for six of eight weeks in March and April, topping the likes of highly-rated network entertainment shows like NCIS, The Voice, American Idol and The Masked Singer. ABC is not the only news operation feeling the boost; competitors NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell have also been beating most entertainment…

FEW WORLD LEADERS HAVE BEEN as exposed by the coronavirus pandemic as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The far-right leader has consistently rejected any suggestion that the virus—which has killed some 12,400 Brazilians—poses a threat to his citizens, and repeatedly attacked any lawmakers, media figures or even his own ministers who disagree. Bolsonaro was swept to power in a wave of anti-establishment sentiment in the 2018 presidential election. The 65-year-old was already one of the most divisive world leaders before the pandemic, but its arrival in Brazil has highlighted the shortcomings of the populist who has shown little regard for science or public health. There have now been more than 178,000 confirmed cases in the country—the eighth-highest case load in the world—and the daily increase in that total is still accelerating. Last weekend,…

“I wish I had done more to call attention to the danger.”—BILL GATES ON CORONAVIRUS“SIR, WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT TO ME SPECIFICALLY? THAT I SHOULD ASK CHINA?”—CBS NEWS REPORTER WEIJIA JIANG, PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE“thanks to some f------bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus.”—BRYAN ADAMS“I know you guys are working hard, I know you guys are tired. I just want to say I appreciate all you guys and keep up the good work and please keep being safe.”—SHAQUILLE O’NEAL TO HOSPITAL WORKERS IN SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY“I DON’T HAVE THE LUXURY OF BLEAKNESS BECAUSE I’M A SHINING EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE.”—Stacey Abrams on what keeps her optimistic…

WITH THE WORLD ON PAUSE DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS AND HOME DELIVERY increasingly important, including for those who never relied on it before, Amazon.com’s ability to deliver essentials to our doorsteps has never been more important. Before the pandemic, Amazon.com had already saturated the American ethos, consuming 2 percent of U.S. household income; even more American households are Prime members (57 percent) than attend church (51 percent). Yet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—the world’s richest man in 2019—has never been content to rest on his laurels. In his new book, Bezonomics, award-winning Fortune magazine reporter Brian Dumaine examines how Bezos used technology to disrupt business models and consumer behavior. In this excerpt, Dumaine discusses the future of the last-mile of deliveries and its implications for helping contain costs, delivery time—and even…

A star engineer resigned over Amazon’s treatment of warehouse workers and the firing of whistleblowers during the pandemic. What kind of problems do you foresee for the company resulting from this chain of events? Amazon made some mistakes handling safety issues during the pandemic, and the resignation of this engineer gives credence to those workers’ complaints. The company, which said it will spend $4 billion on COVID-related safety issues, is working hard to address those problems, but its reputation as America’s most-trusted brand has taken a hit. Also, Congress has asked Bezos to testify about uncompetitive practices, and he’s sure to be grilled about his treatment of these workers, something the world’s richest person can’t be happy about. Why this book? Amazon represents an inflection point in the way we live and do…