No Free Money
The COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown has been a disaster for many small businesses in the United States. To help address this problem, the federal government created the PPP, or Paycheck Protection Program. The first round of PPP money–$349 billion–was gone in just thirteen days. However, the second round–an additional $310 billion–still has about a […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Batterygate Were you an iPhone user before 2018? If so, did you find that your phone slowed down dramatically, or turned off unexpectedly? You’re not alone. Turns out, Apple deliberately slowed down the processors of iPhone6s, iPhone7, and the original iPhoneSE without notifying its customers that it was doing so. This slowing down is called […]
Unemployment on the Rise
Have you or someone you know lost a job as a result of COVID-19? It should come as no surprise to anyone that the global pandemic has taken a devastating toll on the U.S. economy. But it’s starting to become clear exactly how big a deal this really is. New reports from the Department of […]
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Census Count Delayed? Because you’ve been reading btw this year, you know how important the U.S. Census is. Aside from being mandated by the Constitution, this national headcount is used to determine everything from an area’s congressional representatives to the number of electoral votes each state receives. The federal government uses this count to draw […]
The Reopening Debate
This week’s story update on Election Central looks once more on the tensions surrounding the debate of restarting the nation’s economy during the COVID-19 crisis. It seems like a lifetime ago that we were able to eat at a restaurant, shop at the mall, check out a book from the library, or get a haircut. […]
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Voting: She’s Got a Plan for That It seems that there’s no area of our lives that the global COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t touched–and that includes voting. In the wake of the outbreak, several states were forced to make decisions about postponing or altering their voting system in order to keep people safe from infection. Often, […]
Congress Discusses Another Payout
This week’s story update on Election Central explains how Congress is strategizing to address the economic problems caused by COVID-19.. The coronavirus pandemic has left millions of people out of work. But what about those who still have to report to their jobs every day: the nation’s “essential workforce,” who must, with every shift, potentially […]
A Water Partnership
Fast-growing communities can face many challenges. One such challenge is having the necessary infrastructure–such as roads, bridges, electrical lines, and pipes–to keep up with the growth and provide new residents with the services they need. Southwest Missouri is one region currently facing these issues. For them, the primary concern is water–in other words, having enough […]
COVID-19 and the Economy
By now, you are hopefully adjusting to the “new normal” of self-isolation and social distancing. But what effect are all of these closed-down restaurants, bars, fitness centers, schools, and more having on the economy? Experts agree that we will probably face a significant recession (or even a depression) as a result of these widespread closures. […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Coronavirus Hits the U.S. No doubt you’ve already heard plenty about coronavirus (otherwise known as COVID-19). But how worried should you really be? As of February 28, there are more than 78,000 confirmed cases and more than 2,700 deaths in China alone. In the rest of the world, there are at least 4,000 confirmed cases–15 […]