Check out this article from Detroit Free Press:
U.S. doctor shortage worsens as efforts to recruit Black and Latino students stall
Category Archives: Viva!
Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Other Major Tech Companies Decry Republican Bill Seeking To Break Encryption – Slashdot
They said that building encryption backdoors would jeopardize the sensitive data of billions of users and “leave all Americans, businesses, and government agencies dangerously exposed to cyber threats from criminals and foreign adversaries.”
Text of H.R. 7120: George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (Preprint (Rule) version) – GovTrack.us
Canada’s top court rules in favor of Uber driver in gig economy case
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a driver in a gig economy case that paves the way for a class action suit calling for Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) to recognize drivers in Canada as company employees.
UberEats driver David Heller had filed a class action suit, challenged by Uber, aiming to secure a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits like overtime pay. Drivers are now classified as independent contractors and do not have such benefits.
The ride-hailing company’s contract allows arbitration, but not class-action lawsuits. Heller’s attorney said the decision allowing him to sue was important, but only a small first step in a case that will probably take years to litigate.
Two days ago, California said it plans to ask a state court judge to force Uber and Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) to classify their ride-hail drivers as employees rather than contractors.
Canada’s 8-1 Supreme Court ruling dismisses an Uber appeal to an Ontario high court ruling that said the Uber’s arbitration clause violates provincial labor rules and is “invalid and unenforceable.”
The arbitration process, which must be conducted in the Netherlands where Uber has its international headquarters, costs about C$19,000 ($14,500). Heller earned between C$21,000 and C$31,000 per year.
“This was an access to justice case,” said Michael Wright, one of Heller’s lawyers. The court essentially ruled that “a stronger party was taking advantage of a weaker party in an unfair manner,” said Wright.
Uber had no immediate comment.
“The arbitration clause is improvident because the arbitration process requires US$14,500 in up-front administrative fees,” the top court said.
Now Heller can restart his class action suit, Wright said, but the matter will not be settled soon.
“This is the first round in a series of rounds,” said Wright, a labor and employment lawyer with Wright Henry LLP in Toronto, adding that it could take “a few more years.”
Reporting by Steve Scherer, additional reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Trump cancels planned weekend visit to New Jersey without explanation
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday canceled a planned weekend visit to his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, the White House said in an updated schedule.
The White House did not provide a reason for the cancellation, which comes amid a spike in novel coronavirus cases in many states.
Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Lisa Lambert
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Japanese start-up creates ‘connected’ face mask for coronavirus new normal, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times
TOKYO (REUTERS) – As face coverings become the norm amid the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese start-up Donut Robotics has developed an Internet-connected “smart mask” that can transmit messages and translate from Japanese into eight other languages.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Arkansas’ COVID Problem Is Just Getting Started. ‘All of a Sudden It Blows Up.’
In the past week, Wright said, Washington Regional had seen a 170 percent increase in the number of tests performed at screening clinics, and a 350 percent increase in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Of those, it also saw more critically ill virus patients, with more than 30 percent of those who’d been hospitalized requiring ventilator support.
Source: Arkansas’ COVID Problem Is Just Getting Started. ‘All of a Sudden It Blows Up.’
This Coronavirus Doesn’t Change Quickly, And That’s Good News For Vaccine Makers | Vermont Public Radio
Let’s SNAP the Negative Stereotypes – Nevada plus 18 states – use SNAP online for home delivers of food.
So Nevada is letting SNAP recipients get their food delivered. But only by Walmart and Amazon. And not Whole Foods, which Amazon owns. And no delivery costs; the recipients have to pay those.
Why, you may ask? Probably for the same reason that the number of states that allow SNAP purchases online stands at 19 and not the logical number, which is 50: Because some politicians love to jerk around SNAP recipients for the crime of being poor.
These are the sort of pols who are always proposing stupid laws against SNAP money being wasted on steak, lobster or some other supposedly frivolous luxury. It never occurs to them that 1) people who blow their whole monthly allowance on, say, a day’s supply of caviar, will have no SNAP money for the rest of the month, which would punish them quite effectively while not costing taxpayers a dime; 2) the vast majority of poor people know what they and their families need.
Navajo Nation Council approves coronavirus $93 million immediate expenditure response package

Navajo Nation Council approves coronavirus $93 million immediate expenditure response packageThe 24TH NAVAJO NATION COUNCILOffice of the SpeakerJune 24, 2020WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Responding to public input, information shared in Naabik’íyáti’ Committee work sessions and discussions with programs and local leaders, the 24th Navajo Nation Council approved a $93 million coronavirus (COVID-19)
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