All World News Catch: March 2020

Tuesday, 31 March 2020

AOC Drifts Away from Activist Left, Toward a More Conventional Staff and Political Strategy

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has taken steps recently to collaborate more with the Democratic establishment, taking a less contentious approach and allying with fellow Democratic members.After urging fellow progressives in 2018 to run for office with the support of the progressive group the Justice Democrats, which supported her, the New York Democrat has declined to endorse most of the candidates the group is backing to oust incumbent Democrats in 2020.Of the six candidates the group is backing this time around, Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Jessica Cisneros in Texas and Marie Newman in Illinois, both of whom are running against conservative Democrats who oppose abortion and were subsequently supported by several other high-profile Democrats.The move comes as the Justice Democrats are recruiting progressive candidates to run against liberals and moderate Democrats."We don’t usually endorse so far out," Ocasio-Cortez's communications director, Lauren Hitt said of the congresswoman's lack of endorsements for the group of candidates, according to Politico.Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez, who shot to notoriety in 2018 when she ousted powerful Democratic congressman Joe Crowley, is also replacing some of her more radical, progressive top aides with more conventional political professionals, Politico reported.The freshman congresswoman has also struck a more conciliatory tone towards Democratic leadership in recent months, in February calling Pelosi the “mama bear of the Democratic Party.”She also criticized supporters of her progressive ally, 2020 presidential contender Bernie Sanders, for their antagonistic behavior online.“There’s so much emphasis on making outreach as conflict-based as possible,” she said. “And sometimes I even feel miscast and understood. Because it’s about what tools you use, and conflict is one tool but not the only tool.”Nevertheless, Ocasio-Cortez has largely maintained her status as a progressive standard-bearer. Earlier this year, she endorsed a group of progressive women running for Congress on Friday through her political action committee, Courage to Change.In January, she announced that she would not pay dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which works to elect Democrats to the House.

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12 Buildings That Show the Beauty of Deconstructed Architecture

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Venezuela rejects a U.S. offer to ease sanctions in exchange for transitional government

A former senior U.S. government official says it's the "best" deal they can get, while an analyst said this is more about "politics than policy."

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Trump: a U.S. coronavirus death toll of 100,000 would mean his administration did 'a very good job'

President Trump on Sunday said if his administration can keep the coronavirus death toll to 100,000 in the United States, it will have done a "very good job."Earlier in the day, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the coronavirus pandemic could cause between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in the United States. Trump said while 100,000 is "a horrible number," if the U.S. can keep its death toll to "100,000, so we have between 100,000 and 200,000, we altogether have done a very good job."Trump also announced he is extending social distancing guidelines to April 30, a departure from his earlier declaration of having the U.S. "opened up" by Easter on April 12. That proclamation was "aspirational," Trump said.As of Sunday night, there are more than 139,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States, and at least 2,400 people have died from the virus.More stories from theweek.com Fox News reportedly fears its early downplaying of COVID-19 leaves it open to lawsuits CDC is weighing advising Americans to wear face masks outdoors Trump's message to blue states battling coronavirus: Drop dead

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Idaho governor signs into law anti-transgender legislation

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Saudis Start to Unleash Oil Wave Despite U.S. Pressure

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia has made good on its pledge to ramp up oil exports in April, with a first wave of crude already on its way toward Europe and the U.S., a clear sign the price war remains in full swing.The kingdom has loaded several of the supertankers it hired earlier this month to boost its ability to increase exports, according to ship-tracking data. In addition, Riyadh has used the last few weeks to shuttle large amounts of crude into storage in Egypt, a stepping stone to the European market.The movements suggest that Riyadh is ramping up its oil production toward its target of supplying a record 12.3 million barrels a day in April, up from about 9.7 million in February, despite American pressure to end the price war.Saudi Arabia earlier this month slashed its official selling prices and announced the output hike after Russia refused to join other nations inside the OPEC+ alliance to cut output. The announcement, interpreted in the market as an oil price war, sent Brent and West Texas Intermediate crudes tumbling. Since then, the collapse in oil demand due to lockdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus has depressed prices even more.In a sign that Riyadh is opening the valves, oil shipments have already surged in late March. For the first three weeks of March, Saudi Arabia was exporting at a rate of around 7 million barrels a day, but that jumped to more than 9 million barrels a day in the fourth week of the month.With oil prices at the lowest in nearly two decades, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo last week directly asked the kingdom to “rise to the occasion and reassure” the energy market, diplomatic language for ending the oil price war.American President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, agreed in a phone call Monday that “current oil prices aren’t in the interests of our countries,” according to a Kremlin spokesman, though he declined to say what might be done to change the situation.Trump earlier indicated that he was concerned about the impact of low oil prices on the American petroleum industry. In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” he said Russia and Saudi Arabia “both went crazy” and started an oil price war.Despite the diplomatic pressure, Saudi Arabia is preparing to export more in the next few days. At least 16 very large crude carriers, collectively able to carry about 32 million barrels, are stationed near the Saudi oil terminals of Ras Tanura and Yanbu, according to shipping data tracked by Bloomberg.“Regardless of the recent headlines about the U.S. pressuring Saudi Arabia, we do not see any change in Saudi or Russian policy for now,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd., a London-based consultant.Riyadh has already loaded three supertankers that are likely to head to the U.S., and it’s loading a fourth right now, according to oil market intelligence firm Vortexa Inc. The tankers, all hired by the Saudi national tanker company in the past few weeks to boost its shipping capacity, include the Dalian, the Agios Sostis I, the Maran Canopus, and the Hong Kong Spirit.Shipments to EgyptAlready through March, Saudi Arabia has exported about 1.3 million barrels a day into Egypt -- the highest level in at least three years -- to pre-position crude for re-export into Europe, according to shipping tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and people familiar with the operation.The surge in shipments to Egypt was so large that the African nation may become the largest destination for Saudi crude in March, displacing China and Japan, which traditionally top the ranking every month.The cargoes have gone to a terminal at the south end of the Suez Canal before getting pumped via pipeline across the country to a storage and export facility called Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean Sea. From there, the crude will then get re-exported as part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to supply as much as it can, at deep discounts, into a market that doesn’t need the supply. The world’s largest oil tankers, known as VLCCs, cannot sail the Suez Canal fully loaded due to draft limitations.The next sign of whether the oil price war continues will come around April 5, when state-owned Saudi Aramco is expected to release its monthly official selling prices for May. Oil refiners and traders believe that Riyadh will have to deepen its discounts to sell all the oil the kingdom wants. If Aramco does indeed deepen the discounts, it will trigger a fresh round of tit-for-tat actions with other oil producing nations, piling further pressure on prices.(Updates with statement from Kremlin in seventh paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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10 cruise ships that are still at sea as the coronavirus shuts down the cruise industry

Ships from cruise lines like Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, and Cunard Line are still at sea.

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Outrage in India as migrants sprayed with disinfectant to fight coronavirus

Indian health workers caused outrage on Monday by spraying a group of migrants with disinfectant, amid fears that a large scale movement of people from cities to the countryside risked spreading the coronavirus. Footage showed a group of migrant workers sitting on a street in Bareilly, a district in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, as health officials in protective suits used hose pipes to douse them in disinfectant, prompting anger on social media. Nitish Kumar, the top government official in the district, said health workers had been ordered to disinfect buses being used by the local authorities but in their zeal had also turned their hoses on migrant workers.

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Top White House advisers predict as many as 240,000 US deaths from coronavirus - live updates

Members of the Trump administration laid out dire estimates Tuesday to underscore the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.

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US warship captain seeks crew isolation as virus spreads

The captain of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier facing a growing outbreak of the coronavirus is asking for permission to isolate the bulk of his roughly 5,000 crew members on shore, which would take the warship out of duty in an effort to save lives. In a memo to Navy leaders, the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt said that the spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating and that removing all but 10% of the crew is a “necessary risk” in order to stop the spread of the virus. Navy leaders on Tuesday were scrambling to determine how to best respond to the extraordinary request as dozens of crew members tested positive.

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Persona 5 Royal: Crossword Puzzle Answers Guide

One small feature added to Persona 5 Royal is a series of crossword puzzles. Throughout the course of P5R's year, you'll find a book on the table furthest from the entrance door in Leblanc. Interact with the book and you'll then be prompted to solve a crossword. If you're successful in figuring it out, you'll be rewarded with one knowledge point for free, and it's worth doing because it doesn't consume any in-game time.

Note that when you initiate a crossword puzzle, you only need to solve for the line that's highlighted in blue. All other words around it serve as hints by letting you whittle down the number of letters you have left to work with or fill certain letter for the line in blue.

So, here are the solutions for the crossword puzzles we've found in P5R (note that there be more we have yet to discover).

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Master Chief Voice Actor Donates Cameo Proceeds Project C.U.R.E

Honk! The Untitled Goose Game Soundtrack Is Available Now--Listen To It Here

Untitled Goose Game was one of the big success stories of 2019, selling over 1 million copies and winning multiple game of the year awards. A large part of the game's success is due to its excellent, reactive soundtrack, and now you can listen to it anywhere.

The previously-announced Untitled Goose Game soundtrack is now available through Decca Classics, and it's available to stream on multiple platforms, or to buy on iTunes. You can preview each of the tracks below.

There are 14 tracks to the soundtrack, with the first 12 being based on Claude Debussy's Préludes. The final two are original pieces, created by the game's composer, Dan Golding.

According to GameSpot's contact at Decca Classics, there is a possibility of the soundtrack receiving a vinyl release, although it has not been confirmed yet.

Untitled Goose Game developers House House have previously pledged to donate 1% of all profits to Australian indigenous groups. If you haven't played the game yet, it's available on Xbox Game Pass.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Developer CD Projekt Red Donates Nearly $1 Million To COVID-19 Relief

CD Projekt Red, the developer of the upcoming title Cyberpunk 2077, donated four million PLN ($950,000) to the Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy charity in their home country of Poland to help the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The studio made its donation public via LinkedIn and its Facebook page, as reported by IGN Poland. The board of directors and high-end shareholders split the donation with CD Projekt Red.

"We would also like to thank the entire medical service and everyone involved in the fight against the virus. Risking your own health, you fight for ours every day -- your hard work is our inspiration," said CD Projekt Red in a statement. "We also have an appeal to everyone who reads this message: take seriously what is happening around us. Listen to the recommendations of those who know about public health. Stay at home and don't let the virus spread further."

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Coronavirus: Stock markets suffer worst quarter since 1987

The Dow Jones and FTSE 100 have fallen more than 20% since the start of the year.

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Coronavirus: When 76 strangers sang happy birthday to a neighbour

A woman surprised her fiancé for his birthday by organising a mass sing-along in their apartment building.

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Coronavirus: The unusual ways countries are managing lockdowns

Countries are adopting movement restrictions ranging from the extreme to the relaxed to the creative.

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Big splash: The world's largest designer of water parks

Geoff Chutter is the founder of Whitewater West, the world's largest water park design firm.

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Why a Frenchman built a 'Tudor' castle in Burkina Faso

Thibault Fornier lives in an ex-French colony, but is enamoured with all things British.

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‘Normal People’ Trailer: The Director of ‘Room’ Heads to Hulu with a Forbidden Romance

Normal People trailer

Since directing Brie Larson to an Oscar win in 2015’s Room, Irish writer/director Lenny Abrahamson has been fairly quiet, directing only a couple episodes of a TV series called Chance and a single feature, the 2018 horror mystery The Little Stranger, which starred Domhnall Gleeson. Now Abrahamson has returned to his home country as one of the two directors of Normal People, a new Hulu co-production with the BBC which focuses on two young lovers from Ireland who find themselves on opposite sides of a class divide. Check out the trailer below.

Normal People Trailer

Is it hot in here, or is it just me? Man, this show looks sexy. I know the whole “Romeo and Juliet” dynamic is a little played out, but author Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel, which serves as the basis for the show, was critically acclaimed, so I suspect there’s more going on here than what we see in this trailer. Normal People will reportedly consist of twelve half-hour episodes, with Abrahamson tackling the first six and Hettie Macdonald (Doctor Who, Howards End) directing the final six. Rooney is serving as a writer on the series, along with Alice Birch (Lady Macbeth, Succession) and Mark O’Rowe (Boy A).

Daisy Edgar-Jones (2019’s War of the Worlds TV series) stars as Marianne, and Paul Mescal (Bump) plays Connell, the two friends/lovers at the center of the story, and the production hired real students who were attending Dublin’s Trinity College to participate in the show. (I visited Trinity College’s campus a couple of years ago to check out the world-famous Long Room in its Old Library; you can see it at the :54 mark in this video.) It’s fitting that the world “normal” is in the title, because this looks like one of the most normal, traditional things Abrahamson has been involved with in years. (And I wouldn’t exactly say that the guy who made Frank and Room is super concerned about directing traditional projects.)

Here’s the show’s official synopsis:

Based on Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel, Normal People is an exquisite, modern love story about how one person can unexpectedly change another person’s life and about how complicated intimacy can be. It follows Marianne and Connell over several years, as they embark on an on-again/off-again romance that starts at school and continues through college, both testing their relationship as they explore different versions of themselves.

Normal People premieres on Hulu on April 29, 2020.

The post ‘Normal People’ Trailer: The Director of ‘Room’ Heads to Hulu with a Forbidden Romance appeared first on /Film.

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How birth is changing in the age of coronavirus

Coronavirus is throwing many birth plans up in the air and leading some health trusts to increase home births.

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‘Normal People’ Trailer: The Director of ‘Room’ Heads to Hulu with a Forbidden Romance

Normal People trailer

Normal People Trailer

Here’s the show’s official synopsis:

Based on Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel, Normal People is an exquisite, modern love story about how one person can unexpectedly change another person’s life and about how complicated intimacy can be. It follows Marianne and Connell over several years, as they embark on an on-again/off-again romance that starts at school and continues through college, both testing their relationship as they explore different versions of themselves.

Normal People premieres on Hulu on April 29, 2020.

The post ‘Normal People’ Trailer: The Director of ‘Room’ Heads to Hulu with a Forbidden Romance appeared first on /Film.

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Monday, 30 March 2020

Fauci says coronavirus deaths could top 100,000 in U.S.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says the United States could experience more than 100,000 deaths and millions of viral infections from the coronavirus pandemic.

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New York's Cuomo pleads for doctors, nurses from other states to aid its hospitals

Speaking at a makeshift hospital in Manhattan preparing to receive its first patients on Monday, Cuomo sought to divert attention from any tension with Trump, with whom he has tussled in recent days over the distribution of ventilators in storage. "I am not engaging the president in politics," said Cuomo, who has emerged as a leading national voice on the coronavirus pandemic. New York is at the epicenter of the crisis.

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China Clashes at Virus Epicenter Show Risks Facing Xi Jinping

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Iran virus cases top 40,000

The number of declared coronavirus infections in Iran topped 40,000 Monday, as the government warned the outbreak could run for several more months and cost over 10,000 lives. With the tally climbing, President Hassan Rouhani stood accused of failing to take prompt action by some of his political opponents. The row came as a report by Iran's anti-coronavirus committee said the country may struggle with the outbreak until at least early summer.

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White House task force official says 'no state, no metro area' will be spared from coronavirus

The United States is preparing for a novel coronavirus epidemic that is national in scope."No state, no metro area will be spared," Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday's edition of Meet the Press.Birx was clear that no area of the country will evade the effects of the virus, but said the sooner places react and instill mitigation measures, the easier it will be to "move forward."> WATCH: Dr. Deborah Birx says "no metro area will be spared" of the coronavirus outbreak. MTP IfItsSunday> > Dr. Birx: "The sooner we react and the sooner the states and the metro areas react and ensure that they have put in full mitigation ... then we'll be able to move forward." pic.twitter.com/B9Fo3lUVHA> > -- Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 29, 2020Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also provided a sense of scale Sunday, but he said he doesn't want to be held to any prediction. Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper that he's never seen an outbreak match the worst-case scenario of its models, and he believes that remains unlikely for the coronavirus, as well. Nevertheless, he thinks it's possible the U.S. could be looking at somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths. > Dr. Anthony Fauci says there could potentially be between 100,000 to 200,000 deaths related to the coronavirus and millions of cases. "I just don't think that we really need to make a projection when it's such a moving target, that you could so easily be wrong," he adds. CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/F2MOHY3xl4> > -- State of the Union (@CNNSotu) March 29, 2020More stories from theweek.com Trump's message to blue states battling coronavirus: Drop dead Fox News reportedly fears its early downplaying of COVID-19 leaves it open to lawsuits How coronavirus has reshaped Trump's economy-driven, rally-heavy re-election campaign

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An Arkansas doctor stayed in his home to socially distance from his wife and child. Days after his photo went viral his house was destroyed by a tornado.

He went viral for distancing from his wife and 1-year-old son. Days later, his house was destroyed by a tornado that hit Jonesboro, Arkansas.

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Trump news – live: President now admits coronavirus deaths won’t slow until June as hospital ship arrives in New York harbour

Donald Trump has branded House speaker Nancy Pelosi “a sick puppy” during an interview with Fox and Friends after extending the timeline for the US to remain in lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic until at least 30 April, abandoning his “aspiration” to have the country back in business by Easter.The White House’s top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, has meanwhile warned that his projection of a potential 100,000 to 200,000 American deaths is “entirely conceivable” if not enough is done to mitigate the crisis, with the president commenting that containing the disaster to that level would represent “a very good job”.

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29 Best Closet Organization Ideas to Maximize Space and Style

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New York Gov. Cuomo extends order advising residents to stay at home for at least another two weeks

"The non-essential workforce is directed to continue to work from home," Cuomo said a day after the president decided against a mandatory quarantine.

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FBI report describes China’s ‘biosecurity risk’

In late November 2018, just over a year before the first coronavirus case was identified in Wuhan, China, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Detroit Metro Airport stopped a Chinese biologist with three vials labeled “Antibodies” in his luggage.

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Coronavirus deaths fall again in Italy but lockdown extension looms

The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy fell for the second consecutive day on Sunday but the country still looked almost certain to see an extension of stringent containment measures. The Civil Protection department said 756 people had died in the last day, bringing the total to 10,779 - more than a third of all deaths from the virus worldwide. "The measures that were due to expire on April 3 inevitably will be extended," Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia told Sky TG24 television.

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Coronavirus: India's pandemic lockdown turns into a human tragedy

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers are fleeing cities, posing a fresh risk of infection.

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Pelosi aims to move fast on next rescue package

The speaker is eager to include Democratic priorities in any coronavirus relief bill.

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A coronavirus patient's phlegm or poop could still have live virus in it even after they recover and test negative, new research suggests

New research raises doubts about whether negative throat swabs are enough to say a patient is coronavirus-free. Doctors may have to sample their poop.

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Coronavirus: New York bar owner becomes first to be arrested for ignoring lockdown

The owner of a bar in New York City has been arrested for operating in contravention of the city’s coronavirus lockdown measures.New York police confirmed on Monday that 56-year-old Vasil Pando had been arrested on Saturday night at an address in Brooklyn.

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Transformers' Michael Bay Has Struck A Film And TV Deal With Sony

Michael Bay has set his production company Bay Films up for a multi-year first look deal with Sony, as reported by Deadline. This returns Michael Bay to Sony, which is where he got his start as a director with the original Bad Boys, and will see him directing and producing several films for the company.

Bay's most recent film, 6 Underground, was one of the most popular releases on Netflix in 2019, and was viewed over 100 million times. He's currently attached to direct Black Five for Sony, an ensemble drama based on his own idea, from a script written by Ehren Kruger (Top Gun: Maverick).

While Bay has had a career full of clunkers, there's also plenty of bright spots in his filmography, including The Rock and Pain & Gain. His Transformers films were not received well critically, but they were huge successes, with two entries (Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction) grossing over $1 billion worldwide.

Bay will also produce television shows for Sony. While he's mostly known for his work as a director, Bay has been successful as a TV producer for a while now, having previously served as an executive producer on shows like Amazon's Jack Ryan, Black Sails, and The Last Ship.

No shows have been announced out of the deal as of yet, but production is stalled across Hollywood due to the COVID-19 pandemic--it might be a while before we learn more about what Michael Bay is working on.

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Pokemon Go Revenue Is Up Despite People Being Stuck Indoors

Pokemon Go is a game that thrives on people going outside, so you might not expect it to do well during a pandemic when players are stuck indoors. And yet, despite COVID-19 forcing people worldwide to self-isolate, Pokemon Go's revenue has gone up recently, according to a report from gamesindustry.biz.

For the week ending March 16, according to data taken from Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go's gross revenue hit $23 million--a 67% increase on the week before. In fact, 13% of revenue earned by the game so far in 2020 was earned during that week, despite people not being able to play as they usually would.

It was by far the biggest week of in-game spending the game has had in 2020, and it indicates that the game will continue to turn a profit as the way it is played necessarily changes.

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Former Call Of Duty Exec Responds To Skill-Based Matchmaking Controversy

Two Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Modes Just Got Updated With A Special Twist

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone continue to evolve. Activision has announced that both modes have received new variants that give you a new way to play.

Starting off with Modern Warfare, there is a new "Pro" version of Cyber Attack for standard multiplayer. The twist with this version of the mode is that players can now respawn instead of needing to be revived by teammates. According to Activision, this creates "frenetic and fast-paced gameplay" as players juggle between killing enemies and playing the objective.

The other new variant is "Blood Money," which is for the Warzone mode Plunder. In this twist on what we're used to, players get even more cash than before for killing enemies. Additionally, taking down enemies with a finishing move and completing contracts earns more money than before. This should make Plunder and even more chaotic, as players scramble to get extra cash.

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Theater Owners Launch $2.4 Million Fund for Employees

fund for employees

Nearly two weeks ago, the National Association of Theatre Owners, which represents more than 33,000 movie theaters in the United States, announced that they were pledging $1 million to theater employees affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The organization promised that details about the fund would be released shortly, and now it seems they have a two-tiered plan to disburse it to those in need.

$2.4 Million Fund For Employees

On March 18, NATO took $1 million out of its reserves and earmarked it as “seed funds for an effort to help tide workers over in this crisis in cooperation with our industry partners.” Now, thanks to the Pioneer Assistance Fund (via Variety), that seed appears to have bloomed – to the tune of $2.4 million. Today, the organizations made a joint announcement that the first part of their initiative is a grant program which provides a stipend to theater workers who meet a specific set of criteria. To meet the requirements for this first tier, an individual must have worked in theatrical exhibition for a minimum of five years.

Details about the second tier are still in the works, but Variety says the aim is to “expand assistance to a larger group of people who work in the motion picture industry, in the event the current crisis continues for an extended period of time.” It’s a good bet that we’re not going to be emerging from this chaos any time soon, so planning for a more long-term scenario seems like a smart idea. While I’m glad they’re making an effort to help cinema employees, and I’m certainly not in any position to understand the logistics of how funds of this size can be distributed, from the outside looking in, it seems like kind of a bummer that seniority is being taken into account with an aid package. Everyone was essentially furloughed or laid off around the same time, so shouldn’t they be able to pay everyone at the same time? Maybe multi-year veterans should receive a bigger cut of the money, but since everyone is hurting across the board right now, it seems unfortunate to leave employees hanging who have been working in the industry for less than five years.

One thing’s for sure: people need help, and fast. Though Cinemark has kept many employees on board working reduced hours, that chain has now cut its workers’ wages by about 50% in an attempt to keep as many employees on the payroll as possible and to position themselves to be ready for a return when things get back to normal.

Even though the U.S. passed a historic $2 trillion stimulus package last week to help American businesses, it’s tough to put an exact dollar amount on exactly how much of that will go to the movie theater industry. NATO seemed pleased with the fact that theaters will be able to pay their fixed costs while they are unable to generate new revenue, saying “movie theaters can look forward with confidence to re-opening and once again serving their communities.”

The post Theater Owners Launch $2.4 Million Fund for Employees appeared first on /Film.