It’s troubling, though not surprising, to see covid-19 cases spiking across the American South and Southwest, where public officials delayed lockdowns, rushed to reopen businesses, or refused to require people to wear masks.

But what’s the matter with California? The nation’s most populous state was the first to enact statewide shelter-in-place rules, took decisive steps to build up the recommended testing and case tracing capacity, and has hammered the public health message on social distancing and masks.

For all entrepreneurs, starting a business is the route to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” no matter how risky. It’s the American dream that has been the goal of people in this country for over 240 years. If you are here in the U.S., I hope you are all able to take some time off this holiday period, to contemplate what you do, and why you do it.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

The social enterprise at work: Paradox as a path forward. In just a few short years, the concept of the social enterprise—an organization whose mission combines revenue growth and profit-making with the need to respect and support its environment and stakeholder network—has grown from an intriguing new idea into a concrete business reality. Discover the 2020 Global Human Capital Trends: https://www2.deloitte.com/nl/nl/pages...

Americans are largely optimistic about COVID-19’s progression, according to a new survey, and their responses suggest that the use of face masks will remain commonplace in the months ahead.

As shelter-in-place restrictions lift across the United States, more businesses reopen, and most states require face coverings in public settings,1 results from a new McKinsey survey indicate that US consumers are meeting the next normal with their masks on.2 The use of masks and respirators is nearly universal across the country, with 97 percent of all respondents saying they wear a mask at least once in a typical week.3

Rightly lauded for its contributions to the fight against COVID-19, university-supported, science-based entrepreneurship must also be part of the vanguard of the global response to the pandemic. Through their engagement, teaching and research, universities must redouble their efforts to work alongside corporations, governments and NGOs as they search for new business models and policies to assist “the Great Reset”.

Image: A scientist works in the lab on research into COVID-19 antibodies at Tsinghua University's Research Center Image: REUTERS/Thomas Peter

In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Sequoia Capital, one of the largest and most influential venture capital (VC) firms in the world, issued a grim letter of warning. They warned their portfolio companies of deals falling through, with slowing sales and a tough fundraising environment. They encouraged reducing expenses, spending “wisely” and “raising productivity” by reducing headcount.

The Harvard Business Review recently published its 2019 Top CEOs list. Of the 100 global CEOs listed, only four were women, and HBR China’s list wasn’t much better — it listed a total of five female CEOs. What are the barriers facing female CEOs, and what can we do as women to overcome them?

The Coronavirus has trammeled the prospects of most Americans, particularly low-income workers. But for one small group, the pandemic has proved something like manna from heaven. Already ascendant beforehand, the tech oligarchy—a relatively small number of companies, venture, and private equity funds—are riding the current crisis to unprecedented dominion over our ever-weakening Republic.

When he resigned as commander in chief of Britain’s Virginia forces in the French and Indian War in 1758, the 26-year-old George Washington put aside his military ambitions and returned to his Mount Vernon plantation for good. (Or so he thought.) Naturally enough, the young man started out as a traditional slaveholding Southern tobacco planter like his father and grandfathers before him. Yet in the decades that followed, a remarkable transformation took place. By the time he died in 1799, Washington had turned his back on the whole ethos of Southern agrarianism that was so dear to fellow Virginians like Thomas Jefferson....

On June 25, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), or the “agencies,” adopted amendments to the “Volcker Rule” set forth in section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act (the “BHC Act”). The Volcker Rule generally prohibits banks and certain other financial institutions from engaging in proprietary trading and severely limits the ability of those institutions to acquire or retain an ownership interest in, or sponsor or have certain other relationships with, a “covered fund.” The adopting release largely adopts the January 2020 proposed rules with a few clarifying changes based on comments.

Scientists at Yale University and scores more research institutions nationwide are working around the clock to identify potential avenues of diagnosing, preventing and treating COVID-19. Many of these projects are backed by the federal government’s National Institutes of Health. Any one of them could lead to a game-changing insight that helps to end this pandemic.

The institute will publish cutting edge research, covering focus areas such as global advancements, the future of work, AI ethics, and case studies. The premier publications will include the bi-annual State of AI in the Enterprise study, as well as the Trustworthy AI framework for ethics.

Happy 4th of July from Rich Bendis and the Innovation America Team!

How do you depict a threat that’s invisible to the naked eye yet having devastating impact across the globe? Since early March, when COVID-19 began its global spread, McKinsey has published 350 articles, surveys, reports, and conversations on the impact of the pandemic, grouped under the themes of Resilience, Recovery, Return, Reimagination, and Reform.

Getting the ideas, the words, and the data right is difficult enough. Then there’s the challenge of visually engaging audiences—on this website, in an app, and across many email newsletters and on social media platforms—in ways that reflect the diversity of our topics while embodying larger themes.

Welcome to GEN’s COVID-19 DRUG & VACCINE CANDIDATE TRACKER website.

Total Drug & Vaccine Candidates: 237 (as of June 8)

The goal of this resource is to provide a comprehensive collection of news, milestones, and updates on drug and vaccine candidates currently being developed for the COVID-19 pandemic.

This resource is based on the reporting of GEN senior news editor Alex Philippidis, who began compiling information on drug and vaccine candidates in the early weeks of the pandemic. The numbers of verified candidates ballooned rapidly from 35 in February 2020, to 60 in March, to 160 in April.

Before we get started, there’s something you know about. We’ve just launched the Maker Gift Card Give Back program. From now through Monday, July 6, you can purchase gift cards from 21 Pittsburgh-based maker businesses, and get a bonus 50% added to the gift card total. 

Image: https://nextpittsburgh.com

Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice president Joe Biden has said that he will lift the temporary suspension on H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, if he wins the November presidential elections.

On June 23, in a huge blow to Indian IT professionals eyeing the US job market, the Trump administration suspended the H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas until the end of 2020 to protect American workers in a crucial election year.

Image: Democratic US presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden reacts during a campaign stop in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Reuters

The latest issue of The Life Sciences Report features an interview with Matthew J. Meyer, the firm's chief client corporate development officer, who has broad management experience in the life sciences sector; a piece authored by Paul Grand and Kathryn Zavala of MedTech Innovator outlining 10 reasons why health care start-ups fail; an interview with Ryan Phelan, co-founder and executive director of Revive & Restore, a 501(c)(3) foundation using 21st century biotechnology to address urgent conservation challenges; and an article by Paul P. Campbell of W. L. Gore & Associates on life sciences innovation culture and deconstruction. In addition, the publication includes articles covering life sciences venture financings in which firm clients participated during 2019, the FDA's recent issuance of a MAPP on the conversion of ANDA approval to tentative approval, and a sampling of COVID-19-related client activity in which the firm has been involved, as well as a summary of other select recent life sciences client highlights.

Alex Philippidis joins Rich Bendis on BioTalk to discuss the BioHealth Capital Region from a National viewpoint, other Hubs, and how the industry has adapted in the age of COVID-19.

Alex specializes in biopharma business news and industry issues for GEN. He joined GEN in 2011 after four years at GenomeWeb, where he covered research institutes and spent three years following biotech economic development as editor of the weekly newsletter BioRegion News. Alex reports a variety of news stories for GEN and Clinical OMICs and compiles the popular A-Lists series.

The coronavirus has significantly impacted the entertainment industry—with virtually all film and TV productions halted in mid-March and thousands of crew members temporarily furloughed. California recently green-lighted film production on June 12, and New York last week entered phase 2 reopening for limited pre- and postproduction work. Big movie studios are still weeks and months away from actual film shooting, but these moves are big steps toward reviving the entertainment industry after more than three months of shutdown.

Image: https://fortune.com/