COVID Update

US: Over 3.6M Cases - 140K Dead - 1.6M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 13.8M Cases - 589K Dead - 8.2M Recovered

Fallen Officers From the COVID-19 Pandemic: 55 | NYPD Deaths: 45
Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 154+
*Red indicates change in total deaths

COVID-19: The Brutal Retail Industry Accelerator with Tony D'Onofrio, Global Retail Influencer The threats of multiple other waves of COVID-19 are still present, but key lessons have already emerged to guide countries during the reopening phase. A brutally transformed retail future is ahead. Contrary to popular beliefs, all retail sales are NOT moving online. For USA, various forecasts have ecommerce reaching 20% to 21% of industry sales in 2020. Watch video here

Half Of All States Have A Mask Mandate
But Surging Florida And Arizona Still Don't
Half of U.S. states now have a statewide mask mandate in place, as evidence continues to grow that mask-wearing in public is essential to containing the spread of coronavirus, but some of the nation's hardest-hit states are continuing to give residents the option to not wear face coverings around others, which is a clear threat to public health.

On Wednesday, Alabama became the 25th U.S. state to put a statewide mask-wearing mandate in place. Alabama's Republican governor changed course after a record coronavirus surge in Alabama; like Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas, she had refused to issue a mandate in the past, even though both had pleaded with residents on several occasions, asking them to wear masks.

But Florida, which is now dealing with the largest confirmed coronavirus outbreak of any state during the pandemic, does not have a mask mandate in place, and neither does hard-hit Arizona. forbes.com

The state most resistant to wearing masks for coronavirus protection?
Arizona, study says
Arizona is the most resistant state in the country when it comes to wearing masks, according to a recent study examining anti-mask activity online. After Arizona, the states with the most anti-mask online activity are Nevada, Florida, Idaho and Maine.

The analysis conducted by Survival At Home, a survival and preparedness website, with direct access to what Twitter calls "tweet geospatial metadata," or the location information that's built into tweets and the profiles that post them.

Compiling over 150,000 geotagged Twitter posts that referenced popular hashtags like "#nomask," "#burnyourmask," "iwillnotcomply" and others, Survival At Home was able to produce a map of the hotspots for anti-mask sentiment.

"As you can see, there are pockets of anti-mask activity all across the US, however the upper northeast (outside of Maine) is the most pro-mask region," said Ryan Taylor, a publicist for the marketing and brand firm Fresh Marketing.

Taylor added that the analysis tracked only anti-mask tweets and that "tweets in favor of wearing masks (pro-mask activity) far outweighs the anti-mask sentiment in each state." usatoday.com

Georgia governor bans cities from ordering people to wear face masks
Georgia's Gov. Brian Kemp is explicitly banning Georgia's cities and counties from ordering people to wear masks in public places. He voided orders on Wednesday that at least 15 local governments across the state had adopted even though Kemp had earlier said cities and counties had no power to order masks during the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican governor has instead been trying to encourage voluntary mask wearing, including telling fans that reduced infections from mask-wearing would make college football season possible. cbsnews.com

Virginia becomes first state to adopt COVID-19 worker safety rules
The state's safety and health codes board voted 9-2 to adopt what is called an "emergency temporary standard," which will require businesses to implement safety measures to protect people from being infected with the coronavirus at work. Companies could face financial penalties of up to $130,000 if they are found to have violated the policies.

The policies prohibit workers suspected of having the coronavirus from showing up to work, require companies to notify workers of possible exposure to infected co-workers within 24 hours, and include mandates about physical distancing, protective gear, sanitation, disinfecting and hand-washing. washingtonpost.com

Fast-food workers strike, alleging inadequate coronavirus protection in the workplace
Fast-food staffers across Illinois and California filed complaints with city officials, walked from their jobs and staged strikes against quick service giants McDonald's and Burger King on Wednesday, demanding better treatment and proper workplace protections from the raging pandemic.

The protests came just days after a Santa Monica Burger King worker died after displaying symptoms of coronavirus, which her managers allegedly brushed off, advocacy groups said. abcnews.com

Disney Parks Are Practically Empty and That Seems to Be the Idea
Walt Disney Co.'s just-opened theme parks in Florida are so deserted that visitors are waiting five minutes or less to get on many rides -- an eerie experience for people accustomed to long lines.

No doubt, many would-be visitors are wary of going to Disney's parks during a pandemic. But the thin crowds may largely be the result of limits imposed by a new reservation system, part of the company's cautious approach to reopening attractions. Reservations were quickly snapped up for last weekend, but the park still looked empty to many attendees.

Disney is reopening its parks in stages. Two of the Florida sites, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, welcomed back visitors on Saturday. Two more, Epcot and Hollywood Studios, join them on Wednesday. Disneyland in California, which this week clamped down again on restaurants and other establishments, remains dark. bloomberg.com

Military Medical Teams Are Deploying Again to Battle COVID-19
Military medical and support teams have begun deploying to sunbelt states hit hard by the resurgence of COVID-19, in an effort to relieve overburdened local hospital personnel as they did in New York and New Jersey in the early stages of the pandemic.

At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the states, about 580 medical and support personnel from the Army and Navy are deploying to Texas, while another 160 from the Air Force are being sent to California, said U.S. Army North, which is overseeing the operation. inmilitary.com

Kroger joins the growing list of retailers now requiring customers to wear masks nationwide

Florida Retail Federation Official Says Florida Is 'Pretty Well Equipped to Handle Crises'

Utah ships more than 140,000 masks to grocery stores, other retail establishments

More than 130 employees at Tesla facility in Fremont, CA test positive for coronavirus

Video: Spirit Airlines employees attacked in Florida airport by 3 passengers upset with flight delay

Woman who refused to wear mask wants half of $100K donated to Starbucks barista

2021 Rose Parade canceled for first time in 75 years over coronavirus fears
 

The Connection Between
Rising Gun Sales, Violence, Protests & The Pandemic

Study finds 8% increase in gun violence following spike
in gun-buying amid social upheaval
A new study from the Brookings Institution concludes: "In a society fraught with racial tension, it is not clear that dismantling the police and seeing more private citizens purchase guns will lead to a safer world."

That question is directly addressed in a second study from from the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center. After finding a massive increase in gun-buying during the first half of the year, they then focused on the question of whether, at the state level, those purchases are linked to an increase in gun violence.

To do that, they turned to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, an organization that maintains a real-time database of shootings by scouring news reports, police reports and public records. The analysis attempts to correct for a number of other factors that would plausibly affect rates of gun violence, such as covid-19 cases and deaths, the presence of stay-at-home orders, social distancing adherence, demographic factors and even temperature and precipitation.

In the end, they estimated, firearm violence nationally jumped nearly 8 percent from March through May because of excess gun-buying; that's "776 additional injuries associated with purchasing spikes." That may be an undercount: The Brookings study indicated gun sales jumped even higher in June, with potentially even greater effects on rates of gun violence.

The authors caution that a study of this nature cannot prove causality. "The risks of increased firearm availability are likely compounded by the myriad effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including widespread increases in anxiety, fear, grief, economic strain, disruptions to daily routines, and racial and economic inequities," the authors write. washingtonpost.com

Protests And Pandemic Spark Record Gun Sales
Fears over the pandemic and protests are driving millions of Americans to buy guns at a record pace. And nearly half of them appear to be first-time gun owners.

David Chipman is a former special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who is now with Giffords, a gun violence prevention group. The U.S. hit a monthly record for gun sales in March after the virus outbreak, he says. Chipman says that lasted all the way through June.

"You can see again on May 25th, when George Floyd was murdered and then the lawful protests and the looting and rioting that followed as well, again saw an enormous spike in gun sales," he says.

The government doesn't track firearms sales, but it does track background checks that are required to buy guns from licensed dealers. For handguns in June, those were nearly three times higher than a year earlier. npr.org

Workplace Disruption
Pandemic and BLM Protests Negatively Impacting Corporate Workplace Culture Health, According to Newly Released Data
Corporate workplace culture has been impacted by recent world events, including the coronavirus pandemic and the #BlackLivesMatter protests, in several significant ways, according to new data released today by HR compliance training and data analytics company Emtrain. In a comparison of responses collected from more than 100,000 employees at 145 companies prior to March 15th (and presented in the Emtrain Workplace Culture Report 2020) to over 20,000 responses collected from after March, 15, Emtrain found:

● A 15% drop in the likelihood that employees would say "no" to an inappropriate request from a manager.
● A 7% increase in people having to minimize their heritage or personal identity to fit in at work
● A 9% decrease in employees who say their workplace culture is "healthy" in the area of harassment
● 7% fewer employees reporting "strong and respectful relationships" between age groups
● A 10% decline in people who say behavior in their workplace is governed by "well-understood norms"

On a positive note, since we've all moved to remote work and Zoom meetings, 8% more people say that their coworkers can accurately pick up the mood in the room.

"These changes may not sound dramatic, but believe me they are," said Emtrain founder and CEO Janine Yancey. "To have employee attitudes shift this much on such key culture issues in just a few months means there are some major disruptions happening in the workplace and corporate leaders should see this as a wakeup call, particularly the decrease in people believing there are strong, well-understood norms of behavior in their workplace. This is one of the number-one indicators of overall workplace health and to see that drop is a red flag." prnewswire.com

'Disrupt and Destroy MS-13'
DOJ announces first-ever terrorism charges in nationwide gang crackdown
The leader of MS-13 has been charged with terrorism amid a nationwide crackdown on the group, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. The indictment, unsealed in Virginia against Melgar Diaz, marked the first time the Justice Department has brought terrorism charges against a member of MS-13.

Attorney General William Barr described Diaz as "the person who would green-light assassinations" for the gang in the United States.

The announcement came a day after grand juries in New York City and Nevada handed up new charges against nearly two dozen MS-13 members, ranging from drug dealing and kidnapping to murder and racketeering. foxnews.com justice.gov

In Wake Of Continued Gun Violence, Prominent Members Of Black Community Call On NYPD To Bring Back Anti-Crime Unit

Man's corpse found wrapped in plastic bag on roof of NYC McDonald's

Video shows protesters get shipment of bats before Brooklyn Bridge brawl

NYPD releases pics, video of suspect in Brooklyn Bridge police attack

Portland demonstrators move in to create their own 'autonomous zone' as protests continue

DHS accuses Portland officials of enabling 'mob,' posts timeline of damage by 'violent anarchists'
 

Retail Sales Nearly Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
U.S. Retail Rose 7.5% in June as Stores Reopened
U.S. retail sales increased 7.5% in June as stores and restaurants reopened and consumers bought big-ticket items and resumed clothing purchases, but a recent rise in virus cases could again dampen spending.

The Commerce Department on Thursday said the June increase in retail sales - a measure of purchases at stores, at restaurants and online - totaled $524.3 billion, up from $487.7 billion in May and nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. The total was driven by a pickup in sales at motor vehicle dealers, furniture, clothing and electronic stores.

Spending on gasoline increased 15.3% from the prior month as commuters got back on the roads. Sales at bars and restaurants jumped 20% from May, while online spending decreased 2.4% last month and sales at grocery stores dropped 1.6%.

Higher retail sales comes on the heels of lockdowns to contain the pandemic during the spring that triggered an economic shock and record declines in retail sales and other business activity. Government stimulus, such as enhanced unemployment insurance for laid-off workers, and virus-induced shifts in spending patterns have helped propel the rebound.

Marshal Cohen, chief industry adviser at the NPD Group, Inc., a market research firm, said lower spending on experiences such as concerts and summer camp due to the pandemic has put more money in consumers' pockets to spend on tangible items, such as televisions and gym equipment, helping drive retail-sales gains. wsj.com

June retail sales increase but recovery uncertain amid coronavirus resurgence
Retail sales rose in June, seeing both a monthly increase and their first year-over-year gain since the beginning of the year as more retailers and other businesses closed by the coronavirus pandemic reopened, but continued COVID-19 outbreaks remain a threat, the National Retail Federation said today.

"The retail sales numbers from last month were very encouraging and reflect continued progress in the right direction," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. "It's clear that congressional relief packages have found their way into consumers' pockets and are being spent by people who are happy to be back out in communities that are slowly reopening. However, recent spikes in infection rates across the country have us focused on keeping associates and their customers safe, which is the only way we can keep the economy open as we move forward."

NRF this week called on all retailers to adopt a nationwide policy requiring customers to wear face coverings or masks during the pandemic. nrf.com

JC Penney to close another 152 stores, cuts 1,000 corporate jobs
J.C. Penney said Wednesday that it has cut 1,000 corporate jobs, most of them at its Plano, Texas headquarters, to match its smaller store count. As part of its bankruptcy reorganization, Penney is closing 152 of its 846 stores.

Some of the jobs eliminated were field management positions and ones in international offices. Most of the workers who were fired are eligible for severance and will receive health care benefits through Sept. 30, outplacement support, compensation for unused paid time off and extended associate discounts. dallasnews.com

Why JCPenney isn't going out of business -- yet
JCPenney has survived world wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and the rise of both big box and online rivals. But surviving the Covid-19 pandemic is very much in doubt. Still, JCPenney probably isn't going belly up just yet. Ironically, the fact that these are the worst business conditions the company has ever faced could save it in the near term. This CNN video tells the story of the rise and fall of the 118-year old department store chain. cnn.com

Pandemic leads to national coin shortage;
Federal Reserve task force created to help
At fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, banks and other businesses across the country where cash normally changes hands, customers are being warned that coins are in short supply.

The apparent absence of enough coins in the nation's marketplace has so alarmed the federal government that last month the Federal Reserve established a U.S. Coin Task Force to "mitigate the effects of low coin inventories caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."

The 22 members of the task force were announced Friday, representing government agencies, banks and businesses, and they will meet this month with the goal of sharing recommendations in early August to identify "actionable steps that supply chain participants can take to address the current coin circulation issue." nbcnews.com

   Walmart asks customers to use debit, credit cards amid coronavirus coin shortage

   Kroger cashiers to stop giving customers coin change

   Convenience Stores Ask for Exact Change as Coin Shortage Continues

Mail delays likely as new postal boss pushes cost-cutting
Mail deliveries could be delayed by a day or more under cost-cutting efforts being imposed by the new postmaster general. The plan eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and says employees must adopt a "different mindset" to ensure the Postal Service's survival during the coronavirus pandemic.

Late trips will no longer be authorized. If postal distribution centers are running late, "they will keep the mail for the next day,″ Postal Service leaders say in a document obtained by The Associated Press. "One aspect of these changes that may be difficult for employees is that - temporarily - we may see mail left behind or mail on the workroom floor or docks,″ another document says. apnews.com

NRF: 2020's Top 100 Retailers
If there ever were a time to view retailing through a Darwinian filter, that time is now. A retailer surviving 2020 is, by definition, among the fittest.

The National Retail Federation's annual report on the nation's Top 100 Retailers is based on sales for the most recently completed fiscal year. But for some companies, what transpired in 2019 might not hold much significance for 2020 and beyond. For others, the pandemic has accelerated their path. nrf.com

Click here to see the complete list

US workers file 1.3 million jobless claims last week as coronavirus total tops 51 million

Amazon to open its first Missouri retail store in St. Louis Galleria mall

Walmart, CVS, Walgreens Earn High Marks for Disability Efforts

 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director of Corporate Security job posted for PharmaCann in Chicago, IL
The Director of Corporate Security will be responsible for the development and implementation of corporate-wide security SOPs and programs. The Director of Corporate Security manages every detail of our company's security plan, including managing all security technology, overseeing all transportation security, managing access to facilities, and training company personnel in risk management.

Based in Chicago, PharmaCann operates thirteen dispensaries and four production facilities across multiple states including New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania. linkedin.com

Senior LP Job Postings Removed from Website:
• Dir. Food Safety & Quality Assurance - Brinker International - Coppell, TX
• Dir. of Loss Prevention - Mapco - Franklin, TN
• Dir. Emergency Response - Verizon - Irving, TX
• Senior Manager, Asset Protection - Home Depot - Atlanta, GA
• Manager, Asset Protection Solutions Supply Chain - Walgreens - Windsor, MI