Daniel Wolfe

The US is losing bank branches fast.

With coffee shops and restaurants around the US closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, some American diary farms have resorted to dumping milk to prevent an oversupply. Producers who make lactose-free milk are seeing fewer disruptions to business. Lactose-free milk is distinctly different than milk alternatives made of soy, almond, or oat. It’s from a cow and, like its plant-based competitors, sales are on the rise.

Satellite analysis of China’s crude oil containers reveal China is on a buying spree. Data from Orbital Insight, show 937 million barrels of oil in observable storage. It’s the highest level the company has measured since it began tracking in January 2017.

If you’re constantly on Zoom calls lately, maybe it feels like you might as well record your life. Well, that’s what 5 million people have done with their gaming lives on the streaming platform Twitch. According to TwitchTracker, since the end of February, the Amazon-owned service broadcasted over 2 billion hours of folks playing video games. That is around 230,000 years of footage. If you went back in time that far, you would see our very distant cousins sheltered-in-place in caves.

The rich get richer. Amid the global pandemic, Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, saw his wealth grow by $24 billion since the world’s been largely in shutdown. This brings his net worth to $143.1 billion, nearly $40 billion higher than the second-place Bill Gates, and almost twice that of Warren Buffett.

Emoji categorized by food, drink, and activity saw the most noticeable declines in usage. The 🍩 had a sharp increase because of a promotion run by Dunkin’, the donut and coffee shop. Many recent transactions included ☕️ with messages of support for medical workers.

Give the tip from a former NASA astronaut a try. The sounds of nature will help you through quarantine.

The only black suit jacket I had was a little tight on the chest. I didn’t really have time to get the creases out of my tie. While my wife finished putting on her earrings, she was asking me if I was done with my meeting. It’s hard to believe it’s wedding season already, but it was the first day of spring. And, like past weddings, I was making us late. It looked like I really wouldn’t have time to change out of my sweatpants.

Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex has defied a government order by cutting down protected mangrove trees on the site where president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has ordered the construction of an oil refinery, according to sources familiar with the project. Satellite images show a landscape razed presumably to accommodate the controversial $8 billion project.

“There is an evil that’s against us,” the precious-metals salesman says to his elderly, conservative client on the phone. Later, he adds, “they want to see this country go down in flames.”

The last decade was a period of remarkable growth for tourism to Japan. The number of people visiting the country increased from just 6.2 million people in 2011 to 31.2 million in 2018, a faster rate of growth over that period than any other major tourism destination. The relaxation of visa requirements, particularly for Chinese citizens, and a fall in the value of the yen combined to make Japan a much more appealing destination.

In 2019, humanity discovered 81 new organisms, each with their own unique habitat, traits, and abilities. And—despite the controversy—on Nov. 15 people around the world were encouraged to, once again, catch them all on a Nintendo gaming system. Scientists also identified 412 new species on Earth.

Ringing in the new year is all about rebirth: From the ashes of the old year will rise a new one, a new you, ready to tackle a fresh set of challenges. If only 2020 didn’t have to rise from literal ashes.

Okinawa’s governor, Denny Tamaki, demanded on Thursday that the United States halt plans to relocated one of its controversial bases to another part of the island, citing the will of the people, out-of-control costs and environmental damage.

Shutting off the internet, it appears, is the newest and most popular means of repression.

Am I the only person seeing parallels between Cats and Teslas? Two highly anticipated and closely watched launches; two companies forced to respond to failure in real time.

The Dolly Parton renaissance is upon us. In the last year, the American country music icon’s name has gilded everything from podcasts to college courses, a revived musical to a Netflix documentary. Her resurgence can even be seen in baby names.

Japan is hosting 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. If you would like to go, it won’t be cheap. Assuming you can even get a ticket in the first place, attending the opening ceremony and one event would cost you $10,000. However, if you time your airfare and hotel booking just right, you could save a few hundred dollars.

How much is too much time to take off work during the holidays? That can be hard to glean by asking co-workers one by one. Luckily, there’s US government data that can offer insight into how people like you take time off work.

French luxury goods group LVMH has a some shiny new jewelry. The Paris-based company behind Bulgari rings, Marc Jacobs shoes, Dior perfume, Zenith watches, Rihanna’s make-up line, and around 70 other luxury brands just bought Tiffany & Co. for $16.2 billion.

When it comes to candy corn, Halloween conjures a mixed bag. It’s the holiday’s most divisive candy.

I’m trying to be a bee this Halloween. So I went to Uniqlo to pick up a black, long sleeve turtleneck to go under a yellow-and-black striped number and complete my Seinfeld Bee Movie look. San Francisco’s Bay Area had other ideas: Not only was the Emeryville, California store sold out of the piece, stores in a 40-mile radius were out of stock.

Wildfires in California have prompted mandatory evacuations for 180,000 people and could leave millions without electricity.

Donald Trump announced this morning that US special forces killed ISIS founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The raid took place Sunday morning local time in northwestern Syria. According to Trump, commandos cornered Baghdadi in a tunnel before “he ignited his [suicide] vest, killing himself and three children.”