Elon Musk Offers to build $30 Million Tunnel under Miami

——————————-

On a 5 February call with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Elon Musk said that The Boring Company could drill a tunnel under the city in six months, with a price tag of $30 million. A month earlier, Musk tweeted that the Miami tunnel would “solve traffic and be an example to the world”. A 2018 municipal report estimated that a two-mile tunnel under the Miami river would cost $900 million and take four years, due to the expected difficulties of drilling through limestone, which must be waterproofed to prevent flooding. [TBT] [By KEVIN WANG] 

——————————-

Bitcoin worth more than $60000(CAD) after Tesla announcement

——————————-

Tesla announced 7 February that they had invested 1.5 billion in Bitcoin. They also said that they would start accepting bitcoin as payment for their cars. Elon Musk has also been promoting various cryptocurrencies on Twitter. Since these events, the price of Bitcoin has jumped to an all time high of more than $60000 (or 45000 USD). [CBC] [By MIRANDA ZHAO] 

——————————-

Trump’s 2nd Impeachment Trial Begins

——————————-

On 9 February, former US President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial began in the Senate. He is charged with inciting insurrection before and during the Capitol riot on 6 January. In his opening remarks, House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin said that Trump “surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief of a dangerous insurrection.” Large amounts of social media, audio, and video evidence, including previously unseen security footage, has already been presented to the senators. A successful conviction would require a two-thirds majority, 67 votes, in the evenly-split Senate. [NYT] [By KEVIN WANG] 

——————————-

33 Days on a Deserted Island

——————————-

On February 10, two men and one woman were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard from a deserted island in the Bahamas. They had been stranded on the island for 33 days, surviving on rats, coconuts, and conch shells. A guard was patrolling the area when they first spotted a hand-made flag on the island. The coast guard then dropped food, water and radio, but could not rescue them until later due to bad weather.  [NationalPost][By Iris Ma]

——————————-

116-year-old Nun Survives COVID 

——————————-

116-year old French nun Lucille Randon has survived COVID-19 and is officially cured of it. The nun, known as Sister Andre, is the second oldest person in the world. French reports show that she tested positive mid-January in the city of Toulon. This being said, three weeks later, she was up and about again, and can now look forward to her 117th birthday. [CTV][By Iris Ma]

——————————-

1 year into the pandemic effects on workplace mental health

——————————-

It’s been one year since the novel coronavirus hit and forced people to stay home. In terms of one’s mental health, a recent survey showed half of the full time workers in America say they’re experiencing some sort of mental health issue. Ever since the pandemic erupted last March, 7% more workers have reported experiencing mental health issues such as depression and anxiety compared to pre-covid times. The pandemic has drastically affected mental health at workplaces by spawning a wide range of anxieties. Some are worried about their job security, some feel disconnected from their colleagues, and some work longer hours. Employers have noticed this uptrend and plan to make actions supporting the mental health of their employees. World Economic Forum researchers recently found that lost productivity due to mental health issues, hospitalizations and suicide could cost $114 billion through 2025. Employers have made plans to start enhancing workers’ mental health in the next 6 months. [CBSNEWS] [By Anirudh Goel] 

——————————-

About 700 Baffinland Workers Stranded in Mine Amid Protests

——————————-

Baffinland Iron Mines wants to build a railway and increase shipping through its port at Milne Inlet, Nunavut to double their annual mining output. However, this will damage caribou, seal, and narwhal. Hunters who originally supported the expansion are concerned about this. Residents in Pond Inlet (where hearings regarding this issue are happening) have been protesting, citing the Nunavut agreement. They have said that they believe this expansion would ignore its protections for land and harvesting rights. Protestors have peacefully blockaded the airstrip and trucking road at the mine, stranding about 700 staff from southern provinces have been stranded at the site. However, an anonymous group of employees have written an open letter to the protestors expressing support for their cause and reassuring the public that the employees are perfectly safe. [CBC1 CBC2][By Emily Ma]

——————————-

Bombardier lays off another 1,600 people, scraps Learjet program

——————————-

Bombardier Inc., a Quebec-based aerospace company, has said it will cut another 1,600 jobs and stop making Learjets, a business jet that has been around for almost 60 years. The job cuts will bring the total workforce down to about 13,000 people around the world. The company announced this move in its quarterly financial results, which showed that they lost $337 million US in the last three months of 2020. Bombardier has shrunk from what it used to be, and may continue to slowly decline. In fact, analysts predict more cuts, especially since COVID-19 has hit the travel industry hard. [CBC][By Emily Ma]