Raphael Stevens

Larry Wiggins is given the Moderna coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine by Anya Harris at Red Hook Neighborhood Senior Center in the Red Hood neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough on February 22, 2021 in New York City.Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesThe U.S. reported on Saturday another daily record of new Covid vaccine doses administered, pushing the weekly average of new shots per day above 3 million, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The public-health agency on Saturday reported 4.1 million new doses were given, the highest daily mark since the Food and Drug Administration cleared vaccines for emergency use late last year.About 104.2 million U.S. residents, or 31% of the population, have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the CDC, while 59.9 million people, or 18% of the population, are fully vaccinated. Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines require two doses for full immunity protection; Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which received limited clearance in late February, is a single-shot regime.Three-quarters of U.S. residents who are age 65 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, CDC data shows, providing crucial protection against the disease to a vulnerable group of Americans. As of March 31, nearly 81% of the country’s Covid deaths have occurred in people age 65 and up.The rise in daily vaccine doses administered comes as available supply increases and eligibility is expanded across the nation. In states such as Texas, Kansas and Ohio, all residents age 16 and older are now able to get the vaccine.The vaccine milestone Saturday arrives against a somewhat mixed picture for coronavirus cases and deaths in the past week. The country’s seven-day average of new daily infections sits at 64,617, up 6% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. Cases are growing in 26 states, plus Washington D.C., CNBC’s analysis shows.However, the U.S. weekly average of new deaths per day is down 12% to 847.President Joe Biden has urged the country to continue remaining vigilant around coronavirus spread despite significant progress on the vaccine rollout. “Too many Americans are acting as if this fight is over,” Biden said Friday. “It is not.”Also on Friday, the CDC said people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid can travel at “low risk to themselves,” while still stressing the need to wear a mask and maintain physical distance. “We continue to encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as it’s their turn, so we can begin to safely take steps back to our everyday lives,”  CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that accompanied the guidance change. “Vaccines can help us return to the things we love about life, so we encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity.” More

Protesters gather outside of the Georgia State Capitol to protest HB 531, which would place tougher restrictions on voting in Georgia, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. March 4, 2021.Dustin Chambers | ReutersU.S. corporations face growing pressure and threats of boycotts to publicly oppose Republican-backed election legislation in Georgia and other states that critics say harm the voting rights of Black Americans.The opposition intensified on Friday when Major League Baseball announced it would no longer hold the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta this summer, with commissioner Robert Manfred saying the league “fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.”GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week signed an election overhaul bill into law that adds new identification requirements for absentee voting while giving the state legislature increased oversight on how elections are run.The legislation prohibits third-party groups from giving food or water to voters who are waiting in line and places strict guidelines on the availability and location of ballot drop boxes. It also mandates two Saturdays of early voting leading up to general elections. Only one day was previously required.Civil rights groups and activists have pressured some of Georgia’s biggest corporations, including Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, to oppose the law. Coke and Delta did not vocally oppose the legislation prior to its passage, but their CEOs have since condemned the law.Following the bill’s passage, pressure on companies started to increase after Merck CEO Ken Frazier and other Black executives organized a public campaign to urge firms to call out the legislation. Many companies had taken broad stances in support of voting rights but sought to avoid taking specific positions on the Georgia law.It’s unclear whether a business community backlash will change the outcome in Georgia, where the law has been passed. Civil rights groups have challenged it in court and President Joe Biden said the U.S. Justice Department would examine the law, which he called an “atrocity.”Coke CEO James Quincey told CNBC on Wednesday the company had “always opposed this legislation” and called it “wrong.””Now that it’s passed, we’re coming out more publicly,” Quincey said.Delta CEO Ed Bastian initially said the legislation had “improved considerably” and offered broad support for voting rights. He reversed course Wednesday in a memo to employee, saying the “final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values.” Delta is Georgia’s largest employer.Bastian also ripped Republican lawmakers’ motivation for the law, suggesting the “entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections.”In November, Biden became the first Democrat since 1992 to win Georgia. Voters also elected two Democrats to the Senate, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in runoff elections in January. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have falsely claimed there was rampant voter fraud in Georgia’s elections last year.AT&T is based in Texas but gave money to Kemp’s campaign and cosponsors of the legislation. The company’s CEO John Stankey told CNBC in a statement:”We understand that election laws are complicated, not our company’s expertise and ultimately the responsibility of elected officials. But, as a company, we have a responsibility to engage. For this reason, we are working together with other businesses through groups like the Business Roundtable to support efforts to enhance every person’s ability to vote.”In an interview Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Kemp dismissed the corporate backlash over the state’s election legislation and said he’s “glad to deal with it.” He added, “I would encourage these CEOs to look at other states that they’re doing business in and compare what the real facts are to Georgia.”Voting rights activist and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams this week urged critics not to boycott Georgia’s major companies yet over their failure to oppose the election law. Instead, Abrams said companies should have a chance to publicly oppose the law and support federal election legislation before getting met with a boycott.”The companies that stood silently by or gave mealy-mouthed responses during the debate were wrong,” Abrams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “What people want to know now is where they stand on this fundamental issue of voting rights.”Some faith leaders in Georgia have called for an April 7 boycott of Coke, Delta and Home Depot, according to the AJC. However, the religious leaders have suggested the boycott could be avoided if the companies take further stands, like calling on lawmakers in other states to pull legislative proposals that they say would restrict voting access.Texas election bills face scrutinyWhile Georgia’s law has been signed, election bills in a number of other states are beginning to face scrutiny, particularly in Texas. When pressuring companies to speak up, Merck’s Frazier contended Georgia is “the leading edge of a movement all around this country to restrict voting access.”There have been 361 bills in 47 states that include provisions that would restrict voting access, as of March 24, according to an analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice.The proposals in statehouses across the U.S. come as Democrats in Washington seek to advance legislation called the For the People Act. Proponents say it would make it easier to register and vote, while also preventing gerrymandering and reforming campaign finance rules. Some Republicans who oppose the legislation say it would result in federal overreach into state elections. Last month, the U.S. House passed their version of the For the People Act without a single Republican vote in favor. Its future in the Senate is uncertain since it needs at least 10 GOP votes to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote.Powerhouse corporations in Texas are also taking aim at bills that voting rights advocates argue would make voting in Texas more difficult.Senate Bill 7 was approved by the upper house of the state legislature Thursday. In the Texas House of Representatives, another bill known as House Bill 6 has been under consideration.American Airlines, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, opposed Senate Bill 7 in a statement on Thursday. “To make American’s stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it,” the airline said.Dell CEO Michael Dell — whose tech firm is based near Austin, the state capital — wrote in a tweet that the company did not support House Bill 6.”Free, fair, equitable access to voting is the foundation of American democracy. Those rights — especially for women, communities of color — have been hard-earned,” Dell wrote. “Governments should ensure citizens have their voices heard. HB6 does the opposite, and we are opposed to it.” More

The Matthew McConaughey advice-giving role that seems most made for CNBC is his turn in “The Wolf of Wall Street” as broker and salesman Mark Hanna, and his “Fugazi” speech to the Leonardo DiCaprio incarnation of real-life “Wolf” Jordan Belfort.In the film, “Fugayzi, fugazi. It’s a whazy. It’s a woozie. It’s fairy dust,” is what passes for valuable guidance. But the actor has been known to offer some more down-to-earth advice in real life, whether it be through a university commencement speech or his recent memoir “Greenlights.”McConaughey recently joined CNBC during its @Work Summit to discuss fundamental life lessons he has learned in the Covid year which he thinks will be important for our culture as more people head back into work and regular contact with others — with disagreements certain to remain part of post-pandemic life. We should all be ready to embrace greater understanding of opposing views, McConaughey says. And sounding somewhere between his “Wolf” character and a human being trying to prepare for a post-pandemic world amid a booming stock market and expanding economy, he told CNBC from inside his Airstream trailer that it’s still OK in 2021 to chase success — if done the right way. “I’m for money and I’m for fame, but how we get those things, how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, fills the soul’s account along the way, and that’s long-term ROI that I think CEOs need to double-down on more.” Here are some of the ideas for a better life that McConaughey shared with CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla. (And for film buffs, watch the full video above if you want to know how that “Fugazi” speech came to be a piece of movie history.)1. Don’t go back to who you were before Covid. As the world enters a post-pandemic reality, the actor and author says we should all be using 2020 to reevaluate what matters to us, rather than snapping back to who we were and what we believed before.  “When we turn the page, and we get our freedoms to go engage again, that we don’t snap right back. That hopefully this last year when we were forced to reevaluate what the hell matters to us in our own lives, hopefully we will take those reevaluations out of this year and evolve as people, as individuals as well,” he told CNBC. That doesn’t mean immediate change, but it does mean reflection.”Hey, the first day may not need to be okay everybody charge. No! We’re all coming out of our own independent world and reuniting again, so let’s sit down. Maybe that first week back maybe needs to be, let’s sit down and talk about what we’ve learned.”   Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey gives University Of Houston Commencement Address at TDECU Stadium on May 15, 2015 in Houston, Texas.Bob Levey/Getty ImagesNow, more than ever, to come together in the middle is a radical dare. You want to be radical? Come to the middle, I dare you!Taking the time to reflect on how you have changed for the better over the past year will not only help you individually, but help understand your place in this new world. “[2020] was there for a reason, it was hardship for a reason, there was sacrifice for a reason, there are things to learn for a reason. Let’s turn a page, not necessarily in the same chapter, let’s turn a page and start a new chapter,” he said.2. Learn to accept those we may disagree with.  The past year again was marked by more polarization, for example, over politics and vaccines, and the conflicts have led to division, but rarely growth. McConaughey says it does not need to be that way. “We can come away [from conflict] going I still disagree, but fundamentally, principally, you and I are attached. You and I can still be attached, even though we have opposing views, saying we have similar expectations of each other; civilly, civically. We are not doing that right now, we are illegitamizing people, and there’s no way that can be the way forward.” Learning to accept conflict as legitimate requires us learning to accept opposing views.3. Find common ground through fact.  Simply put, Americans need to learn to agree on facts.  “We are delusional about what facts are. We are not even arguing from the same reality right now. So, if we can agree on facts, then I believe we can start building trust. Trust in facts can lead to trust in others, and then trust in ourselves.” McConaughey believes that due to distrust in media and leadership, we end up having trouble trusting ourselves. Learning to argue from the same set of facts will help. “If we can agree on facts, then I believe we can start building trust. Trust in facts can lead to trust in others, and then trust in ourselves.” 4. Be a ‘meet-you-in-the-middle’ centrist. McConaughey issued a dare to the American people:”We have a misnomer with what centricity is. We need to remember that unity is not uniformity. I’m a meet you in the middle centrist. That’s always has been perceived as ‘oh that’s the grey area of compromise, that means you’re not about anything.’ Now, more than ever, to come together in the middle is a radical dare. You want to be radical? Come to the middle, I dare you!”  More

Major League Baseball commissioner Robert Manfred announced Friday that the 2021 All-Star Game will no longer be held in Atlanta.The decision follows an election bill signed on Wednesday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, which opponents say disproportionately disenfranchises people of color. It’s one of the first tangible responses to the law, which was denounced by business executives across the United States earlier this week.Restaurants, hotels, rental car agencies and other businesses make money when these big events come to town. The MLB All-Star game generated about $49 million for the local economy when it was hosted in Atlanta in 2000, according to Baseball Almanac. The 2019 All-Star Game was projected to bring in $65 million for Cleveland, according to the same site.”Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views,” Manfred said. “I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”Georgia’s new law adds guidelines around mail-in ballots, voter registration and provides state officials more authority around how elections are operated. Critics say the law will suppress votes, especially among people of color in underserved areas.”Just as elections have consequences, so do the actions of those who are elected,” Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said on Twitter of MLB’s decision. “Unfortunately, the removal of the @MLB All Star game from GA is likely the 1st of many dominoes to fall, until the unnecessary barriers put in place to restrict access to the ballot box are removed.””Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” Manfred said. “In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.”Manfred said MLB will honor commitments to support local communities in Atlanta. The league is still finalizing a new host city and “details about these events will be announced shortly,” he said.Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Atlanta Braves respondGeorgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp speaks during a run-off election night party at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Buckhead on January 5, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.Brandon Bell | Getty Images”Today, Major League Baseball caved to fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies,” said Georgia Gov. Kemp said in response. “Georgians – and all Americans – should fully understand what the MLB’s knee-jerk decision means: cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included. If the left doesn’t agree with you, facts and the truth do not matter.””This attack on our state is the direct result of repeated lies from Joe Biden and Stacey Abrams about a bill that expands access to the ballot box and ensures the integrity of our elections,” Kemp added. “I will not back down. Georgians will not be bullied. We will continue to stand up for secure, accessible, fair elections. Earlier today, I spoke with the leadership of the Atlanta Braves who informed me they do not support the MLB’s decision.”The Atlanta Braves baseball team said on Twitter it is “deeply disappointed” by the decision.”This was neither our decision, nor our recommendation and we are saddened that fans will not be able to see this event in our city. The Braves organization will continue to stress the importance of equal voting opportunities and we had hoped our city could use this event as a platform to enhance the discussion. Our city has always been known as a uniter in divided times and we will miss the opportunity to address issues that are important to our community. Unfortunately, businesses, employees, and fans in Georgia are the victims of this decision.”CNBC’s Jabari Young contributed to this report.Correction: This story was updated to remove a reference to the 2020 All-Star game in Los Angeles, which was canceled. More

In this articleGOOGLAfter five and half years guiding Waymo, Alphabet’s subsidiary developing autonomous-drive technology, John Krafcik has decided it’s time for someone else to run the company. Actually, it will be a pair of Waymo’s top executives, Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, who will become co-CEOs of the company.In a blog post explaining his decision to resign as CEO, but remain with Waymo as an advisor, Krafcik wrote, “now, with the fully autonomous Waymo One ride-hailing service open to all in our launch area of Metro Phoenix, and with the fifth generation of the Waymo Driver being prepared for deployment in ride-hailing and goods delivery, it’s a wonderful opportunity for me to pass the baton to Tekedra and Dmitri as co-CEOs.”Tekedra Mawakana moves into the top job four years after joining Waymo and most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer. Dmitri Dolgov started his career with Waymo in 2009 when the company was created and known as the Google self-driving car project. He becomes co-CEO after most recently being Waymo’s Chief Technology Officer.In a joint statement sent to Waymo employees, Mawakana and Dolgov wrote, “We’re committed to working alongside you to build, deploy and commercialize the Waymo driver and drive the success of our incredible team and this company. We’re energized by the road and opportunity ahead of us.”While Waymo has established itself as a leading developer of autonomous-vehicle technology with more than 20 million miles driven on public roads and more than 20 billion miles driven in simulation, the company’s conservative approach to expanding operations has frustrated those hoping to see self-driven vehicles all around the country. That deliberate approach was a central part of Krafcik’s tenure as CEO.When meeting with reporters, Krafcik would regularly stress the importance of Waymo’s autonomous vehicles being as safe as possible. In March of 2018, after a pedestrian was hit and killed by an Uber autonomous vehicle being tested on a public road in Arizona, Krafcik told CNBC, “part of our responsibility at Waymo is to make sure the world, the cities in which we perform and the regulators who regulate those cities understand our technology.”The Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing service has been providing rides in the Phoenix area since 2017. As it has grown from a pilot program with a limited number of pre-selected customers into a ride-hailing service open to the public, utilizing a fleet of vehicles that operate without a driver. While Waymo has discussed expanding the Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing program to other cities for public use, the company has not given a definitive plan for doing so.Meanwhile, Waymo Via, which is designed to autonomously move goods is being tested with trucking hubs in Arizona and Texas. Late last year Waymo and Daimler’s Freightliner struck a deal to develop fully autonomous trucks.—CNBC’s Meghan Reeder contributed to this article. More

Coronavirus has rocked the nation with a year of restrictions, lockdowns, missed gatherings and events, isolation and a staggering loss of more than half a million American lives. As the pandemic stretches into a second year, Americans struggling with increased rates of depression, anxiety, and insomnia are looking for mental health support, and providers are working hard to keep up with the demand.When the pandemic first began, Dr. Mary Alvord, said there was an almost immediate increase in those seeking treatment for both anxiety and depression. Alvord is a psychologist and director of Alvord, Baker & Associates in Rockville, Maryland, a group of 19 clinicians focused primarily on children, teens and families.”I think everybody was just in a state of disbelief that this was coming on so quickly and dramatically,” Alvord said. “That first rush was anxiety in terms of daily uncertainty of not know what was going to happen [regarding] the pandemic. And I think that it turned to a lot of sadness.”Psychologists like Alvord report seeing more patients with anxiety and depression over the last year and most say they are treating patients remotely via telehealth. Last fall, a third of psychologists said they are seeing more patients since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). Of psychologists who treat anxiety disorders, nearly three-quarters of those surveyed by APA reported an increase in demand for treatment, while 60% of those who treat depression saw an increase. Similar rises in demand for treatment for trauma and stress-related disorders and sleep-wake disorders were also reported.”We’ve had a waitlist of about 187 people,” Alvord said. “We seem to reduce it, and then we go back up again.”The use of telehealth was expanded thanks to emergency orders put in place by states to increase access to services during the pandemic, the APA said. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid also revised rules to allow expanded services via telehealth. The group is pushing to continue this access for at least six months after the federal government declares the pandemic is over.There are still many barriers to treatment including the number of available mental health professionals, cost, stigmas and time, but telehealth expansion has increased access to care for many.”You’re able to see a therapist in your own home, you don’t have to rely on transportation or childcare. I do think that that helps, once you’re in treatment, to be able to access it. But we still have a pretty substantial problem within the health-care system in having enough providers for the people who need them,” says Dr. Vaile Wright, senior director of Healthcare Innovation at the APA.Wright noted, however, that the lack of health-care professionals has been a long-running, pre-pandemic problem. “Even if we do things like reduce retirement ages or increase the workforce, we’re actually never going to meet the needs of all the people,” he said.The pandemic may have fueled growth in telehealth services, but the trajectory is expected to continue. The global telehealth market, beyond just therapy, is projected to reach $312 billion by 2026, according to data from financial data firm PitchBook, more than quadrupling 2019 levels. Overall $1.8 billion was invested into virtual health companies in 2020, including companies Doctor on Demand and MDLive, both of which offer virtual therapy, PitchBook analysis shows.Frontline health-care workers, parents of children under the age of 18, and fathers — more than mothers — have been seeking treatment as of late, according to the APA. It’s too early to say if those who sought treatment during the pandemic will continue to access care once life gets back to normal, but expanded telehealth could help.”I think that the convenience that consumers have come to expect will encourage them to stay in treatment as opposed to having to go back to in person. So that’s going to be a big component,” Wright said. “I also think that we are going to see long-term mental health consequences if individuals aren’t able to address their stress levels that they’re experiencing right now.”In particular, Wright noted, essential workers — including frontline health-care workers — parents with children under the age of 18, individuals from communities of color, and younger adults with high levels of stress and distress are most vulnerable.Alvord of Alvord, Baker & Associates is also advocating for the expansion of telehealth, having trained 10,000 mental health professionals over the last year on how to do it effectively and ethically. A silver lining of the extreme challenges faced globally over the last year, she said, is the conversation around mental health has come to the forefront.”We’re all in this together, so the message is, ‘You’re not alone,’ ” she said. “The stigma of mental health really has lifted, because it’s okay to not be okay. There’s a normal stress level that’s a part of life, and grief and loss and sadness that goes along with that.” More

In this articleNKESports agent Rich Paul looks on after the game between the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Arena on March 11, 2020 in Miami, Florida.Michael Reaves | Getty ImagesRich Paul, the sports agent best known for representing NBA star LeBron James, has joined former Nike executives to start a minority-owned marketing and creative agency named Adopt.The firm aims to help companies in the sports and wellness industry expand their audiences through brand marketing. Among the Nike alumni partnering with Paul is David Creech, who led product and brand design for the shoe seller and Michael Jordan’s company.Creech told CNBC Adopt will focus on brand building so that companies can better relate to athletes and consumers. Adopt will charge an agency-marketing fee for their services.”There is this opportunity we believe that exists in the sports and wellness space that we can come in, identify and uncover market opportunities,” Creech told CNBC in an interview.Creech has worked on branding for athletes including Tiger Woods, James, and Kobe Bryant. He will lead the design, brand, and product division at Adopt. Nicole Graham, who served as vice president of global brand marketing at Nike, will head strategy and brand, and Josh Moore, another Nike veteran, will oversee digital and design.David Creech, co-founder of marketing agency Adopt.Source: AdoptAccording to Research and Markets, the global health and wellness market was valued at $3.3 billion in 2020. By aligning with Paul, Adopt will be linked to one of the most powerful voices in sports and entertainment.Paul is the CEO of sports agency Klutch Sports Group, which operates under entertainment company United Talent Agency (UTA) following a 2019 investment. Paul is also the first Black board member of UTA and heads its sports division.Paul’s top client is James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward, who has a long relationship with Nike. James signed a lifetime contract worth more than $1 billion with the company.James and business partner Maverick Carter recently joined investment firm RedBird Capital Partners in purchasing a stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox.WATCH: The rise of NFTs and why people are collecting moments and assets differently now More