News Roundup 09/10/19
Lyft Fails to Protect Passengers against Sexual Assault and Harassment, Lawsuit Claims
Lyft, the ride-hailing company worth around $29 billion, is currently under fire due to a lawsuit filed by 14 anonymous litigators. This lawsuit is in regards to different accounts of sexual assault in several states including California, Illinois, North/South Carolina, and even Nevada. Unlike most jobs, Lyft fails to conduct background checks on their drivers, which allows the harassment and sexual assault of intoxicated female passengers to be carried out. Between 2014 and 2016, Lyft received around 100 sexual assault complaints against its drivers. Due to this lawsuit, Lyft is currently preparing to roll-out an emergency panic button on its app, providing quick and easy access to the police.
The Death Toll from Vaping-Related Illness Keeps Rising
Since last week, the number of cases regarding vape-related illnesses has managed to double, and U.S. medical officials are unaware of what the cause is. Until a cause is discovered, National Health officials are urging people to quit vaping due to the fourth death that has been linked to it. The victim was over the age of 65 and died after being hospitalized for a lung injury that occurred due to vaping an illegal product containing THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana. It is suspected that very high levels of vitamin E, which can be found in vape cartridges containing cannabis, could be the cause of these hospitalizations.
Canada's Only Chick-fil-A Opens To Wave of LGBTQ Protests
The LGBTQ+ community has continuously been opposed by different fast-food chains. In Toronto, protesters crashed the opening of Canada’s first Chick-Fil-A in an attempt to show that the company’s incredibly negative views on those in the LGBTQ+ community will no longer be ignored. This controversial issue began in 2012 when Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A’s CEO, stated that he only supports the “biblical definition of the family unit”. Chick-Fil-A is always donating millions of dollars to a plethora of anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns and refuses to offer protection, benefits, and diversity training to employees who identify with the community. The goal of this protest was to inspire individuals to support the rights of all humans instead of supporting a corporate profit.
White Claw Shortage Grips America
As a result of White Claws being the signature drink of the summer, America is now experiencing a huge shortage of the spiked seltzer, which has caused quite the frenzy. The shortage of White Claws has become so extreme that store owners are having to resort to rationing cases of the drink. Ken Wieler, who owns Richboro Beer and Soda, explains that his store was once used to selling 65 cases of White Claw a week, but that number has now decreased to 39. Sanjiv Gajiwala, White Claw’s Senior-Vice-President, states that the company is working as hard as they can to end the shortage soon.
Special Report: The End of Anonymity
Artificial intelligence is now allowing data that has once gone unnoticed to be detected and analyzed. This is leading to surveillance being supercharged in schools, work, and in cities. Police departments are even starting to experiment with various forms of facial recognition in order to make it easier for them to solve cases. In New York City, crime patterns are able to be detected through software, but thought of being watched is not sitting well with people. Within schools, surveillance is being used to catch changes in the behavior of students (good or bad) as well as aggressive voices.