promoearn: 'A drop in the ocean'

Tuesday, May 19

The beach is largely deserted during the coronavirus pandemic in Valparaiso, Chile, on May 10.

The coronavirus pandemic affects global carbon emissions. Retailers report first-quarter earnings, or lack thereof. It's Tuesday's news.

A Florida scientist says she was fired for refusing to manipulate state coronavirus data. Nancy Pelosi criticized the president for taking hydroxychloroquine. And scientists hope sewage will offer an early warning if COVID-19 reemerges in a community.

But first, there's a new virus in town: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease is killing thousands of wild rabbits – and it's going to affect the entire food chain.

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Staying inside is good for your health, and the 🌎

Remember 2006? It feels like a century ago. Pluto was downgraded from a planet. The second season of "The Office" was aired weekly on television. And the world was introduced to the Wii. It was also the last time carbon emissions were as low as they are today after coronavirus lockdowns caused a whopping 17% drop globally . The brief pollution break is probably just "a drop in the ocean" when it comes to climate change, and 2020 is still on track to be one of the five hottest years on record. The study, which is the first to measure the pandemic-driven global drop in CO2 emissions from January to April, noted that pollution levels are heading back up and emissions for the year will end up 4% to 7% lower than 2019 levels.

She says she refused to manipulate COVID-19 data, so they fired her

Rebekah Jones, a scientist who created Florida's COVID-19 data portal, wanted to create a way for Floridians and researchers to see the coronavirus pandemic in real time . She was removed from her position by the Department of Health. Why? Jones said she was ordered to censor some data but refused to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen." In an email Friday to researchers and other data users, Jones warned that changes were probably coming to the accessibility and transparency of the dashboard data. Researchers who saw the email suggested it could be an indication that Gov. Ron De Santis' government censored information in an effort to bolster the case for reopening Florida.

Real quick

•	Annie Glenn, widow of former astronaut John Glenn, died at 100 of complications from COVID-19.
•	A New Jersey gym reopened in defiance of the state's coronavirus order, drawing patrons, protesters and the police.
•	"It was the right thing": Justin Trudeau announces an extended U.S.-Canadian border closure.
•	Tingling in the hands or feet can be associated with COVID-19, but not in the way that you may think.
•	House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was "not a good idea" for the president to take hydroxychloroquine because it can pose a risk for people with heart conditions and he is "morbidly obese."

💩 Waste not, want not 💩

Human waste (re: poop) may provide an early warning if coronavirus infections reemerge as communities in some states cautiously reopen . Over the past few months, private companies and university researchers have partnered with communities to collect sewage at treatment plants and test it for the presence of the novel coronavirus. Although they cannot determine the exact number of COVID-19 cases from the wastewater, researchers said they can estimate the potential case count based on the amount of genetic material detected, the number of customers per system and the volume of wastewater generated. On the topic of sewage, any updates on the toilet paper situation?

What everyone's talking about

•	New polls show Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in Arizona, Florida and Virginia.
•	Milwaukee twin sisters, who earned 37 college acceptances and $1 million in scholarships, want to become nurses.
•	Tropical Storm Arthur spins out to sea as forecasters warn of dangerous surf and rip currents along parts of the USA.
•	Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex are celebrating their second wedding anniversary. Our timeline of what went right – and what went wrong.
•	Democrats have centered their focus on a single issue they hope will lead them to victory in November: health care.
•	Jonah Hill says he's "humbled" to beat Samuel L. Jackson as the most foul-mouthed actor.

Stores are reopening. But how are they doing?

In the age of coronavirus, some retailers fare better than others. Walmart saw its revenue grow by $10.7 billion, or 9%. Paired with an increased demand for grocery pickup and delivery services, online sales grew 74%. Kohl's reported that its net sales in the first quarter of 2020 were $2.16 billion, down from about $3.8 billion during the same time in 2019. Pier 1 Imports, which said in January that it would close half of its fleet of stores, plans to close all of its locations.

In the food industry, hundreds of McDonald's workers plan to strike Wednesday in an effort to put pressure on the chain to improve protections for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Labor organizers say there have been scores of McDonald's workers with COVID-19 in at least 17 states. They cite a survey of more than 800 McDonald's workers from March 31 to April 6 in which 42% reported being told not to wear masks and gloves by management.

Protesting what they say is a lack of personal protective equipment, employees close down the drive-thru at a McDonald's restaurant in Oakland, Calif., on April 21.

Ben Margot

A (reading) break from the news

🎶 Are you, are you ... 🎶 reading the "Hunger Games" prequel? In her 500-plus page novel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," Suzanne Collins explores the past of the dictatorial president, Coriolanus Snow.

Speaking of prequels ... HBO's "Game of Thrones" ended its eight-season run last year, but two questions about the "Thrones" universe remain unanswered: What about the books and prequel series?

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.