BUSINESS
NEWS
U.S. Home Prices Surge 17% Amid Historic Housing Shortage
By Peter DuncanPandemic Separates Readiest Innovators From the Rest in List of Most Innovative Companies
By Craig RicherDigital Reward Programs for Employees
By Hayley ChowdhryCLIMATE
CHANGE
Canister Delivery to Strengthen Nuclear Storage Research
By Ryan OffmanUnderstanding the Source of Extremely Small Particles Above the Amazon
By Yves DucrotRepresentatives across agriculture, manufacturing, retail, foodservice and transportation cite crippling impact of driver shortage
117 organizations representing all levels of the U.S. supply chain sent a letter to transportation leaders in Congress urging passage of the DRIVE-Safe Act, legislation to remedy the nation’s growing shortage of truck drivers by promoting opportunity and enhancing safety training for emerging members of the trucking workforce.
Although 49 states and the District of Columbia currently allow individuals under the age of 21 to obtain a commercial driver’s license and operate commercial vehicles in intrastate commerce, these same individuals are prohibited by federal law from driving a truck across state lines until they turn 21. The ban on interstate commerce also precludes them from hauling any freight intrastate that originated from out-of-state, such as cargo shipped by air into their state of domicile.
The DRIVE-Safe Act would change this through a rigorous two-step apprenticeship program that creates a path for these drivers to participate in interstate commerce. As the name implies, however, the legislation’s first priority is safety. In order to qualify, candidates must complete at least 400 hours of additional training—far beyond what is required of any other CDL holder in the nation. All qualified drivers participating in the apprenticeship program would be accompanied by…
PUBLIC
INTEREST
Black, Hispanic, Native Americans Have Borne the Burden of Years of Life Lost From the Pandemic

A UCLA Fielding School of Public Health-led team has found that Hispanic, Black, and Native Americans have carried the burden of the pandemic, both in overall mortality and specifically in years of potential life lost, in an analysis of 45 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.).
“COVID-19 certainly…
Latest COVID Wave Fills Beds, Hammers Michigan ER Workers

During parts of last winter, physicians in Michigan Medicine’s emergency room would often go entire shifts without seeing a COVID patient. Admitting one was even more unusual.
That changed in late March when, over just one day, nine patients tested positive and six required extended stays.
“It marked a sudden departure…
CULTURE
NEWS
American Foundation for the Blind Announces ‘Inclusive Power of Music’ Centennial Conversation
By Tina GeigerBestselling Author N. K. Jemisin Shares Her Intricate Process for Worldbuilding and Developing Compelling Characters
By Emily PattersonRH
FINANCIAL
U.S. Home Prices Surge 17% Amid Historic Housing Shortage
The median home-sale price increased 17% year over year to $341,250—an all-time high—according to a
Pandemic Separates Readiest Innovators From the Rest in List of Most Innovative Companies
According to the latest report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Most Innovative Companies 2021: Overcoming
THIS WEEK'S HEADLINES
National Policy Proposal Charting Path for Universal Access and Affordable College for All Americans
To bolster our nation's talent pipeline and promote equity in education, 'College Promise for All' outlines a federal-state partnership to cover college tuition, fees, and student supports, starting in America's community colleges
Today, College Promise releases an ambitious proposal for a federal-state partnership. College Promise for All lays out a plan to eliminate tuition and fees for eligible students seeking a postsecondary education at our nation’s public community colleges and 4-year colleges and universities and significantly limits the cost to attend private, not-for-profit 2- and 4-year institutions. The proposal includes all eligible Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving, Asian American and Pacific Islander-Serving, and other Minority-Serving Institutions.
A high school education is no longer enough to build the knowledge and skills required for long-term career success. Millions of jobs remain unfilled across the country today, waiting for hardworking Americans to fill them. College Promise for All provides a well-lit pathway for Americans to align personal goals, education, and training programs with modern day career opportunities.
“Over the past five years, many community and statewide College Promise programs have grown and shown their effectiveness in reducing barriers to upward economic mobility, making it easier for students to enroll in and complete their college programs for high-demand, high-wage jobs,” said Martha Kanter, CEO of College Promise. College Promise for All builds on these high impact practices to accelerate nationwide access and completion to tuition-free college opportunities. To ensure that America remains competitive in the global marketplace, we must create and accelerate pathways to economic and social mobility that are accessible, affordable, and attainable for all. Doing so will build the skilled workforce and inclusive, prosperous communities badly needed for our nation’s future.”
Highlights of College Promise for All include:
- Up to 120 credits or…
CURRENT EDITION
2.8 million-square-foot facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will create 1,300 new manufacturing jobs
By Peter Duncan / Finance ReporterUltium Cells LLC, a joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors, today announced a more than $2.3 billion investment to build its second battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States. The facility will be located in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
Ultium Cells will build the new plant on land leased from GM. The new battery cell plant will create 1,300 new jobs. Construction on the approximately 2.8 million-square-foot facility will begin immediately, and the plant is scheduled to open in late 2023. Once operational, the facility will supply battery cells to GM’s Spring Hill assembly plant.
“The addition of our second all-new Ultium battery cell plant in the U.S. with our joint venture partner LG Energy Solution is another major step in our transition to an all-electric future,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “The support of the state of Tennessee was an important factor in making this investment in Spring Hill possible and this type of support will be critical moving forward as we continue to take steps to transition our manufacturing footprint to support EV production.”
“This partnership with General Motors will transform Tennessee into another key location for electric vehicle and battery production. It will allow us to build solid and stable U.S-based supply chains that enable everything from research, product development and production to the procurement of raw components,” LG Energy Solution President and CEO Jonghyun Kim said. “Importantly, I truly believe this coming together transcends a partnership as it marks a defining moment that will reduce emissions and help…
The median home-sale price increased 17% year over year to $341,250—an all-time high—according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage.
Below are other key housing market takeaways for more than 400 U.S. metro areas during the 4-week period ending April 11.
Note that at this time last year, pandemic stay-at-home orders halted homebuying and selling, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable for select housing metrics. As such, Redfin has broken this analysis into two sections: metrics that are acceptable to compare to the same period in 2020, and metrics for which it makes more sense to compare to the same period in 2019.
Metrics to compare to 2020:
- Asking prices reached an all-time high of $353,750.
- Homes that sold during the period were on the market for a median of 23 days, the shortest time on market since 2012. This was 15 days fewer than the same period in 2020.
- 43% of homes sold for more than their list price, an all-time high. This was 17 percentage points higher than the same period a year earlier.
- The average sale-to-list price ratio—which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices—increased 2.1 percentage points year over year to an all-time high of 100.7%, meaning the average home sold for 0.7% more than its asking price.
- 59% of homes that went under contract had an accepted…
CURRENT EDITION
Pandemic Separates Readiest Innovators From the Rest in List of Most Innovative Companies
According to the latest report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG),Digital Reward Programs for Employees
It goes without saying: The past year has looked unlikeFrom Government to Marketing and Technology: Ryan Raiker on How He Managed to Make the Career Switch
We caught up with Ryan after seeing a recent interviewEarnings in the U.S. Middle Market Grew by 16% in First Two Months of Q1 2021
Middle market private companies in the Golub Capital Altman IndexBally’s to Acquire Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino
Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY), a leading U.S. omnichannel provider of- Loading stock data...
COVID-19 WORLDWIDE
26296
140,531,290
Total
705
3,012,206 (2.1%)
Deaths
21120
119,416,583 (85.0%)
Recovered
EDITOR'S
CHOICE
Canister Delivery to Strengthen Nuclear Storage Research
American Foundation for the Blind Announces ‘Inclusive Power of Music’ Centennial Conversation
