May 4, 2018

Nobel Prize in literature won't be awarded in 2018

Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty

There will be no Nobel Prize in literature awarded in 2018. The Swedish Academy announced the suspension, due to a sexual harassment scandal, and said it will award two prizes in 2019.

Go deeper: Almost half of the academy's members have resigned in protest over the handling of allegations against the husband of a member, per the NY Times. The academy said the decision was made “in view of the currently diminished academy and the reduced public confidence in the institution”. The last time the prize was suspended was in 1949.

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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 12,009,301 — Total deaths: 548,799 — Total recoveries — 6,561,969 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 3,053,328 — Total deaths: 132,256 — Total recoveries: 953,420 — Total tested: 37,532,612 — Map.
  3. Public health: Houston mayor cancels Republican convention over coronavirus concerns — Deaths are rising in hotspots — Déjà vu sets in as testing issues rise and PPE dwindles.
  4. Travel: United warns employees it may furlough 45% of U.S. workforce — How the pandemic changed mobility habits, by state.
  5. Education: New York City schools will not fully reopen in fall — Harvard and MIT sue Trump administration over rule barring foreign students from online classes.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: A misinformation "infodemic" is here.
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Rashaan Ayesh
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Photo: Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

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Bryan Walsh
5 hours ago - Health

Fighting the coronavirus infodemic

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

An "infodemic" of misinformation and disinformation has helped cripple the response to the novel coronavirus.

Why it matters: High-powered social media accelerates the spread of lies and political polarization that motivates people to believe them. Unless the public health sphere can effectively counter misinformation, not even an effective vaccine may be enough to end the pandemic.

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