Jun 12, 2017 - Technology

Uber to add independent board member

Courtesy of Nestle

Uber will add Wan Ling Martello, a Nestle executive and Alibaba director, as an independent director to its board, as Bloomberg first reported citing anonymous sources and Uber later confirmed to Axios.

Her appointment, which is expected to be finalized soon, would address one of the recommendations presented to Uber's board yesterday by former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder, who was hired in February to lead an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination by a former employee.

What's next: Uber is expected to announce its full changes to employees on Tuesday, although news will likely leak earlier. The company's board approved all of the recommendations made by Holder.

The story has been updated with confirmation from Uber.

Go deeper

Marisa Fernandez
5 mins ago - Health

NYC's coronavirus positivity rate spikes to highest since June

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images

New York City's coronavirus positivity rate has ticked up to 3.25%, its highest since June, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The jump — from 1.93% on Monday — came on the first day that public elementary classrooms reopened in the city after months of closures, but guidelines state that all public schools will have to shut if the citywide seven-day positivity rate stays above 3%.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 28 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. ET: 33,423,249 — Total deaths: 1,003,008 — Total recoveries: 23,199,564 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. ET: 7,152,221 — Total deaths: 205,268 — Total recoveries: 2,794,608 — Total tests: 102,342,416 — Map.
  3. Health: Americans won't take Trump's word on the vaccine, Axios-Ipsos poll finds.
  4. Media: Fauci: Some of what Fox News reports about COVID-19 is "outlandish"
  5. States: Cuomo extends New York moratorium on evictions until 2021.
  6. World: More than 1 million people have now died from coronavirus — India the second country after U.S. to hit 6 million cases.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
36 mins ago - Economy & Business

AppHarvest is going public

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

AppHarvest, a Morehead, Ky.-based developer of large-scale tomato greenhouses, is going public via a reverse merger with a SPAC called Novus Capital (Nasdaq: NOVSU). The company would have an initial market value of around $1 billion.

Why it's a BFD: This is about to be a "unicorn" based in one of America's poorest congressional districts. AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb tells Axios that the company will employ around 350 people in Morehead by year-end, and that its location allows its product to reach 75% of the continental U.S. within a one-day drive.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow