Nov 13, 2017

Whitefish Energy charged Puerto Rico far more than it paid contractors

Erica Pandey

Linemen from Whitefish Energy at work in Puerto Rico. Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP

Whitefish Energy — the Montana company that secured a controversial and short-lived contract to fix Puerto Rico's power grid — charged the island's government $319 an hour for work on power lines but only paid its linemen $63 an hour, NYT reports. The FBI is investigating the Whitefish contract.

Why it matters: Per the Times, $319 an hour is "a rate that industry experts said was far above the norm even for emergency work — and almost 17 times the average salary of their counterparts in Puerto Rico." A spokesman for Whitefish Energy told the Times that "simply looking at the rate differential does not take into account Whitefish's overhead costs." Go deeper: A breakdown of the contract

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Axios

China tries to contain coronavirus, as Apple warns of earnings impact

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's NHC; Note: China refers to mainland China and the Diamond Princess is the cruise ship offshore Yokohama, Japan. Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

As China pushes to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus — placing around 780 million people under travel restrictions, per CNN — the economic repercussions continue to be felt globally as companies like Apple warn of the impact from the lack of manufacturing and consumer demand in China.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 1,775 people and infected more than 70,000 others, mostly in mainland China. There are some signs that new cases are growing at a slower rate now, although the World Health Organization said Monday it's "too early to tell" if this will continue.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 2 hours ago - Health
Ina Fried

Apple will miss quarterly earnings estimates due to coronavirus

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple issued a rare earnings warning on Monday, saying it would not meet quarterly revenue expectations due to the impact of the coronavirus, which will limit iPhone production and limit product demand in China.

Why it matters: Lots of companies rely on China for production, but unlike most U.S. tech companies, Apple also gets a significant chunk of its revenue from sales in China.

Go deeperArrow2 hours ago - Technology
Orion Rummler

America's dwindling executions

The Trump administration wants to reboot federal executions, pointing to a 16-year lapse, but Pew Research reports the government has only executed three people since 1963.

The big picture: Nearly all executions in the U.S. are done by states. Even those have been steadily dropping for two decades, per the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) — marking a downward trend for all executions in the country.

Go deeperArrow4 hours ago - Politics & Policy