News Room

Lockdowns implemented in some countries to reduce transmission of the coronavirus were extremely effective at controlling its rapid spread and saved millions of lives, two new studies suggest. Shutdowns prevented or delayed an estimated 531 million coronavirus infections across six countries — China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France and the United States — researchers from the University of California, Berkeley report June 8 in Nature.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday that he will allow the state’s social distancing order to expire next week, although local governments will still be allowed to enact their own policies to combat the spread of COVID-19.

United Airlines says it’s requiring passengers to answer questions about their health before they fly.The Chicago-based carrier says it’s the first U.S. airline to require flyers to answer the questions, which are a common screening tool in hospitals and other settings. United already is requiring passengers to wear masks onboard aircraft to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

San Antonio received $9.2 billion in export revenue in 2017, which supported almost 28,000 jobs in the state, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Texas has enjoyed an annual 6 percent export growth rate since 2002 — almost double the national average of 3.6 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

New research to be published in the INFORMS journal Management Science has found popular rideshare platforms exhibit racial and other biases that penalize under-represented minorities and others seeking to use their services. The study, “When Transparency Fails: Bias and Financial Incentives in Ridesharing Platforms,” was conducted by Jorge Mejia of Indiana University and Chris Parker of American University. In addition to finding racial biases persist, similar phenomena were also documented against people who show support for the LGBT community.