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Sports are on hold, theaters are closed and so are amusement parks, a disaster-movie scenario that has stunned Hollywood. But Americans held captive at home by the coronavirus can turn to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and other streaming services, outliers in an entertainment industry brought to an unprecedented standstill. The recent launch of Disney and Apple services and the upcoming arrival of NBCUniversal’s Peacock and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max unleashed speculation about winners and losers in an increasingly crowded field. With self-imposed or required isolation the abrupt reality, emerging and niche streamers could draw new subscribers — gains that may even outlast the coronavirus crisis. The viral outbreak “has caused so much pain across industries globally,” said Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. “Yet on the streaming side, the demand for…

Airline service in the United States is teetering on the brink of collapse, with near-empty planes and coronavirus outbreaks that have left some air traffic control towers empty. Even with sharply reduced schedules, airlines are consolidating some of the remaining flights because passengers aren’t showing up. An official of one major U.S. airline, who asked that they and their airline not be identified, ticked off more than a dozen flights that departed on Tuesday morning with fewer than 10 passengers on board. In a few cases, pilots and flight attendants outnumbered passengers. The official said the average flight was just over 20% full and that figure is expected to drop into the teens by the weekend. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 331,000 people at airport checkpoints on Monday,…

The coronavirus shutdowns have launched an unplanned, unprecedented experiment with online education at schools across the U.S., and the nation’s largest school system plunged in Monday as New York City asked over 1.1 million students to log in and learn. After a whirlwind week of planning, students — those who could — signed in to Google classrooms and Zoom video conferences for virtual versions of everything from high-school English discussions to kindergarten gym classes. City officials were still trying to get laptops to hundreds of thousands of students in need. Parents grappled with how much to expect of their schools, their kids and themselves. Emily James was pleased to see the vast majority of her ninth-grade English students showed up for class by video, some using smartphones or borrowed laptops.…

Heartbreak Weather Niall Horan Former One Direction member Niall Horan’s new solo album is aptly named in the wake of his public breakup with Hailee Steinfeld. The pieces of this new release seem to have come together in the months since, culminating in a reflective but forward-thinking collection. FIVE FACTS: 1. Stylistically, Heartbreak Weather is a sharp departure from the Irishman’s first solo studio album, 2017’s Flicker, which had a much more low-key sound. 2. Horan has never specifically stated that Steinfeld inspired the new album, but his fans remain largely convinced that she did. 3. Horan has admitted that the songs were actually written from both his viewpoint and that of the person he broke up with. 4. However, he has also shown enthusiasm for moving on, having released…

Warner Bros. delayed the summer release of “Wonder Woman 1984” and removed the adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” from its schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic. With much of Hollywood’s spring release calendar already vacated due to the virus, major summer movies are also increasingly reshuffling. “Wonder Woman 1984,” the sequel to 2017’s “Wonder Woman,” will now hit theaters on Aug. 14 instead of June 5. “In the Heights,” directed by “Crazy Rich Asians” filmmaker Jon M. Chu, had been slated for June 26 but now isn’t dated for release. Miranda, in a recent livestream interview with Rosie O’Donnell, said the score was being recorded when post-production work slowed due to the outbreak. “There’s a lot that remains to be done on that movie,” said Miranda. “We were…

WHAT WE BECOMETHE WALKING DEAD, SEASON 10 THE BALL BALLRUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, SEASON 12 (UNCENSORED RUINED PEACHESTHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA, SEASON 12 OUR LIPS ARE SEALED90 DAY FIANCE: BEFORE THE 90 DAYS, SEASON 4 GIVE A LITTLE BITGREY’S ANATOMY, SEASON 16 DON’T MESS WITH DESTINEYSHAHS OF SUNSET, SEASON 8 IT’S LIKE THEY NEVER LEFT!TOP CHEF: ALL STARS LA, SEASON 17 HAND-OFFTHE ROOKIE, SEASON 2 FRERE JACQUESGOOD GIRLS, SEASON 3 A GAME OF TELEPHONE FAMILY KARMA, SEASON 1…

Netflix said it is establishing a $100 million relief fund for workers in the worldwide creative community affected by the coronavirus-caused halt of most film and television production. “This community has supported Netflix through the good times, and we want to help them through these hard times, especially while governments are still figuring out what economic support they will provide,”Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief creative officer, said in a statement. The majority of the fund will support hard-hit crews on Netflix’s own productions around the world, Sarandos said, and will supplement the two weeks of pay the company already agreed to pay the cast and crew on suspended productions. Electricians, carpenters and drivers, who largely are paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis, are among the hundreds of thousands…

The Japanese technology and telecoms company SoftBank said it plans to buy back up to 4.5 trillion yen ($41 billion) of its assets as it seeks to trim its gigantic debt burden. The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, said the move reflected “the firm and unwavering confidence we have in our business.” Tokyo-based SoftBank will buy up to 2 trillion yen ($18.1 billion) of its shares, Son said in a statement. Earlier, SoftBank announced a 500 billion yen ($4.5 billion) share repurchase. Acting at a time when the coronavirus outbreak has ramped up uncertainty for many industries, the company said it will spend the remaining 2.5 trillion yen on debt redemptions, bond buybacks and increasing its cash reserves. The company said it believes its shares are undervalued by 73% to their…

With so much of the U.S. workforce — and their families — now cooped up at home to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, it’s not a huge surprise that home internet is showing the strain. If you’ve had a business videoconference stutter while your teenagers play Call of Duty online, or found yourself unable to stream the news while your spouse uploads huge data files for work, you’ll have a good idea of the problem. IS THERE A BANDWIDTH PROBLEM? The internet’s core is managing the spike in traffic just fine, experts say. It has massive capacity to handle Netflix, YouTube, Zoom and other streaming services. True, Netflix has just throttled down its video quality in Europe at the request of authorities there. But the company already stores…

With Apple pulling the plug on its March Special Event over coronavirus fears, where it planned to show off new iPads and MacBooks, the company decided to launch its biggest update to the iPad in a press release. But don’t be fooled by the lack of fanfare: the launch puts the “Pro” back into the tablet, creating a next-level experience ideal for professionals. ENHANCING THE 2018 MODEL When Apple overhauled the iPad Pro in 2018, the company made it clear that it was placing a new focus on its professional users. For too long, Apple had been targeting its everyday consumer market with iPads, iPhones, and MacBooks, and though innovations did allow the company to stay one step ahead of the competition, professionals had to choose between a Mac or…

Hospitals are gearing up to test if a century-old treatment used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in the days before vaccines, and tried more recently against SARS and Ebola, just might work for COVID-19, too: using blood donated from patients who’ve recovered. Doctors in China attempted the first COVID-19 treatments using what the history books call “convalescent serum” -- today, known as donated plasma -- from survivors of the new virus. Now a network of U.S. hospitals is waiting on permission from the Food and Drug Administration to begin large studies of the infusions both as a possible treatment for the sick and as vaccine-like temporary protection for people at high risk of infection. There’s no guarantee it will work. “We won’t know until we do it, but…

Madam C.J. Walker may be one of America’s most successful “pull yourself up by your own bootstrap” stories, but many have never heard of her. However, that’s changing, thanks to the recent release of a Netflix limited series starring Octavia Spencer. “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker,” which also stars Blair Underwood, Tiffany Haddish, Bill Bellamy and Carmen Ejogo, tells the story of America’s first female millionaire, who was also black, at the turn of the 20th century. Her path to riches would be noteworthy in any era, but it’s particularly impressive given the discrimination and roadblocks women and blacks had to endure at the time. “I knew about her since I was a little girl because my mother taught us about her. We were from…

With iPhones and Skype, Conan O’Brien is going back on the air. The late-night host said he will resume putting out new episodes of TBS’“Conan” on March 30. His staff will remain at home, and the show will be cobbled together with O’Brien on an iPhone and guests via Skype. “This will not be pretty, but feel free to laugh at our attempt,” said O’Brien on Twitter. The late-night shows have all shut down production due to the coronavirus pandemic to avoid congregating live audiences and large TV crews. Some hosts have pumped out web videos. Jimmy Fallon has produced 10-minute “At Home” shows for NBC’s “Tonight.” In one episode, he did a video chat with Lin-Manuel Miranda. Jimmy Kimmel and David Spade have given monologues from their homes. Last…

A NASA astronaut who’s about to leave the planet for six months will blast off without any family or fanfare because of the coronavirus. Chris Cassidy said Thursday that he won’t have any guests at his April 9 launch from Kazakhstan. He expects to say goodbye in Russia to his wife on Friday, three weeks earlier than planned. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, she’s going back home to Houston. One of his three children, meanwhile, is trying to get back to the U.S. from New Zealand. There will be a smaller team than usual at the launch pad, too. “It really is going to be strange,” Cassidy told The Associated Press from cosmonaut headquarters in Star City, Russia. He said he’s already in quarantine ahead of his launch to the…

While other industries struggle, Liu Zhiyong says China’s virus outbreak is boosting demand for his knee-high, bright yellow robots to deliver groceries and patrol malls looking for shoppers who fail to wear masks. Liu, CEO of ZhenRobotics Corp., is among millions of entrepreneurs who are gradually getting back to work after China declared victory over the coronavirus that shut down the world’s second-largest economy. ZhenRobotics’ flagship model is the six-wheeled, 68-centimeter-tall (27-inch-tall) RoboPony. The self-driving cart is sold to retailers, hospitals, malls and apartment complexes. Unlike airlines, hotels and other industries that face a long and uncertain struggle to recover, Liu said his orders have tripled since the outbreak began. “The epidemic made people aware of the fragility of human beings,” Liu said. “Robots can make up for this vulnerability…

If the coronavirus has you self-isolating, you’re likely more concerned about staying in touch with loved ones and carefully planning your grocery excursions than about changing your money routine. But if you’re concerned about how to do your everyday financial tasks from home, consider starting to bank online — especially if your bank has temporarily closed its locations. Handling your finances remotely can be convenient even after you feel safe returning to a branch. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” says Richard Crone, a payments expert and CEO of Crone Consulting, LLC. “For the safety of consumers, the bank staff, all our families and the community, nobody should be walking into a branch. Financial services can all be obtained digitally. It’s a risk we don’t have to…

President Donald Trump said he is hoping the United States will be reopened by Easter as he weighs how to relax nationwide social-distancing guidelines to put some workers back on the job during the coronavirus outbreak. Trump’s optimism contradicted the warnings of some public health officials who called for stricter — not looser — restrictions on public interactions. But federal officials suggested that advisories could be loosened in areas not experiencing widespread infection. With lives and the economy hanging in the balance, Trump said he was already looking toward easing the advisories that have sidelined workers, shuttered schools and led to a widespread economic slowdown. “I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter,” he said during a Fox News virtual town hall.…

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker A year on from the story told in 2017’s The Last Jedi, the remaining Resistance members – led by Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) – take on the First Order once again. However, a shadowy figure from the distant past is waiting in the wings... FIVE FACTS: 1. The late Carrie Fisher reprises her role as Leia Organa in footage originally shot for the first two films of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. 2. Billy Dee Williams also returns to reprise an old Star Wars role – in this instance, that of Lando Calrissian, 36 years after the actor last played him in a Star Wars film. 3. Emperor Palpatine also returns, once again played by Ian McDiarmid.…

“The Banker ” is an odd title for this film. It has the effect of underselling a fascinating story about a black business savant that was inspired by real events. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) became a real estate mogul in Los Angeles and (eventually) the owner of a bank in his Texas hometown at a time when all the cards were stacked against him. At the very least, “The Banker” doesn’t seem like the best way to describe Bernard, his accomplishments or even reflect what it’s is about: the de facto and legal ways that African American were excluded from fairly participating in real estate and business. That’s all to say, don’t let it dissuade you from giving this solid film a chance when…

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose by a solid amount in February, but the gain came before the coronavirus had shut down much of the country. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 1.2% last month, rebounding from January when orders had shown a tiny 0.1% gain. However, with all the shutdowns that have occurred as authorities try to deal with the coronavirus, economists are looking for weak reports in coming months. The durable goods report showed that the 1.2% February gain which pushed total orders to a seasonally adjusted $249.4 billion, was the best performance since a 2.8% advance in December. A key category that serves as a proxy for businesses plans on investment fell by 0.8% in February after a 1% rise in January.…

The European Space Agency said that it is putting eight of its spacecraft into hibernation as it scales down operations during the coronavirus outbreak. The agency said it is further reducing the already limited number of staff working on site at its mission control in Darmstadt, Germany. As a result, the instruments and data collection on some space probes are being temporarily stopped. They include the Cluster mission, consisting of four probes launched in 2000 to investigate Earth’s magnetic environment and how it is affected by solar wind; the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter launched in 2016 to investigate the red planet’s atmosphere; Mars Express, launched in 2003 and which has been capturing images of the surface of Mars; and the Solar Orbiter mission launched last month to observe the sun.…

Trains carrying factory employees back to work after two months in locked-down cities rolled out of Hubei province, the center of China’s virus outbreak, as the government on Wednesday began lifting the last of the controls that confined tens of millions of people to their homes. Roadblocks on bridges and at expressway gates opened, allowing trucks and cars through for the first time in two months. Residents of Wuhan, the provincial capital where the coronavirus emerged in December, are allowed out of the city but cannot leave Hubei until April 8. Restrictions that barred tens of millions of people from leaving other cities in Hubei since late February as China fought to contain the outbreak were lifted Wednesday. As the United States and European countries tighten their own controls, China’s…