• Lydia Fenet is the lead benefit auctioneer and global managing director of strategic partnerships at Christie’s Auction House. 
• She landed a coveted job as a live auctioneer at just 24 years old, after a summer internship at Christie's and two years of working in the company's events department.
• Since then, she's led more than 1,000 auctions on behalf of hundreds of nonprofits and has brought her unique auctioning style and sense of humor into the traditional world of live auctions.
• This is her story, as told to freelance author Jenny Powers.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

I was 24 years old when I took my first auction representing Christie's in New York City. It was a winter auction for a nonprofit based in Kansas City, but even arctic weather couldn't put a damper on the fact that I was going on my first official business trip. An all-expense-paid trip to anywhere sounded like a dream at that point in my life.

It was 2001 and I'd been working in the events department for two years, having spent a summer as one of their college interns. I was single and living alone. The way I looked at it, I had nothing but time on my hands, so I could sit home by myself on Saturday nights eating takeout, or be an auctioneer and get dressed up, head out to black-tie galas, and take the occasional business trip. 

Up until then, you had be at least an associate vice president to try out to be a charity auctioneer.

But as requests increased, the company needed a larger pool to choose from, so they decided any employee who'd worked at Christie's for at least a year could try out. 

When open tryouts were announced, I immediately signed up. Twenty of us turned up, including my boss and my boss's boss. Sixteen men and four women. Tryouts lasted four days and included a series of mock auctions and interactive exercises including taking an auction when everyone was instructed to talk over us to show how unnerving it can be at times. It was all videotaped so our speaking elements could be reviewed and our style could be broken down and studied.

It was like the show "Survivor," as we all witnessed people get voted off the island, one by one. My boss's boss didn't make the cut. My own boss dropped out. On the final day, four made the cut. Me and three men, each with at least ten to 15 years on me. Two were British.  

When most people picture an auctioneer, they often conjure up images like the older British gentleman that were selected. I know I always did, so much so that for the first five years I took auctions, I seemed to be playing the part of a distinguished British gentleman. I was formal, polite, and detailed when presenting auction lots. 

One evening I was scheduled to take an auction and got sick. I tried to find a replacement but when I couldn't, I reluctantly got dressed and went. That night, I didn't have the energy to play the usual part of the British gentleman and instead, I wound up talking to the audience like they were my friends. I joked with them, shared stories about my own life, and essentially, just sold as myself.

The most shocking part of it all was suddenly, people stopped chatting and began engaging, and then lots began selling for more than the anticipated price. At that moment, it dawned on me that although I was a storyteller at heart, I'd never used storytelling to sell lots. 

From that day on, I dropped the British gentleman persona and simply sold as myself

The results were in the numbers. The auctions I took began earning 20%, 30%, even 40% more than in previous years and I began receiving more requests to take auctions than ever before. Even senior executives at the company started recommending me to their clients.

It's been nearly two decades since that first auction in Kansas City. That night I struck the gavel three times on the podium in what has become my signature move, only to watch it break and watch it roll onto the floor. 

Since then, I've auctioned off everything from a private yacht for hire with a staff of 17, to Bruce Springsteen's own motorcycle, to lunch and a dance lesson with Madonna. 

There are lots of moving parts when it comes to planning events. I typically meet with the nonprofit and their gala committee to ensure the auction is placed correctly in the evening and to review the auction lots, and be careful to put them in the best order to get people bidding. Most live auctions last 30 minutes. 

To survive in this job and be successful, you've got to have a good sense of humor, be quick on your feet, and be completely unflappable.

Anything that could happen to me on stage has. I've worked through drunk people causing a ruckus, glasses shattering in the background, and much more. Once a world-famous celebrity presenter began ranting about politics and after two minutes of listening to him ramble, I put my arm around him and said, "This is fantastic, thank you," and then gently but forcefully shoved him off stage.

At the last live auction I took for an event honoring actor Alan Cummings, I accidentally mispronounced his last name, leaving off the 's.' He called me on it in front of a thousand people, and I made up a joke on the spot. Despite experiences like this, the good heavily outweighs the bad and even the awkward.

The pandemic has put a temporary halt on live auctions, but I've already taken two virtual ones and have 12 more lined up.

I've emphasized to our nonprofit clients this is not the year to try and crush your goal. We've all got to set realistic expectations. People are experiencing major Zoom fatigue, so fewer people are likely to participate than normally do in live auctions. 

I miss the auctions a great deal. It's a huge part of my life and has been for a long time.

These days I'm a married mother of three children under the age of seven, having taken auctions until I was nine months pregnant with each of my kids. As the lead benefit auctioneer for Christie's, I like to say that's really my night job, as I'm also the global managing director of strategic partnerships by day.

Since 2012, I've been the one leading the annual auctioneer tryouts, and now 40% of those who try out are women. My on-the-job experience led me to write my first book last year called "The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You: Command an Audience and Sell Your Way to Success."

To date, I've taken more than 1,000 auctions on behalf of between 600-750 nonprofit organizations.

Overall, I've raised over half a billion dollars for charity. 

To get into this line of work, having internships and working in special events or with charities is always a good way to get your foot in the door. Also, practice public speaking at every opportunity. You have to be able to speak confidently and think quickly on your feet, so you have to get over the nerves that usually keep people from getting onstage in the first place.  

I don't know when we'll be back doing live auctions, but when we are, my gavel and I will be ready and waiting. 

• Donald Trump hosted a slew of celebrities in his VIP box at the US Open the day after he allegedly assaulted then-model Amy Dorris in his VIP box in 1997. 
• Dorris told The Guardian that Trump approached her outside of the private bathroom in his box on September 5, 1997, forcibly kissed her, groped her, and gripped her tightly against her will. 
• The Guardian published photos of Dorris posing with musicians Sean Combs and Lenny Kravitz, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and illusionist David Blaine at Trump Tower and at the US Open. 
• Other photos show Trump with Combs and his ex-wife Ivana Trump in his VIP box on September 6 when Dorris was also in attendance. 
• Lawyers for the president denied Dorris' allegations that he sexually assaulted her. Dorris is the 26th woman to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Donald Trump hosted a slew of celebrities in his VIP box at the US Open on September 6, 1997 alongside then-24-year-old model Amy Dorris, who says Trump sexually assaulted her in his VIP box the day prior.

Trump was photographed with musician Sean Combs, also known as Puff Daddy, his ex-wife Ivana Trump, and her then-boyfriend Roffredo Gaetani in his private box overlooking the courts. Dorris and her boyfriend at the time, magazine publisher Jason Binn, posed for photos with Combs and musician Lenny Kravitz at Trump's apartment in Trump Tower before they attended the tennis tournament that day. 

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and illusionist David Blaine also joined the group in Trump's VIP box on September 6. Dorris provided The Guardian with a photo of herself posing with DiCaprio, Blaine, and Binn at the Open and with Trump, Kravitz, Combs, and Binn at Trump Tower.

In an interview with The Guardian published on Thursday, Dorris said Trump approached her outside of the private bathroom in his box on September 5, 1997 and forcibly kissed her, groped her all over her body, and gripped her tightly against her will. 

"He just shoved his tongue down my throat and I was pushing him off," Dorris told The Guardian, adding that she told Trump to "please stop." "And then that's when his grip became tighter and his hands were very gropey and all over my butt, my breasts, my back, everything ... I was in his grip, and I couldn't get out of it." 

Dorris and Binn spent two days with Trump at the 1997 US Open — on September 5 and 6 — and attended a memorial service for Gianni Versace with Trump on September 8, according to The Guardian. 

A friend of Dorris' and Dorris' mother, both of whom the then-model says she told about the alleged assault soon after it happened, both corroborated Dorris' allegations to The Guardian. A therapist and other friends Dorris spoke with about the incident also corroborated her account. 

Dorris says she told Binn at the time, "[Trump's] all over me. I can't deal with this. You have to do something," but doesn't recall whether she told him specifics about the alleged assault.

Lawyers for the president strongly denied Dorris' allegations and claimed her decision to continue spending time with Trump after the alleged assault undermined the credibility of her claim. Binn did not speak with The Guardian but reportedly told Trump's lawyers he didn't recall the incident. 

Dorris lived in Boca Raton, Florida at the time and Binn, who was a close friend of Trump's, brought her to New York for a long weekend. The now-48-year-old mother of two says she "felt pressured" to brush off the assault. 

"I was there from Florida and I was with Jason. I had no money, nowhere to go. We were going from event to event and it was overwhelming," Dorris told The Guardian. "People spend years around people who have abused them, that's what happens when something traumatic happens, you freeze."

Twenty-five other women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct since the 1970s. Sixteen women have accused him of forcible kissing or groping, seven have accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior, and two have accused him of violent sexual assault or rape.

And Dorris isn't the first woman to allege that Trump assaulted her at a US Open tournament. Karena Virginia alleges that Trump approached her at the 1998 US Open, grabbed her arm, and touched her breast before asking, "Don't you know who I am?"

• House Majority Whip James Clyburn on Thursday condemned Attorney General William Barr for comparing to coronavirus-related lockdowns to slavery.
• The statement "was the most ridiculous, tone-deaf, God-awful thing I've ever heard," Clyburn said on CNN.
• Barr had said that stay-at-home orders, imposed to curb virus transmission, are "the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history" since slavery.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn on Thursday decried Attorney General William Barr's likening of coronavirus lockdown measures to slavery.

"That statement by Mr. Barr was the most ridiculous, tone-deaf, God-awful thing I've ever heard," Clyburn, the highest ranking Black member in the House, said in an interview on CNN's "New Day."

"It is incredible that [the] chief law enforcement officer in this country would equate human bondage to expert advice to save lives," he added. "Slavery was not about saving lives, it was about devaluing lives."

Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina, was reacting to Barr's remarks during a Constitution Day celebration at Hillsdale College in Michigan on Wednesday.

"You know, putting a national lockdown, stay-at-home orders, is like house arrest, Barr said. "Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history."

President Donald Trump chose not to impose a nationwide stay-at-home order, even though leading health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that the US "really should be" on a federally mandated lockdown. In fact, Trump in April called on governors to "liberate" Americans and reopen their economies.

"It would have been great if we had a national lockdown, so that people's lives would be saved, and our children will be going on with their lives today, as they should be," Clyburn said.

"But that is just what we're up against here: two people in charge of running the law enforcement of this country are absolutely tone-deaf to what it takes to be great leaders," he added, referring to Trump and Barr.

Given the brutal and violent history of slavery, Barr's comparison drew sharp criticism online and Mark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff, tried to distance himself from the comments when talking to reporters. 

"I'm not familiar with the quote, obviously we've had a number of times where civil liberties have been trampled on, and certainly, when we start to look down at forced confinement, those are tough," Meadows said on Thursday. "To compare them ... I certainly wouldn't." 

• Target will reopen the Minneapolis store in mid-November that was destroyed during racial protests earlier this year, the retailer announced in a blog post on Thursday.
• The rebuild will be "one of the fastest rebuilds of a Target store ever," according to Target Senior Group Vice President Cephas Williams, Jr., who wrote the blog post.
• "We want the Lake Street community to view this store as a part of itself, not just a place to shop," Williams wrote.
• The new store will take the community's needs into account, and feature an expanded food and beverage section as well as a new entrance near the light rail station.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Minneapolis Target store that was destroyed amid civil unrest over the police killing of George Floyd will reopen in mid-November, the company announced in a blog post on Thursday.

In the post, Target Senior Group Vice President Cephas Williams, Jr., who has overseen Target's Minneapolis-area stores since January, said the company is taking the needs of the community into account during the rebuilding process. 

"I recognize that how we rebuild is just as important — if not more so — as when we rebuild," Williams wrote. "We want the Lake Street community to view this store as a part of itself, not just a place to shop. So we're listening to the voices of the community and applying what we're learning, and will continue to do so."

The Lake Street store is across the street from the Minneapolis Third Police Precinct, which was also burned down during protests in late May, and is just three miles from where police killed George Floyd. Photos of the store's destruction turned the store into a topic of national conversation in late May and early June.

Williams, who is Black, wrote that he felt "anger, despair, and exhaustion" when George Floyd was killed, and struggled to find purpose in his role at Target. Ultimately, Williams decided the store needed to reopen as soon as possible — with the community's needs in mind.

"This will be one of the fastest rebuilds of a Target store ever," Williams said.

The reopened store will have an expanded food and beverage section and a new entry next to the light rail station exit. A local Black woman-owned construction company, Noor Companies, is spearheading the rebuilding of the store, and Williams said Target hired diverse subcontractors to help with the project. Williams also outlined Target's financial support for local development organizations and small businesses in the blog post.

A company's political response to looting or destruction of stores during civil unrest is becoming integral to its brand. Public response to looting is starkly divided along political party lines, but often doesn't highlight the effect of looting has on small businesses versus its effect on large companies. 

The stakes are much lower for large chains, which are able to absorb the costs of property destruction through insurance and existing capital. Across the country, 55 of Urban Outfitters' stores and 27 of Nordstrom's stores were damaged during unrest and in looting incidents. Yet both companies said that they didn't expect significant losses "after insurance recoveries."

Keeana Barber, the CEO of printing and marketing company WDB Marketing in Chicago, told Business Insider earlier this month that people who are concerned about the impact of looting should be more worried about small businesses.

"These bigger companies, they've got every single thing covered. They might close a couple of stores, but for us, this might be our only storefront we have," Barber said.

• Some college students are returning to campus for their fall semester.
• Whether universities decide to have in-person classes or a hybrid model, college towns where students usually make up a large share of the town's population may be greatly affected.
• Business Insider decided to look at colleges that have a large number of undergraduates to determine which towns may be most economically vulnerable during the upcoming school year.  
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Some college students across the country have already started their fall semesters, whether it be in-person or online. As some students choose to take online courses or are not interested in returning to college, this can affect the economy of towns dependent on college students.  

Many colleges closed and transitioned to remote learning in March, causing many to report budget shortfalls. Colleges are also estimating more financial losses for the current fiscal year. For instance, Oregon State University projects a budget shortfall of $217 million, and undergraduates make up about 33.7% of the population in the university's home town of Corvallis.

Cornell University also estimates an overall budget shortfall of $210 million, even with a hybrid fall semester. The Ithaca campus of Cornell University already reported a loss of $45 million for the previous fiscal year. 

There are many factors that contribute to the economies of college towns, including students spending money in the local economy and supporting businesses that employ workers. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston analyzed college towns in New England and found 45% of wages and 38% of jobs in these towns and cities come from colleges and universities.

Additionally, campus closures and the option of remote courses are affecting the local housing market. Per a new Zillow press release, the average rent in college towns, which Zillow defined as places where at least 20% of the population is made up of college students, has dropped by 1.2% since February.

According to Zillow's research, August rents in college areas were down by 0.5% from August 2019, while rents in non-college towns were 2.6% higher than last August. The press release notes the gap between the two types of towns hasn't been this wide since at least 2017, when Zillow first started tracking the data. Notably, this is also the first time that there is a negative year-over-year change for college-town rents since tracking this data.

Businesses that usually rely on students bringing in revenue have also been negatively affected by campus closures these past few months. Bloomberg CityLab interviewed a hospitality company in State College, Pennsylvania, where the main campus of Penn State University is located. Curtis Shulman, the director of operations for the company, said 60% of their revenue occurs during the academic year and 20% alone comes from football weekends.  

Business Insider decided to look at the college towns that would be most affected if students don't return for in-person classes or if the university with the largest number of undergrads in the town have to move to a fully remote semester.

To figure out which college towns are the most economically vulnerable, we based our ranking on undergraduate enrollment as a share of the town or city's population. To do this, we looked at the 200 colleges and universities with the largest number of degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates based on fall 2018 college data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS.) We focused on schools that are mainly four-year, bachelor-earning schools.

We then calculated the share of these undergraduates in the population of the towns and places where these large campuses are located. We used 2018 population estimates of incorporated places from the US Census Bureau and focused on those with at least 30,000 residents.

IPEDS has specific enrollment data based on whether a student is taking distance classes or not. Since we want to estimate the share of students living in the town or city, we decided to look at the total number of undergraduates who are taking either some or no distance classes, rather than all-online courses, as a share of the population.

Although many of the colleges that made the top of our list are reopening for the fall semester, a few are choosing hybrid models or going fully remote. This includes Rutgers University-New Brunswick where many of the classes will be held online and Michigan State University, which only recently decided students should learn online.

Some colleges on our list have reported coronavirus cases since the return of students and staff. Local news station NBC29 reported a dorm at the University of Virginia is preparing to quarantine after five positive cases were reported. Per CNN, four sororities at Kansas State University also have positive cases and have been told to quarantine.

According to the Ames Tribune, students at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University planned a "sickout day" to advocate for having classes to be held online.  

The following are 30 college towns that may be the most negatively impacted if students of the largest college campus in the town don't return or have to leave campus again, based on the share of residents of the towns that are undergrads. We included both the share of students who are normally either fully on-campus or only taking some distance-based courses and the share who are taking no distance courses.

30. Montana State University

Montana State University is located in Bozeman, Montana. The 14,458 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 29.8% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 28.1%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: In-person classes for the fall semester, which have started on August 17.

29. The University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The 30,081 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 30.0% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 20.4%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Most classes are in-person.

28. Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University is located in Flagstaff, Arizona. The 22,497 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 30.5% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 21.7%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Hybrid model.

27. Kansas State University

Kansas State University is located in Manhattan, Kansas. The 16,917 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 30.8% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 25.2%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: In-person classes until November 20 with classes offered in-person, online, and through a hybrid model during the fall semester.

26. Illinois State University

Illinois State University is located in Normal, Illinois. The 17,888 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 32.7% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 26.0%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes are offered in-person, online, or in a hybrid model.

25. Oregon State University

Oregon State University is located in Corvallis, Oregon. The 19,871 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 33.7% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 23.5%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: The majority of classes for the Corvallis campus will be remote.

24. University of Virginia (main campus)

The main campus of University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The 16,175 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 34.0% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 31.9%

Current fall plan, according to the Associated Press: The University announced on August 28 that the school will return to in-person classes.

23. James Madison University

James Madison University is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The 19,450 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 36.4% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 35.1%

Current fall plan, according to The Washington Post: The university announced on September 1 classes have been moved to online throughout the month with a few hybrid classes for some students, such as graduates. 

22. Auburn University

Auburn University is located in Auburn, Alabama. The 23,845 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 36.4% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 29.2%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: In-person classes started on August 17 and finals will be held remotely.

21. Utah State University

Utah State University is located in Logan, Utah. The 18,827 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 36.7% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 24.4%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes started on August 31 and students started moving in on August 15. Classes are offered online, in-person, and through a hybrid model.

20. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois. The 32,831 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 37.3% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 24.9%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes started August 24 offering as "much in-person instruction as restrictions of space, health and safety allow."

19. Indiana University-Bloomington

Indiana University-Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana. The 32,907 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 38.7% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 33.5%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Online and in-person classes will be held until November 20. All classes will be remote from November 30 to the winter break.

18. Oklahoma State University (main campus)

The main campus of Oklahoma State University is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The 19,609 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 38.8% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 24.2%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes began August 17.

17. Sam Houston State University

Sam Houston State University is located in Huntsville, Texas. The 16,588 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 39.3% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 21.8%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Hybrid model

16. Bowling Green State University (main campus)

The main campus of Bowling Green State University is located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The 13,264 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 42.0% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 33.8%%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: In-person classes, which started August 26.

15. Iowa State University

Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa. The 29,070 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 44.0% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 35.3%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes started August 17 with multiple teaching models.

14. University of California-Davis

University of California-Davis is located in Davis, California. The 30,690 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 44.3% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 42.1%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Students can choose to take courses on campus or online.

13. California Polytechnic State University

California Polytechnic State University is located in San Luis Obispo, California. The 21,043 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 44.5% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 41.1%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Only a small share of courses will be held in-person with on-campus housing available as single dorms. 

12. Texas A & M University-College Station

Texas A & M University-College Station is located in College Station, Texas. The 53,150 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 45.8% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 42.6%

Current fall plan, according to a local Texas news station: Classes will be held in-person and online.

11. Cornell University

Cornell University is located in Ithaca, New York. The 15,105 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 49.3% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 48.9%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes are offered online, in-person, or through a hybrid model.

10. Texas State University

Texas State University is located in San Marcos, Texas. The 33,531 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 52.6% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 38.9%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes are offered online, in-person, or through a hybrid model.

9. University of Delaware

University of Delaware is located in Newark, Delaware. The 18,988 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 56.6% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 54.3%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes started on September 1 with the majority being online.

8. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is located in Blacksburg, Virginia. The 27,681 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 62.2% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 44.4%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Hybrid model.

7. Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers University-New Brunswick is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The 35,336 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 63.2% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 47.7%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: The majority of classes will be held online with a few exceptions such as labs.

6. Georgia Southern University

Georgia Southern University is located in Statesboro, Georgia. The 21,115 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 66.7% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 49.7%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: In-person

5. Purdue University (main campus)

The main campus of Purdue University is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The 33,092 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 67.5% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 55.2%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes began on August 24 and in-person classes will end on November 24.

4. Washington State University

Washington State University is located in Pullman, Washington. The 23,388 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 68.9% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 61.8%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: All undergraduate classes will be held online. 

3. Michigan State University

Michigan State University is located in East Lansing, Michigan. The 38,895 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 81.3% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 63.7%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: The university president announced on August 18 changes to the plan including that students should stay and learn at home if they haven't already returned to campus. Off-campus students are also encouraged to learn remotely. 

2. Kennesaw State University

Kennesaw State University is located in Kennesaw, Georgia. The 29,302 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 85.9% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 56.5%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Classes started August 17, both in-person and online, and will be held remotely after Thanksgiving break.

1. University of Maryland-College Park

University of Maryland-College Park is located in College Park, Maryland. The 30,163 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who are only taking distance classes, make up 93.7% of the population.

Undergrads who aren't taking any distance classes as a share of the population: 85.3%

Current fall plan, according to the school's website: Undergraduate courses will be held remotely for the first two weeks of school before in-person classes on September 14. 

• Will Danoff, manager of the $230 billion Fidelity Contrafund, told Bloomberg that there's a "demographic issue" for mutual funds: Gen Z is not very interested in owning them. 
• "We need to appeal to the Gen Z-ers and the younger generation as well," Danoff said.
• Danoff also lamented selling a large portion of the fund's Tesla stake.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Will Danoff has managed the Fidelity Contrafund for over 30 years, but he hasn't seen anything like the "demographic issue" facing mutual funds right now, he told Bloomberg in a recent interview.

He was referring to the rise of day-trading activity from young market participants, which has thrown many traditional money managers for a loop.

"We need to appeal to the Gen Z-ers and the younger generation as well, and luckily I think our app is quite good," Danoff said. "But you know, a typical Gen Z-er may not be as interested in owning a mutual fund."

Danoff's mutual fund has beaten the S&P 500 benchmark by an average of more than three percentage points annually for the last 30 years, according to Bloomberg. But he said outperforming the market is "much more competitive now," given the thousands of investment options available.

Read more: Jefferies handpicks the 17 best stocks spanning multiple sectors to buy now — and details why each company's future looks 'particularly attractive,' even in a downturn

"When I started in 1990 there were 260 equity funds, now there are thousands," he said. "There are thousands of hedge funds. There are millions of robinhood investors." 

In terms of what the Fidelity Contrafund is looking to invest in now, Danoff said it's looking more closely at companies that have a strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) component.

"Companies that I'm invested in care deeply about our country," he said. "They care deeply about the environment and they realize making all stakeholders happy is good for business." 

Read more: Legendary options trader Tony Saliba famously put together 70 straight months of profits greater than $100,000. Here's an inside look at the strategy that propelled him to millionaire status before age 25.

Danoff also said the fund is heavily invested in work-from-home beneficiaries, while he has not made a large bet on industries that have been hit hardest by the pandemic like airlines and hotels.  

With regards to Tesla, he said that the Contrafund sold a large portion of its stake in 2017 and 2018 amid short-term profitability concerns. Danoff now laments the divestiture.

"Elon Musk is a remarkable executive, he's a super smart man, and I should not have cut back," he said, predicting that in 10 years from now all new cars may be electric vehicles or hybrids.

He concluded: "At some point hopefully I'll be able to buy back the stock. I own a very small position now but I wish I owned more."

Read more: Goldman Sachs says oil prices are set to move 'meaningfully higher' into next year. Here are 7 reasons why the firm is bullish, and 5 stocks it recommends buying in advance

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• Pipette Baby Balm is the most effective and nonirritating lotion alternative I've found that diminishes my daughter's eczema.
• Launched in September 2019, Pipette makes bath and moisturizing products for mom and baby.
• Their formulas are hypoallergenic and Environmental Working Group (EWG) Verified.
• I've found that this balm is an excellent option for those who are sensitive to perfumed baby lotions or need a quality baby moisturizer suitable for fall and winter.

I've been on the hunt for an effective environmentally friendly, unscented baby moisturizer since I was pregnant. 

That was four years ago.

Yeah, it's been a journey. So you'll understand why a seemingly simple tub of Pipette Baby Balm has me as hyped up as a kid at "Baby Shark Live." 

Two weeks and 22 uses since purchase, I think I may finally be able to toss out the graveyard of half-used lotions and balms taking up space in my bathroom cabinet.

I tried Pipette on a lark thanks to a 20% off coupon. The brand, which launched in September 2019, makes moisturizers and bath products for babies and moms.

Although my daughter is a toddler now, I still gravitate toward baby products because they tend to have fewer ingredients and lighter scents. It's also a consideration for my work as a postpartum doula. New families are always in need of reliable, baby-safe products that aren't a waste of money.

What makes Pipette stand out?

While cruelty-free, vegan, and unscented were the initial draw for me, I will admit that I am a sucker for minimalist packaging, and Pipette's sedate, slightly retro, mint-and-navy blue combo definitely caught my eye.

The design is as clean and simple as its ingredients. The packaging is recyclable, and according to the brand's website, renewable plastics are used "whenever possible." Although that iffy language is underwhelming, the company does not test on animals and features only plant-derived ingredients.

On top of that, all of their products carry the Environmental Working Group's EWG Verified guarantee that they do not contain potentially harmful ingredients.

Ingredients

When it comes to babies, less is definitely more. A main selling point of this brand is that it does not contain fillers or synthetics.

Pipette relies on sugarcane-derived "squalane," which is intended to mimic our body's own squalene (with an "e"), a skin-moisturizing lipid we naturally produce. To that, it adds plant-derived fatty acids, berry wax, a few fruit/plant-based binders and moisturizers, and vitamin E. 

What it does not contain may be more newsworthy: no petrolatum, sulfates, parabens, phthalates, oxybenzone, talc, polyethylene glycol, formaldehyde, or retinyl palmitate. Although these ingredients are commonly found in beauty and bath products, they are arguably irritants, potential carcinogens, allergens, and/or hormone disruptors.

Putting the Baby Balm to the test

Once fall hits, dryness is a given. And as the chilly New England temperatures drop further, my household is up against something even worse: eczema. It manifests as small red and raised patches that drive my daughter crazy with itching. Unrefined extra-virgin coconut oil has been my fallback since she was an infant, but it is messy and takes time to absorb.

Other nonsynthetic products didn't work for us, for various combinations of lackluster moisture, allergenic ingredients, or not-quite-right scents. Everyone for Everybody is a terrific synthetic-free brand, but it's extremely lightweight. I even plunked down $35 to try a jar of Pommade Divine Nature's Remedy Balm, but its medicinal scent and greasy after-life doomed it to the back of the drawer almost instantly.

That brings us to Pipette. I decided to test the balm by finger-painting a thin coat on my daughter's face post-bath, as well as the crooks of her elbows and several other targeted spots. Once our mornings hit below freezing, I repeated a quick swipe on her cheeks before heading out to daycare. In three days, her cheeks went from a patchwork of bright red blotches to a few faint rosy marks. Nothing else has done that as fast or as effectively.

The bottom line

So, should you buy it? Yes. Particularly if you are interested in vegan products without synthetic ingredients, are sensitive to perfumed baby lotions, or need a quality baby moisturizer suitable for fall and winter.

There are literally thousands of options there. I am recommending this as a replacement for baby's daily lotion and as a spot fix for patches of extra-dry skin. Depending on your needs, other products may be better for your baby. If cradle cap is a concern, I recommend unrefined extra virgin coconut oil. If diaper rash is cropping up, there is nothing better than Boudreaux's Butt Paste in my experience.

If you love fragrant "baby-smelling" things, this probably won't hit the mark for you. Though it's marketed as "unscented," the balm smells a bit like linseed oil. Or, if you ask my toddler, it "smells like unicorn syrup!!!"

I've read some reviews that say the balm felt greasy or didn't absorb. That was not my experience. In fact, I felt it was the opposite. At $13 for 2 ounces, Pipette is pricier than many store-bought options. However, it's less expensive than upscale balms and lotions targeting consumers who want products free of synthetics and potentially harmful ingredients.

You can purchase Pipette Baby Balm on its own or as part of a bundled gift pack. I purchased the Moisturizing Bath Set ($30). (The Baby Lotion is great so far, but its scent is more medicinal than the Balm).

Pros: Plant-derived ingredients; no perfumes or synthetic fragrance; moisturizing, absorbent, and non-greasy

Cons: More expensive than mainstream store-bought alternatives

• Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Halloween will be quite different in 2020.
• Market intelligence firm Numerator found that 73% of shoppers expect to celebrate Halloween differently compared to previous years.
• From surging candy sales to contact-free trick-or-treating, here are all the important trends to look out for as All Hallows' Eve approaches. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Halloween is supposed to be the scariest holiday on the calendar in the US, filled with both ghostly frights and sweet trick-or-treating delights. But 2020 is not like most years. The coronavirus pandemic is still wreaking havoc across the country, meaning that fears over new outbreaks will likely dampen many traditional Halloween activities this year. 

And consumers are taking notice, while planning accordingly. A survey from market intelligence firm Numerator found that 73% of respondents "expect their Halloween celebrations to be different this year."

What exactly will Halloween look like during a global pandemic? Here are a few trends to watch out for:

Spooky store displays will be gracing retailers earlier this year

The holiday shopping season appears to begin earlier every year. And in 2020, consumers would have likely noticed Halloween displays starting to pop up back in August.

That's no accident. With the US still stuck in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic and the days blurring together for stuck-at-home consumers, retailers have an incentive to be aggressive about holiday sales, starting with Halloween. 

The Hershey Company even teamed up with supermarket chain Alberton's to create candy-centric displays in stores in August. By bumping up the holiday shopping season two-to-four weeks, the company is looking to drive chocolate demand for its savory sweets.

Trick-or-treating will likely look quite different

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the question of whether trick-or-treating is a risk worth taking is top-of-mind for many parents. 

As a result, there is less interest in participating in the trick-or-treating tradition in 2020. According to a recent National Retail Federation survey, 62% of respondents plan to hand out candy this year, down from 69% in 2019. And only 23% plan to go trick-or-treating, down from 29% last Halloween.

Even among those who do dare to venture out, contact-free or stay-at-home options will likely be in vogue this year.

Writing for Business Insider, epidemiologist Dr. Syra Madad said she planned to treat her kids to a stay-at-home "candy hunt" to reduce risk.

And companies are taking notice, too. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Hershey Company has launched a Halloween safety guide. Meanwhile, candy startup Zolli Candy is working with Christmas tree company Treetopia to set up "candy trees" for touchless trick-or-treating.

Revelers will shell out more money than usual

Without a doubt, 2020 has been a stressful year, which means that plenty of people won't be in a festive mood come October 31.

The National Retail Federation found that only 58% of respondents plan to celebrate Halloween this year.

That being said, those who do plan to commemorate All Hallows' Eve are going all out, spending an average of $91.12. That's $4.85 more than last year.

The NRF found that respondents this year are more likely to dress up pets, carve jack-o-lanterns, and decorate their homes than in 2019. 

Candy lovers may have already gotten their fix

When it comes to sales, it's still unclear whether Halloween will leave a sweet or sour taste in the proverbial mouths of candy manufacturers.

Consumers are increasingly turning to sweets in order to deal with the stress of the pandemic. But that trend could actually dampen Halloween's impact, with shoppers already glutted out on treats. 

Marketing tech firm Zeta Global has analyzed candy and chocolate sales for 2020 so far based on its platform of 2.4 billion consumers. The company found that Halloween is "still unpredictable," although September sales of snacks, cookies, and candy are up 96.2% from August.

But even with a dip in trick-or-treating traffic, many consumers will likely have candy on hand on Halloween night. Numerator found that 62% of shoppers plan on buying treats for themselves and their families, a 6% spike from last year.

• The Trump administration is forcing TikTok to sell off its US business by September 15 or else face a ban, accusing it of posing a privacy and national security threat because it is owned by a Chinese company.
• The administration has explicitly claimed TikTok spies on people but has never offered public evidence.
• Experts diving through TikTok's code and policies say the app collects user data in a similar way to Facebook and other popular social apps.
• Google and Facebook by comparison almost certainly hoover up more user data than TikTok through their sprawling number of apps and services — but get less US political scrutiny on privacy.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

TikTok, the video-sharing app whose meteoric rise amongst teenage users has made it a challenger to the likes of Facebook, is under siege in the US thanks to its Chinese roots.

On Friday the US Commerce Department announced it is banning all new downloads of the app starting from September 20. This followed the news on Monday that TikTok's parent firm ByteDance is set to sign a deal with US tech giant Oracle. Stopping short of an outright sale, the deal would make Oracle TikTok's "trusted technology provider" in the US, and give it a majority stake in the company.

The Trump administration maintains because TikTok is owned by a Chinese company it poses a security risk, and in July it ran ads claiming TikTok spies on people. Trump cited this in two August executive orders, in which he ordered the company sell off its US operations or else face a ban.

The spying claims hit home for some high-profile users, including online gaming megastar Tyler "Ninja" Blevins who announced he was deleting the app in July over privacy concerns.

But is TikTok actually any worse for snooping in your personal data than social media platforms like Facebook and Google?

According to the experts, evidence suggests the answer is no.

In terms of the data TikTok says it sucks up, it doesn't appear to be any worse than Facebook

Zoé Vilain, chief privacy and strategy officer at privacy app Jumbo told Business Insider that looking at TikTok's privacy policy, it was no more intrusive than Facebook's.

"From what I see from the privacy policy, and in comparison with the privacy policies of Facebook and Instagram, I don't really see much difference.

"Basically they are saying that they are using your usage data, behavior data, preferences, friends, contacts, to provide you with their service, to customize the service, and of course to do targeted advertising [...] this is exactly what Facebook is doing and Instagram is doing too," said Vilain.

Vilain pointed out that the main difference between TikTok and Facebook or Instagram is in the kind of data users are routinely plugging into the app, as TikTok relies on video. "I think the main difference is that people are recording themselves and this is being recorded," she said.

There's also the fact TikTok is popular with younger folks.

"Also it's mainly used by teenagers, who are maybe less aware and less concerned about what they are sharing," Vilain said.

The FTC fined TikTok $5.7 million in February 2019 for inadequately protecting the privacy of its underage users, and on July 7 the agency announced it was looking into allegations that the company continues to violate children's privacy on the app.

In terms of how TikTok handles your data, it doesn't look any more suspicious than other social media

As the reports about the US forcing TikTok to hive off its American business began to swirl in early August, security researcher Baptiste Robert decided to do a deep-dive into what data TikTok sends back to its servers in an attempt to cut through the geopolitical rhetoric.

Reverse-engineering an app like TikTok's is not an easy task, and Robert is publishing a series of posts about his findings.

—Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) August 2, 2020

In his first post, Robert noted that a single report can't be expected to definitively prove whether or not TikTok poses a national security threat given it uses millions of lines of code.

But he also didn't find anything suspicious.

"As far as we can see, in its current state, TikTok doesn't have a suspicious behavior and is not exfiltrating unusual data. Getting data about the user device is quite common in the mobile world and we would obtain similar results with Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and others," Robert's report concluded.

There are still 'legitimate concerns' around TikTok's lackluster security — but they're not unique

Business Insider spoke to iOS developer Talal Haj Bakry, who in March along with developer Tommy Mysk discovered a security flaw in TikTok which meant it was able to access iPhone users' clipboards without their permission, essentially meaning TikTok could read any text the user has copied.

The researchers noted that this could be as mundane as a shopping list or more serious data like passwords or financial information.

Subsequently, LinkedIn and Reddit's apps were also discovered to be reading iOS users' clipboards, and all three companies have now altered their code after Apple started cracking down on the practice with its iOS 14 update.

A TikTok spokesperson said the reason the app was reading clipboards was to identify "repetitive, spammy behavior," and the company has submitted an update to the App Store getting rid of this feature.

In April Bakry and Mysk also discovered a vulnerability in TikTok which meant users' uploaded videos could be intercepted and even replaced.

This vulnerability was the result of TikTok using insecure HTTP connections to download videos from its servers. "All other social media apps have long made the switch to secure HTTPS for all network connections, in effort to protect user privacy and data integrity.

"Such a basic security failing does not inspire confidence in TikTok's ability in protecting their users' data, and exposes a lax attitude towards security," Bakry said.

A TikTok spokesperson told Business Insider: "TikTok prioritizes user data security and already uses HTTPS across several regions, as we work to phase it in across all of the markets where we operate."

Bakry thinks TikTok's Chinese roots could be part of the reason it's playing catch-up on security.

"What makes TikTok stand out are the differing data privacy laws and security standards between China and other parts of the world. In the US and Europe, there are various laws and regulations in place to protect end-user privacy," Bakry said. "China is only recently catching up in creating data privacy laws, but it remains to be seen how effective these new laws will be when put in practice."

Bakry said there are "definitely legitimate concerns" around TikTok's security. "Whether it's intentional or merely the result of move-fast-and-break-things, the inadequate security of social media apps can pose a serious threat. These apps collect massive amounts of data from their users, and they become prime targets for bad actors seeking to steal information," he said.

Vilain agreed that regardless of whether the vulnerability was left open as a backdoor or the result of shoddy security. "Whatever the reason for this, if you're not securing the collection of data of course it's a threat and it's a violation of the GDPR for example in the European Union, and they should do something about this," she said.

TikTok has tried to distance itself from its Chinese roots

Regardless of whether TikTok's app is technically more invasive or insecure than any other social media app, the Trump administration's argument hinges on the idea that private companies in China can be turned into proxies for the Chinese government.

As scrutiny around the app built up earlier this year, TikTok desperately tried to shake off the idea that it's a Chinese company. In May 2020 the company hired an American CEO called Kevin Mayer, formerly a Disney streaming executive. Mayer left the role in August, citing a changing "political environment."

TikTok itself isn't present in China, but is the international twin of its sister app Douyin, which does operate in China.

TikTok has always maintained it doesn't store any user data on Chinese servers, although this was contested in a December 2019 lawsuit filed by a user. ByteDance's head of security said in an interview this means it would be impossible for China to compel the company to hand over user data because it falls under US jurisdiction.

In July, TikTok announced it was withdrawing operations from Hong Kong alongside a slew of US tech companies following the implementation of China's sweeping new national security laws in the region. Some critics said the withdrawal smacked of a PR move, given that sister app Douyin is more popular in Hong Kong than TikTok.

ByteDance has found itself caught between Washington and Beijing during its negotiations. China has decried the Trump administration's attempt to force a sale of TikTok's US operations, and in late August threw a spanner into negotiations by placing strict new export restrictions which affected TikTok's highly sought-after recommendation algorithm.

• September 18 is National Black Voter Day. 
• Black Americans still face massive disparities and inequalities in accessing the right to vote 150 years after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which extended the franchise to Black men.
• Due to ongoing racial disparities in felony charges and convictions, Black Americans are more likely than whites to be disenfranchised due to having a felony record. 
• Black voters also face barriers in many places to registering to vote at all, staying on the voter rolls, and having their mail-in ballots counted.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Friday, September 18, is National Black Voter Day. As the United States faces a national reckoning over race relations and gears up for a presidential election in 46 days, Black Americans still encounter systemic barriers to equally exercising their right to vote.

Top leaders, including former President Barack Obama, are encouraging people angry about racism in the United States to vote and create change. But Black voters still face hurdles to the ballot box because of the strains on election systems posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial inequalities in elections that existed long before the virus.

States and municipalities around the country face a tough learning curve in massively scaling up their infrastructure to send out and process a vast influx of mail-in ballots.

In some of the biggest election days since the onset of the pandemic held in June, a similar story played out in cities and precincts with substantial concentrations of Black voters,  including Philadelphia, D.C., Baltimore, and the metro Atlanta area.

Overtaxed and underfunded election offices in all those areas struggled to get mail-in ballots out to voters, including those who requested them far in advance. A shortage of poll workers led to far fewer in-person vote centers than in an average election year, creating hours-long lines. 

"Communities of color tend to vote by mail at lesser rates, because of reasons including historical attachment to voting in person, but there are also communities that can't reliably trust their mail and are not getting good mail service," Myrna Pérez, Director of the Voting Rights & Elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, told Insider in June. 

The enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 extended the right to vote to Black men. Black women wouldn't be allowed to vote until the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920, and Black Americans continued to face discrimination in the form of poll taxes, literacy tests, white-only primaries in some Southern states, and outright voter intimidation and violence at the polls for decades. 

"When it comes to the Black vote, America is less a story about democracy than it is a story about hypocrisy. And you can date that back to chattel slavery," Renaldo Pearson, external affairs director at grassroots advocacy organization RepresentUs, told Insider, citing the 3/5 compromise that gave states with high levels of slave ownership more representation in the electoral college.

The 24th Amendment and the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned many of those racially discriminatory and suppressive voting practices. Sections 4(b) and 5 of the Act required jurisdictions with histories of racially discriminatory voting policies and low registration rates and turnout in recent elections to receive permission, or preclearance, from the Department of Justice before enacting any new voting restrictions. 

But in the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, the court voted 5-4 to strike down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act that supplied the coverage formula that allowed the Justice Department to enforce the preclearance provision in Section 5.

"The Shelby v. Holder decision gutted the Voting Rights Act and made my generation the first one to witness America become less democratic," Pearson, a millennial, told Insider.

Since 2013, states that previously had to clear their changes with the Justice Department have had greater reign to enact new laws that have made it harder many to cast a ballot, including restricting early voting, reducing polling places, and enacting restrictions like voter ID laws that can have a disparate impact on racial and ethnic minorities. 

"One of the big tragedies of Shelby was that it revealed a completely different perception of the world," Pérez said. "The majority opinion is imaging a world in which racism is largely addressed with, and we can point to the progress and infer from that that we've moved far enough...which I think has given the green light to would-be suppressors."

Many of the factors that make it harder for Black Americans are a direct result of decisions made by Republican legislators in the wake of Shelby. 

But as Pearson emphasized, much of the structural racism and inequality in access to the ballot today is deep-rooted and crosses partisan lines. "This is truly systemic, and it's not specific to the Republican party," he said. 

Here's how Black Americans and voters of color face barriers to voting at every step of the process: 

• Black Americans are far more likely not to be able to vote at all due to state restrictions barring people with felony convictions from voting. As of 2019, 10 states permanently ban people with certain convictions from voting unless they proactively appeal to have their rights restored, and 17 states bar people on parole, probation, or both from casting a ballot. 
  • The most recent comprehensive state-level research from 2016 found that about 6.1 million Americans were disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, with 1 in 13 Black Americans — compared to  1 in 56 non-Black Americans — nationwide having lost their right to vote due to a felony conviction. 
  • Since that 2016 study, several states that had particularly punitive disenfranchisement policies, including Florida, Virginia, Kentucky, and Iowa, have taken or are poised to take significant steps to re-enfranchise people with felony convictions. However, racial disparities still persist nationwide in felony charges and convictions. 
  • "There has been a lot of progress, but it's been in the states that were the worst of the worst," Pérez said. "There's at least a couple of millions of Americans who are living and working in their communities, and can't vote because they have a criminal conviction." 
• Widespread closures of government offices where people either register to vote or obtain the required ID to do so due to COVID-19, in addition to lack of access to online voter registration in some places, have posed new barriers in underserved communities of color with low registration rates.
  • "Groups that do voter registration drives are limited because of the social distancing requirements, and government agencies like DMVs where people register are not operating," Pérez said. "Then, you have states that have online registration, but limit it to people who have driver's licenses or state IDs, which many can't get right now."
  • A new study from the non-partisan Center for Election Innovation & Research found that compared to the same period in 2016, voter registration rates initially plummeted in 11 states since states imposed stay-at-home orders, shut down DMVs, and banned gatherings that could serve as forums for voter registration. 
  • "Registration has always been a barrier, and we know this because of the number of people that try to go to vote on election day and find themselves not registered," Pérez said. "But it's even worse now, because it's much harder to register new groups due to all the changes we've had to be dealing with from COVID."
• Since 2010, over a dozen states have enacted new laws requiring voters to bring a government-issued ID to the polls to vote in person. The rationale behind many of these laws is to prevent in-person voter impersonation, a type of fraud that multiple comprehensive studies have found is extremely rare.
  • Black Americans and voters of color are less likely than whites to hold the required ID to vote and therefore are more burdened by voter ID laws, multiple studies have found. 
  • A nationwide study of validated voter data from 2017 found that gaps between Black and white turnout and Latino and white turnout were significantly wider in states with strict voter ID laws, where a voter must cast a provisional ballot and take more steps to prove their identity for their vote to count than in states with non-strict voter ID, which allow voters without proper ID to cast a ballot if they sign an affidavit affirming their identity or have a poll worker vouch for them. 
  • Similar state-level studies from Texas, Michigan, and Indiana also found that Black and Latino voters are less likely to possess the proper photo ID identification to cast a ballot.
  • As Pérez noted, this disparity is likely to be exacerbated with closures of DMV locations and other centers where voters obtain IDs, not to mention the often prohibitive costs of acquiring an ID or traveling to get one. 
• Voters of color face longer wait times to vote than white ones, a problem exacerbated by the pandemic as many polling places in cities have had to consolidate. A recent study from the Brennan Center found that Black voters wait 45 minutes longer and Latino voters wait 46 minutes longer to vote in-person on average than white voters.
  • Pérez said the study found the most significant racial discrepancies in wait times at polling places in communities with rapidly changing demographics where the government may not be able to keep up with election offices' need for resources.
  • "As communities get less white and more poor, the state or county is not responding in kind with getting them an equivalent amount of resources," she said.  
• When a voter goes to vote, they may discover they're not on the rolls. States routinely engage in voter list maintenance practices that include removing voters who have died, moved, or are otherwise ineligible to vote, an important process to ensure the integrity of US elections. But some more aggressive types of voter purging, in which states remove eligible voters off the rolls with little to no notice or cure process, have disproportionately affected voters in places that used to be covered by the Voting Rights Act. 
  • Since the Shelby decision, research conducted by the Brennan Center found that voter purge rates went up across the country and disproportionately increased in counties that were previously required to receive preclearance under Section 5 of the VRA.
  • The Center found that 16 million voters were purged between 2014 and 2016, nearly 4 million more than were removed from the rolls between 2006 and 2008. Their research further discovered that the "median purge rate" in places that were previously covered by Section 5 of the VRA was 40% higher than in jurisdictions that were not subject to preclearance under the VRA. 
  • "We discovered that the growth has, as a statistical matter, been attributable to places that used to be covered by Section Five," Pérez explained. "If you were high, you stayed high, but if you increased, you were in a Section Five jurisdiction." 
• The proportion of voters casting ballots by mail has massively increased due to the pandemic. Mail-in ballots, however, face far higher rejection rates that ballots cast in person, and some studies have found that Black voters are more likely to have their ballots rejected due to problems including a voter's signature on the ballot not matching a previous signature on file.
  • A study conducted by the Florida ACLU and University of Florida elections scholar Daniel Smith found that in the 2018 midterm elections, mail-in ballots cast by Black, Latino, and other non-white voters were more than two times as likely to be rejected as ballots cast by white voters. 
  • In Georgia's 2018 elections, young voters, first-time voters, and Black voters were far more likely than white voters to have their ballots rejected for mismatched signatures or for being incorrectly completed, according to a study of Georgia's voter file conducted by three political scientists, also including Smith. 
  • The authors of the Georgia study said several factors, including lack of familiarity with the process and disparities in the quality of voter education in underserved communities, could be contributing to higher rates of rejection of non-white and younger voters' ballots. 
  • Early evidence indicates that in North Carolina, where officials began sending out general election ballots on September 4, Black voters' ballots are already being flagged as deficient at higher rates than white voters' ballots for problems like missing signatures, FiveThirtyEight reported. 

Nine current and former employees at real-estate startup Zumper said that during their time there it systematically screened out some lower-income tenants receiving government assistance who inquired about apartments on its site.

The federal government's Section 8 voucher program helps subsidize the cost of rent. Many landlords and brokers have for decades passed over Section 8 renters based on untrue stereotypes and stigmas. In some major markets — including New York City and Chicago, where the company's Zumper Select program was focused — it is illegal for landlords or brokers to discriminate against renters based on Section 8 status.

The current and former employees and leaked data suggested that Zumper — an ambitious company with backing from prestigious investors such as Blackstone, Kleiner Perkins, and Andreessen Horowitz — exacerbated patterns of prejudice that have plagued the residential market for decades.

A Zumper representative denied that there was any discrimination based on Section 8 status and told Business Insider that the company does not tolerate discrimination in any matter relating to Section 8 or any other protected renter categories.

SUBSCRIBE TO READ THE FULL STORY: Zumper, a home-listing site that's raised $150 million from backers like Blackstone and Kleiner Perkins, weeded out thousands of Section 8 renters in a practice some experts say may amount to discrimination

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• The 2019-20 NBA season officially resumed on July 30 with 22 teams quarantined at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
• NBA playoff games began on August 17 after the Portland Trail Blazers claimed the final playoff spot with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies in a decisive play-in game.
• The NBA has scheduled four playoff games every day during the first round with broadcasts on ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV.
• To watch NBA games without a cable provider, we recommend subscribing to a live TV streaming service, like AT&T TV, Sling TV, Hulu TV, or YouTube TV.

The NBA playoffs have reached the conference finals, with just four teams left competing for a championship in Orlando, Florida. The 2019-20 NBA season resumed in Orlando with 22 teams back in July, with games airing almost daily on TNT, ESPN, ABC, and NBA TV.

The coronavirus pandemic brought the NBA to a sudden halt on March 11 when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. At the time, teams were more than 60 games into the 82-game season and preparing for the playoffs.

Four months later, hundreds of NBA players, coaches, and staff quarantined themselves at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for the NBA Restart, giving 22 of the league's 30 teams an opportunity to complete the season and win the 2020 NBA Finals.

After a series of play-in games and the first two rounds of the playoffs, there are just four teams left competing in the NBA Conference Finals. In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers will play the Denver Nuggets, while the Miami Heat face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

A Lakers victory in the Conference Finals would give LeBron James the 10th NBA Finals appearance of his storied career, but the upstart Denver Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, are the first team to win back-to-back series after trailing 3-1 in each. In the East, a Celtics squad led by young wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are looking for a breakthrough against a Miami Heat team that dominated the NBA's best regular season squad in the last round of the playoffs.

As of August 19, the NBA reported that none of the 341 players in the NBA Restart "bubble" had tested positive for coronavirus. However, ongoing family concerns, injuries, and logistical issues led to some players leaving the quarantined site. As teams were eliminated from the playoffs, the NBA allowed the remaining players and staff members to bring family members into the bubble.

How to watch the NBA Playoffs and Conference Finals

The NBA playoffs are being broadcast on TNT and ESPN, and the finals will be broadcast on ABC. To watch the games, you'll need a cable provider or live TV streaming service with access to those channels. Schedule information for the playoffs has been posted through September 27, though times are subject to change. The 2020 NBA playoffs use a best of seven format, so teams will need to win four games to advance to the NBA Finals.

Friday, 9/18, 9 p.m. ET on TNT: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (Game 1)

Saturday, 9/19, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (Game 3)

Sunday 9/20, 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (Game 2)

Tuesday 9/22, 9 p.m. ET on TNT: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (Game 3)

Wednesday 9/23, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (Game 4)

Thursday 9/24: 9 p.m. ET on TNT: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (Game 4)

Friday 9/25, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (Game 5 if needed)

Saturday 9/26: 9 p.m. ET on TNT Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (Game 5 if needed)

Sunday 9/27, 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (Game 6 if needed)

Monday 9/28, time and channel TBD: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (Game 6 if needed)

Wednesday 9/30, time and channel TBD: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (Game 7 if needed)

If you subscribe to ESPN and TNT through your cable provider you can watch the playoff games on TV or stream them on your phone, PC, or media player using your pay-TV provider account information.

Otherwise, you can use a live TV streaming service, like Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, AT&T TV, and YouTube TV to watch every NBA playoff game. Of those options, Hulu + Live TV includes access to ESPN, ABC, and TNT for $54.99 a month. AT&T TV Choice and YouTube TV cost $64.99 but also include access to NBA TV along with ESPN, ABC, and TNT.

Finally, Sling TV Orange offers access to ESPN and TNT for $30 a month. You can also get NBA TV with the Sports Extra add-on for a total of $40 a month. ABC, however, is not included with Sling TV.

It should also be noted that ESPN+ doesn't provide access to live NBA games so you'll need to opt for a service that streams the cable channel directly.

The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin on September 30

The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin on September 30 on ABC, though the date may be pushed back if the Western Conference Finals series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets reaches Game 7.

Based on the original schedule, the last possible date for Game 7 of the NBA Finals is October 13, though the players' brief work stoppage in protest of police brutality caused changes in the schedule.

• You can directly track any FedEx order on the FedEx website or through an emailed link. 
• On the Tracking page, you'll find information on where your package has been picked up and scanned and the expected delivery date and time.
• For packages that are damaged, lost, or missing contents, you can file an online claim.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

For mail and packages delivered through FedEx, the private alternative to public mailer USPS allows you to track your shipment directly on their website. 

On the tracking page, you can view your shipment's travel history, general shipment facts like package dimensions and weight, and file a claim if your package is damaged, lost, or missing contents. 

FedEx offers a couple of options for tracking your mail. You can go directly to the FedEx homepage and click on the Tracking tab. If you're a FedEx Delivery Manager member, you can receive alerts and make additional changes. 

The membership's free tier includes basic features like delivery alerts, holding a package for pickup, signing for packages online, providing delivery instructions, and requesting a vacation hold. If you want to sign up for FedEx Delivery Manager, you'll need to give yourself time. To complete your registration and verify your address, you'll need to enter an activation code that FedEx will mail to you in three to five business days. 

Here's how to ensure you get your FedEx package or know when to report a shipping issue. 

How to track a FedEx order on the FedEx website

1. Go to fedex.com.

2. Click the "Tracking" tab.

3. Enter your tracking number in the "Tracking ID" box.

4. Select "Track" or press the Enter key. 

5. Check the status of your package. 

6. Alternatively, you can enter your tracking number in the "Tracking ID" box on the FedEx homepage, then click "Track" or press the Enter key.

How to track a FedEx order using FedEx Delivery Manager

1. Go to the main FedEx Delivery Manager page.

2. Sign in to FedEx Delivery Manager. 

3. Select the tracking number of a shipment to view tracking details.

4. Check the status of your package.

How to contact FedEx for package issues

1. Go to the FedEx claim page.

2. Click "Start a Claim" to initiate a claim for shipments that are damaged, lost, or missing contents.

3. Enter your tracking number and select a claim type from the dropdown menu.

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to track your Amazon order on a computer or mobile device

• How to track an eBay order if the seller has provided tracking information, or contact the seller for updates

• How to track a UPS order, leave instructions for delivery, or find a missing package

• How to track a USPS order, get updates on your expected delivery, and find a missing package

• How to cancel an order on Amazon

• To ensure babies stay safe and warm without a blanket or swaddle, many parents buy sleep sacks, which are essentially wearable blankets.
• After much research and testing, we found the Halo SleepSack Wearable Blanket to be the best sleep sack for most babies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents keep blankets, toys, and other objects out of the crib for the first 12 months to limit the risk of suffocation and of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Many parents decide to buy sleep sacks in lieu of blankets to keep their newborns warm.

Sleep sacks are basically zippered cloth sacks with armholes. You don't have to worry about extra material interfering with a baby's breathing or a baby becoming uncovered at night. 

Sleep sacks come in a variety of materials and sizes. When I first started using them, I felt overwhelmed by the choices. Plus, depending on the season and where you live, you have to choose from different weights or thermal overall grades (TOG), which tells you how much insulation is in the material. 

When I looked at the best sleep sacks for babies, I evaluated each one based on material, design, and cost. I also relied on my own personal experience to select the best sleep sacks.

Here are the best sleep sacks you can buy:

• Best sleep sack overall: Halo SleepSack Wearable Blanket
• Best wool sleep sack: Merino Kids Baby Sleep Bag for Babies
• Best summer sleep sack: The Nested Bean Zen Sack Classic
• Best winter sleep sack: Baby Deedee Sleep Nest Sleeping Sack
• Best organic sleep sack: Burt's Bees Baby Beekeeper Wearable Blanket

The best overall

The Halo SleepSack Wearable Blanket is super soft, high quality, and well designed. 

Halo SleepSack Wearable Blanket is super soft and available in a range of sizes and weights for any season. The bag has two-way zippers to make nighttime diaper changes easier. 

The roomy design allows babies plenty of room to move around and doesn't constrict the hips. The sack comes with a seal of approval from the Hip Dysplasia Institute. I started using these sleep sacks with my baby around the 2-month mark after using swaddles. 

My absolute favorite was the Halo SleepSack Plush Dot Velboa Wearable Blanket. The sleep sack comes at a TOG 1.0, which is suitable for fall or early winter. If you want a warmer winter sleep sack, I also used the winter-weight Halo at a TOG 2.5 for cold winter nights. 

The Halo sleep sack is by far the best choice you can make when it comes to wearable blankets. What to Expect, The Bump, and Good Housekeeping rank the sleep sack as one of the best too.

My only criticism is that you need multiple sacks to cover different temperatures and seasons. You also need to have two sacks of the same weight in case of accidents. 

Pros: Super soft, roomy and hip-friendly design, high-quality

Cons: Need different ones for each season

The best wool sleep sack

The Merino Kids Baby Sleep Bag for Babies offers excellent temperature regulation for any season.

While I adore Halo sleep sacks, the Merino Kids Baby Sleep Bag is another great option, although it is pricey. However, the quality and longevity of the sleep sack really do justify the cost. With other sleep sacks, you'll need to buy at least two for every season, but with Merino Kids, you only need one sack for the first two years. 

Wool regulates body temperature better than cotton or polyester. I never worried about either of my children being too hot or too cold when they wore the Merino.  Not only does the Merino regulate body temperature, but it's also exceptionally well-made.

After almost three years of using the same sleep sack between two children, it's held up well. Just be to use specially formulated wool shampoo when you wash the sleep sack. I used NikWax Wool Wash. You also have to line dry to avoid shrinkage or the moisture-wicking ability of the sleep sack. But the odor-resistant qualities of wool, require you to wash it less frequent washing.

Pros: Regulates temperature, grows with baby, good for all seasons, super soft and cozy

Cons: Expensive, handwash only

The best for summer

The Nested Bean Zen Sack Classic mimics a parent's touch with its lightly weighted center that can soothe fussy babies.

The Nested Bean Zen Sack Classic comes in soft, breathable cotton, making it perfect for hot summer nights. At a .05 TOG, you won't find a sleep sack lighter than this weight. The bag can also be used year-round depending on clothing and temperature. 

The most unique design feature is a gently weighted pressure pad on the center of the chest to give the sensation of a parent's touch. Before greeting the world, babies spend nine months snug in the womb, and once outside, they need constant contact. The Nested Bean mimics the soothing touch of a caregiver.

The smart design also has two-way zippers to facilitate quick middle of the night diaper changes, adjustable straps, and is reversible for stomach sleepers. While back is best until your baby rolls over, once they do, your baby might prefer the tummy frog position. For those with swaddling needs, Nested Bean also offers the  Zen Swaddle Classic in a similar design and material.

Read our full review of the Nested Bead Zen Sack here.

Pros: Light and soft material, mimics a loving touch, adjustable straps, reversible, two-way zippers

Cons: Expensive, need more than one as your baby grows

The best for winter

The Baby Deedee Sleep Nest Sleeping Sack keeps hands, feet, and toes warm through cold winter months.

The winter weight 2.5 TOG Baby Deedee Sleep Nest Sleeping Sack keeps your baby warm at night. The quilted duvet material adds an extra layer of warmth to the 100% cotton exterior. It will be hard to find a winter-weight sleep sack better than the Baby Deedee.

Not only is the sleep sack super warm, but the fabric is also breathable, so you don't have to worry about them sweating. Putting a baby in the cocoon-like design is more comfortable with its equally smart shoulder straps. The straps lay flat, making it easier for you to place your baby in the sack and then snap the shoulder straps together. You don't have to lift up the arms and move them through the holes, possibly waking up your baby.

From the high-quality materials to the smart and warm design, you can't go wrong with the Baby Deedee from the first winter storm to the smell of spring. The company also has a Sleep Nest Travel sack for camping or outside use. 

Pros: Breathable, soft material, ideal for winter

Cons: Pricier than other sacks, not for all seasons, large head opening

The best organic sleep sack

The Burt's Bees Baby Beekeeper Wearable Blanket is an organic cotton sleep sack that will keep your baby warm at night.

Burt's Bees Baby Beekeeper Wearable Blanket is made with 100% certified organic cotton. It's certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). You can really feel the softness of this sleep sack's material to give babies extra comfort. The design features a bottom zipper to allow for quick diaper changes and an interior zipper guard and snap tab zipper pull for safety. You won't have to worry about accidentally zipping up your baby's skin.

At a TOG of .05, the Beekeeper is perfect for the warmer months; pair it underneath a jacket or blanket to add an extra layer of warmth for the cooler seasons.

Pros: 100% organic, gentle on sensitive skin, zipper guard, cute designs

Cons: Not for all seasons

Check out our other baby gear guides

 

The best baby swaddles

While swaddling does come with some controversy, it's hands-down one of the best ways to get a fussy baby to sleep. But like all baby products, swaddles come in all shapes and sizes. Here are the best baby swaddles you can buy.

---

The best video baby monitors

Video monitors allow caregivers to keep both eyes and ears on the baby, answering questions that a simple audio monitor cannot. We tested nine of the top-ranked video baby monitors with my now 10-month-old across several categories.

---

The best baby bouncers

Babies find bouncing incredibly soothing, and a baby bouncer can be a real lifesaver when you need a break. To make our picks, we researched available options and tested some models to find the best baby bouncers. 

---

The best baby carriers

A baby carrier lets you and your little one explore the world together. You'll be glad to have your hands free and your child nestled close, while babies love feeling warm and secure. These are the best baby carriers you can buy.

---

The best car seats

Car seats are one of the most critical pieces of gear parents with young kids need, but they're also one of the most overwhelming items to buy. We've cut through the myriad options to find the best car seats and boosters for kids of all ages.

---

The best travel car seats

A travel car seat can help your kid stay safe and comfortable on any trip, and finding one that's light and compact makes life so much easier. To save weight and space, travel car seats don't have all the bells and whistles of other seats, making it hard to choose which features are most important to you and which you can do without. 

---

The best strollers

With the right stroller, you and your young one are ready for anything, from a quick trip to the store to a long trip. Whatever your needs or use-cases may be, here are the best strollers to consider.

---

The best umbrella strollers

An umbrella stroller is a smart investment to make when it comes to buying baby products. Once your child needs a sippy-cup holder and footrest, it's time to purchase an umbrella stroller.

---

The best jogging strollers

There's a huge difference in quality between the best and worst jogging strollers. But once you near the top, there are several amazing options. Which one you should get depends on preference and priorities. So here are the best of the best in a variety of categories.

---

The best baby bottles

When it comes to choosing the right bottle for feeding your baby, it can be overwhelming. To help you find the best baby bottle, we put together this guide by testing all of the bottles with a baby, from the age of newborn through 8 months old.

---

The best bottle warmers

Even though baby bottle warmers come in lots of designs, choosing the perfect one for your specific needs can be challenging. When researching and choosing the best baby bottle warmers, we took into consideration five essential criteria: safety features, warming efficiency, cleaning ease, bottle type, and cost.

---

The best breast pumps

Whether you're running an errand, taking a short trip, or heading back to work full-time, you'll need a good breast pump to get you through those times when you can't breastfeed your baby directly. These are the best breast pumps you can buy.

---

The best nursing bras

When newborns are hungry, they let you know, and they're not very patient. Thankfully, nursing bras make it quick and easy to feed your baby. There are a wide range of nursing bras to choose from, making it hard to know which type best meets your needs and which brand and style you should go with.

---

 

The best baby thermometers

We consulted a pediatrician, looked at current research, and talked to parents to select 11 of the most popular digital baby thermometers to test. Depending on your child's age, you will want to use a rectal, temporal artery, tympanic, or oral thermometer.

---

The best diaper delivery

Once you become a parent, diapers are a fact of life. Save yourself a bit of time and hassle by having diapers delivered to your door by a great diaper delivery company.

---

The best cloth diapers

Cloth diapers are easy to use, economical, and better for the environment. To narrow down the options to the five best cloth diapers, we consulted other parents, researched user reviews and product specs, and relied on personal experience to find the best cloth diapers.

---

The best diaper bags

Whether you're looking for a well-organized bag that can store all the things or you want something that looks cute while you carry it around, there's a diaper bag to meet your needs. We tested a variety of styles to find the best diaper bags you can buy.

---

The best baby wipes

Baby wipes are an essential supply for diapering. They're also ideal for all sorts of other uses, including wiping bigger kids' hands, cleaning messes off tables before and after meals, and attacking spills before they set in and leave a stain.

• TikTok responded to the Trump administration's announcement to ban the app, saying the company plans to pursue legal action to fight the ban.
• The Trump administration ordered TikTok and WeChat banned from US app stores starting Sunday, and TikTok barred from any US server as of November.
• TikTok's interim CEO Vanessa Pappas also called on US tech companies like Facebook to "publicly join our challenge and support our litigation."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

TikTok is pushing back against the Trump administration's order banning the app, saying it plans to continue to fight the order in court.

Wilbur Ross, President Donald Trump's commerce secretary, on Friday ordered TikTok to be banned from US app stores starting Sunday, and to be prohibited from all US servers starting in November. A potential deal with a US company may save the company from the ban, with Ross saying restrictions may be lifted if "the national security concerns posed by TikTok [are] resolved." WeChat, another Chinese tech company targeted in the Commerce Department's order, will have all bans in effect starting Sunday, with no apparent course for preservation.

In a statement to Business Insider, a TikTok spokesperson said the company plans to continue litigation and will fight the Trump administration to remain in the US. TikTok first sued the government in August over the proposed ban.

"We will continue to challenge the unjust executive order, which was enacted without due process," TikTok said.

TikTok's interim CEO, Vanessa Pappas, also took to Twitter to ask other tech companies to support TikTok's litigation, calling the ban "bad for the industry" in response to a tweet from Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.

—Vanessa Pappas (@v_ness) September 18, 2020

Here's TikTok's full statement in response to the Trump administration's announcement Friday:

"We disagree with the decision from the Commerce Department, and are disappointed that it stands to block new app downloads from Sunday and ban use of the TikTok app in the US from November 12. Our community of 100 million U.S. users love TikTok because it's a home for entertainment, self-expression, and connection, and we're committed to protecting their privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform.

In our proposal to the U.S. Administration, we've already committed to unprecedented levels of additional transparency and accountability well beyond what other apps are willing to do, including third-party audits, verification of code security, and U.S. government oversight of U.S. data security. Further, an American technology provider would be responsible for maintaining and operating the TikTok network in the U.S., which would include all services and data serving US consumers. We will continue to challenge the unjust executive order, which was enacted without due process and threatens to deprive the American people and small businesses across the US of a significant platform for both a voice and livelihoods."

Welcome to Business Insider's daily healthcare newsletter, your daily dose of pharma, biotech, and healthcare news. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday.

Hello,

Boy, what a week it's been. I don't know about you, but much of my waking time is spent thinking about the vaccine trials that are underway, what results we might get, and when life might start to feel fully "normal."

We'll get into everything we've learned about the vaccine race in just a few, but if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe here for your daily dose of healthcare news from the Business Insider team.  

Dr. Fauci hasn't figured out what he's doing for the holidays yet

This week, Insider senior health and science reporter Hilary Brueck had a conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

She packed a lot into a quick video conversation, diving into everything from:

• Why planning weddings and parties for 2022 is 'a pretty good bet', according to Fauci (Definitely read this story, if only for the image of Fauci as a wedding cake topper) 
• The 3 best things 'to keep your immune system working optimally' — and they cost nothing
• ... and how he's not sure yet what he's going to do to stay sane this winter (same here, to be honest).

Read the full interview here>>

The Fauci interview: How to 'keep your immune system working optimally,' gather safely, and get by until summer 2022

We're still aiming to know whether coronavirus vaccines work this fall

I feel like I've aged a decade since last Friday's update on the state of the coronavirus vaccine race. 

On Saturday, the UK-based AstraZeneca vaccine trial resumed, though the US one is still on pause. 

This week, Pfizer execs also doubled down on the company's assertion that we'll know whether its vaccine works by Halloween. 

During its investor day, Andrew Dunn reports, the pharma giant shared updates on its trial, and what safety data it'll take to get emergency authorization of the vaccine. 

To be sure, getting data by Halloween is a tough timeline many experts don't think is feasible.

JPMorgan analysts for instance ran 10,000 simulations to get a sense of when we might know when a vaccine might work. They found there's a "low probability" of having coronavirus vaccine data in October.

Moderna's got its eyes set on having data by November. Moderna slowed down its trial and even closed some trial locations to ensure diversity in the study, CEO Stéphane Bancel told Andrew. 

(Bancel also told Andrew that Moderna wants to make a flu vaccine, maybe even a shot that combines protection against the flu and coronavirus)

There was so much vaccine news, you might have missed that Eli Lilly came out with its first human data on a new antibody drug to treat COVID-19. Lilly said on Wednesday that the treatment showed promising results.

Read more about antibody drugs and why they could be key to fighting the pandemic here>>

In the meantime, the US government is laying out plans to get the vaccine to Americans once there's one (0r more) that works. 

At a Senate subcommittee hearing, CDC director Robert Redfield said most Americans likely won't get vaccinated until the late Spring or Summer of next year, Aria Bendix reports.  

Regardless of when a vaccine comes, top health officials have a plan in hand, which includes details on who will get it first, when people will expect to get their second shots, how the US will track where the vaccine is going, and more.

Kimberly Leonard took a look at the whole playbook.

Read her full story here>>

The US just laid out a 57-page playbook to get free coronavirus vaccines to every American. Here are the 5 crucial takeaways.

Virtual care companies are changing where we go to the doctor for check-ups and testing

It was a big week in digital health, as telehealth company American Well made its public-market debut on Thursday.

The company soared to a $5 billion valuation after its first day of trading, closing 28% higher from where it had priced the night before. 

It's another reminder that the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way Americans get involved with their healthcare. People are opting to go online for doctor's appointments, find ways to get tested at home, and monitor their health from devices like the Apple Watch. 

Blake Dodge has been following this shift since joining us in March. 

This week, she got the inside story of how Vault Health, a men's health startup that was just taking off right before the pandemic, became a key testing partner for 61 universities, SpaceX, and the NBA. 

Vault provides places like universities with at-home coronavirus tests, with the hopes of catching cases before students come to campus. 

You can read the full story here.

She also covered some of the healthcare developments announced at Apple's event this week. 

The new feature on the Apple Watch that monitors the wearer's blood oxygen levels and the launch of a new fitness service suggest Apple's going deeper into the $3.6 trillion healthcare system.

Blake also kept close tabs on Amwell's initial public offering, pinpointing the investors who stood to make the most as the company went public. The list includes generic drugmaker Teva and co-CEOs Roy and Ido Schoenberg. 

Read the full story here>>

Telehealth company Amwell surged to a $5 billion valuation in its IPO. Here are the investors and execs who stand to make the most.

10 healthcare stocks to buy, according to Morgan Stanley

I'll leave you with some news you can use.

This week, Morgan Stanley came out with a list of the 10 healthcare stocks to buy as we head into an election and a winter with the coronavirus pandemic.

The list includes everything from healthcare giants like UnitedHealth Group to newer entrants like 10x Genomics. 

Read the full story>>

Morgan Stanley handpicked the 10 best healthcare stocks to buy now as investors brace for a major election and the potential for another coronavirus surge

Hope you all have good weekends and a happy new year for those who celebrate!

See you next week! In the meantime, you can reach me at lramsey@businessinsider.com and the whole healthcare team at healthcare@businessinsider.com. 

- Lydia

• The US economy seems to be in a "K-shaped" recovery, where recovery is unequal among earners and job sectors.
• For instance, US Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark, wrote in a post that financial services has mainly recovered, while the leisure industry has only brought back about 74% of its employees.
• Business Insider decided to look at job losses, or gains, from February to August among different sectors.
• The following chart shows that the industries with the biggest drops in employment from February to August tended to pay lower wages, while high-wage workers typically saw little change. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The recovery in the US economy after the initial shock from the coronavirus pandemic is taking on a very troubling "K" shape: Some parts of the economy quickly rebound while others stagnate, like the diverging lines on the right side of the letter.

Americans in some low-wage industries are being hit especially hard.

The latest employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows this kind of split-in-two economy. Many of the highest-paying jobs and industries have seen a decent clip of recovery since this spring, while many low-wage jobs are still far below their levels of employment before the pandemic.

The "K shape" name is a play on two other letter-based descriptions of what can happen after a major economic shock. A "V-shaped recovery" is when the economy quickly bounces back after sharply declining, meaning charts of economic activity will look like a "V." Meanwhile, an "L-shaped recovery" would mean the economy doesn't rebound after a sharp drop, so charts will show the quick drop and then a long period of stagnation.

But the K seems to be where we're at.

Many low-wage industries haven't recovered

One way to look at this unequal recovery is to consider how employment in different industries has changed since the start of the pandemic and how that interacts with typical wages in those industries. Business Insider looked at the percent change in employment in different industries from February 2020 to August 2020, along with pre-pandemic wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2019 estimates.

Although the chart hasn't changed that much from previously reporting on job losses by industry using July figures, it still shows that some industries are seeing a slower recovery than others.

The following chart highlights the differences in job losses among sectors. The jobs with the worst declines in employment tended to have low median hourly wages, while high-wage jobs have generally seen fewer job losses to those that typical have high median hourly wages.

That is: Highly-paid professionals have seen much less of an employment hit from the pandemic than workers in several low-wage industries.

To zoom in, clothing stores employees made $12.17 per hour, one of the lower wages among industries. This sector also saw one of the biggest drops in employment from 1,289,100 in February to 916,900 in August, or a percentage decrease of 28.9%. On the other hand, jobs in monetary authorities-central banks had the highest hourly median wage among the sectors in the chart at $44.69 per hour. This job sector actually saw a net job gain of 19,300 in February to 19,800 in August or a percentage increase of 2.6%.

John Friedman, an economics professor at Brown University and co-director of Opportunity Insights, told Yahoo Finance in August that higher-paid workers were not as affected by the early effects of the pandemic and have already started to recover.

"What's worrying is that the speed of the recovery for those low-income workers seems to really be slowing," he added. 

The K-shaped recovery could make inequality worse

This "K-shaped recovery" can exacerbate long-running issues of inequality in the US, as more affluent Americans and asset-owners are seeing a faster recovery than low-income workers. Dion Rabouin of Axios recently wrote "wealthy and middle-class asset holders have retained or resumed their jobs. And the value of their assets, like stock portfolios and homes, has risen to all-time highs."

The financial services sector overall has recovered 94% of its pre-pandemic employment, per reporting from Business Insider's Allana Akhtar, while leisure and entertainment has brought back just 74% of workers.

• Nikola Jokic is one of the best and most beloved players in the NBA.
• Jokic has a unique game of post moves and incredible passing skills that allow him to play a mix of center and point guard.
• Jokic has led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals after upsetting the LA Clippers.
• Off the court, Jokic is goofy, self-deprecating, lovable, and enjoyed by teammates and opponents alike.
• Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.

Nikola Jokic has become one of the best players in the NBA and a fan favorite in recent years.

The 25-year-old Denver Nuggets center was a little-known second-round pick from Serbia who exploded onto the scene in 2014 with a unique game. For the second year in a row, he's dominating the playoffs for the Nuggets, helping them advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Between his unique game on the court, which is a mix between point guard and center, and his fun personality off of it, Jokic has quickly established himself as a must-watch superstar.

Here's how Jokic became one of the best and most beloved players in the NBA.

Jokic's current stardom is even more impressive when considering his humble beginnings growing up in Serbia.

Jokic grew up playing basketball, but played several other sports, too, including soccer, water polo, and harness racing.

Source: Sports Illustrated

Despite being an active kid, Jokic was considered "obese" growing up, according to a former coach. Jokic had a love of sweets and drank as much as three liters of Coke per day.

"It was glass after glass. I couldn't stop," he told ESPN's Zach Lowe in 2017.

Sources: ESPN, Sports Illustrated

When Jokic was 17, playing professionally in Serbia, he was 7 feet and weighed 300 lb, but couldn't do a push-up.

Source: Sports Illustrated

Despite concerns about his body, the Denver Nuggets scouts liked Jokic's talent and took him with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

However, Jokic remained overseas for another year and would have longer if not for a poor performance that may have benefitted his career long-term.

According to Sports Illustrated, Jokic was prepared to sign a multi-year deal with FC Barcelona to stay overseas, delaying his move to the NBA. But while playing in front of Barcelona officials, he had a horrible, 4-point, 3-rebound game that gave them pause. When they delayed the signing, he decided to join the Nuggets in 2015.

Source: Sports Illustrated

Jokic still had work to do when he got to Denver. He gave up soda entirely, drinking his last Coke on the flight to Denver.

Source: Sports Illustrated

Jokic also had to improve his strength. The Nuggets put him through a plank test when he arrived from Serbia, and he couldn't do a plank for longer than 20 seconds.

Source: ESPN

Jokic's rookie season began slowly, but he eventually showed glimpses of his unique talent as he got more playing time.

He averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists his rookie year, eventually making the All-Rookie First Team.

Jokic has made gigantic leaps each successive season, raising his scoring averages from 10 to 16 to 18 to 20 over his career. He made his first All-Star team in 2018-19 while averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists per game.

Jokic has become one of the NBA's elite triple-double threats. Over the last four seasons, he has 41 combined triple-doubles, third-most in the NBA.

What stands out most about Jokic is his passing. He's one of the best passers in the league, and by far the best among big men. He used to dub himself "a fat point guard."

Source: Sports Illustrated

Former NBA guard and ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups compared Jokic to prime Arvydas Sabonis.

Sabonis was a Lithuanian center with the skills of a point guard. He dominated European leagues for years, but didn't come to the NBA until he was 31, meaning many American basketball fans never saw him in his prime.

Billups said Jokic is giving a glimpse at what Sabonis was like in his prime.

Source: ESPN

His passes range from beautiful no-looks...

 

... to laser passes that somehow bend around defenders...

 

... to full-court touchdown passes...

 

Jokic's teammate Paul Millsap once compared Jokic to Tom Brady.

"He's like a quarterback out there," Millsap said. "I consider him like a Tom Brady. He's always going to pick you apart and make the right reads. Commend him for doing that at this stage in his career. It's unbelievable."

Source: ESPN

Some think Jokic's unique sense for passing comes from playing water polo. He said he's always willing to try a different pass.

"If I see something, even if it's risky, I am going to try it," Jokic told ESPN. "Because maybe that mistake is going to open up something else, or next time it is going to be there just to give it a chance."

Source: ESPN

Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas compared Jokic to a brilliant painter: "He's an artist. If you ask famous painters, 'How’d you do that?' they say, 'I just did it.' It's the same if you ask Nikola: He has a hard time explaining. He just does it and it happens."

Source: The Ringer

His game was lovingly described by SB Nation's Seth Rosenthal as playing as if he was wearing flip-flops — a strangely perfect simile.

—Seth Rosenthal (@seth_rosenthal) March 27, 2019

 

In 2018, the Nuggets rewarded Jokic with a five-year, $148 million contract.

For the second straight season, Jokic has taken his game up a notch in the playoffs.

The Nuggets are onto the Western Conference Finals, having come back from 3-1 series deficits to beat the Utah Jazz and LA Clippers

This postseason, Jokic is averaging 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists per game while shooting a ridiculous 51% from the field, 44% from 3, and 83% from the free throw line.

While finishing off the Clippers in a big upset Game 7 win, Jokic threw a no-look pass over his head, just for good measure.

—Dakota Crawford (@DakotaCrawford_) September 16, 2020

 

Jokic impressed observers in the second round of the playoffs last year when he had to play 65 minutes in a quadruple-overtime game. He totaled 33 points, 18 rebounds, and 14 assists, but the Nuggets lost to the Blazers.

Jokic's conditioning has always been questioned, but he has laughed off the critiques before.

"To be honest, sometimes it is funny for me just because [sometimes what they say] it's true, and [yet] I am still playing in the NBA.

"Someone said, 'He's not even in shape.' I am playing in 80 games and he said that I'm not even in shape."

Source: ESPN

Jokic's personality has made him beloved in the NBA, too. He's nicknamed "Joker" because of his last name and his wry sense of humor.

In the 2019 playoffs, Jokic's struggles with the microphones at postgame press conferences became a fun battle.

He told ESPN: "It's a fight ... hopefully at the end of the season, I am going to beat the mic."

—Dime (@DimeUPROXX) May 6, 2019

 

Jokic's brothers have also gained notoriety in the NBA world. Both former basketball players, they moved to the U.S. with Jokic and now follow him around.

Said Jokic of his brothers: "They look like serial killers, but they are actually really nice people when you meet them."

Source: ESPN

He's kept pieces of his upbringing with him. He told ESPN's Zach Lowe that he kept a stash of Serbian meats in his home, just for when he misses home-cooking the most.

Source: ESPN

Jokic also owns six horses back in Serbia and still loves watching horse racing. "I enjoy animals. Their nature. They're really good animals. Every different horse has a different personality, like a human," he said.

Source: ESPN, The Athletic

Jokic's teammates appreciate his love of horses, too. Nuggets rookie Vlatko Cancar said Jokic reads books about horses in his off-time.

—ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) February 22, 2020

Nuggets guard Gary Harris visited Jokic in Serbia and got to visit the stable with Jokic's horses.

"It's great to see him in that element," Harris said. "He takes great care of the horses, and you can see that the horses love him. You can really see the relationship between them."

Source: The Athletic

In some ways, Jokic is still the goofy kid from this old passport photo:

—Yugobasket (@yugobasket) April 22, 2019

 

He may not look like one, but Jokic is a legitimate superstar who has his team in contention for an NBA Finals appearance. Read more NBA coverage...

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• Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum mercilessly roasted the Los Angeles Clippers after their stunning Game 7 collapse

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• Online clothing-rental services like Rent the Runway are becoming more popular as shoppers realize the benefits of a rotating wardrobe. However, many unlimited services cost more than $100 a month. 
• I tried Haverdash, a new clothing-rental subscription service that only costs $59 a month and lets women rent three items at a time, as many times as they'd like during the month. 
• The online shopping platform was clear and easy to use, and I was able to make my summer wardrobe more fun and interesting. 
• Though not every piece worked out and I would like to see a larger selection of clothing options, I still loved my experience because it made experimenting with my personal style more affordable and convenient. 

If the success of retail unicorn startup Rent the Runway is any indication, the future of consumer fashion is in rentals.

Companies like Rent the Runway, founded in 2009, and Le Tote, founded 2012, proved to be ahead of the curve at the time of their founding. Armoire joined the fray in 2016, and in 2019, the most affordable clothing rental subscription service launched: Haverdash. 

Haverdash offers women unlimited fashion rentals (three pieces at a time) for a flat fee of $59 a month.

It's part of CaaStle, a "clothing as a service" company that also works with traditional retailers such as American Eagle that are launching their own rental services. CaaStle was created by Christine Hunsicker, the founder of another clothing rental service, Gwynnie Bee. 

While more established services like Rent the Runway cost more than $100 a month for unlimited clothing rentals — and granted, do offer a huge repository of designer styles to choose from, among other benefits — Haverdash allows shoppers to dip their toes in the world of online clothing rental and see how they like it, without having to spend a lot of money. Haverdash accomplishes this in part by offering clothing of a somewhat more accessible retail value, rather than expensive designer pieces.

Here's how Haverdash works

Once you make an account, you can jump right into browsing Haverdash's clothing selection. Since Haverdash just launched in May 2019, the options are still a little limited compared to those of other services, but you'll be able to shop tops, skirts, pants, and dresses from brands such as Vince Camuto, J.O.A., Adrianna Papell, and Calvin Klein. 

Add the items you want to try to your virtual Closet, which must contain at least eight items in order for your next box to ship. To ensure you have the smoothest experience, Haverdash suggests maintaining at least 20 items to your Closet, which does not have an item limit. 

Depending on availability, Haverdash picks three of these pieces to send to you. If you would really love a certain item in your next shipment, you can mark it as a "Priority," and you'll likely receive it. However, it still ultimately depends on availability and is not guaranteed. 

Once you receive your box, you can wear your items as many times as you'd like before sending them back in the pre-paid return bag. You don't have to wash or dry-clean them. Haverdash takes care of that for you. 

Why you should try clothing rental through Haverdash

I loved using Haverdash to incorporate more summer dresses and jumpsuits into my wardrobe. I have plenty of the basics, but what I really wanted was something fun and different for things like picnics, day outings, and dates. Not having to commit meant I was more willing to take risks and try items I wouldn't ordinarily wear. 

And even if they didn't work out, at least I could still wear them out in the real world (instead of trying to hide the tag of a dress I'm considering buying) and return them without worrying about maintenance or clean-up. 

I thought Haverdash's assortment of dresses and jumpsuits was the best of all its clothing options, so that turned out well for my mission of improving my summer wardrobe. Many of the styles and brands caught my eye and that made me excited for each box I received through the service. 

If you love a piece, you can purchase it at a discounted price. I really liked a lightweight, split-leg jumpsuit (pictured above on the right) and could see myself wearing it often this season. After thinking on it, I bought it for $45. One year later in 2020, I'm glad I did. I wear it all the time, and the quality has held up after many washes. 

Again, not everything I tried from Haverdash was a hit, but because of the low cost and unlimited nature of the service, I didn't mind at all, knowing that future boxes could be better. In your account, you can alert Haverdash when you're about to return your current box. It'll start preparing your next shipment so you'll always have something new to wear.  

The bottom line

For its $59/month price, Haverdash is an excellent intro to the benefits of online clothing rental. It gives you stylish clothing options, a convenient and easy-to-use online platform, and, as General Manager Jessica Kahan Dvorett emphasizes, "permission not to wear the same thing twice." 

• The Federal Reserve's liquidity-boosting measures place the economy on track for a 2009-style upswing, Canaccord Genuity analysts said in a Thursday note.
• Policymakers signaled on Wednesday the central bank will hold rates near zero through 2023, and maintained asset purchases of at least $120 billion in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities per month.
• The purchases spiked excess cash in the financial system, but liquidity has since fallen from its peak.
• The excess-liquidity trend is "just like" the post-peak reversal seen "as the economy emerged from the 2009 recession," the analysts said.
• The Fed's policy "reinforces our view that we are in the early stages of a new economic and market cycle," they added.
• Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.

The Federal Reserve's plans for long-lasting aid are on track to drive a 2009-style economic comeback, Canaccord Genuity analysts said Thursday.

The central bank elected to hold interest rates near zero on Wednesday, but the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting also revealed how the Fed aims to guide policy for years to come. Policymakers maintained the Fed's pace of asset purchases, pledging to keep buying at least $80 billion in Treasurys and $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities each month.

During the period since the pandemic outbreak, the purchases have driven a sharp increase in excess liquidity — or the difference between available money and that needed for economic growth. Yet excess liquidity recently fell from its peak amid a late-summer rebound in industrial production, according to Canaccord.

Read more: Jefferies handpicks the 17 best stocks spanning multiple sectors to buy now — and details why each company's future looks 'particularly attractive,' even in a downturn

The excess-liquidity downtick is "just like" the post-peak drop seen "as the economy emerged from the 2009 recession," analysts Tony Dwyer and Michael Welch said, adding it "reinforces our view that we are in the early stages of a new economic and market cycle."

Canaccord's team also highlighted upgraded outlooks from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for their bullish projection. The organization lifted its forecast for global growth this year to -4.5% from -6% on Wednesday. Group of 20 nations' collective GDP is expected to slide 4.1%, and China is set to be the only country with positive growth in 2020.

The latest OECD data reinforces the beginning of a new economic cycle as major economies swing out of their pandemic-induced slumps, Canaccord said. Investors should position for broad market gains over the next six to 12 months, and "use any bouts of volatility like last week to add exposure" to recovery trends, the analysts said.

Read more: Goldman Sachs says oil prices are set to move 'meaningfully higher' into next year. Here are 7 reasons why the firm is bullish, and 5 stocks it recommends buying in advance

Uncertainties from the upcoming presidential election, coronavirus's spread, and US-China trade tensions will continue to weigh on markets, they added. Still, the Fed's latest meeting cemented long-term monetary support and should reassure investors that the policy backstop is intact.

"The market risks are real and can lead to temporary pullbacks like last week. But, the clear Fed policy is to attack any liquidity or credit issues as they emerge," the team said.

Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

Economic recovery trackers stumble as Labor Day boost fades and demand wavers

Tech stocks aren't in a bubble but investors should be pickier, Credit Suisse says

Goldman Sachs says oil prices are set to move 'meaningfully higher' into next year. Here are 7 reasons why the firm is bullish, and 5 stocks it recommends buying in advance