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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many changes in the daily lives of people from all around the world. Video streaming on social media platforms has shown people rushing into grocery stores and stocking up on canned food and toilet paper. Colleges have abruptly transferred to online education via Zoom and other video conferencing tools. About 16 million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of lockdowns across the country. Small businesses and local stores still struggle to keep their businesses afloat.Continue Reading

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Graphics by Nina Tagliabue The BRB Bottomline: Netflix has been the leading power in online streaming services since 2007. However, since the launch of many other streaming services, Netflix has found itself in the middle of the streaming war. Apple launched Apple TV+, Disney launched Disney+, Comcast is getting readyContinue Reading

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UC Berkeley’s policy decisions this past spring around remote learning in response to the coronavirus pandemic elicited a wide range of reactions from my peers. One of my classmates, Dick, was ecstatic as he opted for the Passed/Not Passed grading option for all of his classes—saving his GPA from completely tanking. Many of my graduating friends, on the other hand, were despondent as their last semester at Berkeley was cut short, leaving them prematurely saying goodbye to all their friends and the place they had called home for four years. Continue Reading

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When I was in middle school, I hit a phase where I became addicted to money-earning apps, like FreeMyApps. Over the period of a few months, I had earned around $300. With that money, I probably could have bought something useful–but no, being my middle school self, I decided to spend all my hard earned money on Clash of Clans and bought 42,000 gems (the in-game currency of Clash of Clans). It seemed like a value buy at the time–42 thousand gems sounds like quite a lot. But, within one day, I had used up all my gems.Continue Reading

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So what is a Flex Format store? They’re smaller Target stores carrying just a fraction of the products of full-line locations, with selections individually tailored to fit the specific needs of the surrounding community. Most include a CVS-branded pharmacy, an order pickup area, customer service, and a Starbucks-branded cafe. Clocking in at just 12,000 square feet, the Berkeley Shattuck location in particular is just 8% of the size of your average 145,000-square-foot Target store. The Shattuck location is one of the smallest in the chain, with typical Flex Format locations ranging from 25,000 to 40,000 square feet. Target seems to be heavily leaning into the Flex Format idea, as nearly all of its store openings planned for the next few years fall within the concept parameters. Continue Reading

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Buying clothes secondhand was once heavily stigmatized, as many thought used goods were only bought by those who couldn’t afford anything else. Most people were repulsed by the idea of wearing clothes that someone else had worn. But throughout the past century, this stigma has essentially disappeared, due greatly in part to the emergence of thrift shops. Something that thrift shops offer that other fashion sources don’t is the experience: the whole notion of bargain hunting can make you feel as if you’re Indiana Jones, searching for the Lost Ark. Continue Reading

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With the current coronavirus situation looming large in headlines, it seems to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Along with this latest wave of COVID-19 related panic, you may have heard of the mass-panic induced toilet paper shortages in Japan and Australia, or even seen the mad rush for supplies yourself at your local Costco. But what is really going on? Will civilization devolve into a lawless wasteland where raiders fight over boxes of tissues?Continue Reading

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On February 17th 2020, the richest man alive announced that he will donate about 8% of his fortune to fighting climate change. Jeff Bezos, the founder and one of the current shareholders of Amazon, made this announcement through his Instagram account saying that he will donate 10 billion USD to fund “scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.” After seeing that post, many people had the same question in their mind: Where exactly will this money go?Continue Reading