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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 02: Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner and U.S. President Donald Trump speak in the press briefing room with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force April 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. The U.S. government reported an unprecedented 6.6 million jobless claims this morning as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images A new report by The New York Times examined the contentious relationships within the White House Coronavirus Task Force. It alleges that President Donald Trump lashed out at son-in-law Jared Kushner over COVID-19 testing. "I'm going to lose," Trump reportedly told Kushner during debate prep. "And it's going to be your fault, because of the testing." The White House denied the conversation happened, telling The Times, "President Trump has led the largest mobilization of the public and private sectors since WWII to defeat COVID-19 and save lives." Visit Business Ins...

Sony said on Friday that it will launch the PlayStation 5 in India on February 2, suggesting improvements in the supply chain network that has been severely throttled by the coronavirus pandemic. The Japanese firm said it will begin taking pre-order requests for the new gaming console in India, the world’s second largest internet market, on January 12. The console will be available for pre-order from a number of retailers including Amazon India, Flipkart, Croma, Reliance Digital, Games the Shop, Sony Center, and Vijay Sales, the company said. The PlayStation 5 is priced at Indian rupees 49,990 ($685), while the digital edition of the console will sell at Indian rupees 39,990 ($550). Xbox Series X is priced at $685 in India, and Xbox Series S sells at $480. Like elsewhere in the world, Microsoft has been struggling to meet the demand for the new Xbox consoles in India. The Xbox Series X is facing so much shortage in the country that it’s not even easy to locate its page on Amazon Ind...

The Church of Scientology Celebrity Center in Hollywood, California. Getty Images Former members of the Church of Scientology must have their claims against the organization resolved by the organization itself, a California court ruled Thursday. The ruling stems from a lawsuit accusing actor Danny Masterson of sexual assault and claiming the Church of Scientology harassed his accusers to silence them. The court's order exempts actor Bobette Riales, who was never a Scientologist. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Former members of the Church of Scientology who accuse the organization of harassing them to cover up sexual assault will not have their claims heard in court. Instead, a California judge ruled Thursday, their claims will have to be weighed in a private arbitration process designed by the organization itself. The ruling stems from a 2019 lawsuit accusing "That 70s Show" star Danny Masterson of sexual assault - and the Church of Sc...

Michelle Goldson, RN is working with a covid positive patient inside the ICU at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital on Thursday, Dec. 17, 020 in Los Angeles, CA. Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images California surpassed 25,000 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday.  The state also recorded 3 more cases of the more transmissible coronavirus variant found in the UK.  COVID-19 cases are surging in the state and are only expected to continue to rise.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . LOS ANGELES (AP) - California surpassed 25,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic and officials disclosed Thursday that three more cases involving a mutant variant of the virus have been confirmed in San Diego County. The grim developments came as an ongoing surge swamps hospitals and pushes nurses and doctors to the breaking point as they brace for another likely increase after the holidays. "We're exhausted and it's the calm before th...

Michelle Goldson, RN works inside the ICU at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital on December 17, 2020 in Los Angeles. Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Doctors in Los Angeles County are bracing themselves for a likely rise in an already surging number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Physicians told Business Insider that their hospitals are running through multiple contingency plans to figure out how to best treat patients, maintain supplies, and keep healthcare workers safe. Los Angeles County has averaged over 14,000 daily new cases over the past week. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Doctors in Los Angeles County - the country's most populous county home to more than 10 million residents - are planning multiple measures to handle an anticipated rise in the current surge of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.  Los Angeles County has seen a sharp increase in novel coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and dea...

As 2020 comes to a long-awaited end, a series of filings indicate that venture capitalists are ending the year with fresh money. According to SEC paperwork, Learn Capital and USV have filed paperwork that shows the firms have raised new, multimillion-dollar funds. If you’ve been paying attention to news this past year, it’s clear that much of venture capital isn’t just surviving 2020 – it’s flourishing through it. Zoom investing , it seems, is working just fine for cash-rich firms looking to double down on bets in categories from edtech to climate. First up, New York-based USV submitted a pair of filings on late Thursday. The first filing shows that the firm has closed $151 million for USV Climate 2021, which one can assume is focused on climate-tech investments. As my colleague Jonathan Shieber has pointed out, climate tech. The other, more nebulous filing , is the firm’s $22.4 million investment vehicle titled USV Bundled. It’s unclear what this is focused on, but a recent blog ...

Jeremy Moeller, Chesnot, and Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements have exploded in recent years, shedding light on systemic racial and gender bias across American society, and in particular, within American workplaces. In 2020, workers spoke publicly in increasing numbers, often by taking their employers to court over pay disparities, harassment and abuse, and toxic company cultures. Major businesses including Google, Amazon, McDonald's, Pinterest, and Johnson & Johnson faced new legal battles this year over allegations of racism and sexism. Here are the highest-profile racial and gender discrimination, harassment, and sexual abuse lawsuits that were filed in 2020 against US companies and executives or that added new plaintiffs. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . American workplaces have long been hotbeds of discrimination and harassment, particularly for those who aren't white, light-skinned, male, straig...