From a return of the MLB to a coronavirus update to more companies looking to go public via a SPAC, here are the top sports and business stories on Friday, July 24.
MLB Is Back
After watching the Yankees beat the Nationals 4-1 and the Dodgers beat the Giants 8-1 on Thursday, baseball fans will get plenty more MLB action with 13 more games on the schedule on Friday night.
Some of the top games include the Mets and Braves, the Astros and Mariners, and the Blue Jays and Rays. Speaking of Toronto, since the Canadian franchise is unable to play in its home stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the Blue Jays are close to finalizing an agreement to play in the Triple A stadium in Buffalo, New York.
Watch more: Was MLB’s Opening Day a Good Indicator of How Baseball Will Be Watched This Season?
Daily Coronavirus Update
There are 15.5 million cases of the virus worldwide, with over 634,000 deaths. The U.S. has four million cases with over 144,000 deaths.
According to the CDC, 70,000 new cases were reported on Thursday with 1,000 new deaths. Texas reported 9,000 new cases and 173 deaths, per the state. Florida reported over 10,000 new cases with over 173 deaths, per the state.
The CDC put out a statement on reopening schools: “The best available evidence indicates if children become infected, they are far less likely to suffer severe symptoms. Death rates among school-aged children are much lower than among adults. At the same time, the harms attributed to closed schools on the social, emotional, and behavioral health, economic well-being, and academic achievement of children, in both the short- and long-term, are well-known and significant.”
The CDC added, “Scientific studies suggest that COVID-19 transmission among children in schools may be low. International studies that have assessed how readily COVID-19 spreads in schools also reveal low rates of transmission when community transmission is low.”
Dr. Deborah Birx, a coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, appeared on the TODAY Show Friday morning. She said, “We know that children under 18 are less sick, but there are some that suffer terrible consequences if they have underlying conditions.”
Watch more: Coronavirus Update: Trump Cancels Jacksonville RNC Convention Activities
Another SPAC?
Rush Street Interactive, which operates sportsbooks and digital casino websites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana, and Illinois, is reportedly looking to go public via a Special Merger and Acquisition company, according to Bloomberg.
Rush Street operates its sportsbooks under two brands, BetRivers—which is the only mobile sports book in Illinois—and PlaySurgarhouse. Back in April, DFS and sportsbook giant DraftKings went public via a SPAC.
As background, a SPAC acquires or merges with another company—using the IPO funds it raised—to bring that company public. Nearly 50 SPACs have gone public in 2020. And they’ve raised around $20 billion so far, with Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman raising $4 billion with his SPAC that went public this week.
Watch more: What Is a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC?