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The restaurant industry has been reshaped in the past six months. We¡¯ve seen more pivots to take-out and outdoor dining, but could we see a more drastic shift.New data from Bank of America shows sales at independent chains are still down about 15%."Right now, it is just sad. People are exhausting their personal savings. They are shutting their businesses and they just don¡¯t know what to do,¡± said Andrew Rigie.Rigie is with the New York City Hospitality Alliance. In NYC alone, at least 1,289 restaurants have closed since March, according to the Office of New York Comptroller. Across the country, Yelp has gathered data from its platform that show that number is around 16,000.¡°It¡¯s a really dire situation,¡± added Rigie.The situation is the direst for independent restaurants, because the same Bank of America study that showed sales still down 15% at mom and pop restaurants, shows chain restaurant sales are now up 2% higher than they were pre-pandemic.Industry experts believe a continuing trend of these numbers could reshape the industry.Chains restaurants are now in a better position to replace space occupied by folded restaurants or struggling ones, potentially shifting the flavor of the restaurant industry toward chain food.¡°I¡¯m not knocking or saying there is anything bad about a chain, but we really want our beloved mom and pop businesses,¡± said Rigie. "We really need support from the federal, state and local governments to ensure these places are able to recover.¡±Legislation was presented to Congress in June, the Restaurants Act, to help struggling independent restaurants with grant money. However, there has been no vote on the bill or any signs it could pass.Without additional help, the latest estimate by the Independent Restaurant Coalition is that upwards of 85% of independent restaurants could fold by the end of the pandemic. 1870

The State Fair of Texas will not open for the 2020 season after "extensive consideration of the current landscape related to the COVID-19 pandemic."The State Fair of Texas, which takes place every year in Dallas, made the official announcement on their website."With a heavy heart, we are announcing that the State Fair of Texas will not open for the 2020 season. We believe the spirit of the Lone Star state lies in every Texan¡¯s ability to care and look out for their neighbor and it is with this in mind, we have decided to keep our guests, staff, and partners safe and healthy during these uncertain time," the statement said."We look forward to giving y¡¯all a great big Howdy in 2021."The State Fair of Texas Board of Directors voted to cancel the 2020 State Fair of Texas.¡°This was an extremely tough decision. The health and safety of all involved has remained our top priority throughout the decision-making process,¡± said Gina Norris, board chair for the State Fair of Texas. ¡°One of the greatest aspects of the Fair is welcoming each and every person who passes through our gates with smiles and open arms. In the current climate of COVID-19, there is no feasible way for the Fair to put proper precautions in place while maintaining the Fair environment you know and love. While we cannot predict what the COVID-19 pandemic will look like in September, the recent surge in positive cases is troubling for all of North Texas. The safest and most responsible decision we could make for all involved at this point in our 134-year history is to take a hiatus for the 2020 season.¡±The announcement also said while the State Fair of Texas is canceled for 2020, the NCAA, respective conferences, and participating universities ¨C the University of Texas & University of Oklahoma and Prairie View A&M University & Grambling State University ¨C will be in charge of making decisions regarding the football games that occur at Cotton Bowl Stadium."Should football be played this fall, the schools will be playing in the Cotton Bowl as scheduled, despite the cancellation of the 2020 State Fair. We will share those details as soon as we know more."University of Oklahoma's Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione issued a statement after the fair was canceled. ¡°We understand and respect the decision made by the State Fair of Texas and acknowledge that it was an extremely difficult one," Castiglione said in the release. "Our hope remains that we can play the OU-Texas game at the Cotton Bowl, but obviously every aspect of our season requires constant monitoring and planning. The best thing all of us can do at this time is closely follow CDC guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus."This will be the first time since World War II that the State Fair of Texas has not opened. The State Fair of Texas has previously canceled Fairs because of World War I (1918), planning for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition and 1937 Pan American Exposition at Fair Park (1935 ¨C 1937), and World War II (1942 ¨C 1945).The 2021 State Fair of Texas is scheduled to run Friday, September 24 through Sunday, October 17 in Fair Park.KXXV's Thalia Brionez first reported this story. 3206

The RV industry has seen a significant increase in rentals and sales over the summer. One company, RVshare, reported more than a 1,000% increase in rentals.Now, the trend seems to be moving beyond just a summer vacation alternative. Some are turning to it as a new way to home-school and work during this pandemic.Some families are turning these RVs into their primary or secondary homes."I think it is difficult for families to be cooped up," said Julie Partridge.Partridge was already considering making the switch to RV life before the pandemic, but after five months of social distancing and quarantining in her home, she decided to finally do it.She sold the family home and hit the road to live, home-school her kids and work from an RV."Obviously our camper is much smaller than our house,¡± said Partridge. ¡°Substantially smaller, but you have this vast open world available to you. You feel less cooped up in this camper than you do in this 3,000 square foot house."She also feels the move to full-time RV life this fall will also give her kids a unique educational opportunity."We really want to see the national parks,¡± said Partridge. ¡°I want my kids to do the park ranger program. I want to use that as their science and social studies curriculum from the road. So, we are really excited about those parts."The Partridge family is just one of many either committing to or newly considering RV life in the fall, according to a survey done by the RV rental company RVshare."We have, from our survey, seen that over 30% of people are considering homeschooling from the road and over 40% of people are considering working from the road and that is something that is new to the industry," RVshare Jon Gray."You have school not opening on time, you have a lot of employers turning to work from anywhere models for the extended future and those things have made it to where RVs are appealing deep into the fall," said Gray.The pandemic has changed so much in our lives. Many people are looking to get away from the uncertainty and continued concern with it. This seems to be one way for some to do that."It is saving us money, it is teaching them lessons, it has really been kind of refreshing," said Partridge. 2224

The UK has accused Syria and Russia of preventing independent chemical weapons experts from entering the city of Douma, hit by a suspected gas attack that Western leaders have blamed on the Syrian government.A fact-finding team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) arrived in Syria on Saturday, the same day the US, UK and France carried out airstrikes against Syrian government targets in response to the April 7 attack in Douma.But by Monday, the team had still not been granted safe passage, according to the UK envoy to the OPCW, Peter Wilson. The US expressed concerns that Russia may have tampered with evidence at the site.The OPCW team is tasked with determining whether banned substances were used in the attack, a charge that both Syria and its most powerful ally, Russia, have vehemently denied.Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad said Monday his country was ready to facilitate the OPCW team in any way to carry out its mission, the state-run SANA news agency reported, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond directly to CNN's question on whether Russia had blocked the experts. Peskov said only that Russia was against "groundless" accusations about who was responsible for the attack.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the OPCW team's arrival was hampered by the weekend air strikes, state media RIA Novosti reported.The suspected chemical attack is the latest issue to heighten tensions between Russia and Western powers. More than 100 Russian diplomats were expelled from more than 20 countries in March over the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy on British soil, which the UK and US has blamed on the Russian government. Russia denies the accusations.Russian officials last week claimed British intelligence agencies had helped stage the suspected chemical attack in Douma."Yet again, Russia is spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation designed to undermine the integrity of the OPCW's fact finding mission," Wilson said in a statement."A significant body of information, including intelligence, indicates the Syrian regime is responsible for this latest attack."The US envoy to the OPCW, Kenneth D. Ward, said he was concerned that Russia may have interfered with the site of the Douma attack."We are concerned they may have tampered with it with the intent of thwarting the efforts of the OPCW Fact Finding Mission to conduct an effective investigation. This raises serious questions about the ability of the (team) to do its job," he said in a statement Monday.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week his country had sent experts to the site and found "no trace" of chemical weapons use. On Monday, he told the BBC's Hardtalk show that he guaranteed there had been no Russian tampering.Around 75 people, including children, were killed in the Douma assault, UK officials have said, while 500 people were treated in the attack's aftermath with symptoms consistent with chemical weapons exposure, the World Health Organization reported, citing its partners on the ground.The OPCW has recorded more than 390 allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria since its investigation began in 2014, Wilson said. 3222

The term "money laundering" was never more appropriate than this week, when Dutch police found around 0,000 stuffed inside the drum of a washing machine.A man present in the house during Monday's raid was arrested on suspicion of -- yes, you've guessed it -- money laundering.Authorities were checking for unregistered residents in western Amsterdam when they found the load."The municipal administration revealed that no one lived at the address," the police told CNN in a statement. "When the police did a search through the house they found €350,000 hidden in the washing machine."The police also confiscated several mobile phones, a firearm and a money-counting machine during the raid. The suspect, who is 24 years old, has not been named.The police news release included a picture of bundles of €20 and €50 bills crammed into the washing machine.They said in a statement that the raid was part of an investigation into "housing fraud, money laundering and other [signs] of crime." 997