I'm Carl Azuz.

Schools across America are charting different paths forward during this coronavirus era we're living in.

Some are back in session, some have delayed their start dates, some are online, part-time, or full-time, and some have opened only to close again within a couple days because of coronavirus.

This reflects just how different the picture looks in different parts of the United States.

Since COVID-19 started spreading beyond China early this year, more than five million cases, roughly a quarter of the worldwide number, have been diagnosed in the US.

And with back-to-school season underway, new research is coming out about the number of children infected.

Two prominent medical organizations say from July 9th to August 6th, about 180,000 American children were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Since August 6th, more than 380,000 kids have been infected.

One is that we are starting to test kids more, right? It was largely symptomatic adults that were getting tested up until recently.

Younger people are starting to get tested more, you know, thinking about school sports, going back to school⏤whatever it may be.

But I think another big part of this is that kids are getting out and about more.

You know, they, they⏤young kids have been largely at home since the middle of March, and... and that's in the United States, but in many places around the world...

In fact, if you go back and look at that South Korea contact tracing study, which a lot of people point to to say, "Hey, look, kids ten and older, they spread this virus just like adults."⏤that's what that study showed.

Kids under the age of 10, they sort of had, you know, it was more inconclusive.

When I looked at that data closely, you found that 50,000 or so contacts were traced in the entire study.

But only about 50 of those were in people aged 0 to 9 because there weren't, you know, young kids didn't have that many contacts; they were... they were mostly at home.

So as the kids are starting to go out and about and we realize they carry (the) virus, it's becoming increasingly clear to me⏤and I think we've got a lot of clues now⏤that kids do spread this virus, and that, you know we're getting evidence of that now.

The silver lining to this, according to experts, is that children appear less likely to get seriously sick from COVID-19.

Though deaths have been reported, kids' symptoms overall look like they're milder when they're diagnosed with COVID-19 than when older adults are.

But as we've said, many people of different ages have no symptoms at all, and many countries are finding different ways to deal with those who do.

I'm Matthew Chance in Moscow, and Russia has just approved what it says is the world's first coronavirus vaccine, despite concerns about its safety and effectiveness.

In a video conference with top officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the Russian-made vaccine had undergone all necessary tests and was now registered for use.

Even though those crucial third-phase human trials have yet to be completed, the Russian health minister confirmed that frontline health workers and teachers will be the first to be vaccinated.

Vladimir Putin also revealed, incredibly, one of his own daughters, who we very rarely hear about, had taken part in the testing and had already been vaccinated; he said that she'd got a slight temperature, but was now feeling better.

It's an extraordinary revelation and a sign of just how much confidence, rightly or wrongly, Russia has in what its health minister says is a huge contribution to the victory over coronavirus.

I'm Paula Hancocks in Taipei.

US Health Secretary Alex Azar has just given a speech here in Taiwan, praising the open and transparent way that this island has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic; he says it's in stark contrast to the country where the virus originated from, namely, China.

Now, earlier this Tuesday, Secretary Azar met with Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

And during that meeting, Wu said that Taiwan's used to dealing with threats, whether it's military, diplomatic, or the epidemic, also saying that he's concerned that China is trying to turn Taiwan into Hong Kong.

I'm Angus Watson in Australia, where coronavirus border closures are likely to keep the country divided past Christmas, the prime minister has warned.

Scott Morrison says things aren't getting back to normal anytime soon, as Victoria battles a bitter second wave of COVID-19.

19 deaths recorded Tuesday with 321 cases, the lowest number in almost two weeks.

The government says that's down to compulsory mask wearing and hopes to see a further bending of the curve as its stage four restrictions start to be reflected in the numbers.

10-second trivia: Musical.ly was an application that became part of what brand?

Spotify, TikTok, Pandora, or GarageBand?

A Chinese company named ByteDance acquired Musical.ly in 2017 and rebranded it as TikTok.

The clock is ticking for TikTok in the US.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that could eventually shut down TikTok in America.

How?

Possibly by keeping TikTok from updating with new software, by keeping US companies from advertising on TikTok, and by forcing Apple and Google to take it off their app stores.

This is all according to National Public Radio.

Why?

TikTok collects tremendous amounts of information from the people who download it.

It's not just the videos they record and view and share, it's whatever they search for on the Internet, it's wherever they go with their phones.

Because the video-sharing app is owned by a company in China, the Trump administration says that the info TikTok collects could be shared with China's Communist Party, putting Americans' personal and possibly federal information at risk.

TikTok is reportedly planning to sue the Trump administration over the ban.

A source that NPR spoke to who's involved in the lawsuit says the President's executive order isn't based on facts but on speculation.

However that plays out, it is possible that an American company, like Microsoft or Twitter, could buy and operate TikTok services in the US.

If that happens, and if the data that TikTok collects from American users stays in the US, then the Trump administration may allow TikTok to continue operating.

Amazon isn't the only reason why companies like Macy's, Sears, and JCPenney have shut hundreds of stores across America, but the increase in online shopping is a factor.

And now, Amazon may be planning to turn dozens of mall stores into Amazon warehouses.

Experts say this won't necessarily bring more shoppers into malls, but it could give the building some of the money they need to stay open and bring Amazon products closer to where its customers live.

For Sears and JCPenney, it's another sign of the changing times.

In a sea of retail bankruptcy, JCPenney is the latest victim.

The iconic American retailer known for its low prices and deep discounts is now billions of dollars in debt and hasn't been profitable since 2010.

But long before sales started sinking and debt started rising, JCPenney helped transform the retail industry.

In 1902, James Cash Penney opened a branch of a dry goods chain called The Golden Rule in Wyoming.

At the time, Penney's business practices were revolutionary.

To keep prices low, he banned haggling, which was a common practice at the time.

That meant every customer paid the same ticketed price.

Penney also encouraged employees to serve customers well.

His motto was, "Serve the public to its ultimate satisfaction", and he was dedicated to being ethical, applying the store's name, the Golden Rule, to both customers and employees.

A decade and many stores later, Penney incorporated the company and changed the name to the brand we know today.

The company went public in 1929, right before the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began.

Still, JCPenney found continued success, as customers looking for low cost goods filed in, and in 1951, the company hit 1 billion dollars in sales for the first time.

But in recent years, JCPenney has struggled.

Sales flagged during the recession, and the retailer couldn't bring customers back.

The department store was one of the first to adopt e-commerce in 1994, but overall, it has struggled to keep up in the digital era.

A parade of CEOs has tried to turn the company around.

Ron Johnson came from Apple and tried to give the brand a fresh look in 2012, including ending the store's famous coupons.

The costly revamp flopped, and consumers lost trust in the business.

Three other CEOs have followed, but they all have yet to restore the company to its once and former glory.

Life has come full circle for two beluga whales in Iceland.

The names are Little Gray and Little White, and they were captured off the coast of Russia in 2011.

They spent some time at a Russian research facility before being moved to an aquarium in China, and a company that bought that aquarium decided to release the belugas.

So they're now being reintroduced to the sea in Iceland, where they'll spend their future in an eight-acre sanctuary.

We bet they are "whaley" excited about it.

They might have thought their "re-echolocation" was a fluke until the first one in said, "Belu-gotta see this, woo!"

All right, the students of Desert Hot Springs High School are watching today.

Shout out to everyone in Desert Hot Springs, California.

I'm Carl Azuz for CNN.