Thursday, January 9th, 2020
Mideast Tensions Ease, Royal Couple’s Exit & Quibi
(+ Explaining the U.S.-Iran Conflict)
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
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Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...
Mideast tensions ease:
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have eased a bit. There were no American or Iraqi deaths from Iran’s revenge attack, and President Trump said yesterday, he's “ready to embrace peace." He still promised tough new economic sanctions against Iran. Democrats in the House plan to vote today on a measure to limit Trump’s power to take military action against Iran without Congressional approval. Listen to today's interview (after the news) for more context.
Read more: NYT, AP, CBS News, Washington Post, The Hill, Fox News
Canadians mourn after plane crash:
The timing of the Ukrainian Airlines plane crash in Iran (just hours after missiles targeted military bases) has some aviation experts wondering whether the plane was shot down. So far, U.S. officials say there’s no proof of that, and Iran is still blaming technical issues. Many passengers were on their way to Canada, and the crash is one of the worst losses of life for Canadians in an aviation disaster. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to investigate further.
Read more: AP, USA Today
Number of U.S. cancer deaths down:
New stats show the number of U.S. cancer deaths is down by 2.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, the largest single-year drop ever recorded. The rate has gone down nearly 30 percent since 1991. The American Cancer Society credits advanced treatments, early detection and a drop in the number of people smoking.
Read more: CNN, WSJ, Bloomberg, American Cancer Society
'Megxit' - Royal couple's surprise announcement:
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to 'step back' from their senior roles in the royal family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s unprecedented move will allow them to split time between the U.K. and North America. They want to become 'financially independent,' but also said they still support the queen. The decision seems to have caught the rest of the royal family by surprise.
Read more: The Guardian, People, BBC, USA Today
Celeb tennis match to raise money for Australia:
Serena Williams, Roger Federer and more of the world’s top tennis stars will come together next week in Melbourne, Australia to raise money for the bushfire relief efforts there. Remember: Australia is dealing with hundreds of intense wildfires that have killed 25 people and an estimated 1 billion animals.
Read more: Mashable, ABC News
Justin Bieber says he’s sick:
Justin Bieber announced he’s battling Lyme disease. The tick-borne illness affects the joints, heart and nervous system. He said he’ll be putting out a docu-series on YouTube soon to help people better understand the health issues he’s been dealing with.
Read more: CNN
Quibi shows off new streaming service:
Another upcoming video streaming service displayed its new shows at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Quibi is an abbreviation for “quick bites,” as all the shows are 10 minutes or less. The content will be of higher quality than typical YouTube videos, with Hollywood standards and stars. The monthly subscription fee will start at $4.99. Quibi launches in April.
Read more: Gizmodo, Mashable
Oscars will be hostless, again:
For the second year in a row, there will not be a 'traditional host' at the Academy Awards. Kevin Hart stepped down last year, marking the first time since 1989 that the show didn’t have a host. Those in charge say they’re repeating what worked well last year. Nominations will be announced next Monday, and the Oscars are live on February 9th.
Thing To Know Thursday
Explaining the Iran-U.S. Conflict
Guest: Kenneth Pollack
Kenneth Pollack is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he works on Middle Eastern political-military affairs, focusing in particular on Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf countries.
Before joining AEI, Dr. Pollack was affiliated with the Brookings Institution, where he was a senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. Before that, he was the center’s director and director of research. Dr. Pollack served twice at the National Security Council, first as director for Near East and South Asian affairs and then as director for Persian Gulf affairs.
He began his career as a Persian Gulf military analyst at the CIA, where he was the principal author of the CIA’s classified postmortem on Iraqi strategy and military operations during the Persian Gulf War. Among other recognitions, Dr. Pollack was awarded the CIA’s Exceptional Performance Award twice and the Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Performance of Duty, both for work on the Persian Gulf War.