Friday, January 17th, 2020
USMCA Trade Deal, Google’s Parent Hits $1T, & Netflix Ice Cream
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...
New Report & Impeachment Trial:
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) put out a report yesterday saying it was illegal for the White House budget office to freeze military aid meant for Ukraine, which is an issue at the heart of President Trump's impeachment. Trump directed the hold, but the report says the White House isn’t allowed to do so unless Congress approves it. The GAO is a nonpartisan federal watchdog. Some say it's more of a reason to include new witnesses and evidence in the impeachment trial, but critics call the timing of the report's release 'suspicious.'
GAO Report: FOX News, The Hill, WSJ, CNN
Impeachment Trial: Washington Post, NYT, NBC News
Ukraine’s New Investigation:
Ukraine is launching its own investigation because of new details coming out from Trump’s personal lawyer's close associate, Lev Parnas. Ukraine investigators want to determine whether illegal surveillance of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine took place. Ukraine even asked the FBI for any related materials as it wonders if Trump allies were tracking Marie Yovanovitch, which could violate Ukrainian law.
Read more: CBS News, NYT, Politico
USMCA Gets Bipartisan Support:
The Senate overwhelmingly approved a new trade deal yesterday. The USMCA, between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, would would replace NAFTA and would increase U.S. exports. The deal, in part, aims to have more cars produced in the U.S., and pushes Mexico to improve conditions and wages for its workers.
Read more: AP, CBS News, NPR
Weekend Winter Storm:
Snow is traveling across the U.S. this weekend, causing some tricky travel. The storm started in the mountains to the west but will move to the Dakotas, Minnesota and Michigan today, bringing snow, ice and strong winds. By Saturday, the storm is expected to move east into parts of Pennsylvania and New York.
Read more: USA Today, ABC News, Weather Channel
Microsoft Goes “Carbon Negative”:
Microsoft wants to do more than reduce its carbon emissions: the company plans to go carbon negative by 2030. By 2050, they’re hoping to remove enough carbon to make up for all it has released in its 45-year history. Microsoft plans to use 100 percent renewable energy and electric vehicles and invest $1 billion to help create carbon removal technology.
Read more: Reuters, NPR, The Guardian
Mets Manager Steps Down:
Another Major League Baseball manager is out because of the cheating scandal. Mets manager Carlos Beltran stepped down. He was the only player named in the league's report about the Houston Astros stealing signs in 2017 (Beltran played for the Astros at the time). Beltran was hired in November and is stepping down before he got to coach a game.
Read more: CBS Sports, USA Today
Super Bowl National Anthem:
Demi Lovato will sing the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl on February 2nd. She hasn’t performed live since her drug overdose in 2018. She's also expected to perform at the Grammys later this month.
Read more: Yahoo
Alphabet Hits $1 Trillion:
Google’s parent company Alphabet is now the fourth U.S. company to reach $1 trillion market value. Apple was the first in 2018, followed by Amazon and Microsoft. The next company expected to hit the $1 trillion market cap is Facebook.
Read more: CNBC, WSJ
Smart Contact Lenses:
Tech company Mojo Vision is working on what it calls the world’s first 'smart contact lens.' These lenses would help people see by zooming in on certain things and allowing users to see better in the dark, eventually offering up text or images with helpful information. Users would be able to use eye gestures and voice commands to control the interface. A sellable version hasn’t been developed or approved by the FDA yet, but Mojo hopes to have its first product ready within the next two years.
Read more: CNET, The Verge, USA Today
Peacock Coming in July:
NBC’s streaming service Peacock is coming this July. There will be a free, ad-supported version and two different premium versions. NBCUniversal hopes to have at least 30 million Peacock accounts by 2024.
Read more: CNBC, Variety
Netflix & Chill'd:
Ben & Jerry’s is partnering with Netflix to come out with a “Netflix and Chill’d” ice cream flavor. It's peanut butter ice cream with pretzel pieces and bits of fudge brownies, available in regular and non-dairy. The flavor is available now in U.S. grocery stores.
Read more: CNET
Random Acts of Cash & Kindness:
For six years, money was just showing up around a village in northeastern England. People would sometimes hand over the bundles of cash to police; now authorities know the money was coming from two people who only want to be known as good Samaritans. All the cash went back to people who discovered it.
Read more: NYT