Monday, January 27th, 2020
RIP Kobe Bryant, Space Force Logo & The Grammys
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...
RIP Kobe Bryant:
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter were among the 9 people who died in a helicopter crash yesterday. Bryant was 41 years old. Athletes, celebrities and fans around the world have been paying tribute to one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Bryant retired four years ago but spent 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and won five NBA championships.
Read more: USA Today, LA Times, CBS Sports, NBC News, ABC News
75 Years After Auschwitz:
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Located in Poland, it was the largest and deadliest Nazi concentration camp. The Soviet army freed the remaining prisoners from the camp on January 27th, 1945.
Read more: Reuters, History.com, NYT
Coronavirus Continues to Spread:
China has extended the Lunar New Year holiday and expanded the travel ban to limit travel as they try to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. The number of cases jumped over the weekend to nearly 3,000 illnesses and 80 fatalities in China. Three new cases were discovered in the U.S., but all five of the Americans who have been diagnosed recently traveled to China and are being kept in isolation. The U.S. plans to pull American diplomats from the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak started.
Read more: NPR, NYT, Washington Post, CNN, AP
Impeachment Trial Week 2:
President Trump’s defense team will continue their opening arguments in the impeachment trial today. During a short session on Saturday, one of the arguments was that Democrats are looking to interfere in the election by trying to remove Trump from office. His attorneys also say Trump “did nothing wrong.”
Read more: NBC News, CBS News, AP
Space Force Logo Revealed:
President Trump unveiled the new U.S. Space Force logo. It’s causing controversy, with some people saying it’s a Star Trek “knockoff.” While the two do look similar, the new logo also looks a lot like the Air Force Space Command emblem, which has been around since the 1980s. The original Star Trek series debuted in the 1960s and reportedly took some inspiration from early NASA emblems, so it seems neither Star Trek nor the government can claim they came up with it on their own.
Read more: Washington Post, Politico
First Boeing 777X Flight:
The world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine plane – and the only one with folding wing tips – flew for the first time over the weekend. The Boeing 777X has a wingspan of more than 235 feet. The wings fold in so the plane can fit in different airports. Boeing is still waiting for final approval from regulators but expects to get it next year.
Read more: CNBC, CNET
Google’s Version of AirDrop:
Google is apparently working its own version of Apple’s AirDrop. 'Nearby Sharing' will allow users to send photos and videos between Android phones that are close to each other. Google isn’t commenting yet.
Read more: CNET, Engadget, XDA Developers
Vine Sequel:
Short-form video app Vine is making a comeback-- sort-of. It was shut down in 2017 after Twitter bought it, but one of the Vine co-founders has been working on a sequel. The Byte app lets users shoot or upload 6-second clips, and creators may eventually get paid for their videos.
Read more: TechCrunch, The Verge
Box Office:
Bad Boys for Life topped the box office for the second weekend in a row, while 1917 and Dolittle finished off the top three. Both Bad Boys for Life and 1917 passed the $100 million dollar mark in the U.S.
Read more: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter
The GRAMMYs:
Music's biggest night was last night, but this year, the Grammy Awards started with a somber tone: a tribute to Kobe Bryant. Lizzo dedicated the night to him before her opening performance, and host Alicia Keys also gave an emotional tribute performance with Boyz II Men. There were also tributes to rapper Nipsey Hussle and Prince. Demi Lovato performed live for the first time since her drug overdose. As for the awards, Billie Eilish took home five awards, including the top ones: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
Read more: CBS News, LA Times, Variety
Money Monday - FICO Changes:
The company behind the most widely used credit score is tweaking the formula. People with good FICO scores could see a bit of bump in their scores, but those who are already struggling financially could see a drop. Changes to the FICO formula are made every few years. The new scores go into effect this summer.
Read more: WSJ, Washington Post, CNN