Wednesday, February 5th, 2020
State of the Union Surprises, Victory Parade & Disney+ Doubles
All the news you need in 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...
State of the Union Highlights & Surprises:
President Trump’s State of the Union address featured some surprises. As in, actual surprises for honorees in the audience, including reuniting a military family, offering a young girl a scholarship, and awarding a Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative (and controversial) talk show host Rush Limbaugh. The other surprise was just how tense it appeared in the room. President Trump seemed to snub House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's handshake before the speech. Then, Pelosi appeared to rip up her transcript of Trump's remarks right after the address. Trump mentioned a variety of issues in his speech, with a big focus on the economy and the low unemployment rate. He did not mention impeachment. In the Democratic response, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told Americans to listen to what people say, but more importantly, watch what they do.
Read more: NBC News, Politico, FOX News, The Washington Post
The Final Vote:
The Senate will vote today to determine whether President Trump will be removed from office. The vote is expected to mostly be along party lines, with Democrats voting for his conviction/removal and Republicans voting to acquit him. Removing a president from office takes a two-thirds supermajority, meaning 67 of the 100 Senators would have to agree. Trump will likely be acquitted, ending the impeachment trial today.
Read more: CBS News, AP
Iowa Caucus Results:
The partial results of the Iowa caucus are in, though they’re a day late and not a complete tally. Pete Buttigieg is in the lead, with Bernie Sanders close behind. Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden round out the top four. That could change once the full results come in. Party officials apologized for the technical problems that led to the delay. New Hampshire is up next.
Read more: AP, ABC News, CNN, NBC News, FOX News
Super Bowl Victory Parade:
The Kansas City Chiefs will take their Super Bowl victory lap during a parade and rally this afternoon. Thousands of fans are expected to attend, even with snow in the forecast. Some school districts have even canceled classes. Meanwhile, events are being held around the U.S. today to mark National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
KC Chiefs Victory Parade: Kansas City Star, USA Today
Girls & Women in Sports Day: WSF
More Macy’s Stores Closing:
Macy’s announced it’ll close 125 stores over the next three years and will cut about 2,000 corporate jobs. America’s largest department store chain is hoping to cut costs and change course by opening smaller stores and improving its online business.
Read more: CNBC, USA Today, The Washington Post
Google Sent Videos to Strangers:
Google accidentally sent some users’ private videos stored in Google Photos to strangers. Google’s Takeout service – which lets users download a copy of their private data – had a technical issue. The company says it happened for a handful of days in November and it notified those impacted with an email. They also apologized and said the problem has been fixed.
Read more: NBC News, The Verge
Kids' Internet Privacy:
Facebook is adding a tool to its Messenger Kids app to help teach kids about internet privacy. The app will use simple, kid-friendly language to explain how their information is used. Messenger Kids is also giving parents more control.
Read more: Engadget, Digital Trends
Air Purifying Headphones:
Vacuum manufacturer Dyson submitted a patent that combines an air purification system and a set of headphones. The air purifier has two speakers, which both have a filter that pushes clean air toward the nose and mouth. It could be helpful for crowded places with germs, like airplanes. For now, it’s just a patent and hasn’t been developed.
Read more: Bloomberg, Engadget
Disney+ Subscribers:
In just three months, 28.6 million people have signed up for Disney+. The company originally thought it would take five years to get about double what they already have, so they’re ahead of schedule. Netflix has 167 million subscribers, and Hulu has 30.4 million.
Read more: CNET, Variety
Work Wednesday - Politics at Work:
A new survey found 60 percent of employees don’t think talking about politics at work is a good idea, yet nearly the same percentage of workers do it anyway. There’s also a generational divide between baby boomers who tend to think work isn’t the place to talk politics or money, while millennials and Gen Z tend to share opinions more openly.
Read more: USA Today