theNewsWorthy: Tuesday, June 4th, 2019
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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...
Disaster Bill Passes: A $19 billion disaster aid bill is heading to President Trump’s desk for approval, and he's expected to sign it. The House gave the final okay after the Senate passed it last month. Puerto Rico is getting $1 billion worth of aid along with other areas in the U.S. hit by natural disasters.
Read more: The Washington Post, FOX News, NPR
Mueller Report Hearing: Democrats are gearing up for a series of House hearings on Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, but Mueller himself is not expected to be there. Instead, the star witness will be former White House Counsel John Dean, who worked for President Nixon during the Watergate scandal. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was considered a star witness back then. Experts say it’s an attempt to provide some historical perspective to the current situation. It all starts next Monday, June 10.
Read more: The Hill, CNBC, Politico
Big Tech Antitrust Probe: A House committee announced a sweeping antitrust probe into some tech giants as concern about the power of big tech grows. That's on top of word that the Justice Department and FTC are splitting up and doubling-down on tech company oversight. Amazon, Google and Facebook shares fell about five percent yesterday after the news. Apple’s stock was down, too. No official response from any of the major tech companies yet.
Read more: AP, NYT, TechCrunch, Reuters
30th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square: Commemorations for the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre are happening around the world today. It started 30 years ago with weeks of student-led demonstrations calling for democracy and a free press in China, but the government reacted with a bloody crackdown. There’s still no official death toll, but it’s estimated to be in the hundreds, if not thousands. The Chinese regime has worked hard to censor discussions about the massacre.
Read more: The Guardian, CNN, History.com
Russia Demands Tinder Access: The Russian government now wants to see what people are doing on Tinder. The app was just added to a list of companies who have to share users’ data with the Russian government or be blocked in the country. No word yet if Tinder is actually going to agree to this.
Read more: Business Insider, WSJ, AP
Eid al-Fitr: For 1.8 billion Muslims around the world, this week marks one of the most festive times as the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr begins. It marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr begins either today or tomorrow, depending on the sighting of the moon. It’s a time for visiting loved ones, feasting, praying, and donating to those in need. The most popular greeting is “Eid Mubarak.”
Read more: Al Jazeera, CNN, USA Today
Apple WWDC Highlights: Here are a few highlights from Apple’s big event: When it comes to privacy, you can now have apps ask you every time if they can use your location, and Apple is also setting up an option to sign on to apps using Face ID with hidden email addresses. Also, Siri is getting a new voice, which is meant to be a bit more natural, and the new iOS update will give you more voice control. You can also now split AirPods if you want to share one with a friend. The newest software for the Apple Watch will come with its own app store. As expected, iTunes is being replaced with three separate apps for music, TV and podcasts.
Read more: The Verge, VentureBeat
Quest Diagnostics Leak: If you’ve ever been a patient at Quest Diagnostics medical labs, your personal info may be in the hands of hackers. A billing collections firm that works with the company was breached, affecting about 12 million patient files. Information like bank account info, social security numbers and some medical information may have been compromised (but not test results). The company is still working on which customers may have been affected.
Read more: WSJ, CNN, NBC News
Jeopardy Winning Streak Broken: Jeopardy! contestant James Holzhauer lost last night, ending his 33 day run on the game show. He won a total of $2.4 million and nearly beat the all-time record for total winnings. Holzhauer made history on the show when he set the record for the most money won within a single episode, and he kept on winning for 32 games in a row. Holzhauer got the final question right, but he didn’t make a large enough bet to win in the end. He said, "No body likes to lose," but he's proud of how he did.
Read more: USA Today, NYT
Jay-Z First Billionaire Rapper: Jay-Z is the world's first billionaire rapper, according to Forbes. His empire includes not just music, but also real estate, businesses and more. PS: He's also married to superstar Beyoncé – she’s worth $355 million herself.
Read more: Forbes, The Guardian