Friday, December 20th, 2019
Trial Delayed, Landmark Robocall Law & Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
Today's episode is brought to you by www.NativeDeodorant.com. Use code 'newsworthy' for a discount
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...
Impeachment Trial Delayed?:
President Trump has been impeached, but what's next? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is supposed to send the just-approved articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial, but she is holding off. She says she's not confident the Republican-controlled Senate would hold a fair trial and wants more info about the rules and planned process. In the meantime, Congress has gone on holiday break and won’t return until the second week in January.
Read more: NYT, Washington Post, WSJ, ABC News, CNBC
Dem Debate:
Last night was the final Democratic debate of the year. It was also the smallest one so far, with only seven candidates qualifying to take the stage in hopes of taking on President Trump in 2020. Most agreed that House lawmakers made the right move when they impeached Trump earlier this week (except Andrew Yang). There was a tense moment between Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg over fundraising and net worth, and all the candidates debated issues like healthcare, immigration and more.
Read more: POLITICO, Politico, NBC News, Washington Post
Tracking Your Location:
Info leaked to reporters reveals 50 billion location pings of 12 million Americans; just a fraction of what’s tracked every day. The anonymous employees of a small data company who leaked the info say they did it to reveal the truth. Companies claim the info is anonymous and the data secure, but critics aren’t so sure. The NYT reports it's easy to identify who each 'ping' belongs to. So, what can you do about it? Click the link below for instructions to change your smartphone settings.
Read more: NYT (info), NYT (what to do)
Landmark Robocall Law:
New tools meant to stop robocalls are on their way. Lawmakers in Congress approved a landmark bill to crack down on illegal calls, and President Trump is expected to sign it into law. If approved, phone companies will have to use new tech to warn customers when it’s likely a robocall – for free. Those behind the calls could also face increased fines.
Read more: The Hill, The Verge, AP
Winter & Hanukkah Begin:
Saturday is the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (least amount of sunlight), and it's known as the first official day of winter (at least the astronomical winter). Also, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah starts at sundown on Sunday and lasts eight days.
Winter Begins: Vox, USA Today
Hanukkah: History.com
U.S. Obesity Rate:
A new study warns it’s time to take action to get healthier. Researchers say more than half of Americans will be obese within the next decade, and one in four will be severely obese. Southern and Midwestern states will likely be hit the hardest. Researchers point to the need for prevention, calling for more education, better policies and safe places to get outside.
Read more: CNN, TIME
Facebook Bans Census Disinformation:
Facebook plans to step-in to stop misinformation when it comes to the U.S. census in 2020. The company is now banning any post that lies or misleads people about the census (the survey sent out once a decade to gather population information). The data influences how much government representation different regions will get.
Read more: WaPo
Facebook Operating System:
Speaking of Facebook, it's working on its own operating system so it can stop relying on Google, Apple and other mobile software tech. Facebook wants this as a part of its plan to become more self-sufficient for its own devices.
Read more: TechCrunch, Engadget, Bloomberg, The Information
Star Wars & More:
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the grand conclusion to a nine-chapter saga that started more than four decades ago. It’s in theaters now, and experts think it’ll easily top the charts this weekend. The new Cats movie (adaptation of the Broadway musical) also debuts this weekend, and Eddie Murphy will host Saturday Night Live for the first time in 35 years.
Star Wars: Hollywood Reporter, Variety
Eddie Murphy on SNL: People, Deadline
Miss America 2020:
Miss America 2020 is Miss Virginia, Camille Schrier. The 24-year old college student took home the crown and $50,000 in scholarships. During the show, she showed off her passion for science with a chemistry experiment as her talent.
Read more: Yahoo Lifestyle, E! News, NPR