Monday, December 30th, 2019
Two Attacks, Political Ads Paused & ‘Bitmoji TV’
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Hello Fresh.
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...
Two attacks at religious gatherings:
A gunman opened fire at a church just outside of Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday morning. Two people were killed and three were injured. Members of the church’s security team returned fire just seconds into the attack, killing the shooter. Before that on Saturday night, five people were stabbed during a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home in the New York City suburbs. No one died, but one of the victims is in critical condition. Police arrested the suspect, who pleaded not guilty. The motive for both attacks are still under investigation.
Texas Shooting: ABC News, CNN
NY Stabbing: NBC News, AP, NYT
Congressman, civil rights activist announces cancer diagnosis:
Rep. John Lewis from Georgia announced he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Lewis plans to fight the disease and says he's been in some fight most of his life. He's the youngest and only survivor of the 'Big Six' civil rights activists, once led by Martin Luther King Jr.
Read more: Washington Post, NPR, AP
President Trump retweets alleged whistleblower’s name:
President Trump shared a tweet that named the person some people believe was the whistleblower who filed the complaint against Trump in August (it started the investigation which ultimately led to impeachment). There are federal laws meant to protect whistleblowers, so revealing the person’s identity could be a violation. The retweet disappeared, but reports say it may have been a glitch on Twitter.
Read more: CNBC, Vox, NPR
Winter storm impacts Midwest, Northeast:
Millions of Americans are facing more winter weather today. The Northeast should expect a mix of snow, ice and rain. The storm already brought heavy snow to parts of the central U.S., including Colorado and Nebraska.
Read more: Weather Channel, USA Today, CNN, ABC News
Football playoffs:
The Clemson Tigers will play the LSU Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship game next month. Clemson hopes to win back-to-back national titles, while LSU hopes to get its first national title since 2007. The NFL’s regular season is over, and now it’s time for the playoffs.
NCAA: NBC Sports, NCAA.com
NFL: ESPN
Spotify pauses political ads:
Spotify is the latest tech company to put political advertising on hold. The company says it doesn’t have the resources to review the ads for accuracy. Twitter and Google have made similar moves, but Facebook is still running political ads that are not fact-checked.
Read more: Reuters, The Verge, Ad Age
New tech warns distracted, drowsy drivers:
A German tech company is developing a monitoring system to help combat distracted and drowsy driving. It’ll use cameras and AI to look at the driver's eyelid position and eye blink rate. Safety warning systems will become mandatory in new European vehicles starting in 2022.
Read more: CNN
Snapchat to launch ‘Bitmoji TV’:
Snapchat is launching a Bitmoji TV series in February. Users and their friends’ cartoon avatars will appear in regularly-scheduled adventures. They’ll be in the Discover section.
Read more: Engadget, TechCrunch
Star Wars wins box office again:
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker made $136 million in the U.S. over the five-day Christmas holiday. Jumanji: The Next Level came in second and Little Women came in third.
Read more: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter
Money Monday - Minimum wage hike coming in 2020:
Minimum wage will increase in 24 states and 48 cities on January 1st. Some say it’ll help workers make a livable wage, but others argue it could hurt workers because it will force businesses to cut jobs. Though some states and cities are increasing the required pay for their local areas, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.