theNewsWorthy: Wednesday, January 9th, 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...
Dueling Speeches: President Trump gave his first-ever Oval Office address to the nation last night, citing a “growing humanitarian and security crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border. The President blamed Democrats for the shutdown, saying they won’t approve the $5.7 billion for a physical barrier at the border to stop illegal immigration. A side-by-side address from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer followed. They claim that President Trump is using misinformation and malice, and that there are other ways to secure the border. Democrats are pushing to re-open and fund the government now and debate border security later. Both President Trump and top Democrats faced scrutiny.
Read more: The Hill, The Washington Post, FOX News, NBC News, USA Today
Manafort + Russia: New court documents show Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is accused of sharing election polling data to someone tied to Russian intelligence -- and lied about it. It's the first time prosecutors say someone in the campaign shared election-related info with Russian contacts.
Read more: AP, FOX News
Russian Lawyer Charged: Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya has been charged with obstruction of justice. Veselnitskaya is the lawyer who met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower before the 2016 election. She claimed she had ‘dirt’ on Hilary Clinton, and the meeting later caused controversy. The charges are not connected to the meeting, but some say it shows her “deep ties” to Russian government officials.
Read more: NYT, ABC News, CNN
Airport Drone: Hundreds of flights were grounded yesterday at Heathrow Airport in London after another drone incident. Flights were unable to take off as a precautionary measure. Things are back to normal now after two hours of disruption. Even though the chance of a drone actually hitting a plane is small, if it did, the drone could cause serious damage.
Read more: BBC
Cancer Deaths Down: The number of cancer diagnoses and the number of cancer deaths in the U.S. are both dropping steadily, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society. Cancer deaths peaked in 1991 – mainly men with lung cancer – but there have been 2.6 million fewer cancer deaths over the last 25 years. This 27 percent decrease could be attributed to people smoking less.
Read more: CNN, WSJ
Newly Found Planet: NASA’s newest planet-hunting spacecraft, known as TESS, has discovered a new planet. It’s only 53 light years away, not too far for a planet outside our solar system. The planet is three times the size of Earth and orbits its star every 36 days. TESS found other planets outside the solar system, but this one is special because it’s relatively close to Earth and allows NASA the chance to study it more.
Read more: The Verge, Space.com
CES Roundup: The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas showcased BMW’s riderless motorcycle, an air taxi, a face-scanning home lock and a treadmill that generates electricity. There’s also a portable sterilizing device that turns water into a disinfectant spray and the world’s first wearable airbag vest for cyclists. Google announced its voice-controlled assistant will integrate with Google Maps by the end of the month. And of course so much more...
Read more: CNET, Forbes, TechCrunch,
Walmart’s Self-Driving Delivery: Walmart is starting a new pilot program using autonomous vans to deliver groceries in parts of Arizona. It's in partnership with the startup Udelv. Although, it's not the first time Walmart has partnered with other companies for autonomous grocery delivery.
Read more: TechCrunch, Business Insider
Sears Comeback?: Sears may be in trouble, but it can keep its doors open for now. The company made a last-minute deal to stay in business despite declaring bankruptcy in October. Billionaire Edward Lampert’s offer to buy the business isn’t a done deal until the auction period ends, but if it goes through, more than 400 stores will stay open. It could also potentially save 50,000 jobs.
Read more: Reuters, WSJ
Hulu Growth: Hulu has announced it now has 25 million total subscribers, representing a 47 percent year-over-year increase. Ad revenue has also grown. It’s going to be a big year for streaming services: Disney, AT&T, Apple and others are looking to launch their own platforms in 2019.
Read more: Variety