theNewsWorthy: Friday, January 18th, 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...
Nuclear Defense in Space: President Trump says it’s time to update our missile defense plan for the first time since 2010. Trump wants to put sensors in space that would detect and track missiles that are fired from the ground, but critics question whether he’ll get Congress to approve funding. Today in Washington D.C., top U.S. officials are scheduled to meet with North Korea’s lead nuclear program negotiator.
Read more: NYT, USA Today
Shutdown Update: One day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Trump to postpone the State of the Union address because of the shutdown, Trump postponed her trip. Pelosi was just about to leave to visit troops in Afghanistan as well as stop in Brussels and Egypt, but Trump let her know she couldn’t use the military plane. Some say this is just tit-for-tat politics by both Pelosi and the president. It’s day 28 of the shutdown now, and still no end in sight. At least nonprofits, businesses and everyday people have been donating food, money, diapers and even haircuts to federal employees who have gone nearly a month without a paycheck.
Read more (Trump vs. Pelosi): FOX News, AP
Read more (Donations): CBS News, Eater
Cohen’s Crimes: Two new reports about President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen are making waves. BuzzFeed News cites law enforcement officials who say Trump told Cohen to lie to Congress, which might be obstruction of justice. The report says investigators have witnesses and documents to back up the claim, but other media haven't confirmed the report. In another, Cohen says he paid a small technology company to try to rig online political polls before the 2016 election at Trump’s instruction. Trump’s current personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, says Cohen is a liar.
Read more (Lying to Congress): Buzzfeed, Business Insider
Read more (Manipulating Polls): NBC News, WSJ
Political Demonstrations: The 2019 March for Life happens today. It’s the biggest anti-abortion event of the year, with demonstrations in cities across the country. The third annual Women’s March is scheduled for Saturday. The Women’s March organization has faced allegations of anti-Semitism and financial issues; leaders issued a statement that it’s not true.
Read more (Women’s March): The Washington Post, FOX News
Read more (March for Life): The Washington Post, NBC News
Data Breach: Nearly 733 million emails and 21 million passwords were stolen in the largest public data breach ever, known as Collection #1. Web security expert Troy Hunt found it on a popular cloud storage site; when it was taken down, it popped up on a popular hacking website. It’s not clear where the info came from, but it wasn’t even on sale – it was just available. The good news? No credit card or social security numbers were exposed. The best advice? Don’t re-use passwords and enable two-factor authentication whenever you can.
Read more: WIRED, Troy Hunt
Apple CEO on Privacy: Apple CEO Tim Cook is calling on Congress to pass a law to protect Americans’ private data. Cook says companies who sell data should have to register with the government, and citizens should be able to track and delete their own data online. Some states are already trying to do this, but there’s no federal law yet.
Read more: TIME, NBC News
Electric F-150: Hybrid and electric versions of Ford’s best-selling F-150 pickup are in the works. Ford is focusing on power, performance and efficiency to build vehicles the company says will have great gas mileage and can still tow 5,000 pounds. The timing is still up in the air.
Read more: CNBC, TechCrunch
Super Blood Wolf Moon: Keep your eyes peeled this weekend for the super blood wolf moon: it’s a combination of three lunar events at once. “Super” because the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit and might appear larger; “blood” because a lunar eclipse (the first seen by North America in three years) casts a reddish glow; “wolf” is a Native American name for the first full moon of the year. Be on the lookout Sunday night before midnight.
Read more: CBS News, Space.com
Record-Breaking Run: British ultrarunner Jasmin Paris became the first woman to win a 268-mile race in the UK. Her record time of just over 83 hours shattered everyone else’s (men and women) by a whopping 12 hours. She even stopped along the way to pump breast milk for her baby!
Read more: The Guardian