theNewsWorthy: Thursday, January 24th, 2019
ALL THE NEWS YOU NEED - IN ONE PLACE.
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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...
(Scroll down to read more about our Thing to Know Thursday topic …)
State of the Union Delayed: President Trump will not be invited to the House chamber to deliver the State of the Union address next week unless the shutdown ends first. President Trump had plans to address Americans from another location, but announced last night that he’ll wait until the shutdown ends after all.
Read more: The Hill, WSJ, ABC News
Shutdown Latest:
Could the end be in sight? Negotiations are underway as top House Democrats consider funding the full $5.7 billion Trump is seeking in order to open the government. Here’s the catch: the money can’t be used for a physical barrier at the border.
Today: lawmakers in the Senate are voting on two competing bills, but both are expected to fail.
Also: IRS employees are the latest federal workers to stop showing up, some in protest, and others because they can’t afford it. The union says you should expect this to affect tax refunds.
Good news: One young teen is trying to help out. He’s giving away free peanut butter to furloughed employees after winning a lifetime supply in a contest.
Read more (Proposals): CBS News, AP
Read more (IRS Employees): Washington Post, Forbes
Read more (Peanut Butter Donation): CBS News
Cohen Cancels: President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen won’t testify publicly after all, citing threats from President Trump and his new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. The nature of the alleged threats is unknown. President Trump said 'truth' is the only threat to Cohen. Read more: NBC News, USA Today
Venezuela Chaos: Americans have been ordered to get out of Venezuela. Why? Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself President, and President Trump showed his support. In fact, the U.S., Canada and more than a dozen other countries have now recognized Guaido as the new leader, which prompted President Maduro to order all American diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours. It all happened after massive protests there yesterday. Venezuela is on the edge of economic collapse as citizens struggle to buy the basics, like food.
Read more: CBS News, BBC
Bank Docs Data Breach: According to a TechCrunch report, 24 million banking documents were available online – without a password – for two weeks before they were taken down. Loan, mortgage and tax files with addresses, social security numbers and account details were compromised. The analytics company behind it says it’s working with law enforcement and contacting impacted customers.
Read more: TechCrunch
23andMe Cancer Test: The FDA has given the green light to a new type of cancer test which comes from the DNA-testing company 23andMe. The test checks for hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome: two gene mutations that could increase someone’s risk of developing that cancer. While the $200 test could be life-saving, not all colon cancers are caused by genetic factors and having the gene doesn’t mean you’ll get cancer.
Read more: Bloomberg, TIME
Amazon’s Scout: Amazon is testing delivery robots in a neighborhood north of Seattle. The delivery machines – called Scout – are about the size of a cooler on wheels and drive themselves at about walking pace. For now, the robots are accompanied by employees.
Read more: Engadget, CNBC
Hulu Prices: The competition in the streaming world continues to heat up. Hulu is the latest to announce a change in pricing: Live TV users’ bills will increase by $5 per month, starting at the end of February. The basic package, however, will be $2 cheaper. The price cut for this ad-supported version comes on the heels of Netflix’s raising prices. YouTube TV is expanding, too: it will be available in 98 percent of the country now.
Read more (Hulu Prices): AP
Read more (YouTube TV): Fortune
Most Innovative Countries: Bloomberg released its list of the most innovative countries, and the U.S. made the top ten (#8). South Korea took the top spot, with Germany, Finland, Switzerland and Israel rounding out the top five. Factors included patent activity, productivity and education.
Read more: Bloomberg
Hall of Fame History: Baseball history was made this week as former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera became the first player unanimously elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Read more: Bleacher Report, CBS News
Valentine’s Day Candy Unavailable: You may notice something missing from store shelves this Valentine’s Day: Sweethearts. The conversation candy hearts were the most popular holiday candy in 2018. The original producer went out of business, and the new owner, who acquired the brand in September, didn’t have enough time to produce them this year. But don't be to worried: they’ll be back next year!
Read more: CNBC, MarketWatch
Thing to Know Thursday:
Cannabis in 2019
Read more: CNBC, Forbes, The Street, USA Today