Brexit Day, Super Bowl LIV & BitMoji TV

All the news you need in less than 10 min:

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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’s Final Day?: 
After closing arguments today, Senators will likely vote on whether to hear new witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial. Democrats want to call some of Trump’s closest aides to stand, but most Republicans want to block any new testimony. Republicans say they have enough votes, so it could be the end of the trial as soon as tonight or tomorrow.
Read more: Washington Post, The Hill, Politico

Brexit Day: 
It's finally here. The U.K. will officially leave the European Union. British voters opted to leave the E.U. back in 2016, and now the historic moment has arrived. For now, Britain will continue to follow E.U. rules until it works out new trade agreements. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he won’t let the transition period drag on for more than 11 months, but the E.U. thinks it’s going to take longer.
Read more: BBC, WSJ, AP

Global Health Emergency: 
The World Health Organization has officially declared the new coronavirus a global health emergency. The illness has now spread to at least 18 countries, and there are concerns about it reaching areas with weaker health care systems. The U.S. saw its first person-to-person transmission this week, which marks the sixth case in the U.S., but the CDC says Americans do not need to be overly worried.
Read more: NYT, Fox News, NPR, Reuters

Black History Month: 
Black History Month starts this weekend. Since 1976, every Black History Month has had a specific theme; the theme for 2020 is “African Americans and the Vote” in honor of the anniversaries of the 15th and 19th amendments. Celebrations will be held across the U.S. throughout February.
Read more: History

Super Bowl LIV: 
The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will go head-to-head in Super Bowl LIV in Miami this Sunday. It’s the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, while the 49ers will play in their seventh Super Bowl. The NFL is celebrating its 100th season with a halftime show featuring more songs and dancers than ever before and a tribute to Kobe Bryant. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira are headlining. As for the commercials: a 30 second ad spot this year costs as much as $5.6 million. Kickoff is at 6:30 pm EST Sunday on FOX.
Super Bowl LIV: NBC Sports, CBS Sports
Halftime Show: CNN, Billboard
Commercials: Deadline, CBS News

Electric Hummer Revealed: 
Expect a first look at the new, all-electric Hummer in a Super Bowl commercial featuring LeBron James. Reports say the new “Super Truck” will go from 0 to 60 in three seconds. GM is expected to start selling the new Hummer next year.
Read more: USA Today, TechCrunch

Apple Maps Upgrade: 
Apple Maps got an upgrade: roads, buildings, parks and other landmarks should be more detailed. There’s also a new feature that gives users a 360-degree view of the street and real-time transit schedules in some cities. Apple spent billions of dollars to remap the U.S. by land and air, and now Europe is up next.
Read more: Engadget, CNBC

2020’s New Emoji: 
More than 100 new emoji are expected to be released in 2020. Some will be brand new, and some will be more skin tone and gender-inclusive updates of current emoji.
Read more: TechCrunch, Engadget

Bitmoji TV: 
Bitmoji TV on Snapchat starts its first season tomorrow. In the first episode, avatars will be competing for “America’s Best Bitmoji,” kind of like American Idol or The Voice. New episodes will be released on Snapchat on Saturday mornings. You can find it in the Discover menu in the app.
Read more: Variety

Feel Good Friday - Helping Animals:
A Florida brewery is working to help dogs find their forever homes by putting the dogs’ faces on beer cans. Motorworks Brewing released a special four-pack featuring adoptable pets from a local animal shelter, and all the proceeds from the sales will benefit one of the shelters.  Also, the founder and CEO of WeatherTech bought a $6 million Super Bowl ad to thank the vets who saved his golden retriever, Scout. He says money raised from the commercial will be used to help research at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.
Brewery Features Adoptable Dogs: CBS News
Super Bowl Ad Thanks Vet: CNN