theNewsWorthy: Tuesday, April 9th, 2019
ALL THE NEWS YOU NEED - IN ONE PLACE.
(in less than 10 minutes!)
Today's episode is brought to you by Noom. Start your trial to lose weight and be healthy at Noom.com/newsworthy.
Become a NewsWorthy Insider! Click here to learn more:
https://www.theNewsWorthy.com/insider
Want more? I got you.
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...
Staff Shakeup: President Trump seems to be cleaning house at the Department of Homeland Security as more DHS senior officials are reportedly being forced out. The latest to leave is Secret Service Director Randolph Alles. Just days ago, Trump withdrew his nomination for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief, and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned. Sources told media outlets that at least two to four more people are expected to leave as well.
Read more: Vox, AP, NYT
William Barr on Capitol Hill: Attorney General William Barr is expected on Capitol Hill today to face members of Congress for the first time since taking office. Some lawmakers are anxiously waiting for him to release the full 400-page report from the special counsel’s Russia investigation, though Barr is there to talk to lawmakers about the Justice Department’s budget.
Read more: AP, CBS News
Cuba Deal Canceled: A historic deal that made it easier for Cuban baseball players to sign with U.S. baseball teams has been canceled by the Trump administration. The White House says the Cuban Baseball Federation is part of the Cuban government, so any money that goes to the federation is basically paying the government. The agreement would have allowed Cuban citizens to play MLB without having to leave their country for good.
Read more: Reuters, Washington Post, NBC News
More Measles Cases: The CDC confirmed nearly 100 more cases of measles since just last week, pushing the total count for 2019 to 465 cases in 19 states, many in New York and the Pacific Northwest. If that number keeps going up, it’ll be the most measles cases since the disease was eliminated in 2000. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that can be prevented by vaccines.
Read more: TIME, ABC News
Alexa Healthcare: Amazon’s Alexa wants to help you out with your health care. The voice assistant could soon be doing things like booking urgent-care appointments, checking insurance plans, following up on prescription orders and even reading blood sugar results. Alexa is now HIPAA-compliant, which means it follows the law that ensures your health information stays private and secure.
Read more: WSJ, CNBC
Ikea Speakers: Ikea is putting out new wireless Sonos speakers that are meant to blend into your home. One looks like a table lamp, and the other looks like a bookshelf (see pics). The idea is to hide the speakers so you don’t even notice they’re there. The new speakers can be controlled with the Sonos app and will ship out this August.
Speaking of Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer reported this month that 70 percent of the materials used to make its products last year were either renewable or recycled, and Ikea hopes to make that 100 percent by 2030.
Read more (Speakers): The Verge, TechCrunch
Read more (Sustainability): Ikea, Edie.net
NCAA Champs: For the first time, the Virginia Cavaliers won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship! Virginia beat Texas Tech last night 85- 77 in overtime.
Read more: CBS Sports, USA Today
Celebrities Plead Guilty: Actress Felicity Huffman is one of more than a dozen people pleading guilty in the college admissions cheating scandal. Huffman, who used to star in the show Desperate Housewives will plead guilty for her role in paying $15,000 to a fake charity to have her daughter’s SAT answers changed.
Speaking of celebrity crimes, former Smallville actress Allison Mack pleaded guilty in what Variety calls a sex cult case.
Read more (Felicity Huffman): CNN, NPR
Read more (Allison Mack): Variety
Beyoncé Netflix Trailer: That Netflix post on Instagram is (as expected) about a Beyoncé documentary coming out next week. The special is called Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé.
Watch the trailer: Rolling Stone, Quartz, YouTube