theNewsWorthy: Thursday, May 2nd, 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...
(Scroll down to read more about our Thing to Know Thursday topic …)
Barr Testimony: Attorney General William Barr is (so far) refusing to testify before a House committee for a second day of questioning about the Mueller report. Barr isn't happy with the plan to have attorneys question him, alongside lawmakers. Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday and was grilled over his handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report.
Read more: The Hill, AP, NYT, USA Today
More Border Money: The White House is asking for more money for the southern border, but not to actually build Trump's border wall. Administration officials want $4.5 billion and say more than half of the money would be used for humanitarian assistance: housing, food, medical treatment, and clothes for migrants detained at the border.
Read more: CNBC, NYT, NBC News
Interest Rate: The Federal Reserve is keeping its benchmark rate the same for now, between 2.25 and 2.5 percent. The Fed says the economy is growing at a “solid rate.”
Read more: AP, Washington Post, MarketWatch
Holocaust Remembrance Day: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. People in Israel have spent the last 24 hours holding services, ceremonies and events as they remember the six million Jews killed by the Nazis. A March for the Living will be held at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland today, and yesterday, leaders voiced concerns about the rise in anti-Semitism around the world.
Read more: Times of Israel, TIME/AP
Testosterone Ruling: The highest court in sports decided women athletes with unusually high testosterone levels are banned from track and field races with other women -- unless they choose to take drugs to lower their testosterone levels. The ruling marked defeat for two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya from South Africa. Her legal team says her natural, genetic gift should be celebrated, but sports officials say new rules are necessary to avoid unfair advantages.
Read more: NYT, ESPN, NPR
Drone Organ Delivery: A drone delivered a kidney to a transplant patient for the first time. It took 10 minutes for the drone to fly the organ from one hospital to another. The faster an organ is transplanted, the better it works.
Read more: CNN, Engadget
Google Auto-Delete: Google will soon let you decide how long it stores some of your data. The company is rolling out a new auto-delete feature that gives users the option to have location, web and app history deleted periodically. This means Google will only have some of your data for 3-18 months, rather than years and years.
Read more: Engadget, The Verge
FanDuel Fee: Heads up if you have a FanDuel account: the sports betting website will soon start charging you for not using the site. Inactive accounts will have to pay a $3 monthly fee. The company is sending users updated Terms of Use with the new policy information.
Read more: TechCrunch, Engadget
Monthly Scooter Rentals: You can now rent an electric scooter for an entire month instead of by the minute. For $25 per month, the e-scooter company Bird will drop off your new ride and its charger at your door. When the month is over, the company picks it all back up. But for now, the month-long rentals are only available in San Francisco and Barcelona.
Read more: The Verge
New Hulu Series: Two Marvel live action series are coming to Hulu. Ghost Rider and Helstrom will premiere later this year. Marvel is owned by Disney, and Disney owns a part of Hulu. Though Disney is launching its own streaming service later this year, it seems the company is putting more adult shows on Hulu and more family-friendly ones on Disney+.
Read more: Techcrunch, CNBC, ENews
Burger King “Real Meals”: Burger King is starting something new that it says will help spread awareness about mental health. They’re called “Real Meals.” Customers will be able to pick the box their meal comes in based on their mood. There are names like “blue,” “salty,” and “DGAF (Don't Give a F---)” but “happy” isn’t one of them. The mood boxes are likely a way to compete with McDonald's Happy Meal, but Burger King says it shows people it’s okay not to be happy all the time.
Read more: Fox Business