theNewsWorthy: Friday, May 3rd, 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...
Contempt of Congress: A House committee is threatening to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. Barr was a no-show at a hearing about the Mueller report, and he ignored a subpoena to hand over the full, unredacted report to Congress by yesterday. Barr and the Justice Department say releasing that version would put the integrity of its investigations at risk.
Read more: AP, CNN, NYT
Fed Board Controversy: Another one of Trump’s picks for the Federal Reserve Board isn’t working out. Stephen Moore decided to withdraw from the process after losing support from some other Republicans. Moore has been criticized for comments where he disparages women.
Read more: WSJ, PBS
India Cyclone: A massive cyclone is hitting parts of India. Tens of millions of people are in its path, and about a million people have been evacuated from coastal areas. Cyclone Fani is the equivalent of a category four hurricane. It’s expected to cause major destruction and is one of the biggest storms to hit the area in decades.
Read more: NYT, The Weather Channel
Cruise Ship Quarantine: A few hundred people are stuck on a cruise ship off the coast of St. Lucia, where they are quarantined because of one case of the measles. The passengers have not been allowed to leave the ship since earlier this week. The cruise ship is reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, which has not commented.
Read more: CBS News, CNN
Facebook Ban: Facebook is taking aim at hate speech and extremist views by kicking “dangerous” people and organizations off of its platforms, like conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones. Facebook may be getting more aggressive when it comes to getting rid of hate speech as the company faces increased pressure to crackdown on hate and misinformation.
Read more: Washington Post, USA Today, CNN
Cryptocurrencies: Facebook is recruiting dozens of financial firms and online merchants to help launch a cryptocurrency-based payments system. If it works out, users would be able to send digital coins to each other and buy things on both Facebook and around the web. Jaguar Land Rover is also embracing cryptocurrency. The automaker is working on a technology to pay drivers in a cryptocurrency for sharing their car’s driving data. For now, it’s still in the testing phase.
Read more (Facebook): WSJ
Read more (Jaguar): Mashable, Forbes
Starbucks Recall: Starbucks is recalling more than 200,000 coffee presses because the knob can break, which can expose the metal and injure people. At least nine customers have reported cuts. The coffee company started selling these particular French presses in 2016 in the U.S. and Canada. Affected consumers can get a refund.
Read more: WSJ, CBS News
Hockey Protest: Two hundred of the top players in professional women’s hockey say they won’t be playing until they get better salaries. The players released a joint statement saying they have no health care and bad pay, which doesn’t let them train to play at the highest level. The women hope that by joining together, they can force change. The National Women’s Hockey League is still planning to start next season on time.
Read more: ESPN, FOX Sports, Forbes
Ramadan: The Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts on Sunday. This is the most sacred month of the year for Muslims, and most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims will observe it by fasting every day from dawn until sunset. At the end of the month, there is a three-day celebration where Muslims feast and break the fast.
Read more: LA Times, VOX
Weekend Meteor Shower: You may see a bunch of shooting stars this weekend during the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, one of two annual showers caused by Halley’s Comet. It will be at its peak on Sunday morning right before dawn. You can expect to see up to 20 meteors per hour if you’re in a dark spot and weather permitting.
Read more: AccuWeather, Space.com, Astronomy Magazine
Drake Breaks Billboard Record: Drake broke a record at the Billboard Music Awards this year, winning 12 awards this year for a total of 27. That beats Taylor Swift’s previous record of 23. Drake won Top Artist, Top Rap Album and Top Streaming Artist.
Read more: US Weekly, Yahoo!