theNewsWorthy: Friday, May 25th, 2018
ALL THE NEWS YOU NEED - IN ONE PLACE.
(in less than 10 minutes!)
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...
GDPR EXPLAINED
You’ve probably been getting emails from every company or service you’ve ever signed up for (or at least it seems that way) telling you they’ve updated their privacy policies. Well, this is why: A new law in the European Union means tougher rules on data privacy, and it has a global impact.
It’s called the General Data Protection Regulation, or just GDPR for short. The deadline for companies to comply is today. If they don't, they could face big penalties.
WHAT DOES IT DO & WHO'S IMPACTED?
The law basically changes the rules for how companies are allowed to collect, store and process your info. Well, the info of people in the EU, but it’ll often affect customers globally. Even if a company is based in the U.S,, for example, they may have online customers in the EU or even just partner with another company that has customers there, so they have to comply.
CNET says the law is meant to require companies to be more open about how they use your data. Companies have known this is coming for a couple years. The EU wanted to give businesses time to make changes. CNN reports Fortune Global 500 companies spent an estimated $7.8 billion to get ready for these new rules.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
Look at the emails and respond if you want to keep using that service. The language in the new policies should be more clear (less confusing legal talk), and they’re supposed to give you more control over your own data. You may be required to agree to the new policies or respond in some way to keep using the website or service.
NORTH KOREA SUMMIT CANCELED
It’s canceled. President Trump called off the planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It would have made history as the first time a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader meet face-to-face (but never mind).
WHY THE CHANGE?
President Trump says he canceled the summit because of “tremendous anger and open hostility” from the North Korean regime. Reuters reports he’s referring to a statement earlier this week, when North Korea threatened (for a second time) to pull out of the summit and even warned it was ready for a nuclear showdown with Washington.
The U.S. didn’t appreciate that. So Trump RSVPed 'no' and warned Kim Jong-un against trying to do anything reckless. The Wall Street Journal says Trump is leaving the door open for future talks, but for now, it’s looking like strong economic sanctions instead.
North Korea officials are now saying they’re open to resolving issues. The meeting was supposed to take place in Singapore on June 12th.
Read more: Reuters, WSJ, FOX News
CAUSE OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES CRASH
There's a new possible cause for the Malaysia Airlines flight that went down in 2014 and killed all passengers and crew on board. Dutch investigators now say it was a Russian missile from the Russian military that brought the plane down.
The Washington Post reports this could mean Dutch prosecutors might sue the Russian government for the nearly 300 deaths. The whole thing is not great for the already tense relationship between Russia and the West.
Russia is saying, not true, wasn’t us.
Read more: The Washington Post, BBC
RESTAURANT SHOOTING
A gunman walked into an Oklahoma City restaurant last night and started shooting, but someone else there had a handgun, too. The 'civilian' shot and killed the shooter.
ABC News reports some people at the restaurant were hurt, but they’re all expected to live. Expect more details on this one later today.
Read more: ABC News
HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S ARREST
Today is the day police say they’ll be arresting Harvey Weinstein.
Of course, he’s the once-powerful, now-disgraced movie producer accused of sexually assaulting dozens of women. Those accusations helped kick off the entire #MeToo movement. Until now, he hasn’t faced any criminal charges.
HOW WILL IT GO DOWN?
The New York Times says Weinstein has agreed to turn himself in today in Manhattan.
He’ll be arrested on charges that he raped a woman and forced another to do other sexual activities. There’s already an agreement in place: he’ll apparently be arrested, taken to court, and then let go on a $1 million bail package until his next court date. He’ll also have to wear an ankle bracelet (or something like it) to track his location and he's not allowed to travel much.
Why hasn’t Weinstein faced more charges for the other accusations? It’s because of New York’s statute of limitations, which means the crime happened too long ago for it to be prosecuted (at least in some cases).
Weinstein has denied he ever raped anyone.
Read more: NYT
Today's Life Tip:
"When you are trying to find a new path it's imperative that you put 100% commitment into it."
From Optimal Living Daily
MORGAN FREEMAN ACCUSED
Several women are accusing actor Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior.
CNN talked with 16 people who say they were the victims of it or saw it happen.
The report explains Freeman allegedly made inappropriate and sexual comments to colleagues and entertainment reporters. One person said he tried to lift her skirt up.
Freeman released a statement saying he never would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy, and that he’s sorry to anyone who felt uncomfortable.
UBER'S SELF-DRIVING CAR CRASH
Federal investigators released a new report about that self-driving Uber that hit and killed a woman in Arizona back in March.
Investigators say the car’s system spotted the woman in the street a full six seconds before hitting her, but, the AP reports, its emergency braking system was turned off on purpose.
Why? Well, Uber says the system is turned off to try and prevent the car from having what it calls “erratic behavior” on the road. Instead, the back-up safety driver (who was sitting behind-the-wheel) is supposed to intervene. Yet, there was no alert system to tell the driver to watch out. Video shows that driver was also looking down until the last second.
Earlier this week, Uber cancelled its self-driving car testing in the state all together.
Read more: AP, TechCrunch
BOXER JACK JOHNSON PARDONED
President Trump just pardoned the first black heavyweight boxing champ. Jack Johnson died 72 years ago, but he’s just now being pardoned for crimes that were really about his skin color.
USA Today explains he openly dated white women and married three of them, and was eventually convicted of transporting a white woman across state lines for immoral reasons. Well, it was likely just because he was black.
Now the government is finally clearing his name. Actor Sylvester Stallone, who played Rocky, helped push for the pardon. It’s only the third pardon ever given to someone after the person already died.
Read more: USA Today
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Two hockey teams are left!
They’ll face off in the Stanley Cup Final starting this Monday. It comes down to the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams are eyeing their first-ever Stanley Cup title.
Full schedule here.
Read more: SBNation, CBS Sports
ALEXA SHARED SECRETS
Oops!
Amazon’s Alexa accidentally sent a woman’s private conversation with her husband to her colleague. The Portland woman was interviewed on local TV about it and was a bit freaked out.
WHAT'S AMAZON SAYING?
Amazon has confirmed it happened.
Here’s what the company told The Verge: Alexa heard a word that sounded like her name, so she turned on. Then she heard what sounded like “send message,” so she said out loud: “To whom?” Then, she apparently heard a word that sounded like one of the woman’s contacts and sent the recording to the colleague.
Amazon says it’s extremely rare that this would happen, and they’re working to fix it.
Read more: Ars Technica, The Verge
NETFLIX WORTH
Netflix briefly became the world’s biggest media stock this week - worth more than Disney and Comcast. CNN says Netflix had already surpassed companies like Time Warner and CBS.
While other companies like Comcast have lost subscribers, Netflix has continued to get more and more subscribers (even after raising its subscription price).
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY PREVIEW
Star Wars fans, get ready! The movie Solo: A Star Wars Story is now in theaters.
It opens in the U.S. today.
The Hollywood Reporter says it’s expected to bring in $130 million to $150 million during the long holiday weekend. It’s hoping for a record Memorial Day weekend opening.
It’s a spinoff from the first Star Wars movies and is about the origin story of Han Solo.
Read more: The Hollywood Reporter
MEMORIAL DAY
This upcoming Monday is Memorial Day, so many people will be off school and work.
Of course, Memorial Day is an official federal holiday, always observed the last Monday of May.
Don’t forget: this is not just the unofficial start of the summer season with barbecues and a long weekend. The real meaning of the day is to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
Due to the holiday, there will not be an episode of theNewsWorthy on Monday. We'll be back on Tuesday!
Read more: History
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