theNewsWorthy: Friday, June 1st, 2018
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...
TRADE TENSIONS
The United States and its closest allies (and most important trading partners) aren’t really getting along right now. Starting today, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. We’re talking a 25 percent extra tax on imported steel and a 10 percent extra tax on imported aluminum.
President Trump says it’s for national security. It’s also meant to be a negotiation tool for new trade agreements and a way to get more American workers in manufacturing back to work.
UNCERTAIN RESULTS:
Will the plan actually work? TBD. Some critics say the cost to international relations and the effects on the economy when the countries retaliate will be too much. Also, yes, the EU, Canada, and Mexico are all working to retaliate. They have plans to hit back hard in the same way: with tariffs.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is. President Trump announced these tariffs a while back. Before, he gave Canada, Mexico and Europe exemptions while they worked to figure out new trade deals. It didn’t quite work. Now the Trump administration is moving forward with tariffs and playing hardball.
Will it turn into an all-out trade war? Or will the countries make a deal? Stay tuned.
Read more: AP, WSJ, NYT, FOX Business
NORTH KOREA LETTER
President Trump expects to get a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un today, and he says it'll be hand-delivered to him in Washington by North Korean delegates. If it happens, the New York Times reports, that in itself would be a rare visit. Something similar hasn’t happened since the year 2000.
The potential meeting in Washington comes after two days of talks in New York between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a top North Korean official. Pompeo said there was “real progress,” but he also admitted there’s still a lot of negotiations needed. They’re all trying to figure out if they’ll be able to have the historic meeting planned for June 12th.
ALSO OF NOTE FROM TRUMP'S AGENDA:
Yesterday, President Trump met with families of the victims in the Texas school shooting. The AP says some of the parents thanked him for his time. Others were much more critical.
Read more: CBS News, NYT. Trump Visits Victims’ Families: AP
SAMANTHA BEE COMMENT
Cue the backlash and then the apology. This time, it was comedian Samantha Bee who used the c-word to describe Ivanka Trump on her show, Full Frontal. She and the network, TBS, both tweeted they’re sorry and regret it.
WHITE HOUSE REACTION:
USA Today reports the White House press secretary called Samantha Bee’s words “vile and vicious,” and the First Lady’s rep said this makes the media bias clear. She was referring to ABC quickly canceled the sitcom Roseannewhen Roseanne Barr tweeted something racist about a former Obama adviser, but TBS didn’t cancel Full Frontal after Samantha Bee’s comment (the show has lost a couple of sponsors).
NBA FINALS
The NBA finals are now underway. The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime last night. That was Game 1 in the best-of-seven series.
Remember, this is the fourth year in a row these two teams have played each other in the finals. Game 2 is Sunday night. Stay tuned.
Read more: CBS Sports
Today's Life Quote:
"It's easy to slip into a lifestyle where we work to earn, and earn to consume."
From Optimal Finance Daily
SOCIAL MEDIA RANKINGS
Turns out teenagers don’t like Facebook as much as they used to! A new Pew Research survey found it’s not even among the top three most popular social media platforms. Instead, more teens are using YouTube, then Instagram, then Snapchat. Facebook comes in fourth.
VentureBeat reports the survey asked teens 13 to 17 years old about their social media use. Only 10 percent of them said they use Facebook more than the other sites.
WHAT'S CHANGED?
A lot has changed in just a few years. The last similar study was back in 2015. At that time, Facebook was still number one (but remember – Instagram is owned by Facebook).
Oh, and also, nearly half of the teens said they’re online “almost constantly.”That number nearly doubled in three years.
Read more: VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Recode
SEARS CLOSING STORES
Sears is still struggling. The company says it’s now planning to close more than 60 stores (some Sears and some Kmart). CNBC reports that’s on top of the hundreds of stores that already shut down in recent years, including dozens this year alone.
Why is this happening? Sales are still slowing. The Wall Street Journalreports it’s likely because of places like Amazon and Walmart. In fact, Sears has even made deals with Amazon to start selling some of its products there.
WORLD'S LONGEST FLIGHT
It’ll be the world’s longest commercial flight. This October, Singapore Airlines says it’ll launch the flight from Singapore to the New York area – specifically Newark, New Jersey (nonstop). The flight will take 18 hours and 45 minutes.
Read more: Reuters, The Guardian
SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE
An 8th grader from McKinney, Texas just became the top speller in the country!
He won the Scripps National Spelling Bee last night. The Washington Postcalled it “arguably the most intense competition in the bee’s 93-year history.” The winning word was “koinonia" (koy-nuh-NEE-uh).
Read more: CNN, The Washington Post
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