Monday, June 14th, 2021
DOJ Data Seizure, Netanyahu Out & $28B Space Ride
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.com/newsworthy and Ritual.com/newsworthy
Story Summaries
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 to review the latest happenings...
Government Data Seizing Investigation
Apple says in 2018, the Justice Department demanded data on more than 100 phone numbers and email addresses. Reports say those numbers and emails belonged to certain House Democrats, their staff and family members, and at least one member of Trump’s team. Apple says it normally would have told people it had to turn over their data when it happened, but they legally couldn’t because of a gag order, which just expired. The DOJ at the time was trying to figure out who was behind news stories about ties between Trump associates and Russia. In the end, none of the data proved who was behind those leaks. The DOJ’s Inspector General is now going to investigate.
Read More: NY Times, BBC, CNN, WSJ, AP
NATO Meeting Today
The NATO summit begins today in Brussels, Belgium. There, President Biden and his 29 other NATO allies have quite a bit to discuss. They are expected to talk about the ongoing withdrawal from Afghanistan, climate change, new technologies, and more. Already, it’s been a busy first overseas trip for President Biden. Yesterday, he met with the UK’s Queen Elizabeth. That makes Biden the 13th American president to meet with the queen since she took the throne 69 years ago.
Read More: Axios, Politico, Reuters, NATO
G7 Wraps Up
The G7 wealthy democracies reached several agreements already. For example, on climate change, they promised to commit $100 billion a year to help poorer countries cut emissions. On the economy, leaders endorsed an American plan for a minimum global corporate tax rate of 15%. On China, they demanded freedoms for Hong Kong and a full investigation into the origins of COVID-19. They also agreed to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries over the next year. These are just a few of the key promises. However, reports say there are still questions about how the proposals will translate into real-world action.
Read More: AP, NY Times, USA Today, Reuters, LA Times
Netanyahu Officially Ousted
Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year run as Israeli prime minister came to an end. New Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was sworn in. Earlier this month, Netanyahu’s Israeli opponents from the left to the far-right reached a deal to form a new government. Netanyahu called it a “weak and dangerous” government, but the Israeli parliament approved it. President Biden called the new Prime Minister to congratulate him, promising to work closely with the Israeli government to “advance peace, security, and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians.”
Read More: Reuters, CNN, WSJ, Fox News, White House
Weekend Mass Shootings
Manhunts are underway around the U.S. after three mass shootings in just six hours. First, nine people were shot on Friday night in Savannah, Georgia, and one man was killed. So far, police don’t have any suspects or details about what happened. Then, early Saturday morning, two gunmen opened fire on a crowded Austin street. One person was killed and 13 were hurt. So far, one shooter has been arrested and the other is still on the run. Less than an hour later in Chicago, two men opened fire on a group of people in the city’s southside. One woman was killed and nine others were hurt. Police still searching for suspects there too.
Read More: ABC News, CNN, Fox News, USA Today
Western Heat Wave
Dangerous heat moved in over the Rockies this past weekend and as the week goes on, more people will be impacted. Temperatures are expected to be anywhere from 15 to 25 degrees above normal for this time of year in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. At least 10 states could experience these scorching conditions with temperatures in the triple digits. The most extreme heat is on tap for places like Phoenix, Arizona, and Palm Springs, California, where temperatures could reach as high as 120 degrees.
Read More: Weather Channel, Accuweather, CNN, NWS
Volkswagen Vendor Data Breach
Volkswagen and Volkswagen-owned Audi were hit by a data breach. Information was stolen from more than three million customers and prospective buyers including phone numbers and email addresses collected from 2014 to 2019. VW says the hackers may have also gotten birthdays, social security numbers, and driver’s license numbers from customers who applied for loans. Now, the company says it is reaching out to people affected and it’s offering free credit protection. It’s not clear yet who was behind the attack or what they plan to do with the information.
Read More: TechCrunch, Reuters, CNET, VW
$28M for Seat on Blue Origin Flight
Pledging $28 billion, a mystery bidder won an auction to fly on a reusable rocket made by Blue Origin. Nearly 7,600 people from 159 countries registered to bid on the flight, but only one person won it. We don’t know who this person is yet, but Blue Origin says it will reveal their name in the next couple of weeks. The $28 million will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation “Club for the Future,” an organization meant to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM. The flight is scheduled for next month.
Read More: WaPo, The Verge, NPR, CNBC, Blue Origin
Weekend Box Office
A Quiet Place Part II became the first movie to earn more than $100 million in American ticket sales since the start of the pandemic. The Hollywood thriller premiered only in theaters on Memorial Day weekend. It is still only in theaters, though it will be available on Paramount+ later this summer. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated musical In the Heights debuted this weekend in both theaters and on HBO Max. It brought in much smaller audiences than critics predicted, only earning about $11 million at the box offices, which was about half of what was expected.
Read More: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Reuters, AP
French Open Winners
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovich won his second French Open yesterday. With this win, Djokovich set a new tennis record by becoming the first man to win every Grand Slam title at least twice in the Open Era. On the women’s side, Czech player Barbora Krejcikova claimed two titles at the French Open. On Saturday, she became the singles champion after winning in three sets. On Sunday, she and her partner swept their opponents to take the doubles title. The next big tennis tournament is Wimbledon, set to begin two weeks from today.
Read More: NBC News, AP, The Guardian, Roland-Garros, ATP Tour
Money Monday: Vinyl Record Sales Surge
The Record Industry Association of America says record sales grew nearly 30% last year. This marked the first time since 1986 that shoppers spent more money on records than on CDs. Hundreds of new record stores have opened in recent years with about 1,400 record stores existing nationwide. Shoppers spend more than $1 billion on vinyl records and CDs each year. While this pales in comparison to streaming, which sees sales of more than $10 billion a year, it shows vinyl records have a large fan base and aren’t going away any time soon.
Read More: AP, RIAA