Tuesday, June 21st, 2022
4th Public Hearing, Gas Prices Dip & Summer Solstice
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Indeed.com/newsworthy and Rothys.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 read the latest happenings...
4th Jan 6th Hearing
Today, the lawmakers investigating the Capitol riot say they’ll explain how former President Trump tried to pressure state officials to change the outcome of the 2020 election. They say they have evidence Trump was personally involved in the scheme. Today’s witnesses include Arizona’s Republican House speaker and Georgia’s secretary of state. Former President Trump is still saying he won the 2020 election and attacking the January 6th committee. Over the weekend, he called committee members “liars and con artists” and accused them of doctoring videos and depositions. Though, he didn’t offer any evidence.
Read More: CBS News, AP, NY Times, Newsweek
Primaries in Virginia and DC
Millions of Americans are headed back to the polls today for primaries and runoffs. The top-watched primaries are in Virginia. Voters will pick Republican nominees to take on Democrats trying to stay in the U.S. House. Washington, D.C. also has primaries today. Voters will decide whether or not to keep their mayor in office. On top of those, voters will return to the polls in Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia a month after their primaries. A few races were close, so they’re headed to runoffs. Voters will choose their nominees for the U.S. House and Senate.
Read More: WaPo, USA Today, WUSA, AP
Washington, DC Concert Shooting
Authorities are investigating another mass shooting. This one happened during a free street festival in Washington, D.C. that was celebrating Juneteenth. A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed. Three other people, including a police officer, were also shot, but they’re recovering in the hospital. At last check, police hadn’t arrested anyone for the shooting, and it’s still not clear what led to the gunfire.
Read More: ABC News, WaPo, NY Times, CBS News, DC Police, GVA
Setbacks for Ukraine
Ukraine is facing more setbacks as it keeps working to fight against a Russian invasion. Officials say Russia has been escalating its attacks over the last couple of days and capturing new territory. This all comes ahead of the European Union summit happening later this week. Ukraine has been trying to become a member of the EU, something Russia is adamantly against. With that, Ukraine’s president has been warning Russia might get more violent in the days leading up to the summit. Now, it seems that’s what’s happening. Ukrainians are asking for a lot more international aid.
Read More: Reuters, AP, CNN, USA Today, WaPo
Nobel Peace Prize Auction for Ukraine
A Russian journalist put his Nobel Peace Prize on the auction block, hoping to sell it to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees. That auction ended up bringing in $103.5 million, shattering a record. Before this, the most ever paid for a Nobel prize medal was $4.8 million. The Russian journalist behind the most recent sale worked for an independent newspaper that was critical of the war in Ukraine. All the proceeds have already gone directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help kids displaced by the war. The journalist has also donated $500,000 in cash to charity.
Read More: AP, Reuters, Forbes, Fox Business
Gas Prices Dip
Gas prices in the U.S. dipped a little bit for the first time in a while. It was the first weekly drop in more than two months. AAA says it sent the national average for a gallon of gas just below $5. Some analysts say prices could drop a bit more in the coming weeks, but many say it won’t last. The summer travel season will bring more demand, and prices will likely go back up.
Read More: Axios, CBS News, NPR, AP, AAA
Cuban Pharmacy Could Save Medicare Billions
Medicare’s prescription drug program could save billions of dollars every year if it used a new pharmacy backed by tech entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban. That’s based on a new analysis. Researchers compared what the government program has paid for certain prescriptions in the past to the cost of the same meds now available from the Cuban-backed online pharmacy Cost Plus Drug. The study found Medicare paid more for dozens of generic prescription drugs than Cost Plus charges consumers, and it could have saved up to $3.6 billion over one year.
Read More: Stat, NBC News, WSJ, ACP Journals
Freshpet Dog Food Recall
Pet owners might want to check their bags of dog food. Freshpet is recalling certain bags sold in a dozen states because they could be contaminated with salmonella. They went out to more than 100 Walmart stores in Alabama and Georgia. Plus, they made it to some Target stores and other retailers in ten other states. The food being recalled is Freshpet Select Fresh From The Kitchen Home cooked Chicken Recipe with a sell-by date of October 29, 2022. If you have one of the affected bags, you can request a refund on the Freshpet website.
Read More: Fox Business, CBS News, FDA
Check Your Product/Request a Refund: Freshpet
SpaceX Rocket Launches
Space made history once again. It accomplished three launches in just 36 hours. That was the fastest sequence of three missions by any commercial launch company in history. The first brought 53 Starlink satellites to space. The second launched a radar satellite for the German military. The third launched a satellite for the American company Globalstar that works in voice and data services. So far this year, SpaceX has completed 26 launches. An additional 50 launches are expected by the end of the year.
Read More: Mashable, CBS News, Fox Business, Space.Com, Elon Musk
Summer Solstice
Today marks the first day of summer and the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. As of very early this morning, it’s the annual summer solstice. That’s the moment when the Earth’s tilt brings the north pole closest to the sun, so the northernmost parts of the Arctic get 24 hours of daylight. Parts of the Antarctic will be in the darkness for nearly the full day. Today, the continental U.S. will get 14 to 16 hours of daylight. Starting tomorrow, the days will start to shorten until the winter solstice in December. That’s when we’ll get the longest period of darkness.
Read More: WSJ, WaPo, The Guardian, Forbes
Trivia Tuesday
How long do elephant pregnancies last?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia
Q: How many stripes are on the American flag?
A: 13
Read More: PBS, NFF, SI, Kiddle, AARP