Monday, July 22nd, 2019
Mueller Prep, ASAP Rocky & Marvel Movies
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
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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 perusing the latest happenings...
Mueller Testifies This Week: Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller is scheduled to provide highly-anticipated testimony in public and on TV during House hearings on Wednesday. House Democrats hope to highlight specific examples of the president’s questionable behavior, with the hope of bringing more attention to possible misconduct and shift public opinion toward impeachment. Republicans hope to discredit the Mueller report, saying he had a biased team of investigators. Mueller himself is not thrilled about testifying and has made it clear that he’ll only discuss what’s already in the final report. Stay tuned.
Read more: AP, CNN, Reuters, Politico
U.K. Warns Iran: Iran seized a British-owned oil tanker on Friday, and now Britain is threatening Iran with “serious consequences.” The Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran sees about a fifth of the world’s crude oil supply passing through, and it's the same area where both the U.S. and Iran have recently said it shot down a drone flown by the other side. Britain is calling it a “hostile act,” but Iran says it’s retaliation for Britain seizing an Iranian tanker two weeks ago. Tensions continue to rise...
Read more: BBC, FOX News, Bloomberg, NYT, AP
Puerto Rico, Hong Kong Protests: Thousands of people are expected to protest today in Puerto Rico. The protest is set to happen along San Juan’s largest highway as protesters call for Governor Ricardo Rosselló to step down. Rosselló responded last night, saying he won’t resign but will not run for re-election after his term ends next year. Protesters are outraged over leaked messages between him and his staff. Also, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Hong Kong again over the weekend. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets when some vandalized government buildings, and some counter-protestors attacked people on a train with wooden sticks. Protesters fighting an extradition bill worry that Hong Kong is losing its independence from China.
Read more (Puerto Rico): CNN, NPR, AP
Read more (Hong Kong): BBC, The Guardian, Washington Post
MLB Hall of Fame: Six more Major League Baseball players have been added to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay. Halladay became the sixth player to be voted in after his death, and Rivera is the first player to ever receive a vote on 100 percent of the ballots.
Read more: CBS Sports, NYT
Orion Crew Capsule: NASA is one step closer to sending astronauts back to the moon. The Orion crew capsule is officially ready for its first test mission around the moon next summer. The capsule won’t be carrying any humans this time. The goal is to test the capsule's launch system and thermal shielding to make sure it’s ready to carry crew members as soon as 2022.
Read more: TechCrunch, Engadget
Lyft Transit Info: Lyft is adding directions and information about public transportation in its app for more cities. The ride-sharing app will soon offer directions in New York City to let users see subway stations, bus stops and docks for shared bikes. The goal is to keep users in the app rather than forcing them to switch apps for directions. Earlier this year, Lyft’s rival Uber started allowing users in Denver to buy public transit tickets with its app.
Read more: Bloomberg, Engadget, The Verge
Trump + A$AP Rocky: President Trump is showing his support for rapper A$AP Rocky, though Swedish officials say the rapper will not be getting special treatment. The two-time Grammy nominee has been in police custody in Sweden for weeks while they investigate a fight he was allegedly involved with. A growing list of celebrities have been calling for the rapper’s release. President Trump says he’ll continue talks with Sweden’s prime minister.
Read more: NBC News, CNN, TIME
The Lion King & Marvel Movies: Disney’s remake of The Lion King debuted at number one in all 52 international markets. It brought in about $185 million for its North American debut for one of the highest openings in July and the second-best debut of the year. Meanwhile, Avengers: Endgame just passed Avatar to become the biggest movie of all time, bringing in $2.8 billion worldwide. Also, Marvel Studios just unveiled the next set of superhero movies and series. The list includes Black Widow, The Eternals, Thor 4, Blade and more.
Read more (Lion King): Variety, CNBC
Read more (Avengers Endgame Record): Deadline
Read more: (Marvel Reveal): CNET, The Verge