Monday, July 25th, 2022
Bannon Guilty, New Global Emergency & Ticket Prices Uproar
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Indeed.com/newsworthy and Zocdoc.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...
Wildfires Spreading
Several wildfires have been raging across the U.S. the last few days. One of them is the largest fire California has seen so far this season. It’s called the Oak Fire, and it’s burning near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County. It has burned through nearly 25 square miles of rural land, and more than 6,000 people have had to evacuate. Meanwhile, the so-called Moose Fire is burning out of control on the eastern side of Idaho. It has scorched nearly 51 square miles. Sadly, two pilots who were contracted to help fight that fire died in a helicopter crash.
Read More: Cal Fire, InciWeb, SF Chronicle, LA Times, USA Today, AP, NBC News
U.S. Heatwave Latest
Intense heat is still going strong in the United States. The federal agency NOAA says this heatwave has set or tied nearly 400 daily high-temperature records over the last week, and thousands of records have been broken over the last month. Today, the Great Lakes and Northeast are expected to cool down. However, places in the south-central U.S. like Texas and Oklahoma can still expect dangerously high temperatures. A new heatwave is also starting in the Pacific Northwest.
Read More: NWS, Axios, NPR, WSJ, CNN, AP
Bannon Guilty of Contempt
It looks like another one of former President Trump’s longtime allies is headed to prison. A federal jury found Steve Bannon guilty in his contempt of Congress trial because he refused to cooperate with the January 6th committee. Bannon now faces a minimum of 60 days in prison, but it could be up to two years. That could make him the first person in half a century to be jailed for contempt of Congress, but his lawyers have promised to appeal. Another one of former President Trump’s aides, Peter Navarro, has also been charged with contempt. His trial is scheduled for November.
Read More: Politico, WaPo, WSJ, NY Times
Ukraine Grain Deal/Attacks
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered its 6th month. So far, the United Nations says at least 12 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, and thousands of people have been killed. Still, the fighting continues. Over the weekend, there were battles in the south, north, and east. Russian missile strikes also hit one of the country’s most important ports. That came less than 24 hours after Russians and Ukrainians signed a deal to allow millions of tons of grain to go through the Black Sea by way of ports like that. Now, that deal could be in jeopardy.
Read More: Reuters, NY Times, CNN, Fox News, AP
U.S. May Send Fighter Jets
Ukraine might be getting a lot more help from the U.S. The Pentagon says it’s thinking about giving Ukrainians fighter jets. That would be a big turnaround since, in the past, American officials said offering up aircraft would risk angering Russia, which could lead to a more direct confrontation. Either way, the jets probably won’t be sent anytime soon. Pentagon officials say there are still some logistics to work out, like training and maintenance. So far, the U.S. has sent Ukraine $8.2 billion in assistance.
Read More: Defense Dept, WSJ, Reuters, Newsweek, Forbes
Monkeypox Declared Health Emergency
The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a global emergency. That’s the WHO’s highest level of alert and could stimulate more spending on monkeypox treatments and vaccines. The CDC says more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries since May, including the United States. For now, the CDC says the risk of getting monkeypox is still low. It’s mostly been spreading among men who have sex with other men. However, anyone who comes in close contact with someone with monkeypox can get it.
Read More: WHO, Stat, AP, Reuters, Fox News, NPR
World’s Worst Airport for Delays
It seems there is one airport that’s been the worst when it comes to flight delays this summer: Toronto Pearson International Airport. More than half of the scheduled flights between May 26th and July 19th were delayed. That’s according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware and the data put together for CNN. Only one U.S airport made the top ten on the global delays list. That was Orlando International Airport in Florida. Europe had seven airports make the list.
Read More: CNN, WSJ, Toronto Sun, Fortune
SpaceX Broke Annual Launch Record
SpaceX broke its own record for the number of rockets launched within one calendar year. Friday marked the 32nd launch of 2022 using its Falcon 9 rocket, topping last year’s 31 missions, even though this year is only halfway over. SpaceX works with NASA and others, but the majority of the company’s launches this year have been to send up its Starlink satellites as part of a plan to build out satellite internet service.
Read More: SpaceX, Space.Com, The Verge, Reuters
T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement
If you were a T-Mobile customer in August of last year, you might have a payment coming your way. The company agreed to a settlement in a class action lawsuit over last year’s data breach. The agreement says $350 million will go to settle customers’ claims. Another $150 million will go to upgrade the company’s data security and technologies over the next few years. The cyberattack last year impacted nearly 77 million Americans. Customer data were put up for sale on various criminal forums. If you were impacted, you will be notified, but it’s not yet clear how much each person will get.
Read More: SEC, NY Times, Fox Business, TechCrunch, Engadget
WWE’s Vince McMahon Retires
The king of American wrestling is stepping down. Vince McMahon is retiring as World Wrestling Entertainment chairman and CEO. The 76-year-old has let the WWE for decades. He has been a fixture in professional wrestling since he bought WWE from his father in the 1980s. However, McMahon took a step back after recent reports of sexual misconduct and hush money payments. He reportedly paid more than $12 million to four women over the past 16 years to cover up claims of sexual misconduct and infidelity. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, and the company’s president, Nick Khan, will take over as co-CEOs.
Read More: WWE, ESPN, CNBC, WSJ, Reuters
National Baseball HOF Induction
Seven legends were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame last night. The most recognizable one on the list is David Ortiz. He’s known as one of the greatest designated hitters to ever play the game. Ortiz played 20 seasons with the MLB. 14 of those were with the Boston Red Sox. The other six were with the Minnesota Twins. Other baseball greats honored included trailblazers like Bud Fowler, Buck O’Neil, and Minnie Miñoso.
Read More: MLB, USA Today, Fox News, AP
Money Monday: Outrage over Springsteen Ticket Prices
Bruce Springsteen fans are dealing with some sticker shock. Tickets for Springsteen’s first handful of 2023 shows went on sale last week. Almost instantly, Ticketmaster was selling its best tickets for as much as $5,000. It’s because of Ticketmaster’s new Dynamic Pricing system that adjusts prices based on demand. However, it’s not going over well. Fans have been venting their anger on social media. Ticketmaster says it’s trying to prevent the best seats from being bought and resold by scalpers. The company also clarified that most tickets don’t cost more than $1,000. For this tour, the average price is about $200 a ticket.
Read More: Ticketmaster, Rep. Pascrell, Billboard, APP, Variety, NJ.Com, NY Post