theNewsWorthy: Thursday, August 2nd, 2018
ALL THE NEWS YOU NEED - IN ONE PLACE.
(in less than 10 minutes!)
Want more? I got you.
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...
(Scroll down to read more about our Three Question Thursday guest)
TRUMP TO SESSIONS
President Trump tweeted and told the US Attorney General to stop the Russia investigation right now, calling the investigation a “witch hunt.”
Remember: Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation awhile back, and it's part of the reason special counsel Robert Mueller took over.
Critics told The Wall Street Journal the president’s tweet could be obstruction of justice. They say it’s clear he doesn’t want anyone holding him accountable. President Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, says it’s not an order or a call to action, it’s just an opinion.
ABC News cites sources saying Trump’s tweet is stemming from negotiations with the special counsel, who apparently want to question Trump in-person. His lawyers aren’t so sure; there’s been some back-and-forth to figure out the terms of a possible interview.
Also, don't forget, this is all happening during the first trial coming out of the Russia investigation, against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, which started this week. Prosecutors accuse Manafort of committing bank fraud and tax crimes before he worked for the Trump campaign. He says, “not guilty.”
Read More: Reuters, WSJ, ABC News, DailyMail
'SKINNY' HEALTH CARE PLANS
New so-called “skinny” health care plans got the final OK this week. So what are they?
NPR reports they’re meant for people who don’t get health insurance through their jobs and want a cheaper alternative to what’s available now. FOX Business says they may be 50 to 80 percent cheaper than other plans.
But buyer beware: they also come with a lot less coverage.
Remember: health care plans under the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) require insurance companies to cover things like maternity leave and mental health services. These new plans would be exempt from those rules, and they wouldn't have to cover people with pre-existing conditions.
The new plans can go on-sale in 60 days.
Read More: NPR, FOX Business, Money
'INFOWARS' LAWSUIT
Alex Jones is the conspiracy theorist who hosts the ‘InfoWars’ website. He falsely alleged that the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a staged hoax.
Parents of two kids killed in the 2012 attack are suing him for defamation. The parents told the New York Times that they still get threats from his viewers.
Jones says he’s expressing his opinions and has the right to freedom of speech.
Get this: he’s even suing the parents back – for $100 thousand – to cover his legal fees. Facebook, YouTube and now Spotify have all recently removed his pages or content, calling it ‘bullying’ and ‘hate speech.’
Read More: New York Times, Reuters, Recode
OHIO STATE'S FOOTBALL COACH TROUBLE
Ohio State University’s head football coach just got put on paid leave.
ESPN says the university is investigating whether coach Urban Meyer knew about domestic violence claims against a now-fired assistant coach. Meyer’s lawyer says they’ll be open and honest about it, but he’s not going to discuss it with the media.
Read More: CNN, ESPN
'PARTS UNKNOWN' TO RETURN
The final season of Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain will air this fall on CNN. Anthony Bourdain was a beloved chef, author and TV host who died in June.
The LA Times reports CNN will go forward with the last seven episodes of the show. The network has enough material for one full episode, which will actually have Bourdain’s voice and narration. After that, they’ll use archived video along with memories and interviews from crew members as a sort-of tribute.
Read More: LA Times, Variety
LETTUCE RECALL
You may not want to eat some salads and wraps sold at Trader Joes, Kroger’s and Walgreens.
USA Today reports there’s a new warning that prepared foods from these stores could be contaminated with Cyclospora. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Cyclospora is the same thing that caused McDonalds to temporarily stop selling salads in some states.
Reports say both involved the same lettuce supplier – Fresh Express.
You can read the full list of recalled foods here.
Read More: USA Today, Business Insider, Recalled Foods List
SALARIES RISING
Job salaries are going up, and they’re rising faster than they have in nearly a decade.
The Wall Street Journal says wage growth is now almost back to what it was before the 2008 stock market crash. The higher salaries go hand in hand with a lower unemployment rate, which means employers are competing for the best workers and upping the compensation to entice them.
Read More: Wall Street Journal
TESLA EARNINGS, VIDEO GAMES
Tesla is making waves with their latest car plans and earnings reports.
First CEO Elon Musk says they’re hiring video game developers and are planning to create games that will come with Tesla cars – details TBD.
Second, Tesla’s latest earnings reports are out; they’re not good, but they’re not as bad as they could be, either. The company still faced big losses, but went through less cash than expected.
Also, The Verge says Tesla is finally bringing in some money on their Model 3. Musk has even promised a profit later this year. We'll see...
Read More: Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, The Verge
SOCIAL MEDIA TIME-TRACKING
A new feature is coming to both Facebook and Instagram, and it will tell you exactly how much time you’ve spent on both apps.
Do you even want to know?
Facebook says they’ve worked with mental health experts and others to come up with the feature. It’ll tell you how long you’ve spent in the apps each day and send you notifications if you go over your set time limit (but it won't actually kick you off the app).
The company says it wants it to encourage people to take part in healthy engagement online and avoid the passive, endless scrolling.
It’s starting to roll out in the US now. TechCrunch says it’ll be under ‘settings,’ then ‘your activity.’
Read More: TechCrunch, Forbes, WIRED, Facebook
THREE QUESTION THURSDAY:
3-d printed guns
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