Thursday, August 11th, 2022
Trump Takes the 5th, Inflation Slowdown & Real Field of Dreams
All the news you need in about 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 to peruse the latest happenings.
Trump Takes the 5th in NY Deposition
Former President Trump spent hours being questioned by New York’s attorney general and her team as part of an ongoing investigation into his business dealings. However, the AG didn’t learn much since Trump reportedly invoked his 5th amendment right not to answer questions more than 400 times. The attorney general has been looking into whether former President Trump and his company overvalued Trump properties to get the best bank loans, then undervalued properties when reporting taxes to the IRS. Trump and his companies have said they did nothing wrong.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, WaPo, Politico
John Bolton Assassination Plot
The U.S. government uncovered a plot to assassinate at least two members of former President Trump’s administration. The Justice Department charged an Iranian national with trying to kill former national security adviser John Bolton and another high-ranking official. Investigators say he offered to pay someone for their murders. A few news outlets cite sources who say former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the second target. The DOJ says the plans were probably made in retaliation for an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian military leader. For now, the man accused of plotting the assassinations is still at large.
Read More: DOJ, NPR, Axios, WSJ, NY Times
Ukraine Attacks Russian Airbase
The conflict in Ukraine seems to be escalating again. The Ukrainian military confirmed it attacked a Russian airbase in Crimea, an area that’s been under Russian control since 2014. Satellite photos show at least seven Russian fighter planes have been blown up, and others have been damaged. That’s a big turnaround since, for the most part, Ukraine has been focused on pushing Russian troops back from Ukrainian territory, not launching new attacks on Russians.
Read More: AP, NY Times, WaPo, BBC
Nuclear Plant Worries
Many other parts of Ukraine are also coming under fire. Leaders around the world have been especially worried about fighting around a Ukrainian nuclear plant. Russia has reportedly started using the plant as an army base. Top diplomats say Russia’s strategy is to keep launching attacks from there since Ukraine might be too hesitant to strike back out of fear of hitting the plant and causing a nuclear disaster. The United Nations Security Council is meeting today to talk about the situation.
Read More: IAEA, BBC, France24, Reuters
FB Chat Leads to Abortion Charges
Facebook recently gave police in Nebraska private chat messages between a mother and her 17-year-old daughter. The two allegedly talked about getting abortion pills, taking them, and getting rid of the fetus. Because of those messages and other evidence, authorities charged them both with felonies. Prosecutors say the daughter had a miscarriage shortly after she took the pills when she was about 23 weeks pregnant, and they both buried the evidence. In Nebraska, abortion is illegal starting 20 weeks into a pregnancy. So mother and daughter were charged with performing the abortion, concealing the evidence, and providing false information.
Read More: Meta, Court Documents, CBS News, Fox Business, NBC News, The Verge
Flu Season Forecast
The U.S. could be in for a rough flu season this year. Epidemiologists with the CDC have been looking to the southern hemisphere for signs of what’s to come. Australia has been dealing with its worst flu season in five years. Cases started circulating earlier than usual there, and Australian kids are being hit the hardest. Experts say this could be a sign the same things are coming our way. They also say Americans might be more vulnerable because the last two flu seasons were mild. People don’t have much built-up immunity. The CDC recommends most people get flu shots in September or October.
Read More: CDC, USA Today, CBS News, NBC News, WBRC
Inflation Cools Slightly
New numbers suggest the pace of price increases is slowing. The U.S. Labor Department says the consumer price index was lower last month than economists predicted. The CPI rose 8.5% in July as compared to the same time last year. That’s down from 9.1% in June. Economists say inflation cooled mostly because gas prices dropped. However, they say inflation is still abnormally high. The costs of food and rent continue to climb.
Read More: BLS, CNBC, WSJ, Fox Business, ABC News, NY Times
Samsung Unpacked
The world’s largest smartphone maker held its biggest launch event this week, unveiling a handful of new products. There are two new foldable smartphones. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 becomes the size of a small tablet when opened. It has an improved camera and brighter screen than the version before it. It costs 1,800. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is more compact. It opens like a traditional flip phone, charges quickly, and has an enhanced cover screen. That one starts at about $1,000. Samsung also announced upgraded smartwatches and Bluetooth earbuds. All the products are available for pre-order now.
Read More: Samsung, CNET, The Verge, WSJ, CNN
Disney+ Price Changes
Disney+ is about to cost more unless you want a version with ads. Right now, the ad-free streaming service is $7.99 a month. However, Disney is bumping the ad-free version to $10.99 a month starting in December. At the same time, it will be offering an option with ads for the original price of $7.99. Disney is also raising the price of Hulu and most of its Disney bundle subscriptions starting in October. A price hike for ESPN+ will start later this month. Disney says it added more than 14 million subscribers last quarter, more than expected.
Read More: Walt Disney Co, TechCrunch, The Verge, Deadline, Axios, CNBC
MLB at Field of Dreams Game
The stage is set for a special, nostalgic MLB game at the famous Field of Dreams. The game is based on the iconic 80s movie that starred Kevin Costner. Tonight, baseball fans will get a real-life tribute when two rivals play in an actual MLB regular-season game in the same town where the movie took place. The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds will walk through a cornfield to get to the ballpark. The teams will wear throwback uniforms, and the score will be kept on a manual scoreboard.
Read More: MLB, CBS Sports, Fox News, Des Moines Register
Sturgeon Moon Thursday Night
The final supermoon of the year will peak tonight. Supermoons appear about 7% bigger and 15% brighter than a typical full moon, and they happen when the moon is closer to the Earth. NASA says the best time to see it tonight will be around 9:30 ET. That’s not the only show to see in the night sky this week. NASA says the Perseid meteor shower will peak between Friday and Saturday. Usually, you can see up to 60 meteors an hour with the Perseids, but this year, because of the light from the supermoon, NASA says you’ll probably only see 10-20 an hour.
Read More: NASA, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, USA Today
Thing to Know Thursday: CO2 Shortages Impact Beer
Concerns are brewing about a shortage of a key ingredient in beer: carbon dioxide. CO2 helps create bubbles, and it’s important for other aspects of the beer-making process. Without it, beer is in jeopardy. CO2 shortages began in 2020 because of the pandemic, but they’re worse this summer. There are supply chain issues, high demand for products that use CO2, and more. All of this increases the cost of making beer, too. Industry experts hope the problem will get better within a few months.
Read More: WaPo, NY Post, NBC News, Fox Weather