Landmark Opioid Ruling, Tropical Storm Dorian & New Pumpkin Spice Drink

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...

Landmark Opioid Ruling: An Oklahoma judge ruled against Johnson & Johnson -- saying the drugmaker helped create the state’s opioid crisis. The judge says the state proved that the company used “misleading marketing and promotion tactics” that led to more addiction, overdose deaths and babies exposed to opioids. It's the first court ruling to hold a pharmaceutical company responsible. J&J plans to appeal. There are 2000+ pending similar lawsuits against drug manufacturers, retailers and other companies in various cities and states across the U.S.
Read more: CNBC, NPR, NYT

Final G7 Roundup: World leaders wrapped up the G7 summit meetings in France yesterday. President Trump announced that China wants to make a deal and Chinese officials have reached out to re-start trade talks, though China hasn’t confirmed. Another deal with Iran’s president could be in the works. President Trump said he's open to talks, but it's not clear if it'll really happen. Finally, the G7 countries pledged $20 million to help fight fires in the Amazon rainforest. Though it’s not a lot of money, French President Emmanuel Macron says he hopes it will at least draw attention to the fires. The leaders discussed that and other climate issues at a planned meeting yesterday, but Trump was a no-show. He sent a top aide instead.
Read more (China Trade): NBC News, Reuters
Read more (Iran Meeting?): NYT, Axios, CNN
Read more (Climate Meeting): AP, The Guardian, CBS News

Storm Dorian: Tropical Storm Dorian might become a Category 1 hurricane as soon as today. Puerto Rico’s governor is telling people to get ready because the storm could hit there by tomorrow night. For now, the system went by Barbados and is expected to hit St. Lucia early this morning. South Florida should also be on the lookout since forecasters say there’s a chance Dorian will bring storms there by the weekend.
Read more: CNN, AP, CBS News, Reuters

Serena vs. Sharapova: Serena Williams beat five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova in the first round of this year’s U.S. Open. Williams has now beat Sharapova in 19 straight matches. Williams is hoping to win a record-tying 24th grand slam title this year. Her sister Venus Williams is also in the tournament and won yesterday as well.
Read more: ESPN, CNN, GMA

IG Messaging App: A new Instagram messaging app is in the works. 'Threads' could apparently be a companion to the main Instagram app, which is owned by Facebook. It’s being tested now. Threads invites users to automatically share their location and battery life with their close list of friends on IG, along with allowing text, photo and video messaging. No word yet on if/when it might roll out to the public.
Read more: 9to5Mac, The Verge

KFC Plant-Based Chicken: KFC is the latest fast food chain to start offering plant-based meatless “meat.” The chain is working with Beyond Meat to test so-called fried chicken. For now, it will only be available in Atlanta. If customers like it, KFC may test it at other locations or launch it across the country. Important note: the meatless chicken will be fried in the same fryers as regular chicken.
Read more: Business Insider, CNBC

New Pumpkin Spice Drink: It’s that time of year when pumpkin spice flavor will be everywhere! Today, Starbucks will have a new option: 'Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.' It’s the company’s first new pumpkin drink in 16 years, joining the fan favorite 'Pumpkin Spice Latte.' Others like Dunkin’, Peets, 7-Eleven, and Dairy Queen also have pumpkin spice items either available now or coming soon.
Read more: People, TIME, USA Today

First Ladies & Eddie Murphy: Actress Viola Davis will play former First Lady Michelle Obama in the new series First Ladies. The Showtime series will focus on their personal and political lives throughout history. Season one will feature Michelle Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt and Betty Ford, but there’s no release date yet. In other entertainment news, Eddie Murphy is returning to Saturday Night Live for the first time in 35 years as a host this December. He hasn’t been on SNL since 1984 when he left to pursue his movie career.
Read more (First Ladies): Deadline, Variety
Read more (Eddie Murphy): Entertainment Weekly

MTV VMAs: Taylor Swift won for best video and more at the VMAs last night. She used her moment on stage to talk politics with support for the Equality Act, which would help protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Singer Lizzo Champions performed and ended with a message about self-confidence, and rapper Missy Elliott became the first female rapper to get the Video Vanguard award. Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco hosted the awards. See more highlights here.
Read more: THR, The Hill