Friday, September 20th, 2019
Texas Flooding, Area 51 Event & Emmy Awards
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
Today's episode is brought to you by www.Zola.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 perusing the latest happenings...
LISTEN at 0:31 – Texas Flooding:
Parts of Texas and Louisiana saw major flooding after Tropical Storm Imelda dumped three feet of rain on the area. At least two people have died, and more than 1,000 water rescue calls came into 911. Hundreds of flights in and out of Houston have been canceled and the state’s governor has declared a state of emergency in 13 counties. The same area was hit by Hurricane Harvey two years ago. Even as Imelda dissipates, the flooding could be a problem throughout the weekend.
Read more: AccuWeather, Weather Channel, ABC News, AP, USA Today
LISTEN at 1:15 – Whistleblower Complaint Update:
There’s an update about the so-called “urgent” complaint that a whistleblower filed about President Trump. Reports say the complaint alleged Trump made a concerning promise to a foreign leader, and it may have had something to do with Ukraine. Trump is calling it fake news. Some Democratic lawmakers are demanding to know more, but so far, they haven't been let in on the details.
Read more: TIME, Washington Post, NYT, NBC News, NPR
LISTEN at 2:18 – Trump Sues Over Tax Returns:
President Trump has filed another lawsuit to prevent people from seeing his tax returns. The latest suit is against the Manhattan district attorney in New York, who has subpoenaed Trump’s accounting firm for eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns for use in a criminal investigation. Trump’s lawyers call the subpoena “unconstitutional,” and the DA plans to respond in court.
Read more: FOX News, Reuters, The Hill
LISTEN at 2:57 – Trudeau Brownface:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is apologizing for three pictures of him wearing blackface and brownface. He was apparently in his teens and 20s at the time. Trudeau says he should have known better, and reactions from Trudeau’s own political party are mixed. His opponent in the race for prime minister says it shows Trudeau is "unfit" to lead the country. The Canadian federal election is October 21st.
Read more: NPR, NYT, CBS News, TIME
LISTEN at 3:40 – Amazon & Climate Change:
More than 1,000 Amazon workers say they’ll walk off the job today because their employer isn’t doing enough to protect the planet, but Amazon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled a new plan for zero emissions by 2030. The employee protest is part of a week-long global climate strike, which some Google and Microsoft employees also plan to participate in.
Read more (Climate Strike): CNN, CNET
Read more (Amazon): CNBC, BBC, The Verge
LISTEN at 5:38 – Apple Update is Here:
Anyone with an iPhone 6S or later can now download the udpated software, iOS 13. It features a new dark mode, a swipe-to-type feature and an update to FaceTime. There are also some updates to the camera, picture editing, maps and Siri. The new iPhone 11 and 11 Pro hit stores today, and gaming service Apple Arcade is also now available.
Read more: TechRadar, Gizmodo, CNN
LISTEN at 6:32 – Walgreens Drone Delivery:
Walgreens will test on-demand drone delivery in partnership with 'Wing,' which is part of Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Together, Walgreens will deliver food, medications and other items using the Wing app and drones with tethered packages. Test deliveries should start next month in Virginia. Wing hasn’t said when deliveries might be available nationwide. FedEx is also running a similar trial with Wing.
Read more: CNBC, TechCrunch
LISTEN at 7:17 – Lyft Bike Lanes:
Lyft wants bike riders to feel safer, so it'll offer a new bike lane feature to highlight protected bike lanes and bike-friendly routes. Bike lanes will show up as a solid or dotted green line on the map. So far, it’s only in places where Lyft offers its bike and scooter sharing services. The feature is on iPhones now and is coming to Android soon.
Read more: Engadget, The Verge
LISTEN at 7:45 – "Joke" Area 51 Event:
What started as a joke Facebook event to raid Area 51 could bring thousands of people to Nevada this weekend. Police said they have no clue if people are actually coming, but they are ready for whatever happens. Officials have told people not to come, but if they do attempt to cross the boundary of Area 51, they’ll face a $1,000 fine.
Read more: The Hill, USA Today
LISTEN at 8:22 – Emmys:
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards are this Sunday. Game of Thrones earned a record 32 nominations this year. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Veep, This Is Us and others are also up for awards. There’s no host this year. The Emmys are at 8 p.m. EDT Sunday on FOX.
Read more: TIME, LA Times, USA Today