Monday, September 23rd, 2019
Trump’s Ukraine Call, Common Cold Cure? & Game of Thrones
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
Today's episode is brought to you by Blinkist and MyWallSt
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 0:35 – Trump's Ukraine Call:
A July phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now under scrutiny. A few media outlets are citing sources who say that call is at the center of a U.S. intelligence official's complaint. The reports say Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Trump admitted that he discussed Biden and his son with Ukraine’s leader but says he didn't talk about anything inappropriate. The acting director of national intelligence and the Justice Department have blocked Congress from seeing the complaint report. Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says they may enter a “new stage of investigation" if lawmakers can't see the report by Thursday.
Read more: WSJ, Fox News, The Hill, Washington Post, NYT
LISTEN at 2:06 – Climate Summit, Climate Protests:
World leaders are headed to New York today to talk about global warming, fossil fuels and emissions at the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The UN hopes to get the world to carbon neutral by the year 2050. President Trump won’t be at the summit but will attend other UN events this week. Before today's summit, millions of people around the world have been taking their own action to raise awareness about climate change. People walked out of their schools and workplaces to join about 800 marches around the country on Friday.
Read more (Climate Summit): AP, Vox
Read more (Climate Protests): CBS News, NPR, NBC News
LISTEN at 3:26 – Imelda Update, First Day of Fall:
The Houston area is still recovering from Tropical Storm Imelda, one of the wettest tropical cyclones the U.S. has ever recorded. Five deaths are linked to the storm, hundreds of people had to be rescued, and homes and other buildings are facing millions of dollars in damage. Also in weather, temperatures in some places could see record highs by this weekend, even though today is the first day of autumn.
Read more (Imelda Update): PBS, AP, USA Today, AccuWeather
Read more (First Day of Fall): Weather Channel
LISTEN at 4:12 – Common Cold Cure?:
A new study is giving scientists hope about finding a cure to the common cold. They say they found a protein in our bodies that helps the virus spread, which could lead to finding how to stop it. It's a promising discovery, but there's still a long way to go before a cure could become a reality.
Read more: BBC, Washington Post
LISTEN at 6:05 – Antonio Brown Out, Again:
A star NFL player has now been released from two teams within two weeks. The New England Patriots cut wide receiver Antonio Brown. Two different women accused him of sexual assault, which he denies. The Oakland Raiders already released him a week earlier. The NFL is investigating. Brown tweeted that he's done with the NFL.
Read more: NBC News, ESPN
LISTEN at 6:38 – Twitter Hide Replies:
Twitter is rolling out a new feature called “hide replies.” Users can decide which replies from other people get to stay and which get hidden. The goal is to keep things civil and make users think before they comment. Critics are worried it'll also allow people to hide other opinions or even corrections to misinformation. Twitter has tested the feature in Canada and is now bringing it to the U.S.
Read more: The Verge, TechCrunch, USA Today
LISTEN at 7:12 – Tinder “Swipe Night”:
Tinder plans to match couples using an interactive show called Swipe Night. During the show, users will make decisions about how the story should unfold by swiping left or right. Choices will be added to users’ dating profile, giving matches a chance to get talking and build curiosity. Tinder will release a new episode every Sunday.
Read more: The Verge, Engadget
LISTEN at 8:05 – TiVo Commercials:
TiVo is adding in its own ads to DVR recordings. All customers, including those with lifetime subscription plans will see the commercials. The company says “advertising is an important part of every media business” and will allow customers to skip the ads once they start.
Read more: The Verge, Gizmodo
LISTEN at 8:34 – Emmys Awards, Downton Abbey Movie:
HBO’s Game of Thrones received a record 32 Emmy nominations and went home with a total of 12 wins, including Best Drama Series. HBO’s limited series Chernobyl also had a big night, winning 10 Emmys. Amazon Prime won thanks to Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This year’s show had no host.
From TV to movies: it was a big weekend at the box office for Downton Abbey. The movie based on a popular TV show was number one at the box office, bringing in $31 million. Ad Astra came in second and third place went to Rambo: Last Blood.
Read more (Emmys): Variety, CNN, Yahoo Entertainment
Read more: (Box Office): Variety, Deadline