Tuesday, September 24th, 2019
UN General Assembly, Travelers Stranded & Amazon Earbuds
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
Today's episode is brought to you by Blinkist.
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 – UN General Assembly:
President Trump is speaking before world leaders today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. They'll likely be listening for what he has to say on the trade war with China, conflict in the Middle East, and Ukraine.
Read more: NPR, Politico, Washington Post, AP, Al Jazeera
LISTEN at 2:42 – UN Climate Action Summit:
Teenage activist Greta Thunberg got most of the attention at the UN Climate Action Summit yesterday. She firmly told global leaders, “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is the money...” She and others filed a formal complaint with the UN. Thunberg has helped encourage students around the world to get involved on this issue.
Read more: CBS News, NYT, USA Today, Washington Post
LISTEN at 3:22 – Travel Company Collapse:
The world’s oldest travel company suddenly went out of business, stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers all over the world. Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy, which means current and future flights and vacations are now canceled. The U.K. is chartering planes, but it’s going to take time to get everyone home.
Read more: Vox, CNN, NBC News, Reuters
LISTEN at 4:07 – Tropical Storm Karen & Puerto Rico Quake:
Tropical Storm Karen is headed toward Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with heavy rain expected today and tomorrow. Officials are also worried about flooding. The governor of Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency for extra resources. Also of note: a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Puerto Rico late last night. It was the strongest quake to hit the island in recent years, but there are no immediate reports of serious damage.
Read more (Tropical Storm): USA Today, Weather Channel, ABC News
Read more (Earthquake): AP
LISTEN at 5:00 – Olympic Ban?:
Russia might be banned from next year’s Olympics. The World Anti-Doping Agency found “inconsistencies” in data and wants Russia to explain how several positive drug tests were deleted from a database. This could also impact other competitions like the World Cup. It isn’t the first time Russia has faced these types of allegations.
In other sports news, the New York Yankees are going to the playoffs. They’re the second team to clinch a division title this year after the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Read more (Russia Banned?): ESPN, The Guardian
Read more (Yankees): CBS Sports
LISTEN at 7:00 – Apple in U.S.:
Apple will officially continue making its Mac Pro desktop computers in America. It’s the only Apple computer made here. Apple was thinking about moving their manufacturing overseas because of tariffs, but the Trump administration granted Apple exemptions from some of those levies.
Read more: WSJ, Axios, CNN
LISTEN at 7:38 – Amazon Alexa Earbuds:
Amazon is expected to introduce Alexa-powered wireless earbuds with fitness tracking -- marking Amazon’s first official health-related device. They’re expected to be revealed at Amazon’s annual hardware event in Seattle tomorrow.
Read more: CNBC, The Verge
LISTEN at 8:08 – Google Play Pass:
Google is releasing a gaming subscription service called Play Pass. For $5 per month, users will get access to 350 games and apps, similar to Apple's new "Apple Arcade."
Read more: 9to5Mac, WSJ
LISTEN at 8:40 – Emmy Viewership:
Ratings for the 71st Emmy Awards hit an all-time low. Nearly 7 million people watched the show on Sunday night. This is the first time an Emmy audience has dipped below 10 million viewers. Some experts think Sunday Night Football is to blame. There are also many more TV-watching options, and not everyone has heard of all the shows nominated. Plus, you can check for updates and highlights on social media and other platforms.
Read more: Variety, Deadline, AP