Thursday, September 26th, 2019
Call Record Released, “Apply Thru” & Gender-Neutral Dolls
(+ Impeachment Process Breakdown)
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...
LISTEN at 0:42 – Call Record Released:
The White House released a rough transcript of President Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president in July. We're breaking down what it showed in today's episode. Also, the whistleblower's complaint was released to lawmakers yesterday (but not the public). Today, expect the acting director of national intelligence to testify. He's the one that originally blocked the complaint from being released to lawmakers.
Read more: AP, NPR, ABC News, NYT, WSJ, Fox News, Washington Post
LISTEN at 2:35 – Netanyahu's Second Chance:
Israel’s prime minister is getting a second try at forming a government. Benjamin Netanyahu failed to do so after elections in April, and a second election was held last week. He has six weeks to form a coalition before the opportunity is passed to someone else.
Read more: NBC News, BBC, Jerusalem Post
LISTEN at 3:03 – Climate Change Report:
A new report from the United Nations says oceans are getting warmer, the world’s ice and snow are melting, and sea levels are rising. The report says, if we continue at this pace, sea levels could rise three feet by the end of the century -- impacting islands, plants, animals, food, people and our economy. Lowering emissions could prevent the change.
Read more: CBS News, CNN, USA Today, AP
LISTEN at 3:40 – Juul Changes:
Juul CEO Kevin Burns stepped down as the company faces federal investigations and the possibility of a federal ban on many of its products. Juul is also pulling advertising across platforms.
Read more: NPR, CNN, NYT
LISTEN at 4:22 – FTC Sues Match:
The federal government is suing Match Group, which owns the dating site, Match.com. It’s free to make a dating profile, but users have to pay for a subscription to see messages from potential matches, so Match is accused of notifying non-paying users about messages from fake accounts to get them to subscribe. Match Group says it’s not true and it'll fight in court, if necessary.
Read more: WSJ, The Verge, USA Today
LISTEN at 6:32 – Gender-Neutral Dolls:
Mattel, the company best known for Barbie, just revealed its first gender-neutral doll. The company released six dolls with different skin tones, hair, and clothes which can be accessorized to be a boy, girl, neither or both. The new Creatable World line is meant to allow kids to express themselves free of cultural norms and labels.
Read more: NPR, TIME, CBS News
LISTEN at 6:57 – Facebook VR Tech:
Facebook is upgrading its high-tech Oculus VR headset. The Oculus Quest headset will be able to sense your hands instead of using a controller. The company is also testing out a new virtual reality world called Horizon, which will allow users to create avatars to play games, explore and hang out with friends in the virtual reality world. It’s expected to come out next year.
Read more: CNET, TechCrunch, CNBC
LISTEN at 7:24 – Amazon Hardware Event:
Amazon announced a bunch of new Alexa-enabled gadgets at its annual hardware event. New Echo Buds, "Sidewalk" wireless technology, a smart oven, Alexa-friendly glasses, a smart lamp and an indoor Ring camera are among the devices announced.
Read more: The Verge, CNBC, TechCrunch
LISTEN at 8:22 – High-Tech Job Application:
People who want to work for McDonalds can now ask Alexa or Google for help applying. The voice assistants will ask for their name, location, what job they want and other information before providing a link to finish the application online.
Read more: Axios, Engadget
LISTEN at 9:10 – Impossible Burger in Stores:
Impossible Burger is now available at all 100 Wegman’s grocery stores on the East Coast. Impossible Burger, which makes plant-based "burgers," made its grocery store debut in southern California last week. The company hopes to expand to every region in the U.S. by the middle of next year.
Read more: Engadget, CNET
Thing To Know Thursday
Impeachment Process
Today’s guest: Laurie Levenson
Professor Levenson is the David W. Burcham Chair in Ethical Advocacy at Loyola Law School. She teaches evidence, ethics, criminal law, criminal procedure, white collar crime, and trial advocacy. Professor Levenson has authored numerous books and articles on criminal law and ethics; she is also founder of Loyola’s Project for the Innocent. After receiving her A.B. from Stanford University and her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, Professor Levenson clerked after law school for the Honorable James Hunter III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1981-1989. Professor Levenson is a regular lecturer for the Federal Judicial Center and has served as a commentator for high-profile trials.