Monday, September 30th, 2019

‘Historic’ Winter Storm, Starship Rocket & Apple in Theaters 

All the news you need in less than 10 min:

Today's episode is brought to you by FabFitFun. Use the code 'newsworthy' for $10 off your first box #fabfitfunpartner 

Also, thanks to our "“Money Monday" sponsor, 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...

Whistleblower Update:
Top Democrats say they’ve reached an agreement to hear from the whistleblower behind the complaint "very soon." President Trump tweeted he deserves to know who his accusers are and said there will be “big consequences!” Also, the State Department’s special envoy for Ukraine resigned Friday. The House Intelligence Committee plans to continue with interviews and subpoenas this week, even as most of Congress goes on a two-week recess.
Read more: Washington Post, NYT, NBC News, 60 Minutes, The Hill

Hong Kong Protests:
Thousands of protesters hit the streets of Hong Kong yesterday. These are some of the most violent clashes the area has seen, and officials are worried about more protests leading up to China’s National Day on Tuesday.
Read more: CNN, NPR, CBS News

Winter Storm:
Parts of the western U.S. saw “historic” record-breaking snowfall over the weekend. Temperatures are also expected to drop 15 to 30 degrees below average today, while on the East Coast, temps could be up to 20 degrees above average.
Read more: ABC News, Weather Channel , AccuWeather, AP

MLB Records, WNBA Finals:
Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander got his 3,000th strikeout, becoming the 18th pitcher in MLB history to do so, while New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso hit his 53rd home run, breaking the record for the most home runs hit in a rookie year. MLB playoffs start tomorrow.
Also in sports, the WNBA Finals started last night, with the Washington Mystics winning game one.
Read more (MLB Records): CBS Sports, USA Today, ESPN, MLB
Read more (WNBA Finals): Sports Illustrated

SpaceX Rocket:
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the newest prototype of its Starship rocket, which is designed to take people to the moon, Mars and beyond. The first flight to Earth's orbit could happen within six months, and Musk says people could fly aboard in the next year or so. Of course, he has skeptics and critics.
Read more: WSJ, Retuers, Space.com

Tesla Update:
Elon Musk’s other company, Tesla, is rolling out its biggest in-car software update, which includes video streaming, in-car karaoke, and a new self-driving feature called “Smart Summon.”
Read more: The Verge, CNN

Rent the Runway & Forever 21 Trouble:
Rent the Runway won’t be accepting new members or one-time rentals until at least October 15th because of order fulfillment problems and complaints about delays.
Also, Forever 21 announced it filed for bankruptcy. The chain plans to close nearly 200 stores.
Read more (Rent the Runway): Business Insider, WSJ
Read more (Forever 21): AP, CNN

Weekend Box Office & Apple's Plan for Theaters:
Animated feature Abominable had the best opening of the year for an original animated film while it also hit number one at the weekend box office.
Also in entertainment, reports say Apple is planning to release three feature-length films to theaters before they’re available on the upcoming streaming service.
Read more (Box Office): Variety, Forbes
Read more (Apple in Theaters): WSJ, Reuters

Rosh Hashanah:
It is Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Jewish new year. It's meant to be a celebration and a time of self-reflection. The holiday lasts through sunset on Tuesday.
Read more: USA Today, Chabad.org