Trump to Testify?, Royal Interview Fallout & Google Map’s Local Guides

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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...

Impeachment Hearings & Trump's Written Testimony:
Four people are set to testify before lawmakers in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump today and more will testify later this week.
Meanwhile, President Trump responded to Dems' invitation to testify himself. He tweeted he'll "strongly consider" providing written testimony. Remember: Trump provided written testimony during the Russia investigation, and now House Democrats are also investigating whether Trump lied in those answers.
Today's Hearings: WSJ, NPR, NYT, The Hill
Trump's Written Testimony: CBS News, NPR, USA Today, Politico

U.S. on Israeli Settlements:
The U.S. will no longer consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank as violating international law, which rolls back four decades of U.S. policy. Palestinians have hoped to control the area as part of a future state, but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement is giving a boost to Israel’s side. Within hours of the announcement, the State Department issued a travel alert to Americans who plan to go to Jerusalem, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.
Read more: CBS News, AP, The Hill

Prince Andrew Controversy:
Prince Andrew is facing more fallout and bad PR after speaking publicly for the first time about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in a BBC interview. Prince Andrew said he stayed at Epstein’s place in the past out of 'convenience' and called it 'unbecoming' that Epstein was a convicted sex offender. Prince Andrew also denied allegations that he had sex with a 17-year old. It's all led to even more questions.
Prince Andrew Interview: BBC, CNN, The Guardian
Epstein Case Latest: CNBC

AmEx Plan to Expand:
American Express wants more businesses to accept its credit cards, so it's offering sign-on bonuses that the WSJ reports are almost 'unheard of' in the industry. The company hopes to catch up to rivals Visa and Mastercard.
Read more: WSJ

Ford Mustang Mach-E:
Ford’s first all-electric vehicle is here. The Mustang Mach-E SUV can travel up to 300 miles on a full battery. The Mach-E is just under $44,000, but customers are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Deliveries will start in late 2020.
Read more: The Verge, CNET, CNBC

Google's 'Local Guides':
Google Maps is testing a new feature that allows users to follow so-called “local guides.” Local guides are users who post photos, review businesses, answer questions and check facts on Google Maps for a certain city. Others can then 'follow' top guides. The test will start in cities like New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.
Google Maps “Local Guides”: The Verge, TechCrunch

Google Launches Stadia:
Google’s cloud-based gaming service Stadia launches today. It allows you to play games without a console or gaming PC for a monthly fee. So far, the reviews are mixed. A free version is expected next year.
Read more: Yahoo Finance, The Verge

Free Amazon Music Expands:
The free version of Amazon Music is now available on more devices. Customers can now use mobile phones, the web and Fire TV to listen to Amazon Music’s top playlists and thousands of stations for free with ads. The news of the expansion sent Spotify stocks down almost five percent.
Read more: Variety, CNBC

Luke Combs Billboard Record:
Country singer Luke Combs’ latest album topped the Billboard chart and broke a streaming record this week. Songs from the album were streamed 74 million times, the biggest number for any country album.
Read more: Billboard

Jeopardy! Best of the Best:
A Jeopardy! showdown is coming. The three people who have won the most money in the gameshow’s history will play each other starting on January 7th. Contestants will compete for a share of $1.5 million over several back-to-back games.
Read more: USA Today, AP