Quid Pro Quo, Uber Recording & Grammy Nominations

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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 Hearing Takeaways:
Ambassador Gordon Sondland has been called the most anticipated witness in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Yesterday in his opening statement, Sondland said, yes, there was a 'quid pro quo' at the “express direction” of President Trump. Republicans argued he made assumptions. Two other people also testified yesterday, and two more are scheduled for today: David Holmes and Fiona Hill. They're the last scheduled witnesses in the impeachment inquiry.
Read more: Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, ABC News, The Hill, NYT, NPR

Dem Debate Recap:
Ten leading Democratic presidential candidates took the stage last night for the fifth Democratic debate. They discussed topics like the impeachment inquiry, healthcare, taxes and more. So far, only six candidates have qualified for next month’s debate.
Read more: Washington Post, WSJ, NBC News, CNN

Rare Royal Family Shakeup:
Britain’s Prince Andrew is stepping back from his royal duties amid fallout from a BBC interview he did over the weekend. Prince Andrew tried to defend his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He said the scandal has become a “major disruption” to the royal family.
Read more: BBC, Vox

“Unicorn” Meteor Shower:
If you look up tonight, there’s a chance you’ll see the rare so-called “unicorn” meteor shower. This kind of storm happens around this time every year, but this year it could be a bigger outburst of shooting stars with 100+ meteors in just 15 minutes. In the U.S., people in southeastern states will likely get the best view just before midnight EST.
Read more: USA Today, CNN

Google’s Political Ads:
Google has joined Twitter in revising its rules for political ads, saying political ads targeting certain demographics aren’t allowed. The company also said it'll take action against clearly “false claims” in ads. It’s a stricter stance than Facebook, but not as strong as Twitter's plan to ban all political ads.
Read more: WSJ, TechCrunch, Google

PayPal Acquires Honey:
PayPal is acquiring the deal-finding service Honey for about $4 billion. Honey is best known as a browser extension tool that automatically searches for and applies coupon codes online. PayPal says Honey’s technology will help it reach more online shoppers early-on.
Read more: CNBC, WSJ

Uber to Record Audio:
Uber is reportedly going to start recording audio during rides as part of a safety feature. Uber apparently won’t record without permission. The new feature is meant to help document any issues or attacks on passengers or drivers. Uber is going to start testing this feature in Latin America next month and in the U.S. "soon." Privacy experts say state laws may cause an issue for the plan.
Read more: CNET, Washington Post, Gizmodo

Spotify & Amazon Devices:
Users of the free ad-supported option on Spotify can now listen to their music on Amazon devices and some other smart speakers, such as Sonos and Bose speakers.
Read more: Engadget, TechCrunch

Grammy Nominations:
Grammy nominations are in. Pop-R&B singer Lizzo led the pack with eight nominations. Pop singer Billie Eilish and country rapper Lil Nas X got six nominations each. Ariana Grande is up for five awards. The Grammys are in January and will be hosted for the second year in a row by Alicia Keys. But first, the AMAs this Sunday.
Read more: Entertainment Tonight, Variety

Thing To Know Thursday

Dealing with difficult political conversations

Read more: Tip Sheet, NYT