Pelosi’s Announcement, Eiffel Tower Closed & “Mighty Mice” in Space

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...

Impeachment Timeline:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the House to begin drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump. The House vote to impeach could happen by Christmas. Trump tweeted that if he's going to be impeached, he wants the process to move quickly so he can have a fair trial in the Senate (controlled by Republicans).
Read more: AP, The Hill, Washington Post, ABC News

Heated Exchanges:
Two heated exchanges are making headlines. The first involves House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She seemed to get mad at a reporter who asked if she “hated” the president. Pelosi said she doesn’t hate anybody and told the reporter “don’t mess with me” about those types of words.
Meanwhile, presidential candidate Joe Biden hit back against an Iowa voter who suggested he sent his son to Ukraine for the family’s benefit. Biden said the man is a "damn liar."
Read more: The Hill, CNBC, CBS News

National Strike in France:
A national strike in France is shutting down some of the country’s largest cities. Hundreds of thousands of people are walking off the job to protest proposed changes to their pensions. Nurses, doctors, teachers and police officers are taking part. Public transportation is limited and the Eiffel Tower is closed. About 20 percent of incoming and outgoing flights have been canceled. The strike is expected to last through the weekend.
Read more: NPR, CBS News, BBC

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day:
Tomorrow is the 78th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. There will be a ceremony to remember the victims. Survivors, veterans and others are expected to attend. There will be extra security after a shooting at the military base earlier this week. Officials are working to let people know they'll be safe at this weekend's ceremony.
Read more: AP, USA Today

Uber’s Safety Report:
Uber has released an unprecedented safety report, revealing stats about how many crimes and crashes have happened during rides. There were more than 3,000 sexual assaults, nine murders and dozens of deadly crashes in 2018. Uber says the report is to be more transparent and is part of a plan to make rides safer. The company also pointed out that most rides (99.9%) had no safety issue. Lyft plans to release its own report, but it’s not clear when.
Read more: Washington Post, NYT

Amazon & NFL Team Up:
Amazon and the NFL are joining forces to better protect players. Their “digital athlete” platform will use a computer simulation of an NFL player to test different game scenarios without putting the players at risk. The NFL also plans to use the data to find out what causes injuries, such as concussions, and how to prevent them.
Read more: WSJ, Engadget

“Mighty Mice” in Space:
A SpaceX rocket is sending more than 5,000 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station, including genetically-enhanced “mighty mice.” The rocket is delivering eight genetically-enhanced mice with twice the muscle mass of regular mice to help scientists better understand bone and muscle loss in space. Also going up: barley grains as a Budweiser experiment, a 3D printed robot head with artificial intelligence, a Christmas surprise for astronauts, and more.
Read more: Space.com, CNN, AP

Digital Driver's License:
New technology is in the works that would let you keep a digital driver's license, social security card and other forms of ID on your phone rather than in your physical wallet. It’s still being tested and won’t be ready until next year, but if it works out, it would be available on phones with both Google's new operating system, Android R, and a specific type of chip.
Read more: CNET

Apple Phone With No Ports:
Apple may soon ditch charging ports. A top analyst thinks Apple will get rid of the lightning connector in 2021, making the iPhone completely wireless. Apple hasn’t confirmed the predictions.
Read more: Engadget, CNBC

Fastest-Growing Brands:

Morning Consult’s latest report shows the fastest growing brands in 2019. The top 5 are: DoorDash, White Claw, Postmates, Impossible Foods and Venmo.
Read more: Mashable, Morning Consult