theNewsWorthy: Wednesday, December 12th, 2018
ALL THE NEWS YOU NEED - IN ONE PLACE.
(in less than 10 minutes!)
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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...
Oval Office Showdown: Things got heated in a rare and very public talk at the Oval Office between President Trump and Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi yesterday. The main point of contention? The border wall and funding the government. See the video here. Remember: the new deadline to pass a spending bill and keep the government running is next week, Dec. 21st.
Read more: NYT, FOX News, The Hill, CNBC
Stormy to Pay Trump: A judge ordered Stormy Daniels to pay President Trump nearly $300,000 to cover legal fees after her defamation lawsuit against him was dismissed. Trump's lawyers called it a victory, but Daniels' lawyer says she'll never have to pay because of another lawsuit. Daniels is the adult film star who was paid to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.
Read more: CNBC, NPR
Arctic Report Card: Temperatures are getting higher and ice is getting thinner in the Arctic, according to a new federal report. NOAA says ice-free summers will warm the entire planet more.
Read more: The Washington Post, The Hill
France Terror: France raised its security threat to the highest level after a terrorist attack at Strasbourg's Christmas market. Reports say the gunman killed three people, injured a dozen more and is still at large. He's apparently known to authorities and was on a watch list.
Read more: The Guardian, Al Jazeera, AP
‘Person of the Year’: Time magazine named its ‘Person of the Year’ as a group labeled “The Guardians.” It includes four journalists and a newspaper. 1- Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudis 2- Maria Ressa for her critical coverage of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte 3 & 4 - Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were imprisoned in Myanmar. Also: the Capital Gazette Newspaper in Maryland, where a shooting killed some staffers. See the Time covers here.
Read more: Time, Today, USA Today
U.S. Postal Service Mailbox Sale: The Trump administration has a new idea to help the U.S. Postal Service make more money: sell access to your mailbox. Right now, it’s illegal for anyone other than the USPS to deliver mail to a private mailbox (FedEx, UPS drop boxes at your door, for example). Critics aren't so sure the new business model would work. TBD if it's actually put in place.
Read more: CBS News, MarketWatch, WSJ
Emotional Support Animals: Delta is putting new restrictions on your furry friends. Delta announced it's banning emotional support animals under the age of four months, as well as all emotional support animals on flights longer than eight hours. The new policy takes effect right before the holiday rush on Dec. 18th.
Read more: Vox, NBC News
Clear for Rental Cars: Hertz teamed up with Clear—the company that specializes in facial and fingerprint recognition technology. You’ve probably seen Clear's airport kiosks that allow flyers who sign-up to bypass security. Now, it seems that same technology will be used for renting cars: skip the counter and use a fingerprint as you drive out. Hertz + Clear is first available in Atlanta, but the companies plan to expand.
Read more: AP, Bloomberg
Jimmy Dean Recall: Nearly 30,000 pounds of Jimmy Dean sausage links are recalled because they may have pieces of metal in them. More details at the links below.
Read more: USA Today, CBS News
New Selena Series: The story of the late pop star Selena Quintanilla is coming to the small screen. Netflix’s Selena: The Series will be a scripted show executive produced by her family. Netflix didn’t say who will be playing Selena. Jennifer Lopez played her in the 90s movie. The two-part series is set to premiere in 2020.
Read more: BuzzFeed, ET
Kathie Lee Leaving: Kathie Lee Gifford made an emotional announcement (video): she's leaving NBC's The Today Show in April 2019 to focus on other projects. She calls it 'bitter sweet.'
Read more: THR, Today
Most-Streamed Song: Queen’s hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody” has reached 1.5 billion streams since its release in 1975, and it's now apparently the most-streamed song of the 20th century. The recent movie likely helped.
Read more: EW, NBC News