AFN News July 25, 2019

AFN NEWS

Thursday, July 25, 2019　

1) From ABC News, I’m Daria Albinger. It’s over, and President Trump is calling the former special counsel’s daylong testimony on Capitol Hill __. “This was a very big day for our country. This was a very big day for the Republican Party.” President Trump headed to West Virginia for a private fundraiser. For more than six hours, Robert Mueller fielded questions on his report in the Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Robert Mueller with a warning for members of Congress. “It wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.” Russia hasn’t stopped trying to meddle in U.S. elections. He also said there were wider social media campaigns that many other countries are developing capability to quote “replicate what the Russians have done.” Serena Marshall, ABC News, Capitol Hill. Mueller also told Congress that the investigation was no witch-hunt and that President Trump was not exonerated of objection of justice. ABC’s News political contributor Steven Roberts. “There’re Democrats who will read the totality of the day’s testimony, particularly on the question of objection of justice, and Mueller’s very pointed statements right at the beginning of the day that’s the President is not exonerated.” Mueller has repeatedly said his report is his testimony.

2) South Korean officials say North Korea launched two unidentified projectiles into the sea and they’re watching closely for further launches. It’s Thursday morning there. The last time North Korea launched a short-range missile was May.

3) Police in Canada say two teenagers wanted for the murders of an American woman and her boyfriend, and the third unidentified man in British Columbia left a burned-down vehicle, two provinces over Manitoba as the second burned-down car connected to the pair.

4) Mixed day for stocks on Wall Street, following earning reports of several large companies. The Dow fell 79 points, the S&P and the NASDAQ closed up. You’re listening to ABC News.

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From the Fox Business Network; the government throwing the book at Facebook. The tech giant agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine Wednesday after being accused of misusing its users’ data. As part of the settlement, Facebook also will adopt new privacy and security measures. // A lot of Americans are seeing more money in their paycheck. A new report from the payroll firm ADP says wages rose 4% in June from the same time last year. The average worker earns $28.54 an hour. // And another thing going up, a lot of stocks. In fact, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ, both hit all-time high on Wednesday. The Dow, on the other hand, fell for the day. // And Dunkin is moving Beyond coffee and jumping on the fancy food bandwagon. The restaurant chain is partnering up with Beyond Meat and offering a meatless sausage breakfast sandwich, right now only available at select locations in Manhattan but they plan to roll it out nationwide in the future. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Connell McShane.

AFN News July 18, 2019

AFN NEWS

Thursday, July 18, 2019　

1) From ABC News, I’m Daria Albinger. Just moments ago, the House voted to table Democratic Texas Congressman Al Green’s resolution to impeach President Trump with a majority of Democrats, joining Republicans in killing the measure. “On this vote, the yeas are 332 and the nays are 95 with one answering “Present.” The motion is adopted.” The resolution was proposed in the wake of President Trump’s tweets suggesting four Democratic congresswomen should go back to their home countries. Speaking outside the White House on his way to a rally, the President says the political fighting this week has benefited them. “I am not relishing the fight. I’m enjoying it because I have to get the word out to the American people.” The President says he has no regrets about the tweets.

2) Prosecutors in Massachusetts have dropped a felony sex assault charge against actor Kevin Spacey. “The accuser’s attorney said his client has shown an enormous amount of courage under difficult circumstances, but when the accuser refused to testify at a recent pretrial hearing about missing evidence, prosecutors had little choice but to drop the indecent assault charge against Kevin Spacey. The actor had been accused of touching the young man’s genitals for three minutes in a Nantucket restaurant several summers ago. He had pleaded not guilty but the accusation and a number of others paralyzed Spacey’s career. Police in London recently interviewed Spacey about allegations in the U.K. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, New York.

3) Stocks extended losses into the second day on Wall Street, the Dow fell 116 points, the S&P fell 20, the NASDAQ dropped 37.

4) Republican Senator Rand Paul has blocked a bipartisan bill that would ensure a victims’ compensation fund for September 11th first responders never runs out of money. “We need to address our massive debt in this country. We have $22 trillion debt. We’re adding debt at about a trillion dollars a year.” Another vote on the standalone measure will wait until August.

5) The Trump Administration has stopped sending kids to a controversial homestead migrant facility in Florida. You’re listening to ABC News.

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From the Fox Business Network; stocks falling as investors digested mixed earning results with the Dow dropping 116 points, the NASDAQ down 38, S&P 500 down 20. // And shares of Netflix plunging in the extended trading session as the video streaming company badly missed projections for new paid subscriptions in the second quarter, only adding 2.7 million paid subscribers internationally compared with analysts’ estimates of over 5 million. Netflix is facing heightened competition particularly from Disney, Apple, and HBO owner AT&T which are all launching their own streaming services. // And Bill Gates has been dethroned as the second richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index that entered Bernard Arnault, Chairman of LVMH with a net worth of $108 billion. Gates was in the second place for seven years since the list was created. The LVMH chair is the richest person in Europe and his total worth is equivalent to more than 3% of France’s economy. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Hilarie Barsky.

AFN NEWS

Thursday, July 11, 2019　

1) From ABC News, I’m Daria Albinger. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta is defending his part in negotiating a plea deal for accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Former Jeffrey Epstein’s federal prosecutor and now Labor Secretary Alex Acosta agreed with underage girls who say he raped them. ‘He is a bad man.’ Acosta says he forced the deal with Jeff Epstein’s jail time, made him a registered sex offender because the State of Florida was going to let Epstein go free. ‘There is a value to a short guilty plea.’ Still congressional Democrats wanted to know why Acosta didn’t demand a trial and stiffer sentence.” Andy Field, ABC News, Washington.

2) A Maryland district judge has denied the government’s motion to withdraw the legal team trying to fight for a citizenship question on the 2020 census. A New York judge made a similar ruling yesterday.

3) There were calls for coma at this hour in Salt Lake City. Mayor Jackie Biskupski condemning violent protest to a plan to build a shipping hub in the city. “The injuries sustained by our officers and those who were from the media were a tragic result of this protest.” The Mayor reminded the protestors that she filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the hub. She worries about pollution and safety.

4) First responders are on standby along the Texas and Louisiana coast as the region prepares for the possibility of rough tropical weather over the next few days. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, “We’ve activated the Texas Task Force 1 and they are all standby and they are prepared right now with four high-water rescue boat squads.” Hurricane watch is posted ahead of the system which is expected to become a tropical depression tomorrow.

5) When the head of the Fed speaks, the markets listen, and they were encouraged by what he told Congress about the central bank eyeing at least one rate cut in response to the slowing global economy and ongoing trade tensions. The Dow climbed 77 points, the NASDAQ closed at 60 at all-time high. You’re listening to ABC News.

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From the Fox Business Network; there was a record day on Wall Street, while the NASDAQ finished at all-time high, the S&P 500 plus 3,000, first time ever on Wednesday. Before closing it was a little bit shy of that. The Dow had strong days as well. // Parents are already thinking about school years. A new survey by Deloitte finds shoppers plan to spend $27.8 billion, which works out $519 per student on back-to-school purchases this year. That’s almost 2% more than last year, now, while most of the spending will be clothes and accessories. Electronic gadgets like smartphones, tablets are said to see the biggest increase up $800 million in 2018. // You may wanna reconsider the dream location for your golden years, because a new report out from Bankrate says the No.1 place to retire is Nebraska. Major factors include affordability and weather. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Connell McShane.

AFN NEWS

Thursday, July 4, 2019　

1) From ABC News, I’m Daria Albinger. Will there be a citizenship question on the 2020 census? Yesterday the Justice Department said printing had started without the question, but now a court’s been told that they’re gonna try to figure out what’s going on. “A federal judge meeting by phone with Justice Department and civilian lawyers saying it is up to them to either go back to court and agree not to include the citizenship question or schedule a trial. The President tweeting that the fight isn’t over, but his own government has already begun printing census forms without the question asking if the person responding is an American citizen. Andy Field, ABC News, Washington.”

2) A reduction in rank and four months confinement. That’s the sentence a military jury handed to Navy SEAL Special Ops Chief Edward Gallagher for posing with the corps of an ISIS prisoner. His attorney Tim Parlatore called it an unusual case. “Gallagher is charged like this because it’s attached to a larger case. It’s given a lot more importance than would otherwise be. If you look across the services, the Army, the Navy, Marine Corps when they have this type of incidents they normally handle them in non-judicial punishment.” Gallagher was acquitted of murdering the ISIS prisoner. A judge credited for time spent in his custody.

3) A prosecutor in Alabama decides not to follow through on the case against a woman who was shot and lost her unborn child. Twenty-seven-year-old Marshae Jones didn’t have a gun. She didn’t pull a trigger but because, police say, she started the fight that led to the shooting death of her unborn child. A grand jury indicted her for manslaughter, but now the prosecutor in this case says that won’t stand. She’s dropped the charges against Jones, saying this case is over.” ABC’s Pete Combs.

4) The federal judge temporarily blocked an Ohio law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The ruling stops the July 11th enforcement of the law.

5) The market closed at record high on Wall Street after a holiday-shortened day. The Dow gaining 179 points. You’re listening to ABC News.

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From the Fox Business Network; stocks finished on a strong note with all three major indexes reaching new highs, the Dow rising 179 points, the S&P closed up 22 points, the NASDAQ gained 61 points. Markets are closed tomorrow for the July 4th holiday but resume normal hours on Friday. // Netflix shares closed higher heading into the midnight launch of the third season of “Stranger Things”, also back soon on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black.” // Tesla shares closed higher after the electric car maker reported it delivered more than 92,000 vehicles in the recent quarter. This is in contrast to most automakers whose sales prompted in quarter. Tesla set new productions and delivery record. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Carole Zimmer.