AFN News August 8, 2019

AFN NEWS

Thursday, August 8, 2019　

1) From ABC News, I’m Daria Albinger. President Trump hit the road to console the soul in chief, visiting Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas as they recover from two separate weekend mass shootings. The visit happened without controversy. “Of course, we are angry now. Of course, we are angry. Yes, I do, yah. Looking at the man talk to us, everybody frowns because of racism.” President Trump was met by some protesters in El Paso, earlier in Dayton. Protesters and supporters of the President came face to face. The President says the people he met in Dayton were the finest anywhere but he also takes the issue with some comments made by Democrats there. “Here’s what U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, had to say about the President’s visit with victims of the Dayton shooting in the hospital staff. ‘__ __ __ __.’ ‘What did he say?’ ‘So he was comforting and he did the right things. Melania did the right things, and it’s his job in part to comfort people. I am glad he did it in that hospital, those hospital rooms.’ But the President tweeting while he was in El Paso that failed presidential candidate Sherrod Brown and Mayor Whaley totally misrepresenting what took place inside the hospital, saying their news conference was a fraud. Ryan Burrow, ABC News, Dayton.” Despite the political back and forth, the protester in El Paso reminds Americans that it’s about the human loss, not the politics. “There were two shootings, one was a far rightist. Another one in Dayton, Ohio, he’s a far leftist. I’m not gonna blame the politicians on all done for it.” A recent Pew Research poll finds 85% of U.S. adults believe the tone and nature of the political debate has become negative.

2) Puerto Rico Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez has been sworn in as governor after the island’s high court ruled that Pedro Pierluisi‘s swearing-in last week was unconstitutional.

3) Stocks made up for big drop early in the day on Wall Street, one point, the Dow was down almost 600 points but it ended the day down just 22, S&P gained 2, the NASDAQ ended up 29 points. You’re listening to ABC News.

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From the Fox Business Network; with flash on Wall Street, the Dow finishing down Wednesday but only fractionally after dropping nearly 600 points early on, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ both managing to finish higher. Trade tensions and worries about interest rates are making investors jittery. // Disney says it will offer a bundle of its three streaming services. It will include three Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. The new service will start in November and cost $13 a month. // FedEx is putting the brakes on its relationship with Amazon. The delivery giant says it will end its ground-shipping deal with Amazon when their contract expires at the end of the month. The move comes as Amazon bounced up its own logistics and delivery service. // Subway says it will test the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub in nearly 700 locations here in the U.S. and Canada. The new meatless Subway sandwich will go on sale next month. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Ashely Webster.

AFN News August 1, 2019

AFN NEWS

Thursday, August 1, 2019　

1) From ABC News, I’m Daria Albinger. The Dow suffered its worst day since May 31st, losing 334 points despite the Federal Reserve cutting the key interest rate a quarter of a percent. The loss started after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell repeated a pledge to act as appropriate as possible to sustain economic expansion. “The economy has actually performed just about as expected with that gradually increasing support, and I think I wouldn’t take credit for all of that, but I do think that increasing policy support has kept the economy on track and kept the outlook.” The S&P also dropped 33 points, the NASDAQ slid 98. President Trump reacting to the rate cut. “Fed Chairman saying this rate cut does not necessarily signal more to come. ‘I don’t know whether that will happen,’ which angered President Trump who tweeted Fed Chair Jerome Powell quote ‘Let us down with that statement.’ Mr. Trump saying, ‘We are winning anyway, but I’m certainly not getting much help from the Federal Reserve.’ Andy Field, ABC News, Washington.”

2) Two U.S. officials tell ABC News that Hamza bin Laden, son of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is believed to be dead. It’s unclear when and where he died but a U.S. military source tells ABC News the government believes he was killed within the last two years. U.S. intelligence played a role in the operation that killed the younger bin Laden. The sources are declining to elaborate.

3) Police in Canada are scaling back the search in a remote area of Manitoba for the two teens accused of murdering three people. “We have not had any confirmed sightings of the suspects since the burnt vehicle was located, and taking into account all of the work so far, it’s come time to re-assess our deployment of resources to the area.” Jane MacLatchy, the assistant commissioner for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police says they aren’t ending the search, just scaling back.

4) The Senate confirms Kelly Craft as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, ending a seven-month long vacancy in the post. You’re listening to ABC News.

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From the Fox Business Network; the Central Bank cutting its key interest rates for the first time in a decade by a quarter percentage point to a range of 2 - 2.25%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, “The outlook for the U.S. economy remains favorable, and this action is designed to support that outlook.” It’s the first rate cut since December of 2008 during the depths of the Great Recession. While the Fed left open the door for the Central Bank to cut rates again, Powell suggested that this cut wasn’t the beginning of a long easing cycle and investors are not liking that news. With the major averages falling sharply, the Dow declining 334 points, the NASDAQ down 98, S&P 500 down 33. // And the family behind Nordstrom looking to strengthen its grip on the department-store chain following a decline in its stock. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that members of the founding Nordstrom family are in the early stages of discussing a proposal to boost their roughly 1/3 stake to over 50%. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Hilarie Barsky.

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.