| Need To Know |
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| Bloomberg Tests Waters |
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is reportedly filing paperwork to appear on Democratic primary ballots in Alabama, a sign that the billionaire businessman is reconsidering a bid for the White House. The move comes after Bloomberg announced he would not seek the nomination back in March, and amid a series of primary debates - none of which he has appeared in - which have begun to winnow down a historically large field of candidates. Though Alabama does not hold early primaries, its deadline to file to appear on the ballot is today. While aides say he has not made a final decision on whether to join the race, he is said to have called established Democrat power brokers in early caucus states, including former Senator Harry Reid in Nevada. Despite saying he would not run, Bloomberg had previously said he would commit at least $500M of his own money to Democrats in the 2020 cycle.
Separately, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-2) qualified for the fifth Democratic primary debate on Nov. 20. |
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| The Irishman Hits Theaters |
In one of the most anticipated box office openings of the year, Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" hits theaters this weekend. The film traces out the decadeslong relationship between former Teamsters chief Jimmy Hoffa and the mob, as seen through the eyes of hitman Frank Sheeran (watch trailer). The historical crime drama is Scorsese's biggest feature film since 2013's "The Wolf of Wall Street" and brings together actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci - some combination of the trio starred in similar films like "The Godfather," "Goodfellas," "Casino," and "Heat." Despite receiving widespread acclaim, the movie was long stuck in development, with Netflix eventually stepping in with over $200M in financing. As a result the film is slated for a limited theatrical release before heading to the streaming giant. Scorsese also took some criticism for limiting the role of women - the film's biggest female star, Anna Paquin, has just six words.
There is also some dispute over the movie's central confession (mild spoilers). |
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| Berlin Wall Anniversary |
Leaders from across Western Europe will gather tomorrow to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the physical barrier that separated West Berlin from the Soviet-controlled East Berlin and surrounding East Germany. Following the end of World War II, conquered Germany was divided into four zones by the main Allied powers (US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union), as was the capital city of Berlin, despite it being in the Soviet-controlled East Germany. By the 1950s, hundreds of thousands of people were emigrating westward to escape Soviet-aligned governments using Berlin as the primary route. The wall was built in part to halt the flow of people leaving, though the East German government claimed it was to protect itself from "fascist" western elements. The wall served as a symbolic barrier throughout the Cold War, until deteriorating social and economic conditions spurred mass protests, culminating in the fall of the wall and the reunification of Germany (see photos).
Check out a secret escape tunnel dug under the wall, opened for the first time this week. |
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| It's a holiday weekend in the US - we'll be back next Tuesday! |
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| In The Know |
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| Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
| > New GLAAD report says that amount of LGBTQ actors on TV hits an all-time high (More) | What is GLAAD? (More) |
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| > Amazon and Disney+ reach deal to allow Disney+ streaming on Amazon products such as Fire TV (More) |
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| > Queen Elizabeth II makes the decision to stop wearing real fur coats, will wear faux fur as alternative (More) |
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| Science & Technology |
| > Archaeologists uncover first known hunter traps set for woolly mammoth; 14 mammoth skeletons found in two pits outside Mexico City (More) |
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| > Surprise study finds 0.6% of women and over 4% of left-handed women have good sense of smell despite not having olfactory bulbs; phenomenon not observed in men (More) |
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| > Researchers make first genetic mapping of the ancestors of Rome, find an influx of farming communities from Turkey and Iran around 8,000 years ago (More) |
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| Business & Markets |
| > US stock markets up (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.7%, Nasdaq +0.3%) as US and Chinese officials reportedly will roll back tariffs scheduled for December as interim step of phase one trade deal (More) |
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| > Sears secures $250M loan that will keep company afloat as losses mount, will close 96 more stores (More) |
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| > Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund invests $400M into former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s CloudKitchens, provider of “ghost" kitchens where restaurants prepare food exclusively for delivery (More) |
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| Politics & World Affairs |
| > British police identify all 39 victims found dead in back of truck last month; all were Vietnamese and were being transported in suspected human smuggling operation (More) |
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| > House Republicans to subpoena whistleblower who submitted original complaint over Trump-Ukraine call; Democrats likely to block move (More) | Judge rules President Trump must pay $2M after finding Trump Foundation charity funds were misused for campaign purposes (More) |
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| > Cold front that dropped up to a foot and a half of snow in Minnesota and Michigan now stretches from Texas to New York (More) |
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| Weekend Reads |
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| How Washington Keeps America Sick and Fat |
| Politico | Staff. The top drivers of spiraling health care costs in the US are diet-related, yet funding nutrition research is on the bottom of Washington's priority list. (Read) |
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| Searching for Answers |
| MIT Reader | Elad Yom-Tom. What analyzing thousands of search patterns can teach us about how humans cope with cancer. (Read) |
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| Poison in the Pipes |
| Buzzfeed | Nidhi Subbaraman. A buried 2017 report showed that not only had New Orleans not been carrying out federally required lead testing in the city's water, in many cases, they didn't even know where the lead pipes were located. (Read) |
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| The World Has Gone Mad |
| LinkedIn | Ray Dalio. The founder of the world's largest hedge firm says too much free money is the biggest sign that the current economic system is fundamentally broken. (Read) |
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"To stand still is to regress."
- Edward Brooke |
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