Five Things to Know for Your New Day – Friday, March 7, 2014
The future of Ukraine is in question. The testimony in the Oscar Pistorius trial turns sad and grisly. And the military is investigating one of its own.
It's Friday, and here are the “5 Things to Know for Your New Day."
1. UKRAINE CRISIS
If you don’t mind, we’ll be leaving: Actually, Crimea, the rest of Ukraine wants you to stay. So be careful about any plans to switch over to Russia. There was a storm of, well, harsh words, after lawmakers in Crimea voted to go with their big neighbor to the east. Not so fast, Ukraine’s acting leader said. He and Western leaders attached the words “not” and “legitimate” to the idea of any such move. So if there is a people’s vote in nine days on the issue, it still remains to be seen if it’ll have any real impact. And that wasn’t all on a hectic day of action in the crisis. President Obama signed an executive order that threatens sanctions against anyone who dips into Ukraine’s funds, and the U.S. put travel bans (to the U.S.) on Russians it thinks are troublemakers.
2. PISTORIUS TRIAL
Blade Runner breaks down: The doctor lived so close by that when he heard the shots, he was at Oscar Pistorius’ home in minutes. Inside, he came upon a scene that would make most people cry. The track star was bent over his girlfriend’s body, and he was desperately trying to clear her airway, the doctor, Johan Stipp, testified yesterday. Pistorius told the doctor, “I shot her. I thought she was a burglar, and I shot her.” As Stipp spoke in court, Pistorius bent over crying in his chair, his hands covering his face.
3. 'UPSKIRTING' BILL
Think again, pic-snapping voyeurs: OK, perverts in Massachusetts, it might be OK now to shoot sneaky photos of women and their underwear. But not much longer. After the state’s highest court ruled in favor of a man who was accused of taking pictures and recording video up the skirts and dresses of women, lawmakers responded by writing a new law to make the lewd behavior a crime. The governor says he’ll sign the bill.
4. MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULTS
Accusing the teacher: A lieutenant colonel in the army is under investigation for groping a female lawyer at a training conference. And what's the lieutenant colonel's job? He trains sex crimes prosecutors. This comes the same day that 45 senators - mostly men - voted to block a bill that would have changed the way the military goes after suspected wrongdoers in sex cases (55 voted yes, 60 were needed). Opponents from both parties said it would undermine military commanders.
5. GAMBLER LAWSUIT
You got me drunk, he says: One of the best things about a casino, besides the amazing air quality, is the free drinks gamblers can get. Or so I hear. Apparently, one guy was at a Vegas joint so long he had 20 cocktails during his 17-hour run on the tables. He woke up a day later minus $500,000. But Mark Johnston of Ventura, California, says he shouldn’t have to pay because he was obviously trashed. Investigators with the state are looking into the matter. And if you’re wondering what Johnston did after losing all that coin, he went to another casino.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
- Excuse me, can you take my picture? What truck? Our friends at Bleacher Report spotted this on the Jalopnik blog. Woman wants cool picture at a desert race. The kind where spectators can get really close to the racing action. But this close?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN5HFghoTGA
- Bustin’ a moooooove: Ain’t no meat packers gonna take her down. On her way to the slaughterhouse, this cow busted down a fence. Casselton, North Dakota, look out!
There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.
Be sure to tune in to "New Day," from 6 to 9 a.m. ET, join us at NewDayCNN.com and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY!
5 Things to Know for Your New Day – Tuesday, December 17
A judge slams the NSA, today's a big day for the Washington budget deal, and Santa's caught in a growing mess.
It's Tuesday, and here are the “5 Things to Know for Your New Day."
1. NSA SPYING
Judgment day: Some have had choice words for the National Security Agency’s surveillance measures. Yesterday, a federal judge added another word to describe the NSA's spying: Unconstitutional. The government’s collection of metadata, which includes phone records of the time and numbers called, violates privacy rights, a judge said. The ruling may be cheered by some, but it is limited. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s ruling applies only to five plaintiffs that had sued the NSA. The decision will also be challenged. The Justice Department said it disagrees with the judge and there will be an appeal. But one person probably cheering this decision is Edward Snowden, the man who leaked the classified documents that exposed this issue.
This comes as President Obama has ordered a review of NSA practices. He is scheduled to meet with a group of
tech company executives to discuss the issue today.
Jim Sciutto will be live to give us the latest on this story. And Jeffrey Toobin will provide analysis.
2. BUDGET DEAL
Close to a vote? Senate supporters of the pending budget deal say they are close. The optimism comes after several conservative Republicans said yesterday they would support the deal. Now, senators say, they should have enough votes to break a filibuster today. Once that happens, the budget could pass later this week. The deal, which has already passed the House, will change the way Washington has worked recently. And it will avoid another government shutdown.
Jim Acosta will give us the latest on this story.
3. ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP
Soap opera: Are all those new fancy hand soaps and body washes that have been popping up better than regular soap? Makers of those products will now have to prove it, the Food and Drug Administration says. Manufacturers of some antibacterial soaps will now have to prove their products are safe for long-term use. Some products can cause “health risks, such as bacterial resistance or hormonal effects," the FDA says. Listen to this FDA statement: “Although consumers generally view these products as effective tools to help prevent the spread of germs, there is currently no evidence that they are any more effective at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water.” But you won’t have to throw out that blueberry, mango body wash any time soon. It will take more than a year, the FDA says, before the rule will kick in.
Elizabeth Cohen will update us on this story.
4. MEGA MILLIONS
Sign that ticket: That’s one of the tips some are offering to the winner of today’s Mega Millions mega jackpot. The lottery is living up to its name as the jackpot has ballooned to an obscene $586 million. Why sign the ticket? Are you crazy? What if the roommate "claims" it? What if your significant other isn't as significant as you thought? What if you are showing it to someone, say over a beer or 10, and it goes missing? Sign it - if you didn't when you bought it - because whoever has an unsigned ticket when it gets turned in can call dibs on it. Other tips include: Get some advice from past winners, and get a lawyer and figure out if you want to stay anonymous. All these tips will help you avoid problems. But really, how many problems could the winner of today’s Mega Millions really have? Try this: If nobody wins, the jackpot could jump to $1 billion. Now that’s problems.
Pamela Brown will update us on this story.
5. SANTA CONTROVERSY
Ho, ho, woes: Good ole St. Nick may not be used to being wrapped up in controversy. But in recent days, Santa has caused some issues. There’s an African-American high school student in New Mexico who says he was questioned by a teacher for wearing a Santa outfit. You can't be Santa - you're black, the boy’s father said the teacher told him. The boy was crushed and embarrassed, the father told CNN affiliate KOAT. Now the ninth-grader wants nothing to do with Christmas, the father says. The school system weighed in. "This situation involves a teacher recently hired by Cleveland High who made - and admits he made - a stupid mistake," the school system said. "The remark was inappropriate. … ”
The teacher's remark came amid something of a dust-up over Santa's skin color after Fox News Channel picked up on a Slate.com writer's piece questioning the mythical character's ethnicity. Fox anchor Megyn Kelly responded to the piece by saying: "And, by the way, for all of you kids watching at home, Santa just is white, but this person is arguing maybe we should also have a black Santa. But, you know, Santa is what he is. And so, you know, we're just debating this because someone wrote about it, kids." Whoa. This is getting deep. But despite the hurt feelings involving Kris Kringle, we may be able to agree on one thing. Spoiler alert: (Kids, please look away for a second) Santa is not even real.
Tune in for news headlines to hear about this story and others.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a few others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
- Funky Santa: Despite the controversy, this Santa knows how to spread the holiday cheer.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1y64mxm85s]
- Cheer dad: This smooth-dancing dad shows his daughter another example of holiday cheer.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2txdrXQpTk]
- Crazy cat: This cat is not in the holiday mood.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-oVhu2fu20&feature=youtu.be]
- Poor Waffles: Waffles, the cat, is having a bad day. But at least you always land on your feet. Right, Waffles? Waffles?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d7aruKYkKs&feature=youtu.be]
- Amazing catch: This dad seems to have forgotten that his baby is on the luggage counter. Luckily, this security guard was watching.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9KMaHwe9xE]
There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.
Be sure to tune in to "New Day" from 6 to 9 a.m. ET. Join us at NewDayCNN.com, and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY!
5 Things to Know for Your New Day – Tuesday, August 6
Welcome to the Tuesday edition of “5 Things to Know for Your New Day."
Every weekday morning around 6, we’ll hit the top five stories of the day, clue you in on a few other buzzy items, and let you know about some of the must-watch stories coming up on CNN’s new morning show, “New Day.”
1. TOWN COUNCIL SHOOTING
Quiet town. Deadly attack: Ross Township in rural Philadelphia is the kind of place “that’s never in the newspaper.” That’s how one official describes it. Monday night changed that –- when a self-proclaimed junk collector with an 18-year grudge unleashed hell at the town council meeting. By the time he was subdued, he’d killed three people and wounded several others. Details are sketchy, but seems like his beef was over property rights. Two months ago, he made this ominous remark to the local paper: “If I lose this property, I have nowhere else to go. What they’re doing to me, what they’ve been doing to me for so long, it’s wrong.”
We are a small town. #saylorsburg . We are asking for prayers and well wishes to those who were killed tonight in the #rosstwpshooting
— Dan Engle (@lazarus0530) August 6, 2013
Poppy Harlow will give us the latest at 6.
2. ALEX RODRIGUEZ
In the lineup – for now: He batted fourth and took the fifth. At the plate, it was the A-Rod we’ve become used to seeing, a meaningless base hit, two promising fly balls that just didn’t have enough oomph and a late-inning strikeout. At the microphone, we saw a different A-Rod. He got emotional during a pregame session with reporters. “I'm fighting for my life,” he said with his eyes getting misty. Actually he’s fighting to keep playing a sport that pays him more than 100 grand a game. He’s facing a 211-game ban for PED use that’s supposed to start Thursday, but he says he’ll fight it. When asked yesterday if he’d taken steroids, he said now wasn’t the time to talk about that. Twelve other players were also suspended –50 games each. None will appeal.
Can we officially start calling Alex Rodriguez "A-Roid" now?
— CRO-REBEL (@CRO_REBEL) August 6, 2013
CNN Sports reporter Rachel Nichols will have more at 6 on the A-Rod situation, and NPR’s Mike Pesca will discuss at 7 what’s next for the Yankees slugger.
3. AL QAEDA THREAT
‘Do something’: That was the message from al Qaeda’s boss Ayman al-Zawahiri to his top guy in Yemen. But before they could, U.S. spies intercepted the order – and we closed a bunch of our embassies around the world, including the one in Yemen. This morning, the State Department asked Americans there to leave stat. And the U.S. launched a pair of drone strikes. We're guessing Nasir al Wuhayshi, the recently promoted al Qaeda chief there, is now winner of Most Likely to be Hunted by a U.S. drone.
Barbara Starr joins us all morning from the Pentagon, and Arwa Damon reports from Cairo.
4. FORT HOOD TRIAL
‘His punishment will come’: 13 dead. 32 injured. 1 court-martial. Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, whose murder trial begins today, will act as his own lawyer. Which means he’ll be cross-examining many of the people he allegedly wounded four years ago. That includes Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Royal. Royal, who still can’t go anywhere where there are crowds, says he has forgiven Hasan. “It’s not up to me to punish him. His punishment will come," he says.
Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence will give us a preview of what to expect as the trial begins, and CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin shares her insight at 7.
5. SNAKE KILLS BOYS
As they lay sleeping: It sounds like the Sherlock Holmes mystery where a snake crawls through the duct work in a house and attacks its victim. But this bizarre and tragic incident actually happened. Canadian cops say a 99-pound python, nearly 15 feet long, got out of its cage at a pet store, and they think the large python slithered into the ventilation system and strangled not one, but two kids having a sleepover in an upstairs apartment. The boys were only 5 and 7 years old.
Is anyone else as confused as I am about that Python story?!? That is so sad but so confusing!! Don't they usually only kill what they eat??
— Sara Lynn (@SaraLynn03) August 6, 2013
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
–Motherhood and the invention of necessity: Some new moms in China who don’t produce enough breast milk for their newborns are finding it hard to get formula. So they’re turning to other new moms, those with a little extra milk they’re willing to part with. For a small fee. It’s turned into a booming online trade for the producers. One says, " I just need to wait for calls. I provide fresh and frozen breast milk. But you have to pick it up yourself."
#China's new breakout #eCommerce segment – body fluids: http://t.co/QfPYlU5hdv
— Ernie Diaz (@WebPresInChina) August 6, 2013
- Lost in translation? Keeping up with the bands the crazy kids are listening to today takes a lot of work. Too much for some people it seems. ESPN asked a Japanese Little Leaguer who his favorite singer was. And then listed it as “Wandai Wrection.” Umm, that would be 'One Direction.'
- Driving me up a wall: Dude falls during a bike race in the Czech Republic. As his two opponents race ahead over rocks and stones and hills, he races to catch up. When he does, he makes the craziest pass you’ll ever see; riding up a wall and around the first two. You should watch it from several angles.
- At $330,000, it’s hard to swallow: There’s a guy named Ted Turner that has a restaurant that serves a $15 burger. $15! It’s mighty tasty though. Yesterday in London, scientists unveiled a burger made in a lab from cow stem cells. And it costs a whopping $330,000 (for which you could get a lot of Whoppers). But the proud inventors say it’ll be good for the environment and cows won’t have to die for us to be fed. But how’s that burger taste? Well, it has no fat, so you can guess...
BRGR – Id rather eat a test tube baby than a burger – Even though it’s tantamount to murder...
— Dave (@vi079) August 6, 2013
–Who is that masked woman? Wherever evil tries to deny girls an education, she’ll be there. Wherever there’s discrimination or sectarian violence, she’ll be there. She’s the Burka Avenger! In Pakistan, a new cartoon features a woman who’s a teacher by day and a burqa-clad crime fighter by night. And beware, she’ll show you the pen is mightier than the sword!
There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.
Be sure to tune in to "New Day," from 6 to 9 a.m. ET, join us at NewDayCNN.com/ and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY!
5 Things to Know for Your New Day – Thursday, July 25th, 2013
Welcome to the Thursday edition of “5 Things to Know for Your New Day."
Every weekday morning around 6, we’ll hit the top five stories of the day, clue you in on a few other buzzy items, and let you know about some of the must-watch stories coming up on CNN’s new morning show, “New Day.”
1. OBAMA’S ECONOMIC PUSH
It’s go time: President Obama becomes Joe Citizen in 1,276 days. And yesterday he told his fellow citizens that he was not going to let Congress in the way of his remaining work for them. "Where I can act on my own, I'm going to. I'm not going to wait for Congress,” he said in a speech. This is the opening punch of a fight over the nation’s budget that is going to play out over the rest of the summer and into the fall.
President’s Latest Pivot Speech Long on Rhetoric, Short on Solutions http://t.co/N4eArSR4BT #Kentucky
— Sen. McConnell Press (@McConnellPress) July 24, 2013
White House correspondent Brianna Keilar has more this morning on the president’s passionate speech.
2. WEINER SCANDAL
Into Leathers?: So we have learned the name of the woman that the former Congressman was chatting with online – Sydney Leathers. Really. A Facebook acquaintance of hers tells CNN that they talked about cashing in on revealing Weiner’s racy conversations. But she decided on something else, and he went public. Now CNN is trying to get in touch with her to see what she has to say.
CNN political analyst Paul Begala joins us at 7.
3. DEADLY TRAIN CRASH
One car snapped in two: Survivors pulled bodies out through broken windows. Locals came to the scene with blankets and bottles of water. Rescuers worked for hours trying to save lives, but at least 77 people were killed at a train crash in Spain. Investigators now will try to figure out what caused the wreck, which happened on a curve.
Karl Penhaul will have the latest details from the scene of the crash all morning.
4. POPE IN BRAZIL
Busy day: More than 1 million Catholics are expected to flood into Rio today as the new pope celebrates his biggest mass yet on the city’s famous Copacabana Beach. He’ll also meet the poor in one of the city’s slums and bless the flags for the Olympics in 2016. And he’ll also be surrounded by more security guards after his car was stuck in a huge crowd of highly excited supporters.
Miguel Marquez is following the pontiff and will join us this morning from Rio.
5. ROYAL BABY
By George: Prince George Alexander Louis (it’s Lew-ee, btw) got a visit from his great-grandmama yesterday. The queen went by Kensington Palace for a spell, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Pippa swung by too. In case you were wondering that doesn’t mean he’ll be King George one day. He will be able to pick whatever name he likes. So there’s still hope for King Vitaman II.
CNN royals commentator Victoria Arbiter will let us know what’s next for His Royal Highness.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
–Motown madness: Just because they have a pesky little bankruptcy to deal with doesn’t mean Detroit can’t have other priorities. This week, the seven-member city council passed a resolution calling for the feds to see if civil rights charges should be brought against George Zimmerman.
60% of population gone, 1000s of buildings vacant & bankruptcy, Detroit city council focuses on... Zimmerman? http://t.co/ZDxhDVyOMR #tcot
— Big Irish Dude (@BigIrishDude) July 24, 2013
- Proving they have nothing to prove: A crowd-sourced video of girls proclaiming their geekiness has received more than 200,000 views since being posted two days ago. It rails against a concept propagated on the Web that girls who claim to be geeks are just saying so to be trendy. Hey, are we nerdy if we dig the song?
- Replaced by a space: Attention celebrities, attention celebrities! If any of you are seeking new methods of punctuating your nom de guerre, check the want ads. There’s a crafty hyphen in need of work.
Jay Z drops hyphen. Hyphen posts hilarious ad on Craigslist. I laugh over and over again. #whatpeopledontrealize pic.twitter.com/5yeEcqzuRQ
— Jeff Barrett (@BarrettAll) July 23, 2013
–Helping hand – and head:Our 41st president has a shiny new look. George H.W. Bush has a shaved head to show solidarity for a little man named Patrick, who has leukemia. Patrick’s dad works on Bush 41’s Secret Service team. There’s even a website where you can kick in to help pay for 2-year-old Patrick’s medical bills.
- My last name is … Danger: As the press grills Anthony Weiner, late-night hosts thank the comedy gods.
There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.
Be sure to tune in to "New Day," from 6 to 9 a.m. ET, join us at CNN.com/NewDay and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY
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