This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Historic day on Thursday Congress opened the impeachment trial of President Trump. House Democrats read the formal charges and all 100 senators were sworn in as jurors. And just before all this happened, the GAO released a report saying that the administration’s Office of Management and Budget violated the law when it withheld military aid to Ukraine. Caitlin Emma, Reporter for Politico, joins us for more.

Next, the fight for privacy is under way again between Apple and the FBI. After a December 6th shooting at a naval base in Pensacola Florida was deemed an act of terrorism, Attorney General Bill Barr said Apple wasn’t doing enough to help unlock the shooter’s two phones. Apple maintains that breaking encryption on one phone could endanger the privacy of all iPhone users. Rosie Perper, global reporter for Business Insider, joins us for the fight to unlock a terrorist’s phone.

Finally, new data released by NASA and NOAA has shown that 2019 capped the hottest decade in recorded history. The past 5 years each rank among the 5 hottest years since record-keeping began. Brady Dennis, national environmental reporter at The Washington Post, joins us joins us for more on how this warming trend is affecting the globe.

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The House has delivered the articles of impeachment formally to the Senate so they can begin their trial. Speaker Nancy Pelosi also named a seven-member prosecution team to make the case for impeachment. One of the biggest questions that remain are whether any witnesses will be called and if new evidence released by Democrats will make any impact. Brett Samuels, White House reporter at The Hill, joins us for more.

Next, the FAA is investigating why a Delta airlines plane making an emergency landing at LAX dropped jet fuel over a playground covering children and some adults. Special procedures dictate that if necessary, fuel dumps must be made from higher altitudes and over unpopulated areas. Thankfully there were no serious injuries. Colleen Shalby, reporter at the LA Times, joins us for more on the outrage after this fuel was dumped on kids.

Finally, the last Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses was on Tuesday and everyone was waiting for fireworks between Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren for comments he allegedly made saying a woman could not win the presidency. While the candidates did play nice on stage, there was a tense moment between the two after the debate. Emily Glazer, politics reporter at the WSJ, join us for the moments that mattered in the debate.

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Russian military agents have hacked into Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the scandal that led to President Trump’s impeachment. The tactics used were phishing emails used to steal login credentials and also gain access to one of Burisma’s servers. We still know very little about the information that was accessed, but any new information could impact the impeachment trial. Maggie Miller, cyber policy reporter at The Hill, joins us for more.

Next, a creepy airport story. A woman named Ashley Barno was boarding a flight at the San Diego International Airport when she began to receive flirty text messages from an unknown number. The texts soon turned out to be from an American Airlines employee who got her information off of her luggage bag tag. Barno is now suing the airline for negligent hiring, sexual harassment and stalking. Reis Thebault, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for what all these texts said.

Finally, the Pentagon has confirmed that they do have Top Secret- classified briefings and Secret-classified video about the Nimitz UFO encounter. The Navy has said that a review of the materials determined that their release “would cause exceptionally grave damage to the National Security of the United States.” MJ Banias, contributor to Vice, joins us for the latest we are learning about the Nimitz UFO evidence.

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Oscar noms are out and “Joker” is leading the pack with 11 nominations, including best picture. And despite efforts to get more diversity into the Oscars, in the major categories, it was a list of mostly white nominees and women were all together left out of the Best Director category. Brent Lang, executive editor for film and media at Variety joins us to discuss the nominations and who got snubbed.

Next, in the music industry, everyone is worried about getting sued and music copyright lawsuits could be scaring away new hits. After a court ruled that “Blurred Lines” infringed on Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up”, more artists and record companies are consulting with musicologists and even getting insurance to protect them in the case that they might get sued. Amy Wang, music business editor at Rolling Stone, joins us for more.

Finally, some Generation Xers is starting to hit their midlife crisis. And while most people think a midlife crisis is about getting that new sports car, getting a trophy wife, or just some bad behavior, Generation X is is getting into yoga, meditation retreats and keto diets. Andrea Peterson, health reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the virtuous midlife crisis.

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We are learning more about what led to the targeted strike to kill Iran’s Gen. Soleimani and it was all based on intelligence that there would be some attack on U.S. embassies according to President Trump. However, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that he did not see specific evidence, but that he still believed an attack could occur. Iran is also facing protests from its people after they admitted to shooting down the Ukrainian jetliner killing 176 people. Ginger Gibson, political reporter for Reuters, joins us to break it all down.

Next, Impossible Foods unveiled its latest creation at CES last week. Get ready for Impossible Pork! The company is aiming to get kosher and halal certification to open up their product to more people. So we spoke to a life-long practicing Muslim, who tried the plant-based pork for her thoughts on it as someone who had never eaten pork before. Abrar Al-Heeti, reporter at CNET, joins us for this and also how Muslim and Jewish religious leaders feel about fake pork.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A warning for those listening, this first story is pretty gruesome. A 25 year-old Michigan man named Kevin Bacon has been murdered allegedly at the hands of Mark Latunski. They found each other on a dating app, met on Christmas Eve, and days later Bacon was found in Latunski’s basement hanging from the rafters by his ankles and his throat slit. Latunski also allegedly admitted to cutting off and eating part of Bacon’s body… his testicles. Latunski’s attorney is seeking an insanity defense for his client. For more on this story we speak to Michelle Myers, Kevin’s best friend and roommate, and she’ll tell us more about the loss of her friend.

Next, New York City has a garbage problem and a lot of it has to do with the failures in their recycling program. For nearly two decades New York City has almost completely outsourced its trash burden to other communities and have fallen short on ambitious recycling and waste reduction goals that other major American cities have accomplished. Politico New York has published a five-part series examining all the aspects of why all this garbage has become such a problem in the city. Sally Goldenberg, NY City Hall Bureau Chief, and Danielle Muoio, NY City Hall Reporter for Politico, join us for more.

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