This Week in News: 3/15/19
| S:1 E:11College cheaters and climate change. Falling planes and flying cars. Hear Rodge’s take on the latest!
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Retrotone News
Episode 11: March 15, 2019
TITLE: This Week in News: 3/15/19
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: College cheaters and climate change. Falling planes and flying cars. Hear Rodge’s take on the latest!
TWEETS:
For now, Rodge will take the train, thank you very much! https://www.axios.com/boeing-737-max-ban-d3bc3254-f0fb-4261-b6e5-fd183ab709b9.html
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INTRO
Here is a snappy summary of the news – a weekly digest of the latest events and happenings at home and abroad. I’m your host, Rodge Bigsby and this is your Retrotone News Minute!
Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America and all you birds in the sky . Let’s get to the runway!
IN THE NATION’S COURTROOM...
The FBI Rings the Bell on the Biggest College Admissions Scandal to Hit the Nation
It’s an epic sham... AND a costly bill from the School of Hard Knocks. Shocking details are sweeping the nation – of a parents’ payola scandal already being called the largest college admissions scam ever played. Details on the grand scheme continue to surface. Parents spent upwards of $25 million in bribes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a multi-million-dollar palm-greasing scheme. This rascally exchange of wealth, fame and influence bought admissions to the country’s most elite universities like Yale, Stanford, and UCLA.
CNN reports, fifty people have been indicted -- including a nefarious A-list of Hollywood stars, CEOs, college coaches and test administrators. ALL have been accused of participating in a game plan to cheat a way through admissions. The ringleader? CEO, William Rick Singer, founder of for-profit college counseling outfit known as The Key. Singer claims he “helped the wealthiest families in the US get their kids into school." Singer says he’s done this for 800 parents. From cheating on SAT and ACT tests, to bribing college coaches with fake athletic credentials, seems the test scores are in. Singer, and his wealthy band of cheats, get an A+ in law-breaking. Singer’s next assignment? Up to 65 years in the slammer. Mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, photoshop, cheating...talk about learning the HARD way!
And… a Growing Union of Concerned Citizens Are Taking on Climate Change
Vox reports: kids, farmers, fishermen, cities, and states – those MOST vulnerable to drought and rising seas (and leaders ignoring dire warnings from real scientists) are suing the fossil fuel industry and governments. As of today, eight US cities, five counties, and one state are suing some of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies – for peddling toxic products tied to climate change, while misleading the public about their dangers. For the love of Mother Earth. Thank Heavens this is one cause gaining ground, with residents of Canada, the Netherlands, and Ireland taking power brokers to court to demand more zealous policies to combat climate change. Keep up the GOOD fight to keep us cool!
IN HOLLYWOOD...
And the Show Must Go On!
“I’ll take Beat Cancer for $1000 Alex! I’ll take the Power of Positivity for $500 Trebek!” Host of Jeopardy, Alex Trebek – a man of both class and courage – announced in a video to viewers that he has been diagnosed with Stage Four Pancreatic Cancer. Despite the low odds of survival, Alex kept a brave face for viewers, joking that his contract with Jeopardy won’t expire for another three years, and he’s back at it recording! What is...We’re with you, Alex!
https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ent-alex-trebek-jeopardy-cancer-20190312-story.html
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WELCOME BACK!
IN WORLD NEWS…
Straighten Up and Fly Right!
The Boeing 737 Max is being grounded worldwide. A safety debate broke out this week after the second deadly plane crash in 5 months! Two Boeing 737 Max’s have crashed ...with no survivors. The FAA is keeping these airliners in the sky, for now, but Republicans and Democrats (like Mitt Romney and Lizzy Warren) are leading a bipartisan call for the planes to be grounded in the US. Thirty-Six nations and nearly thirty airlines have already grounded the 737 Max planes. Trump and the White House remain in the wings on this public safety issue. Listen, Rodge will take the train, for now, see. Thank you very much!
https://www.axios.com/boeing-737-max-ban-d3bc3254-f0fb-4261-b6e5-fd183ab709b9.html
SONG: Straighten Up and Fly Right https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fVaP6dM1fs
(There’s) No Grounding America’s Love for Air Travel
Speaking of Boeing, in January, the pioneers of flight tested a prototype of a small pilotless, flying vehicle, and they fully expect to launch it commercially in rural areas along fixed routes within the next 15 years. A decade after that? Muilenburg projects that we’ll see cities like Cleveland with three-dimensional traffic patterns, featuring electric, autonomous flying vehicles ferrying people to dinner parties and the movies. Now that’s what I call Tomorrowland!
https://www.axios.com/driverless-flying-cars-boeing-847330b0-f49c-4094-89b7-ea8021581e20.html
LET’S GET UP AND STRETCH OUR LEGS WITH BIGSBY’S BEAT OF THE WEEK
Today’s number is “All the Things You Are” performed by Mildred Bailey, and featuring music by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodge chanced upon this rich, romantic jazz standard on his favorite podcast: I’ve Heard That Song Before by The Front Porch People! From the storytelling of the lyrics to the stunning harmonies, you too, will adore this tune! https://youtu.be/ZvPksocjxbw
SIGN OFF STATEMENT:
And that's one for the Republic! I'm your host Rodge Bigsby and this has been news from Retrotone, a service of Evergreen Podcasts.
Until next time… make a good day! Yoo-Ha! Hashtag, RodgeBigsby.
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