| | Dose Of News Useful Today Monday August 19th | | | | Model S(olar)
| Good morning. Having trouble getting motivated on this Monday? Well, it’s never too late to chase your dreams – like this 103-year-old woman who just set the record for the oldest person ever to go skydiving. | | | Daily Sprinkle | What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork. – Pearl Bailey | | | We use a rating system powered by MediaBias/FactCheck. These ratings are SUBJECTIVE & should be treated as such. Learn more. | | |  | The Israeli Visit | Last Thursday, Israel announced that it would bar congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering Israel for a visit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited their support for a movement to boycott Israel and their planned itinerary as the reason behind the action. On Friday, Israel granted a more limited travel permit to Tlaib to visit the West Bank, where she has close relatives, on humanitarian grounds. Tlaib announced later that day that she would be cancelling her trip, citing the permit’s restrictions on her travel and speech while in Israel. So, what next?
This has sparked renewed debate surrounding the international movement to boycott Israel – in late July, the House passed a resolution condemning the movement by a vote of 398-17. | | Let’s see what people are saying… | | | | Share Today’s Dose of Discussion | | |  | 96 hoursWhat would you do if you were stranded in the desert? That was the dilemma 73-year-old Greg Randolph and his two canine companions were facing after his jeep got stuck in the Lake County Oregon wilderness, an area that boasts a population of less than one person per square mile. He decided to walk for help and after spending 4 days unprotected in the sun, collapsed from dehydration. Enter cyclist and savior Thomas Quinones, who was bikepacking through Oregon and miraculously discovered Greg after his collapse. Thomas immediately contacted the authorities and nursed Greg until they arrived (he was not able to sit up and could barely drink water). Thanks to Thomas being in the right place at the right time, Greg and his two dogs, Cruella and Buddy, are still alive and well. | | Good News Network → | Premature PTOMichigan couple David and Alli Printz were excited for the birth of their son, Duke, but those plans were interrupted when Alli’s high blood pressure put her in the hospital with preeclampsia. As a result, the doctors induced labor 6 weeks early. The early birth put Duke and Alli in the NICU, and the responsibility fell to David to be there for them as well as take care of the couple’s older daughter. The new dad had no vacation days at work, and after wrestling with the decision decided to take unpaid leave to be with his family. After his boss was briefed on the situation, he (the boss) sent a company-wide email asking for PTO donations from employees to help. The response was overwhelming – David’s coworkers pitched in more than enough PTO to cover his leave so that he could spend quality time with his wife and new son without worrying about how to cover the bills. | | Inspire More → | SchooledSchool is starting back up and that usually means school buses full of students. But what about school buses full of donated school supplies? That’s what happened in Pasadena after donations poured in for the second annual Fill the Bus donation drive. The drive started last year, after the city of Pasadena recognized that many teachers paid out of their own pockets for school supplies to fill their classrooms. The first ever Fill the Bus drive last year was a success, filling three school buses with donated school supplies. This year it was even better – the event raised $30,000 and filled more than seven school buses with supplies for the students and teachers. | | Chron → | | | | |  | Hong Kong protestsAccording to organizers, 1.7 million people turned out for a peaceful protest in Hong Kong this past weekend, the largest gathering since early June. This marks the 11th straight week of protests. | | Afghanistan bombingThe Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a wedding in Kabul, Afghanistan over the weekend. The attack was the deadliest in the capital this year, killing 63 and wounding 182. | | International intrigueOver US objections, British overseas territory Gibraltar released an Iranian tanker it had seized in early July. The territory stated that US sanctions against Iran did not apply in the EU. | | | | | |  | High stakesSoftBank Group is lending its employees up to $20 billion to purchase stakes in its second Vision Fund, a $100+ billion investment fund expected to focus on artificial intelligence. The first Vision Fund offered the same arrangement for SoftBank employees, and ~$8 billion of that fund is comprised of employee money. | | Wall Street Journal → | Leading the chargeSegway-Ninebot, a Chinese scooter company, has unveiled a self-driving scooter that can drive itself to charging stations using AI and remote cloud capabilities. The company says the scooters are gathering interest from Uber and Lyft, and are expected to launch early 2020. | | The Verge → | Fully bookedAirbnb released its earnings Friday, reporting $9.4 billion in total bookings (and 91 million nights booked) this past quarter – up 31% over last year. According to the WSJ, the company is planning an IPO in early 2020. | | Reuters → | Model S(olar)Tesla announced (or rather, Elon Musk tweeted) a relaunch of its solar panels business, offering a rental option and no-contract solar panel packages. This is seen as a move to juice its solar business, which reported its third consecutive quarterly decline in installations last month. | | Bloomberg → | | | | |  | What’s the buzz about? | via National Geographic The world’s largest honeybees are located near the peaks of the Himalayas. Many “honey hunters” brave the heights and bee stings to harvest their honey, which possesses a strange and valuable characteristic. Can you guess what that is? | (keep scrolling for the answer) | | | | |  | Get Your FREE Stuff | Step 1. Click the share button below | Step 2. Share the DONUT with friends | Step 3. Cash in on tons of rewards | |  | | | | | | | Dose of Knowledge Answer | The honey possesses hallucinogenic properties. Due to that characteristic and the difficulty of harvesting, it commands a price 4x higher than normal honey. | | |
