| | Dose Of News Useful Today Monday August 26th | | | | You've got a friend in me
| Good morning and happy Monday. If you’re wishing you could catch some extra Z’s, here’s a little glimpse of the future - sleeping on your drive into work (but we wouldn’t recommend that quite yet). | | | Daily Sprinkle | “Only he who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible.”
-Miguel de Unamuno | | |  | G7 & US-China relations | The annual G7 summit wraps up today in France, where the heads of state from the United States, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are gathered to discuss international policy issues. On Friday, China announced additional tariffs of 5-10% on $75 billion worth of US goods. Later that day, the US responded by pledging to increase the rate of tariffs set to go into effect in the coming months. Meanwhile, on China’s home front…
Police fired a warning gunshot and used a water cannon against pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday night. The demonstrations have been ongoing throughout the summer, but had been largely peaceful for most of August. China has accused US lawmakers of inappropriately interfering by voicing support for protesters, who have been seen waving American flags and asking for the US to interfere. | | | | | | Share Today's Dose of Discussion | | |  | Amazon firefightBrazil deployed 44,000 troops to help put out a record number of fires burning in the Amazon. The number of fires in the rainforest increased more than 80 percent this year over the same period in 2018 and has caught the attention of international leaders and activists around the world. | | Middle East attackIsrael carried out an airstrike against Iranian forces in Syria on Saturday night. Israel Defense Force said it was acting to prevent a large-scale drone attack against Israel. | | Opioid overtureAn Oklahoma judge is expected to issue a ruling today on whether Johnson & Johnson is responsible for the role it has played in the nation’s opiod epidemic. The state’s attorney general has argued that the company should pay ~$17 billion in damages for aggressively marketing the drugs while downplaying the risk of addiction. | | | | | |  | You've got a friend in meDisney and Target announced a partnership yesterday - the retailer will be opening up Disney stores within 25 existing locations, with 40 more locations set to roll out in 2020. As part of the deal, Target will also open a location near Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. | | CNBC → | Perilous products purchasableA WSJ investigation found over 4,000 items available for purchase on Amazon that “have been declared unsafe by federal agencies, are deceptively labeled or are banned by federal regulators” - many labelled as “Amazon’s choice.” Amazon removed a majority of the items after the WSJ contacted the e-commerce giant, but many remain listed for sale. | | Wall Street Journal → | Calling an AudibleSeven major US publishers sued Amazon’s Audible for copyright infringement. The suit centers around Audible’s ‘Captions’ feature (essentially speech to text) and was filed in New York Friday. | | Reuters → | "Rock"starForbes released its list of highest paid actors last week. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson topped the list ($89.4 million), with Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr. rounding out the top 3, coming in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. | | Forbes → | | | | |  | All the world's a stageIf you were stuck in your house 24/7, how would you entertain yourself? That’s the dilemma 3-year-old Quinn Waters finds himself in daily after being diagnosed with brain cancer. His immunity was wiped out following a stem cell transplant to combat the disease, so even a common cold could send him back to the hospital. Only immediate family is allowed to enter, so the boy is forced to stare longingly at the outside world through the window… until recently. Family members began to entertain him through the window with interactive art, then neighbors began to regularly stop by to perform various types of shows ranging from acrobatic tricks to a dog parade. Soon, professional performers caught wind of the situation and started appearing daily on his front lawn - dance acts, musical artists, you name it. Quinn’s mood and health has been rapidly improving, and his family attributes it to the different strangers who show up each day to perform for the little boy. | | CBS News → | Adventure addictKentucky resident Jeff Bracken is afflicted with Usher Syndrome, a condition that causes hearing loss and eventually affects vision, causing blindness. After his diagnosis, he was forced to turn in his drivers’ license, and picked up biking as a way to exercise his freedom and mobility, as well as his power over the disorder. His vision has been slowly deteriorating over the years, and is now at the point where Jeff has no peripheral vision... he told Stitch Videos it’s like “looking through two toilet paper rolls.” Not knowing how long his limited vision will last, he recently completed the Fuller Center Bike Adventure - a 3,500 mile bike ride from Seattle to Washington, D.C., where the riders stop in multiple cities along the route to construct houses for those in need. As for what’s next? "If my vision does get down to this, I'll just find the next thing to do. I'll just find another way to adapt, another way to overcome to find fulfillment and enjoyment." You go, dude. | | NBC Sacramento → | | | | |  | Ain't no mountain tall enough | via Forbes We all know the world’s highest mountain is Mt. Everest (29,029 ft. above sea level), but it’s not the world’s tallest mountain. The world’s tallest mountain 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 | Mauna Kea. The dormant volcano measures 33,000 feet tall, with a majority of its height hidden by the Pacific Ocean. Bonus fact: The tallest mountain on Mars is Olympus Mons, standing over 80,000 feet high. | | We use a rating system powered by MediaBias/FactCheck. These ratings are SUBJECTIVE & should be treated as such. Learn more. | | | |
