DOJ’s Comey report

A report by the DOJ’s inspector general released Thursday said that former FBI director James Comey broke the bureau’s policy by leaking memos detailing his interactions with the White House. The DOJ also said that Comey would not be prosecuted.

Smoke and mirrors

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating the marketing practices of e-cigarette company Juul. The company has been accused of using deceptive marketing practices and targeting minors.

Chinese troops & Hong Kong

China brought new troops into Hong Kong on Thursday, describing the action as a routine rotation of the garrison. Pro-democracy protests have been ongoing in the city throughout the summer.

Cloud Contract

CSRA, a subsidiary of aerospace and defense corporation General Dynamics, was awarded a Pentagon contract worth ~$7.6 billion over 10 years. The company will provide the Pentagon with Microsoft 360 office and other cloud based productivity solutions.

No more Mclovin

On the heels of an FTC investigation, e-cigarette company Juul announced a new electronic checkout system designed to curb illegal sales to minors. The startup is offering more than $100 million in incentives for retailers who implement the system, which scans the shopper’s ID pre-purchase to verify their age.

Just say YES

Disney sold its $3.47 billion stake in the YES Network to an investor group that includes the Yankees, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Amazon. Disney was required to offload the 22 regional sports networks owned by 21st Century Fox (of which YES was one) as part of its $71.3 billion acquisition of the company earlier this year.

Innovative invite

Apple will unveil the iPhone 11 on September 10, and sent out invites for the event stating it’s “By innovation only.” The company is expected to introduce three new iPhone models, and could announce other new products as well.

Cross country caper

4-year-old Noah Alderson was born with a backwards heart, congenital heart defects, a missing ventricle, no branches to the lung, and other heart problems. The Spokane, WA resident underwent two open heart surgeries, and needed to undergo his third at Boston Children’s Hospital, which posed a problem - there was no way for him to get there.

Noah couldn’t fly commercial due to his oxygen machine and fragile immune system, and the family had been turned down for medical flights. Thankfully, RV rental company Outdoorsy caught wind of the situation and donated an RV to the family so they could make the cross country trek.

The 13 day trip turned into one the family will remember for a lifetime, with stops at Niagara Falls, Wrigley Field (where they got to go on the field), the Statue of Liberty, and Noah’s favorite, the Columbus Zoo. Noah is set to undergo surgery soon before making the return trip, and can’t wait to stop at the San Diego Zoo on the way back home.

A different Match.com

In 2013, Dennis Gutt was surfing the web when he stumbled across Be The Match, the world’s largest bone marrow registry. Little did he know, that small discovery would change everything - the German carpenter donated to the organization and continued on with his life, not knowing what became of his bone marrow.

It turns out, his donation saved the life of 14 month old Gabriel Smith from Springfield, Illinois. Fast forward to 2018, the Make-A-Wish foundation contacted the Smith family to offer the now 7-year-old a wish. He wanted to go to Disney World with his donor (who he had still not met), but when that couldn’t be done he was faced with a choice: meet his donor or go to Disney World.

Without hesitation, Gabriel chose to meet Dennis. The two adventured around Chicago, visiting the Sears Tower and Wrigley Field - after their story was shared thousands of people signed up for Be The Match, sparking an avalanche of life saving donations.