Taliban Prisoner Exchange

Two prisoners were freed from Taliban custody on Tuesday in exchange for the release of three of the group’s members by the United States. Australian Timothy Weeks and American Kevin King, who are both professors at the American University of Afghanistan, are safe and currently receiving medical care.

Hong Kong Senate Act

The U.S. Senate unanimously voted to approve the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a bill that would require the Secretary of State to annually certify that Hong Kong remains sufficiently independent from China. It would also provide for sanctions against individuals responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong.

Epstein Prison Guards Charged

Two prison guards have been charged with multiple counts of falsifying records and conspiracy in relation to financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death. The federal indictment alleges the guards sat at their desk and surfed the internet in lieu of performing mandatory prisoner counts, but officially certified they performed their duties.

To the cloud

Google launched its new cloud gaming service, Stadia, yesterday - the tech giant added 10 games to its roster just two days before launch, upping the total number of games offered on the platform to 22. Post launch, a number of preorder customers took to Twitter to report a missing invite email, effectively preventing them from creating their new account - one of a number of issues the platform has encountered following its release.

First Team

Microsoft’s Teams communication app now has 20 million daily active users, up nearly 54 percent since July. The subscription-based workplace bundle continues to grow its user lead over competitor Slack (12 million daily active users as of October), whose shares closed down 8.4 percent following Microsoft’s announcement.

Up to speed

Yesterday, SoCal-based startup Karma Automotive introduced a new all-electric concept vehicle - the SC2 - that delivers a reported 1,100 horsepower and can go from 0 to 60 mph in under 1.9 seconds. The company also unveiled the 2020 Revero GTS, a gasoline-electric hybrid luxury vehicle starting at $149,950.

(Pod)Cast Away

Spotify announced it will begin applying its personalization technology to podcasts, launching a new playlist called “Your Daily Podcasts.” The playlist mixes podcasts already followed by users with Spotify’s own recommendations, though the company said it would not give preferential treatment to its own original content.

Bent but not broken

Stephanie Bowman is a champion of those in need of help. As the founder of One Heart for Women and Children, it brings her great happiness to help others feel warm, fed, and loved when they are down on their luck.

But Stephanie’s life wasn’t always this way. Stephanie herself had to hit rock bottom to realize the value of helping others, and the true meaning of life. She’s been in abusive relationships, addicted to drugs, and even had her daughter dig for food in a dumpster when she was only five years old. But the final straw came when her two daughters were taken from her custody in 1999 and placed in foster care.

Stephanie says that’s the day she decided to change her life. She surrounded herself with a network of support to overcome addiction, trauma, and cancer. But it wasn’t enough for her to heal her own life, she decided to make it her life’s mission to do the same for others. Stephanie’s story proves that it’s never too late in life to make a change, and that the love we gain from self-forgiveness can transform the world.

Drax the Rescuer

According to actor Justin Long, pit bulls Maggie and Ollie Bautista have won the “dog lottery.” The six-year-old pups were recently made homeless by their owner, who’d given them up after having a baby.

Soon after, Michelle Baker - a member of the dog-loving group Pitbull Mafia - rescued Ollie and Maggie from the shelter and immediately treated them for malnourishment and a flea infestation. The dogs quickly recovered, and Michelle fostered the reunited pair for two weeks as she searched for their forever home.

Through a Tampa-based organization named Frankie’s Friends, word spread to none other than Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista (Drax), an avid animal lover and philanthropist. He responded right away, and just a few hours after meeting the duo, he was completely in love and drowning in dog cuddles. “I needed them and they needed me,” Bautista captioned in a photo with his new family members on social media. Maggie and Ollie’s loving duet has now become a trio because of the power of word of mouth and a community’s desire to connect great animals to great people.