Impeachment Articles Drafted

Top Democrats have been instructed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday to begin drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump. The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Monday to receive presentations from the Republican and Democrat counsels for the Intelligence Committee.

Protests in France

Workers across France participated yesterday in the largest series of public sector strikes in decades. Teachers, transport workers, police, lawyers, hospital, airport staff, and more took to the streets over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plan, the details of which he is expected to reveal next week.

Russian Bounty

Russian national Maksim Yakubets has been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department, who is accusing Yakubets of being the leader of Evil Corp, a Russian-based cybercriminal network allegedly responsible for banking malware used to steal over $170 million dollars. Yakubets is still at large and the State Department is offering a $5 million reward for information related to his capture.

We Are The ChamIPOns

Saudi Aramco announced the price of its initial public offering yesterday, saying it would sell 3 billion shares, or a 1.5 percent stake in the company, at 32 Saudi royals per share ($8.65). The $25.6 billion IPO, which values the oil giant at $1.7 trillion, is the largest ever, exceeding Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO in 2014.

And the pitch...

Billionaire Steve Cohen, currently an 8 percent stakeholder in the New York Mets, is in talks to increase his investment to an 80 percent stake in the team. Sources say under the current negotiations, controlling owner Fred Wilpon and his son and COO Jeff would remain in their positions for the next five years.

Uber’s Safety Report

Uber released an 84-page safety report Thursday, stating the company had received over 3,000 reports of sexual assault related to its trips inside the United States in 2018. The number represents a 16 percent drop in reported incidents from the previous year - Uber said 99.9 percent of all its 2.3 billion U.S. trips in 2017 and 2018 ended without any safety incidents.

None of your bUSiness

Veritas Genetics has notified customers it will be ceasing operations in the U.S. due to an adverse financing situation. The company, which became the first in the world to map out the human genome for under $1,000 in 2016, had laid off the bulk of its American workforce - about 50 people - earlier this week.

My Brother’s Keeper

There are those who walk among us who are absolutely selfless. Usually putting themselves last on their list of priorities, these angels on earth often walk unseen and underappreciated. But this week, one little angel received a bit of well-deserved recognition.

Alize is an 11-year-old boy who lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. The oldest of three children, he’s a natural when it comes to caring for his siblings and helping out his mom and grandmother. Alize’s kid brother, Andre, suffers from blindness and brain damage, and can’t walk or talk. Alize takes it upon himself to care for Andre, singing him to sleep, and treating him with the love that a parent would, even though Alize himself is also just a boy.

Though it can seem impossible to repay the love that Alize has shown his family, his grandmother Vicky managed to do just that. She called a local radio station that was giving away trips for extra special kids to visit the Gold Coast of Australia and put his name in the bidding. When they announced on air that Alize had won, he was flooded with emotion. Alize’s trip will surely be one of a lifetime, where a kid can just be a kid.

All Bark, No Bite

Simba is a sweet pup, full of love for any and all around him. He lives in an apartment in Sweden with his owner, Arjanit Mehana, but had been getting a negative reaction from the other residents due to his breed - Simba is a pit bull. One neighbor went out of her way every day to avoid coming in close contact with Simba, calling him “mean” and “bad” because of his appearance. Then came the day when he saved her life.

Simba and Arjanit were coming home to his apartment one day when Simba ran to the elderly woman’s door and started barking relentlessly. It was then that Arjanit could hear his neighbor crying for help from within her home. She had broken her hip, and for two days was lying there unable to get help. If it hadn’t been for Simba, things could have been far worse. Arjanit called for an ambulance and the neighbor was able to receive assistance. She thanked Simba for hearing her cries for help, calling him a “nice doggie.”

Simba serves as a reminder to all that judgment should always be reserved, and that things are not always as they seem. This good boy just earned a new friend and taught one woman the value of an open mind.