Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

August 31st, 2023

Good morning, and happy Thursday! Today is the last day of August (can you believe it?), which means it’s the final day you may be able to take home a Truvani Natural Beauty Bundle to help you unwind and refresh. To earn your entry to take home this bundle that includes collagen, turmeric, an ebook on natural beauty, and more, all you need to do is refer one friend to join Tip News!

In Today’s Brief

Russia: Largest drone assault on region yet
Mitch McConnell: Freezes at Kentucky event
Venus Williams: Exits first round at U.S. Open
American Airlines: Workers authorize strike

...and more

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Top Tips

Idalia makes landfall

Idalia weakened to a tropical storm yesterday after making landfall in Florida's Big Bend area as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that parts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina should see "considerable" flooding and the possibility of multiple tornadoes from Idalia. The storm was expected to unleash up to 12 inches of rainfall across the four states. Three people have been reported dead in Florida as Idalia passed through and over 445K customers were without power. Idalia also forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights within, into, or out of the region.

State officials, 5.5K National Guardsman, and rescue crews have been activated for search and recovery, inspecting bridges, clearing toppled trees, and looking for anyone in distress. The NWS in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.

Military officers oust Gabon president

Military officers claimed to have seized power in Gabon yesterday and put President Ali Bongo Ondimb under house arrest, hours after he was re-elected.

The coup leaders said in an announcement on Gabon’s state TV that General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the republican guard chief, would become the nation’s leader after being “unanimously” designated president of a transitional committee to lead the country. The military officers accused the president of embezzlement during his rule over the Central African nation. In a video from detention in his residence, Bongo called on people to “make noise” to support him, but the crowds who gathered around the capital instead reportedly celebrated the coup.

Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, has served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years. Another group of soldiers attempted a coup in 2019, but it ended not long after it began.

DHHS advises new weed classification

The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended that marijuana be moved to a lower-risk category under the Controlled Substances Act.

The recommendation comes 11 months after President Biden ordered the health agency to conduct a review of the drug. The recommendation is to move marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, under the Controlled Substances Act. If the Drug Enforcement Agency were to reschedule cannabis, it would most notably eliminate an IRS code intended to prevent drug dealers from claiming tax deductions for expenses, potentially saving the marijuana industry significant amounts of capital.

Marijuana has been categorized as a Schedule I drug since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted in 1970, meaning it's considered to have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, according to the DEA. While marijuana remains unlawful at the federal level, more than 40 states allow its use in some form.

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Quick Tips

Around the Globe

Six Russian regions including Moscow came under attack yesterday, in the biggest drone assault on its territory since it launched its war on Ukraine; in the city of Pskov, several transport planes were reportedly damaged when drones targeted an airport (More)
Iranian weightlifter Mostafa Rajai has been banned for life by Iran's weightlifting federation after talking to and shaking hands with an Israeli participant at the World Masters Championship (More)
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ate fish caught off Fukushima's coast yesterday to alleviate fears after the release of water from the disabled Okuma nuclear power station; the event comes after condemnation from people in South Korea and China (More)

On the Homefront

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, 81, appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky, weeks after he had a similar episode in Washington (More)
A federal judge held Rudy Giuliani liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers who claim they were falsely accused of fraud, ruling that the former New York City mayor ignored his duty as a defendant to turn over information requested by election workers (More)
A TV news crew in Chicago was robbed at gunpoint this week while they were reporting on a string of robberies that have taken place across the city in recent days (More)

Glitz & Games

In partnership with Dr. S Eyewear

The Venice Film Festival kicked off yesterday with World War II drama Comandante; the festival was meant to open with Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, starring Zendaya, but the movie was pushed to a 2024 release date due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike (More)
Rapper 50 Cent postponed his show in Phoenix, Arizona, due to an excessive heat warning; the artist is currently in the midst of The Final Lap Tour for the 20th anniversary of Get Rich or Die Tryin (More)
Venus Williams’ record-extending 24th appearance in the U.S. Open singles draw came to an end after losing against Belgium’s Greet Minnen; it marked the veteran player’s largest defeat at the U.S. Open since she made her debut in 1997 (More)

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Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market closed higher for the fourth consecutive trading day (Dow +0.11%, Nasdaq +0.54%, S&P 500 +0.38%)
The Biden administration's Labor Department has proposed a new rule that would raise the salary cap for receiving overtime pay, a move the agency says would grant more salaried workers time-and-a-half pay for every hour they work beyond 40 each a week (More)
American Airlines flight attendants have voted in favor of a strike authorization; the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 26K workers, reported a 99.47% of voting members were in favor of the authorization (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Meet Bruce Lake, a Canadian police officer who is being hailed as a hero after he rescued a woman who disappeared under a waterfall when he was off-duty and exploring New Brunswick’s Laverty Falls area with his wife and friends
Sneak Peek: See Michael Fassbender and David Fincher team up in the official trailer for The Killer, an upcoming thriller about assassins that’s sure to be full of shoot-outs, chase scenes, and more
Bump This: Country hitmakers Dan + Shay channel some chords right out of Billy Joel’s songbook in their new single “We Should Get Married” - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Chow Down: Carrots have a natural sweetness to them, which really comes out when you throw them on the grill - for the perfect side dish, try this recipe for grilled carrots that’s super simple and will make you wonder why you’re not eating them more often
Nerd Out: A Harvard physicist confirmed that the hundreds of mysterious metallic spheres found in the Pacific Ocean in June were carried by an interstellar object that crashed into Earth in 2014…making it the first time in human history that we have discovered material from outside of our solar system
Go Deep: From Leonardo da Vinci to your next-door neighbor, everyone procrastinates from time to time - dive into one man’s journey to discover why we procrastinate…and the fatal flaw he found at the heart of how we understand it today
Life Hack: Travel not only broadens our horizons and expands our imagination, but also goes a long way to restore our well-being - if you’re interested in documenting your adventures, here are some tips on how to keep a travel journal, according to an expert in the field

Tip-Offs

Listing every state’s most affordable four-year college.

…and 7 maps that explain the danger of Hurricane Idalia.

Yelp compiles a list of every state’s cheapest place to eat.

Brian Wilson performs “God Only Knows” live in the studio.

Take a tour of a seaside mansion shaped like a sandcastle.

…and see an architect’s unique design that slows down time.

Examining the recent rising popularity of Indigenous tourism.

See hilarious photos of Spain’s annual tomato food fight.

Looking Back…

On August 31st: King Kamehameha III officially declares Honolulu a city and the capital of his kingdom (1850); the Harrier “jump-jet” fighter-bomber makes its first flight (1966); Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan declare independence from the Soviet Union (1991); Diana, Princess of Wales, dies following a car crash in Paris (1997).

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