Gun Bill, Cosby Found Guilty, Shared Ubers

Your Daily Brief

June 22nd, 2022

Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday! Today is National Onion Ring Day (we’d be willing to bet you don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a good onion ring) and here’s what we have for you:

Today’s Highlights

Senators reach final agreement on a gun safety bill
Bill Cosby found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in 1975 when she was 16
Uber is bringing shared rides back to a number of U.S. cities

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Senators reach final agreement on a gun safety bill

Senators have come to a final agreement on a new “commonsense” gun safety bill which stemmed from negotiations between 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

If passed, the legislation–entitled the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act”–would become the first gun control measure to pass Congress in decades. It would expand background checks for prospective buyers between 18 and 21 years old, and create about $15 billion in new federal funding to invest in school security upgrades and mental health programs. The bill also creates incentives for states to implement “red flag” laws that give law enforcement and other entities the ability to petition a court to remove guns from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.

Other changes in the bill include the expansion of an existing law that prevents individuals convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun, as well as a provision that allows people restricted from gun access under the new legislation to have their gun rights restored if they keep a clean record for five years.

In a joint statement, the senators involved in putting together the legislation wrote: "Our legislation will save lives and will not infringe on any law-abiding American's Second Amendment rights. We look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support and passing our commonsense legislation into law."

Bill Cosby found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in 1975 when she was 16

A civil jury in California found Bill Cosby guilty of sexually assaulting a woman named Judy Huth when she was 16 years old.

In addition to finding Cosby guilty, the jury awarded Huth–who is now 64–a total of $500,000 in damages. During the trial, Huth testified that Cosby brought her and another underage friend to the Playboy Mansion in 1975, and while there, attempted to put his hand down her pants, exposed himself, and forced her to perform a sex act.

The jury’s decision comes less than a year after Cosby was freed from prison after his sexual assault conviction was thrown out. Over the past several years, over 50 women have come forward and accused him of similar misconduct–charges which Cosby denies. Huth’s lawsuit against Cosby was the first to go to trial and represented one of the final remaining legal actions against the former actor.

Huth filed her lawsuit in 2014, and Cosby’s criminal proceedings caused the trial to be delayed for years. Speaking on the prolonged legal battle, Huth said that it has “been torture,” and added: “To be ripped apart, you know, thrown under the bus and backed over. This, to me, is such a big victory.”

Uber is bringing shared rides back to a number of U.S. cities

After halting shared rides for over two years in an attempt to protect drivers and passengers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Uber is bringing the service back to nine U.S. cities.

According to an announcement Uber released yesterday, its shared ride service UberX Share (formerly Uber Pool) is arriving in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland (OR), Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis. The company also said that more cities will be added later in the summer.

Rival rideshare company Lyft also halted its shared ride service during the pandemic, which, like Uber’s, allows passengers to share a car with other riders going in the same direction for a discount. However, Lyft brought shared rides back last year to Miami and Philadelphia, and last month, the company said the service would expand to San Francisco, San Jose, Las Vegas, Denver, and Atlanta.

Shared rides are limited to a total of two passengers, per Uber’s announcement, and customers who use the service will receive an upfront discount, along with up to 20% off the total fare if they’re matched with a co-rider along the way. Uber also promised that passengers who use UberX Share will arrive at their destinations no more than eight minutes later than they would have in a private Uber.

Around the Globe

Ukraine’s defense minister said the country has received its first delivery of German self-propelled Howitzers, the first delivery of heavy weapons promised by Berlin
South Korea launched satellites into orbit with a fully homegrown rocket dubbed “Nuri” for the first time in the nation’s history
The Kremlin said it doesn’t know the locations of Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, the two Americans who were captured in Ukraine fighting on behalf of the country, and held that they could be sentenced to death as mercenaries

On the Homefront

The FDA announced a plan that would require tobacco companies to cut nicotine levels in cigarettes to reduce smoking and make cigarettes less addictive
Existing home sales fell for the fourth straight month while median home sale prices hit a record high of $402,000
2020 election officials from Arizona and Georgia testified during the fourth day of hearings on the January 6th, 2021 incident at the U.S. Capitol

Glitz and Games

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson reached confidential settlement agreements with 20 of the 24 women who accused him of sexual misconduct
Top Gun: Maverick passes global box office revenue of $900 million in 25 days of release
Tampa Bay Bucaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski says he is retiring from professional football; it will be his second retirement from the league after first stepping away in 2018 and then returning in 2020

Money Moves

Major indexes in the stock market bounced back yesterday after the worst-performing week in over 2 years (Dow +2.15%, Nasdaq +2.51%, S&P 500 +2.45%)
Walt Disney Family sells its Napa winery Silverado Vineyards to hockey and wine mogul Bill Foley for a price north of $150 million, per estimates
The Kellogg company plans to split into three separate public companies by the end of 2023, sectioning off its snacking, cereal, and plant-based businesses

Tip & Tricks

Bump This: Get entranced with Drake’s new deep house-inspired track “Falling Back” on Apple Music and Spotify
Nerd Out: Researchers have discovered a way to turn snake venom into a gel that can stop bleeding by solidifying at body temperature to seal wounds
Look Up: Thousands gathered at Stonehenge to watch the summer solstice sunrise yesterday, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere
Bum Out: A floating restaurant and popular tourist destination in Hong Kong that served millions capsized and sank into the South China Sea while being towed away from the city over the weekend
Say What: “I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form," Elon Musk’s transgender daughter said in a petition to change her name to reflect her gender identity
Hot Goss: Hailey Bieber’s beauty and skincare line “Rhode Skin” is being sued for trademark infringement less than a week after launching
Life Hack: You can get rid of hiccups by filling a cup with water, tightly holding a paper towel over the opening, and drinking the water that seeps through the towel (it sounds weird, but trust us, it works)

Question of the day

What is something that’s popular now but in 5 years people will look back on and be embarrassed about liking? Let us know your thoughts here:

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Looking Back…

On June 22nd, 1633, astronomer Galileo Galilei–accused of heresy by the Inquisition–was forced to recant his support of the Copernican system, which held that the Sun was the center of the solar system.