A daily non-partisan, conversational breakdown of today’s top news and breaking news stories
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Headlines:
– Welcome to Mo News (00:00)
– NASA Astronauts Stuck in Space (03:30)
– Prosecutors Recommend DOJ Charge Boeing Over 737 Max Crashes (07:00)
– Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge To Ban On Gender-Affirming Care (10:40)
– Flooded River Puts Southern Minnesota Dam in Imminent Failure Condition (17:30)
– After Attack in Dagestan, Russian Officials Minimize Islamic State Claim (19:00)
– BlackSuit Cybercrime Gang Blamed in CDK Hack That Roiled Car Dealers (21:00)
– ACLU Sues Louisiana Over Requiring the display of Ten Commandments in Public Schools (23:00)
– As Americans Trim Spending, These Cheap Steakhouses Are Booming (26:00)
– On This Day In History (28:20)
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Mosheh Oinounou (@mosheh) is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist. He has 20 years of experience at networks including Fox News, Bloomberg Television and CBS News, where he was the executive producer of the CBS Evening News and launched the network's 24 hour news channel. He founded the @mosheh Instagram news account in 2020 and the Mo News podcast and newsletter in 2022.
Jill Wagner (@jillrwagner) is an Emmy and Murrow award- winning journalist. She's currently the Managing Editor of the Mo News newsletter and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News, Cheddar News, and News 12. She also co-founded the Need2Know newsletter, and has made it a goal to drop a Seinfeld reference into every Mo News podcast.
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Hey everybody. It is Tuesday, June 25th. You're listening to the Mo News podcast. I'm emotional new. And I'm Jill Wagner. This is the place where we bring you just the facts. And we read all the news and read between the lines. So you don't have to. Jill is on location today as she records the podcast. Yes. And that location would be my in-laws house of about 10 minutes from my house as my internet is spotty. Yes, Jill. We thought we had that result or we thought that your local telecom had that result last year. And what the people what the listeners don't know is that we sometimes go through quite the roller coaster ride when it comes to internet signal and getting this podcast together. Yes, Moshe. So I had a little bit of satisfaction or I just felt at least not quite as bad when you were in Chicago recently and you were staying at a hotel and your internet was not great and it kept going down. And I'm like, I just like tried to be so understanding about it because don't worry about it. We got this. We'll keep recording. No big deal. Jill, it's notable, you know, we're still getting the tech house in order globally, locally in this country because today, June 25th is known as Global Beatles Day as in the music group because it marks on this day, June 25th, 1967. They performed all you need is love to 400 million people around the world via the first global live TV link that broadcast to 26 countries around the world. So the Beatles have that huge moment back in the late 60s. The internet would come around. We're still figuring it all out. We're trying to connect. We're just a few miles away from one of them. Well, speaking of millions of miles, let's get this in headline. Two NASA astronauts are stuck in space and it is unclear when they're going to be able to come home because of issues on their Boeing spacecraft. Speaking of Boeing, the Justice Department is weighing criminal charges against the company for violating an agreement after the deadly 737 Max crashes a few years back. And as we await major Supreme Court rulings this week, we're also learning that the court will take up a major transgender case in next year's term. Yeah, the court's been avoiding several cases related to this, but it's gotten to the point where Supreme Court could be taken up transgender rights. We'll tell you about it. The extreme weather continues a dam in Minnesota being overrun by flood waters. Local authorities are calling for evacuations. Overseas Islamic terrorists kill at least 20 people in a Russian province as officials around Putin are trying to blame NATO and Ukraine as they do the cyber crime gang that took down thousands of car dealerships appears to be getting paid a ransom to let them back online. And that was quick. The governor of Louisiana said bring it on when it came to lawsuits over the state requiring public schools to display the 10 commandments. And now the ACLU is taking Louisiana to court. And Americans have been trimming their spending, but there are some cheap steak houses that are apparently booming. And Moshe is on the stay in history, besides the Beatles. Yeah, we gave you a little bit of on the same history at the top. Jill will tell you the story behind one of the most iconic flags in the world. It was revealed on this day in history. All right, stuck in space, the two NASA astronauts who flew Boeing's Starliner capsule to the International Space Station earlier this month have stayed in orbit much longer than anticipated. And will continue to do so. The original plan for this first crude test flight of the Starliner had called for the astronauts, but Wilmore and Sunita Williams suspend about a week on the space station before riding that capsule back to Earth. Well, if you remember, they arrived at the orbiting outpost on June 6, and they are now going on nearly three weeks. And it is unclear when they'll be able to come home. Their return journey has been postponed several times. NASA initially floated June 18 as the earliest date that the astronauts could return. And then the agency said the flight back would happen on June 22. That was then changed to June 26. And now the latest is a TBD undetermined new date. Yeah. So Jill, it's what the NASA astronauts share with us at an airport where you're like, you keep things delayed board and you're like, uh, we don't know when your flight's going to take off. I am having so much anxiety even reading this story because I get anxiety if like my flight is delayed to your point. Yeah. And at least then it's like at the very least you could rent a car and drive home. Yeah. And this was their only way out. NASA has said the reason for the adjustments adjustments. Nice word is an investigation into issues with the capsule that cropped up earlier in the flight. The Boeing spacecraft's propulsion system has a slow helium leak. It's something that mission managers knew about prior to the launch. But at the time, they said that it was unlikely to affect the test flight or the safety of the astronauts. However, four additional helium leaks were detected once the spacecraft reached orbit. Yes. And as the Boeing Starliner craft near the space station back on June 6th, five of its thrusters also malfunctioned, delaying the final approach by just over an hour. And so a lot of issues here that NASA and Boeing say they are monitoring. Despite the issues, NASA says it still has confidence in the Starliner. They say the spacecraft is performing well in orbit while docked in the space station besides the whole helium leak issue that's delaying the return of the two astronauts. Now, this was a big deal. Boeing Starliner years behind schedule finally gets off the ground earlier this month. And this is meant to show that Boeing, the Starliner, is going to be able to ferry astronauts back and forth into low Earth orbit and be part of NASA's future here. And so after being years behind schedule going over budget, et cetera, it finally lives off on June 5th. And now all these issues. So NASA officials have suggested in a blog post, there is no date for when the astronauts going to return. There is going to be a major spacewalk on July 2nd. So they're thinking after July 2nd. Now, not to be worried, there are enough supplies in space to accommodate the two of them. And there's no need to hurry the departure. In fact, they are currently living on the space station with seven other crew members who are already stationed on the space station. Apparently, according to reports, they're helping out with a whole number of tasks while they're up there. They're carrying out other tasks as part of NASA's process. You know, they're only going to be there for a week now that they're there for several weeks. So, you know, they're volunteering, they're assisting their fellow astronauts up there. NASA says it will conduct a full review though before giving the go ahead to get back in the starliner and return back to Earth. And it comes as we're following another Boeing story back here on Earth. And this is completely separate, but it does point to just how important this mission with NASA was for Boeing to have good publicity. Federal prosecutors are recommending that the Justice Department file criminal charges against Boeing, again, totally unrelated to the starliner. Boeing is accused of violating the terms of a settlement related to those fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Under a 2021 deal, the Justice Department agreed not to prosecute Boeing over allegations that it defrauded the FAA. So as long as the company overhauled its compliance practices and submitted regular reports, Boeing also agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle the investigation. And it appears based on these reports that they may not have met those requirements according to federal prosecutors. Yeah, so criminal charges could be in store for Boeing here. That is just one, though, of several options the Justice Department has in considering what to do. They have a July 7 deadline. And so this is the recommendation for prosecutors. We'll see what the Justice Department comes up with. A lawyer representing the families of those who died in the October 2018 crash. That was line air in Indonesia, as well as the Ethiopian Airlines crash in Addis Ababa five months later in 2019. They say they have not received word yet from prosecutors about how they intend to proceed. Keep in mind here, the crash victims families have not been so pleased with the lack of information they've been getting over the past few years. They were shocked and angered by the prosecutor's decision to allow Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution back in 2021. And because they were not considered crime victims at the time, prosecutors and Boeing negotiated the deal, they were not consulted, and they actually learned the news from media reports. Now, the relatives of the victims have subsequently sued and then won the right to have families considered crime victims here and pursue something against Boeing, potentially. They actually sent a letter to the Justice Department earlier this month, saying Boeing should face $25 billion with a B in additional fines, and the Justice Department should pursue aggressive criminal prosecution of the Boeing company. The feeling is that they let Boeing get off easy. But now it appears that even the deal that Boeing struck that would have prevented prosecution, there's a feeling they're not abiding by all of it. So, that's the story we're going to watch closely. Jill, we told people last week about the Boeing CEO on Capitol Hill, just it's hit after hit for Boeing. And we haven't even talked about the Alaska jet from January to the peace falling off. So there's just a lot going on right now, a lot of scrutiny for Boeing. But this is why my reaction to that story last week, if you remember, was kind of shocked because having covered those crashes and the aftermath of those crashes, Boeing was supposed to make real fundamental changes to the way that it ran its business. As we just talked about, to oversight, to just its culture in general. And the fact that that hasn't been done is extremely disappointing, particularly to the families of those more than 300 people who were killed. Yeah, there have been more than 20 whistleblowers in the past few years that have come out. Jill and that CEO who testified on Capitol Hill, Dave Calhoun, who's leaving at the end of this year, he was brought in 2020 specifically after those crashes to help fix things. And it appears, at least in the last few years, that whatever they fixed has not been sufficient. All right, switching gears here. As we wait for final decisions on some major cases this week, the Supreme Court announced Monday that among the cases they're going to take up in the next term is a major one dealing with transgender rights. The court will be hearing a case on whether states can restrict medical treatments for transgender minors. It is a case that puts the justices in the middle of a charged national debate over gender identity. In a brief order on Monday, the court said that it would hear the Biden administration's challenge to a Tennessee law that bans gender transition care for kids. And that includes medications that can delay the onset of puberty and hormones that can cause physical changes like the development of facial hair or breasts. Roughly two dozen states have banned or restricted such treatments for minors triggering legal battles around the country with judges reaching conflicting conclusions on the validity of the measures. The Tennessee case will be the first time that the high court weighs in directly on the laws constitutionality. Yeah, the important phrase there was conflicting conclusions when multiple lower courts are reaching different decisions. That's when the Supreme Court says it's time for us to intervene. So the court's next term begins in October. They typically hear the cases in the fall and then we get the rulings in the spring through the eventual ruling in this case, probably happening around this time next year. It could be a landmark case when it comes to the scope of the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, which guarantees people equal treatment under the law. And the decision could have a whole bunch of other impacts on other trans issues, including bathrooms for transgender individuals, sports teams, a lot of the stuff that's come up in the headlines and that states have been legislating around the last few years. So this Tennessee law is known as SB1, and it prohibits doctors from providing certain treatments to anyone under 18, even with parental consent, if the procedure is used as part of transgender health care, the Republican Attorney General in the state saying the law protects children from unproven and risky treatments. Now, the Justice Department on the federal level is saying the Tennessee law here doesn't accord individuals equal treatment, contending that the ban is only for those who have what's called gender dysphoria, whereas the law does allow for these treatments to be used on kids that have delayed or precocious puberty. So there's puberty issues, and you're not changing gender, you can use some of these treatments. But if you're trying to switch genders, that's where the law comes into effect. And that's where the feds are saying, hey, wait a minute, that is not equal treatment under the law. And what's been interesting here, Jill, and we've been covering it here on the podcast and the newsletter on the Instagram account is you have a whole bunch of red states, Republican states that have put bans in place. At the same time, you've had more than a dozen Democratic-led states that have adopted measures to protect transgender care. So a big impact here, as we've been seeing the court really take on a lot of really hot button, you know, third-rail issues the last few years, abortion, social media, Second Amendment, here, taking on an issue that we have seen a lot of headlines on. So it'll probably be one of the most closely watched cases of the next term. So this episode is brought to you by WeWork. We've told you for a while now that we made our home from Monu's headquarters at WeWork, the co-working space. Ours is located in Brooklyn. They have locations all across the country and around the world. We love working here because not only is it a great space to get work done, but you never know who you'll meet in the hallways here or at the next WeWork event. You could meet founders, industry leaders, or your next business partner, customer, or investor. The hot topic in the halls these days is all things artificial intelligence, AI. If you work in the AI space or are interested in getting firsthand knowledge about AI, there are already several hundred companies here focused on it. You run into them all the time. There are also master classes and networking opportunities. I truly believe that WeWork is a place you want to be if you want to surround yourself with the energy and innovation happening in the world of AI. So if you're looking to join WeWork, we've got a special discount right now for all Monu's podcast listeners for a limited time. You can get 20% off a WeWork all access membership that'll give you access to hundreds of workspaces around the world. The code is Monu's Works20. Again, Monu's Works20. You can get started right now by heading over to we.co/monusworks20. Again, the website, we're often hearing from so many of our listeners who are entrepreneurs or business owners or aspiring business owners, or they may have a side gig. They hope one day becomes a full-time business. Yeah, Moshe, we know here at Monu's it is a challenge, but there are a number of solutions out there that make it so much easier to start and grow your business. We want to tell you about one today, Shopify. It is a global commerce platform that really helps you sell at every stage of your business. We're proud to have Shopify as a partner here on the Monu's podcast. No matter what stage of the business you're in, whether you're just launching your online shop or you have hit a million orders, Shopify is there to help you grow and really optimize things. It helps you sell everywhere. It's an all-in-one e-commerce platform. It has shown incredible success in helping to turn your browsers into buyers. They're also employing AI right now with Shopify Magic. So definitely check them out if you're looking to grow. We have a special Monu's deal for you today to check out Shopify. You can sign up for just $1 a month for a trial period at Shopify.com/monus. Again, Shopify.com/monus all lowercase. You Shopify now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in. Again, Shopify.com/monus. We're also always talking on the podcast about health trends and food trends and how hard it is to get all of your nutrients. Well, one way to get all of the important ones is AG1 powder. It is just one scoop with a glass of water in the morning. It is easy and it is quick. You can replace multiple health supplements like multivitamins, digestivates, immune support, and more with that one simple scoop. It has things like folate, magnesium, and ashwagandha for stress support plus vitamin C and zinc all to support your immune system. I like to cover my nutritional bases and set myself up for success in just about 60 seconds or less. With your first purchase of AG1, they're giving Monu's listeners a free one-year supply of their vitamin D and five free travel packs of AG1. Visit drinkAG1.com/monus to take advantage of this offer. You can get a discounted monthly subscription or try it one time for just a month. Again, drinkAG1.com/monus, M-O-N-E-W-S for this special deal and really start to take ownership of your health. Time for the speed read from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We told you yesterday about the record rainfall and flooding in the upper Midwest in recent days, including Iowa and Minnesota. Well, now a dam just southwest of Minneapolis is in danger of completely failing after flooding of the Blue Earth River. It's prompting officials on Monday to warn the public that the structure is "in imminent failure condition." We posted video yesterday on Instagram showing water cutting around the sides of the dam and debris has been accumulating in the water the dam is located outside of the city of Mankato about 85 miles southwest of Minneapolis. Yeah, we're watching the dam is called the Rapid Dam Dam here. The state has received roughly 18 inches of rain over the last few weeks saturating the ground and leaving the water nowhere else to go and there's potentially even more rain coming to the area. The result, if this dam completely fails, is flash flooding damaged infrastructure homes, farmland in this area and this could risk the safety of people. Hence the state of emergency, the calls for evacuations and there's long-term issues in terms of the rapid release of sediment and debris in the earth's ecosystem harming fish and wildlife habitat. So a lot that we're watching here in chill in Minnesota, Iowa and we'll keep you up to date on the Instagram feed. From the Washington Post, at least 20 people, including a priest and over a dozen police officers were killed in Islamic terror attacks in the Russian province of Dagestan on Sunday, a synagogue, an Orthodox church and a police checkpoint were all targeted by the gunmen in a coordinated series of attacks. The attacks took place in both Dagestan's largest city and also the coastal city of Durbent. Now for hours, the gunmen were on the loose, exchanging shots with law enforcement officials and setting fire to the church and the synagogue. Five attackers were eventually killed. Russian state media reported that the attackers included relatives of a local official and a member of a prominent martial arts club. Yeah, at the same time people run Putin at the Kremlin have been trying to blame this in Ukraine in NATO. You saw the same thing when that major concert hall attack happened from ISIS. They don't want to admit that ISIS and Islamic extremists are operating inside Russia because Putin has made such a point of trying to defeat them over the course of the past decade. So in that case, and in this case, without much evidence, they're like, well, this is totally Ukraine messing with us in Russia. But it does come at a time where we are seeing a series of acts from extremist Islamic militants across the country. As I mentioned back in March, you had four gunmen killing 145 people at a concert hall near Moscow. It was an attack where ISIS claimed responsibility. And then back in Dagestan in this province, a lynch mob searched for Jewish passengers on planes as they heard that a plane was arriving from Tel Aviv. You can see them storming the airport saying, where are the Jews? Where are the Jews? This is that region, Dagestan, in southern in the Caucasus region of Russia. Some background in Dagestan is a region that is 90 to 95% Muslim, but 2 million Muslims live there, 150,000 Christians, and then just 2,000 Jews actually used to be a much larger Jewish population. Many of them have left over the last couple decades. Still, one of the only synagogue's left standing in the country, one of the targets of the attack on Sunday. From Bloomberg, a follow up to that major hack that we told you about last week that brought down thousands of car dealerships across the country. A hacking group called Black Suit is behind the cyber attack on CDK Global, which is the company that helps more than 15,000 dealerships function every day and run many of their key processes like sales and repairs. The hack has partially paralyzed car sales across the country. The Black Suit cybercrime group has demanded an extortion fee in the tens of millions of dollars from CDK, which reportedly plans to make the payment according to Bloomberg News. Black Suit named its extortion victims on a website, CDK not listed, which could mean that they continue to be in active talks. Yeah, so some background here in Black Suit, like some of these other cybercrime gangs we've told you about, they appear to be a group of Russian and Eastern European hackers with a history of working with another group that is being tracked here called Royal Ransomware. Effectively, what they do, and we've told you about what they do to hospitals, what they do to healthcare providers, what they do to schools, what they try to do to private companies. And in this case, the back end to car dealerships is bring down their system and they demand a whole bunch of money typically in Bitcoin for them to bring the systems back online. Hence, the term Ransomware, they're demanding Ransom for their activities. So they're called Ransomware as a service gangs. And that's ultimately what they're doing. They're extorting these companies. And it appears that the way that they bring down these systems is so complex that companies like CDK and others are just like, just pay them so we can access their systems again. It sets such a bad precedent. But at the same time, you understand why they're just like the path of least resistance here and the least expensive path. Yeah, they're like, we know what you're costing you. Like, your systems are down, you're losing on a whole bunch of money. Pay us 20 million, we go away. From the Associated Press, civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit Monday to block Louisiana's new law that requires the 10 commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom, arguing that it violates the Constitution. Plaintiffs in the suit include parents of Louisiana public schoolchildren represented by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Under the legislation signed into law by Republican Governor Jeff Landry last week, all public K through 12 classrooms and state funded universities will be required to display poster-sized version of the 10 commandments in "large, easily readable font" next year. Opponents argue that the law is a violation of separation of church and state and that the display will isolate students, especially those who are not Christian. Proponents say the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance. In the language of the law, the 10 commandments are "foundational documents of our state and national government." Yeah, that's the way Louisiana has been trying to get it protected. It's not just about the Bible. It's the fact that the 10 commandments were important to the nation's founders, though they are not quoted in the Constitution. They did come up in the various belief system of some of the founders. You have the Governor Landry in this case saying, "Bring it on." Literally, that's what he said. He's looking forward to this lawsuit. It was filed Monday and seeks a court declaration that the new law violates the First Amendment and should not be implemented. They want a court order immediately because right now the law says that the 10 commandments needs to be up in every classroom by January of next year. This will be an interesting case to watch. Shelly will probably go through the system, and like we are always talking about the Supreme Court, may ultimately end up there because if you look at Supreme Court rulings over the last few decades, there was a case back in 1980 in Kentucky, almost pre-identical to this, where they tried to put up the 10 commandments and classrooms. The Supreme Court at that time ruled against it. Then you have some more recent rulings in 2005. The Supreme Court ruled that the display of the 10 commandments at a pair of Kentucky courthouses also violated the Constitution. But then you had another case thereafter where they allowed the 10 commandments to be displayed on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol. Those were five, four decisions by the slight majority conservative court. Interestingly though, Breyer, a liberal joined in in that case that allowed the 10 commandments at the Texas State Capitol based on his rationale. She took a look at his concurrent opinion from back then. That said, the court is 6-3 now. We'll see where they rule on this. The advocates for this law think that things are going in their direction because you did have that recent ruling by the court that allowed that high school football coach to prey on the field. And they feel like that gives them an opening when it comes to church and state here, but still a case that will be closely following. From CNN, as we've been reporting on food prices of late and some restaurants and fast food chains that have had to bring prices down in order to get customers in their doors again, some restaurants are still going strong amid all of this. And we're talking about ones that didn't go too far with price hikes. Business is apparently booming at Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse, even as Americans are pulling back in other places. In the early part of 2024, sales at company owned Texas Roadhouse locations open at least 18 months jumped nearly 9% compared to the year before. And in the three months through May 26th, sales at Longhorn Steakhouse locations open at least 16 months rose about 4%. And it may not sound like a lot, but it's happening as Americans are really cutting retail spending and say that they plan to shell out less for summer vacations. Most restaurant chains are feeling the heat, with even McDonald's reporting that lower income consumers are pulling back. But these two eateries have a history of performing well during periods of economic uncertainty. A few years ago, the pair were standouts as inflation weary Americans started to pull back on spending. And the solution here sounds pretty simple, right? Cost is key. Giving people a feeling that they're getting a deal, an affordable luxury, in this case. And when it comes to Steakhouse, this Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse are on the cheaper end, the average meal at Longhorn or Texas Roadhouse, very affordable compared to higher end Steakhouses. So again, it gives people the feeling of affordable luxury. The average check per person at Longhorn is 26 bucks a person. Texas Roadhouse is $22 a person. And so many restaurant chains hiked their prices since the pandemic, not only because of high costs, but because they realize diners would pay. And that has frustrated customers and they're pushing back. Now you're seeing the short-term deals are told you about McDonald's and some of the fast food folks last week. But in contrast, the folks at Longhorn and Texas Roadhouse made a point of keeping their prices relatively low. And it appears to have paid off in terms of their growth. Look at that, Moshe, make people feel like they're actually getting something for their money. It works. We try to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to companies, consumers, and everything with his economy. Now time for On The Stained History. We're going to start in 1950 on this day. North Korea unleashed its attack across the 38th parallel, after which the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling on UN members to assist South Korea just in the years preceding in the aftermath of World War II, the Japanese invasion, etc. Because the Soviets, where things ended at the end of World War II drew the line. You saw that in Europe and you saw that in Asia. And so what was seen as temporary, which is like, let's just draw a line across the Koreas and figure it out later, well, we know today where things stand. And so back in 1950, North Korea launches an attack, hoping to take the entire peninsula, the US and others, support South Korea, the war lasts three years. And in the summer of 53, three years later, the stalemate basically ends where they started. The territory didn't really change that much, despite all the deaths and destruction that took place in the war. They would sign in armistice, but of course, no peace treaty exists to this day, as we continue to talk about North Korea and all things Korea, 74 years later. All right, fast forward to On This Day in 1978. The first version of the rainbow flag, representing LGBTQ pride, was flown during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade. So it was on the stay in June 25th, 1978, that the creator of the flag, his name is Gilbert Baker, brought it out to the parade. And he says people were astounded by it. It was like a bolt of lightning that this was their flag. So this was his idea. He was a drag queen and clothing designer. And he's like, I want to make a flag for pride. So he creates the rainbow flag where each color represents a specific meaning. So violet for spirit, indigo for harmony, yellow for the sun, green for nature, red for life, pink for sexuality. There's a whole idea behind that rainbow flag. He brings it out and it explodes. He can't make enough initially. And of course, that's gone on to become a symbol. And of course, is evolved over time as more groups looking for representation have looked to be added onto that flag. All right, On This Day in History, Jill, a day I remember very well, 2009, the king of pop, Michael Jackson dies of cardiac arrest in LA at the age of 50. It was ruled that his death was a combination of a lethal combination of sedatives and propofol and anesthetic. And it was ruled a homicide in 2011. His doctor, Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Jill, that's happened to be my last day at Fox News. I was moving to a new job. I remember handing my blackberry in at the time on this day in 2009. And I remember seeing the headlines pop in the newsroom. And I was like, Oh man, this is huge. I should help. And I remember like helping for 30 minutes. I was like, wait a second. This is my last day here. I have a new job. I'm starting at Bloomberg in two weeks. But I remember for like about a half an hour or four to a minute. So I was like, all right, I got, I got to help. I got to find some videotapes. And it was funny. I was in the Washington Bureau where we cover politics. So it was very hard to find videos of Michael Jackson in the DC Bureau. But we were trying our best because at the time we were producing that hour out of Washington. So you have like Brit Hume and and a bunch of like political reporters trying to talk about Michael Jackson's legacy. And then a few minutes in the network calls from New York being like, we're going to take over the airwaves. You guys are struggling with this. And Shepherd Smith takes over the coverage from New York with a better understanding of how to cover Michael Jackson's death. Well, your news instincts obviously kicked in. And one thing that people who are not in the news business may not realize is that most newsrooms have obits done for people that are aging, that are an advanced age, or maybe have a serious disease that they think might pass away. Or they're very prominent, right? Like we always had one ready to go for presidents and anyone over a certain age or who's very sick. But Michael Jackson, I don't believe was on the list. That was one that took everybody by surprise. So there was not an obit ready to go. I mean, not when I was at CBS Money Watch, I voiced the obit for Warren Buffett. It's just one of those things that newsrooms who's still alive. Who we should say is still alive, by the way. But it's one of those things that newsrooms think about all the time. They have departments and producers who are literally that is their job to get all the obits ready. So yeah, so that all of a sudden Michael Jackson, it was just such a shocking death. I was actually in the city at the time. And I was going to see a Broadway show with a friend of mine. And we were at a bar beforehand. And the bar just started blasting Michael Jackson and playing Michael Jackson because, of course, he had passed away and totally just totally surprising. Yeah, crazy facts. Sometimes you read an obituary in a newspaper about someone who died. And the person who wrote the obituary also has passed away in recent years, because they prepare the stuff so long in advance that sometimes the author's already dead by the time that the piece is published about the person they wrote the obituary for. All right, sticking with music news, more uplifting music news on this day in history. Prince released his sixth studio album, Purple Rain, on this day 40 years ago in 1984. Which is why when I hopped on to do this podcast, I just heard Mosh humming to himself. Purple rain. And I'm like, and I don't like to read ahead beyond this day. I like to hear it with the audience in real time. So I'm just like, well, why is he singing Purple Rain? It's all coming together. In other music news releases on this day, Jay Z, a young Jay Z puts out his debut album. It's called Reasonable Doubt. You may not have heard it. It got some critical success, but not much commercial success. In fact, it's his worst performing album of all time, his debut album. But still, they saw some talent in that young Jay Z and Jill, he's figured it out. He's a billionaire now. Yeah, I'm not worried about Jay Z. I'm not worried about the lack of people buying his initial debut album. He figured it out in subsequent albums. As far as debuts, it did a bit better. Maroon 5, if you may have heard of them, they released their debut album on this day. Songs about Jane, it came out on the state in 2002. So it turns 22 today among the songs on the album Sunday morning. This love, harder to breathe. Pretty big debut by Maroon 5. All right, everyone. A huge thanks for listening to the Mo News Podcast. If you like what you hear, please share this with your friends. It will help us grow. Follow us and subscribe so you don't miss an episode and review us in the App Store. Thanks, everyone. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Bye. Thanks for listening to the Mo News Podcast. [Music]
