We’re back and we’re reading – everything from the “New York Times” to the “Wall Street Journal.” We’re trying to help you keep up with the rapid pace of politics and policy. Today we’ve got a lawsuit against CEO of Tesla Tesla, a new cap on the amount of refugees the U.S. will allow, and a quick lesson in detecting “fake news.”
Some Texans fooled into opening “junk mail”
With just over a month before the midterm elections, some campaigns are strategizing to get people’s attention and support.
According to KXAN News, Ted Cruz’s campaign for senate is just one of the many.
One of the strategizes used is campaign mailers that look like an official summons from your county government.
This deceptive yet legal campaign tactic has worked in opposition for Cruz because people that fell for this like Sean Owen, have become inclined to support Beto O’Rourke, KXAN News said.
How much fake news can you detect a day?
With the midterm elections coming up, The New York Times is asking people to report any false propaganda they see on social media.
The article defines social media disinformation as “any false information being spread deliberately to confuse, mislead, or influence voters…” The most common spaces for spreading disinformation is social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
While the public may be swayed to report news stories that don’t align with their political views, The Times asks the public to not let their bias get the best of them.
Tesla CEO being sued over tweet
A British diver, who helped with the Thai cave rescue, is suing the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk.
According to The Associated Press, diver Vernon Unsworth alleges that Musk accused him of being a pedophile on Twitter.
Musk apologized and deleted the original tweet, but couldn’t keep quiet long. On Aug. 28 Musk questioned why Unsworth hadn’t pursued a lawsuit against him via Twitter. He claimed that it was evidence Unsworth was indeed a child molester.
Unsworth is seeking $75,000 in damages and a court order prohibiting Musk from making further allegations.
Unsworth and his lawyer remind us all that “Twibels” (Twitter libels) are just as hurtful and wrong and won’t be condoned just because a wealthy, popular user is behind the computer screen.
Japanese billionaire purchased every seat on SpaceX flight to moon
A Japanese billionaire has paid multi-millions to fulfill his childhood dream of landing on the moon.
Elon Musk announced Monday that entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa would fly to the moon with a new rocket, SpaceX.
Maezawa said he will choose six to eight artists from around the world to make the trip with him.
Testing will begin next year and the launch is expected in 2023.
“Generous nation” to lower refugee flows to 30,000 in 2019
Come 2019, the U.S. will cap the number of refugees allowed in the country to 30,000.
According to Reuters, this limit is 15,000 less than what was set for the 2018 fiscal-year.
Officials at the State Department and Pentagon initially supported keeping the cap at 45,000. It is unclear why the change was made.
The U.S. is “the most generous nation in the world when it comes to protection-based immigration,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
U.S./China tariff negotiations
President Donald Trump and China are having a difficult time seeing eye-to-eye on trading practices to say the least.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Chinese government announced its plan to impose tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. exports.
In response, Trump said that if there is any retaliation by the farmers, ranchers or industrial workers that he will “kick in another $250 billion.” He added: “We don’t want to do it, but we’ll probably have no choice.”
This comes after the Trump administration announced that a 10% tax on Chinese imports will take effect on Sept. 24.
That is what we have for today. Check back tomorrow for more.
