The Daily Dive

Welcome to the Daily Dive: WEEKEND EDITION. This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

There are few people who have such a huge impact on music, culture, and the world as did the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and we just lost her. She died at age 76 surrounded by family in Detroit from pancreatic cancer. With her impassioned gospel rooted voice she leaves behind a huge catalogue of classic songs that spans many genres. Mo’Kelly, Los Angeles radio host and music industry veteran, joins us to discuss her legacy. Next, the bill for President Trump’s big military parade keeps growing. The price has just gone up 80 million, to a total of $92 million. Inspired by a military parade he saw in France, it is expected to have tanks, helicopters, fighter jets, and more! Amanda Macias, National Security reporter for CNBC, joins us for why the price tag is so high and what else to expect. Finally, a popular club drug is being used in more studies to treat PTSD. Although it still has a negative perception as a party drug, researchers are finding out that MDMA helps break down the barriers needed for PTSD victims to process their emotions in better ways. Thor Benson, reporter for The Daily Beast tells us the story of one veteran who says MDMA saved his life.

A horrible situation has come to light in Pennsylvania as a grand jury report alleges that Catholic Church officials systematically covered up the sexual abuse of more than 1000 children by more than 300 priests in the past 70 years. John Luciew, reporter for PennLive, joins us for more on the report including how the diocese helped avoid scandal by terms as sick leave and health leave when priests were removed or relocated because of abuse allegations. Next, President Trump has revoked the security clearance of ex-CIA Director John Brennan citing “erratic conduct and behavior.” The news comes on the heels of recent tweets from Brennan that were critical of the president for calling Omarosa Manigault Newman a dog and also calling his meeting with Vladimir Putin treasonous. Caitlin Owens, reporter for Axios, joins us for more and also the news that the administration is considering revoking clearances for other former intelligence officials. Finally, it might win the prize for the worst job in America. San Francisco has decided to form a Poop Patrol, to keep the sidewalks clean. Between the beginning of the year and this past Monday, San Francisco residents have called the city to report feces on the street a whopping 14,597 times, and it’s not all animal poop. As the homelessness problem persists in the city, officials have decided that a Poop Patrol is the answer to keeping streets clean.

The state of Nebraska just experienced a series of firsts Tuesday morning.  It was the state’s first execution since 1997, the first execution by lethal injection (prior to this the state used the electric chair), and the first death sentence in the country carried out with the use of the opiod fentanyl.  Brent Martin, News director for the Nebraska Radio Network joins us for a fascinating conversation about Nebraska’s strange history with the death penalty, abolishing it in 2015 and reinstating it a year later, the use of fentanyl as states are running out of drugs used in lethal injection cocktails, and also who was the inmate on death row, Carey Dean Moore. Next, the war of words continues between the White House and former aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman.  The President continues to rail against her calling her a dog, and she remains defiant continuing to release audio tapes of the President and others within the White House as she tours the media in advance of her new book.  Andrew Restuccia, White House reporter for Politico, joins us for the latest in the battle, the Trump campaign has filed for arbitration saying she violated a non-disclosure agreement.

He goes by many names, the Golden State Killer, The East Area Rapist, and the Visalia Ransacker, but now Joseph James DeAngelo has been charged with his 13th murder. In 1975 he shot and killed Claude Snelling as he tried to prevent DeAngelo from kidnapping his 16 yr old daughter. Sam Stanton, reporter for the Sacramento Bee joins us for the latest charges that are believed to be the first murder of the Golden State Killer. Next, the FBI has fired Peter Strzok, the counterintelligence agent who had become emblematic of a Deep State effort to undermine President Trump. In communications with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, Strzok said “No he won’t, We’ll stop it” when asked if trump would become president. Eli Stokols, White house reporter for the LA Times, joins us for more on the firing and Peter Strzok’s GoFundMe page! Finally, have you ever wondered why your Uber driver is taking the long way home? It’s an age old practice coming out of the cab industry called 'longhauling', but now it’s made its way to ride-sharing. Drivers say that it isn’t taking advantage of consumers since Uber has to pick up the tab for the extra mileage. Greg Bensinger, reporter for the WSJ, tells us about longhauling and why drivers say it’s an easy way to make some extra money.

A year after violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, which ended with the death of a counter protester, white nationalists are at it again. They gathered for a white civil rights rally called Unite the Right 2. Ginger Gibson, political reporter for Reuters was at the rally and filled us in on the scene there and also the news that you can trust no one in the White House. Omarosa is back with a new book and secret recording of her firing. Next, there is a fierce battle over your bed. The mattress industry is being turned upside down, and it might be the perfect time for you to buy a new bed. The world’s largest mattress retailer is under threat of bankruptcy and online bed-in-a-box retailers are planning to open brick and mortar locations. Nathan Bomey, reporter for USA Today joins us for more on the unstable mattress industry where there are more locations to buy a mattress in the US than there are McDonald's. Finally, David McCabe, reporter for Axios, joins us for the wild west of children’s entertainment. Gone are the days of Saturday morning cartoons, kids can access an endless amount of children’s programming with on demand platforms and streaming services. Children’s content is still largely unregulated on these streaming platforms and it is bringing new challenges for producers, policymakers, and parents.

Welcome to the Daily Dive: WEEKEND EDITION. This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

Welcome to the Daily Dive: WEEKEND EDITION. This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

Space Force is back! Speaking alongside Defense Secretary James Mattis, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the Pentagon has begun the process of establishing the Space force as the 6th branch of the military. The development of the Space Force comes in response to anti-satellite weaponry and other tech by countries such as China and Russia. Axios editor Lauren Meier joins us for the details and the biggest hurdle…approval by Congress. Next, as the conversation about sustainable food continues and the population is expected to balloon to 9.8 billion people by 2050, we will speak to Jake Malooly, writer for Wired, about his 2 week adventure into Entomophagy- The consumption of insects.  With their low impact on the environment they are have grown in popularity as the next big thing.  Jake will fill us in on his favorite bug dishes. Finally, before you invite all your friends over this weekend, listen to this.  A recent study has found that when one partner dislikes the other’s friends it can harm your marriage.  In some cases couples are twice as likely to divorce because of the bad blood.  Elizabeth Bernstein, reporter for the WSJ, joins us for more on the study and what to do when you don’t like your spouse’s friends.

Last week there was news that 11 malnourished children were found in a compound in New Mexico. It was a bizarre story to begin with, but now it has taken an even weirder turn.  According to prosecution documents filed, the remains of a boy have been found and the man who is at the center of it all was allegedly training one of the children in the use of an assault rifle in preparation for a future school shhoting.  National Security analyst Ryan Mauro, joins us for more on this story including details of the compound and weapons found. Next, a member of Congress has been charged with securities fraud and insider trading.  GOP Rep. Chris Collins sits on the board and is the largest shareholder of a company called Innate Immunotherapeutics.  He is accused of passing along insider info to his son who sold his shares and avoided losses in excess of $700,000.  Kyle Cheney, Congressional reporter for Politico, joins us to detail the allegations and how the information was passed along. Finally, have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It is an island of trash floating between California and Hawaii that is 3x the size of France and weighs 80,000 tons.  Elizabeth Weise, tech reporter for USA Today, joins us for the big cleanup effort happening soon… a giant floating trash collector made by the Ocean Cleanup Project.

New details from the confession of the Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz have been released. The Broward State Attorney’s office released a transcript of Cruz’s hours-long confession to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS. Paula McMahon, reporter for the Sun Sentinel, joins us to talk about the voices in Nikolas Cruz’s head and what they were telling him to do. Next, there is a new outbreak of Ebola in the Congo. Genetic tests confirm that this outbreak is different from an earlier outbreak that was declared over in late July. So far there are 43 cases, 34 deaths, and doctors are getting ready to use an experimental vaccine to treat those exposed to the virus. Andrew Freedman, Science editor at Axios, joins us to talk about how the vaccination program will work and also how security concerns may make it difficult to administer. Finally, Rick Gates continues to take the stand at the financial fraud trial of President Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort. While he continues to maintain that Manafort directed him to commit all the banking fraud, the defense got to cross examine him. Laura Nahmias, reporter for Politico, joins us for the defenses strategy to paint Rick Gates as a liar and also the news that he used some of the money to pay for an affair in London.

As the financial fraud trial of President Trump’s former campaign chair, Paul Manafort continues…Robert Mueller’s team called it’s star witness, Rick Gates, and HE IS singing!  Described as Paul Manafort’s right hand man, Gates admitted to helping his boss evade taxes to the tune of millions of dollars, bank fraud and hiding offshore accounts. Laura Nahmias, Reporter for Politico joins us for more on Rick Gates’ testimony and how the defense will try to get Manafort off. Next, as Chicago experienced a violent weekend, gangs and guns are being blamed.  Over 70 people were shot and 12 people were killed… No one was arrested. Aamer Madhani, Chicago resident and reporter for USA Today fills us in on what happened over the weekend and reactions from local leaders. Finally, Silicon Valley has become a den of spies.  Increasingly, spies are infiltrating the Bay Area to steal trade secrets and technology, but they are even involved in political espionage. Andy Ross, Columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, joins us for details on a Chinese spy who was a driver for Sen. Diane Feinstein for 20 years!

Political reporter for Reuters, Ginger Gibson joins us this week to talk about reports that President Trump is privately brooding and publicly roaring. According to reports, the President continues to privately fume over the Mueller investigation and is worried the Don Jr. might be in legal trouble over the infamous Trump Tower meeting. Publicly, the President is getting his base fired up at various rallies aimed at voter turnout for the midterm elections and a Twitter spat with LeBron James. Next, as a global heatwave continues, there were many heat records broken last month. Los Angeles set an all-time high temperature record in July, Unprecedented heat in Europe led to wildfire outbreaks in Scandinavia, and South Korea also just set an all-time high on August 1. Andrew Freedman, Science Editor at Axios joins us to talk about the heatwave and what scientists say might be the first in more to come. Finally, are you on social media too much? Well, now there’s an app for that. Actually, just some add-ons. Facebook and Instagram are getting new tools to let you know when you have been using the apps too much. Katie Bindley, Personal Tech Reporter for the WSJ, joins us to talk about how social media platforms are helping you cut back on using their own services.

Welcome to the Daily Dive: WEEKEND EDITION. This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

Welcome to the Daily Dive: WEEKEND EDITION. This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.