It’s almost Friday, but we’re not quite there yet. While you’re waiting, take a minute and catch up on your morning news. Here are the top stories everyone will be talking about:
1. A small victory for death with dignity
The California State Assembly has passed a measure that would give doctors the ability to prescribe life-ending medications to terminally ill patients. The Right to Die movement, which is primarily concerned with giving terminal patients the right to die with dignity, has been fighting an ongoing battle with the California legislature for a quarter of a century. The bill will go to a vote in the senate and then its fate will rest in the hands of California Governor Jerry Brown. It’s unclear if the legislation will make it through, but if it survives, California will join Oregon, Washington and Vermont as the only states in the U.S. with Death With Dignity laws on the books. — Los Angeles Times
More:What Brittany Maynard’s fight to die taught us
2. Grown-ups get new toys
Yesterday Apple unveiled their latest products in a much-anticipated two-hour event. The new gadgets include the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which will both include 3-D touch technology that lets you perform different functions on the phone depending on the pressure of your touch. They also introduced a new Apple TV, a massive iPad Pro, a new Apple Pencil accessory and a limited edition Apple Watch with a designer Hermès band. Most of the products will be rolled out in stores during October and November, so you should start throwing extra pennies into your iPad fund now. — ABC News
3. It’s a start
Leaders from the European Union met this week to come up with a plan for addressing the Syrian refugee and migrant crisis that’s quickly spiraling out of control. Their plan? Everyone has to help. They brainstormed a strategy to redistribute 160,000 migrants and refugees across all of their member countries, but even that falls short. Germany alone is expecting almost 800,000 asylum seekers, and some countries, like Hungary and the Czech Republic, don’t want to lend a hand at all. Still, thousands of people continue to arrive in Europe every single day with no place to go. The plan might not be everyone’s favorite, but so far it’s all they’ve got. — Washington Post
More:Syrian refugee crisis: 5 Ways we can help
4. This will be interesting
Rupert Murdoch — millionaire media mogul and climate change denier — is buying National Geographic for $725 million. The magazine will now be under the umbrella of 21st Century Fox, which is also owned by Murdoch. National Geographic has been around since 1888 and reaches about 3.5 million U.S. subscribers. Murdoch says there are no immediate plans to change the beloved publication, but can you really trust anything that comes from the man behind Fox News? — Washington Post
More:The 10 best magazines for kids
5. Long lost relatives
Scientists have found a collection of fossils belonging to a new species of primitive human. The exact date of the fossils is still unknown, but they could be as many as 2.5 million years old. The fossils were found in a cave in South Africa and have hands and feet like humans, but brains that are only about the size of an orange. Scientists are calling the species Homo Naledi and estimating that they’re among our oldest ancestors. More research will need to be done to determine exactly where the fossils fit on our evolutionary timeline. — USA Today
6. Are you ready for some football?
NFL football is back tonight with a face-off between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots. It’s a much-anticipated matchup simply because everyone can’t wait to see if Patriots quarterback Tom Brady comes out of the gate swinging with rage after the whole Deflategate debacle. The NFL will continue its usual schedule of Thursday, Sunday and Monday night games. Tonight’s season opener will air on NBC at 8:30 p.m. EST. — ESPN
Leave a Comment