A new version of Scrabble aims to make the word-building game more accessible

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “than 75 years.”

Scrabble is getting a bit of a makeover, at least in Europe.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Whether the new version will expand beyond Europe one day has yet to be seen. While Mattel owns the rights to Scrabble around much of the world, Hasbro licenses the game in the U.S., for example. A spokesperson for Hasbro says there are currently no plans to roll out the European updates to Scrabble in the U.S.

Congress summons Boeing’s CEO to testify on jetliner safety

A Senate subcommittee has opened an investigation into the safety of Boeing jetliners, intensifying concerns about the airworthiness of the company’s aircraft. The panel has summoned Boeing’s CEO to a hearing next week. During the hearing, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour is expected to detail safety concerns involving the manufacture and assembly of the 787 Dreamliner. The subcommittee says those concerns could involve “potentially catastrophic safety risks.” Salehpour is also expected to describe alleged retaliation he faced after bringing his concerns forward.

Delta says travel demand remains strong despite flight scares

Delta Air Lines is reporting a small profit and says travel demand is strong heading into summer. The airline’s CEO says recent flight scares seem to be having no effect on ticket sales. Delta says it earned $37 million in the first quarter, compared with a loss a year ago. It is predicting better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter too.

Pew: Republicans Making Big Gains In Party Affiliation Among Registered Voters

Politics Take Center Stage After Arizona Court Upholds 1864 Abortion Law

McConnell Throws Support Behind TikTok Bill

Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M in Ohio train derailment settlement

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement. The agreement is related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio. The company says the settlement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment. For those residents who choose to participate, the settlement will cover personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment.

6 northern European nations sign a deal to protect North Sea

Six northern Europe countries bordering the North Sea have signed an agreement to work together to protect underwater infrastructure in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean from an increased risk of sabotage. The Danish Ministry for Climate, Energy and Utilities calls the North Sea a hub for critical infrastructure that connects Europe. It notes there was “an increased risk of sabotage and unwanted attention from hostile actors.” The move comes after the yet-unsolved 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. They occurred in international waters but within Swedish and Danish economic zones.

Finding an alternative way to get back into the job market

( ) -q-30- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “a successful career.”

Despite a strong job market, there are still thousands of people who have found themselves out of work across industries stretching from tech to retail to media.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: Rather than trying to find another job in their old role, some workers are turning to online content creation. In an estimated $250 billion industry. According to Goldman Sachs Research, 4% of global content creators pull in more than $100,000 annually. YouTube has more than 3 million channels in its YouTube Partner Program, which is how creators earn money. But experts warn that it takes time, energy and resources to turn content creation into a successful career.

Ukraine Aid Tops Busy Week For Returning House Members

Ukraine Front And Center As House Returns From Easter Break

Lindsey Graham Veers From Trump On 15-Week Abortion Ban

Biden administration announces $6.6 billion U.S. microchips plan

The Biden administration has pledged to provide up to $6.6 billion so that a Taiwanese semiconductor giant can expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona. The proposal would also better ensure that the most-advanced microchips are produced domestically for the first time. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the funding for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing means the company can expand on its existing plans for two facilities in Phoenix. It could also add a third, newly announced production hub.

Key lawmakers float new rules for personal data protection

Two lawmakers from opposing parties are floating a new plan to protect the privacy of Americans’ personal data. The draft legislation by two lawmakers from Washington state, Republican Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, would make privacy a consumer right. It would also set new rules for companies that collect and transfer personal data. Congress has long debated ways to safeguard personal data, but partisan disputes have doomed previous proposals.

A divided Amazon Labor Union lurches toward a leadership election

The first labor union for Amazon workers in the United States is divided. The New York City-based union is running out of money and still does not have a contract two years after clenching a historic victory. Despite campaigns at several facilities in the past few years, a Staten Island warehouse still is the only site in the U.S. where the retail giant’s workers have voted in favor of union representation. Cracks emerged within the Amazon Labor Union ranks after it lost votes at two other warehouses, spurring strategy disagreements.

US employers added a surprisingly robust 303,000 jobs in March in a sign of economic strength

(   ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “interest rate hikes.”

America’s employers delivered another outpouring of jobs in March.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. With the nation’s consumers continuing to spend, many employers have kept hiring to meet steady customer demand. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.8% from 3.9% in February.

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VERBATIM: Employers added 303,000 workers to their payrolls. Last month’s job growth was up from a revised 270,000 in February and well above the 200,000 economists had forecast. The increase reflected the economy’s ability to withstand the pressure of high borrowing costs resulting from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

DA says he shut down 21 sites stealing millions through crypto scams

(   ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “a dating app.”

Authorities in New York City say they have disrupted an online fraud operation that stole millions of dollars by duping victims into making phony cryptocurrency investments.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says his office seized 21 web domains being used by scammers in so-called “pig butchering” schemes. The term refers to gaining a victim’s trust through dating apps or other sites and steering them toward bogus investments. One woman who spoke anonymously as part of the district attorney’s presentation says she lost $118,000 after a scammer contacted her through a dating app.

UK airports get more time to put in new scanners that will allow more liquids and packed laptops

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “homemade liquid bombs.”

The British government will grant extensions to several large U.K. airports unable to meet the June 1 deadline to fully install new scanning technology.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The British government says it will grant an extension of up to a year.

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VERBATIM: The new scanners will allow passengers to take 70 ounces of liquid in their hand luggage — rather than the current paltry 3.5 ounces. New rules will also mean laptops and tablets won’t need to be taken out of bags — saving even more time. The restrictions were introduced around the world in 2006 following a foiled terror plot to blow up planes flying from London to the U.S. with homemade liquid bombs.

Tech companies want to build artificial general intelligence. But who decides when AGI is attained?

( 9a ) -v-36- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “std.”

There’s a race underway to build artificial general intelligence. Correspondent Jeremy House reports.

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VERBATIM: It’s a futuristic vision of machines that are broadly as smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can. Achieving such a concept is the driving mission of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and a priority for elite research wings of tech giants Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft. It’s also a cause for concern for the world’s governments. Leading AI scientists published research in the journal Science warning that unchecked AI agents with “long-term planning” skills could pose an existential risk to humanity.

Green Doubles Down On Threat To Seek Ouster Of House Speaker

Schumer Expected To Quickly Dismiss Mayorkas Impeachment Charges

Senator Warren To Oppose New F15’s To Israel

Applications for jobless benefits rise, but layoffs remain historically low

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose last week. The Labor Department says filings for unemployment claims for the week ending March 30 climbed by 9,000 to 221,000 from the previous week’s 212,000. In total, 1.79 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended March 23, a decline of 19,000 from the previous week. Despite the increase in filings, layoffs remain at historically low levels as the labor market continues to move along despite elevated interest rates.

Lawsuit challenges $1 billion in federal funding to sustain California’s last nuclear power plant

( ) -q-27- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “ward off blackouts.”

An environmental group is challenging the U.S. Energy Department’s decision to award over $1 billion to help keep California’s last nuclear power plant running beyond 2025.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: A lawsuit filed by Friends of the Earth in federal court in Los Angeles opens another battlefront in the fight over the future of Diablo Canyon’s twin reactors. The group says awarding the money to Pacific Gas & Electric was based on an analysis that fails to recognize potential safety risks. A deal to shutter the plant was voided after Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom stepped in, saying power from the nuclear plant is needed to ward off blackouts.