Wednesday Scoop: E-Cigarette Epidemic

The big story…

U.S. Surgeon General Declares Vaping an Epidemic

In an advisory released on Tuesday, the U.S. Surgeon General officially declared vaping an epidemic among U.S. teenagers. The surgeon general is sending out a call to action for health care professionals, law enforcement, and parents to help curb high school students’ use of e-cigarettes. This follows a big rise in teen vaping this year, Juul suspending the sale of their e-cigarettes, and the FDA’s promise to restrict the product.

In Congress…

Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Passes in the Senate

The Senate has passed an overhaul of the criminal justice system called the First Step Act. Once enacted, the law will allow thousands of inmates to obtain reduced sentences or early releases.

In the courts…

Trump Foundation to Disband Following Lawsuit

The Trump Foundation has agreed to dissolve its assets following an investigation and lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General. The investigation will continue to determine whether the organization was used for political gain rather than charitable giving.

In the government…

Republicans Work on Short-Term Deal to Delay Government Shutdown

Senate Republicans are working on a makeshift spending bill to extend the funding deadline for around 25 percent of the government until February 8. A final decision won’t happen before Wednesday and President Trump still has to sign off on any deal going forward, which may be more likely than expected as the president appears to be walking back his demands for border wall funding.

In Belgium…

Belgian Prime Minister Resigns Amidst Immigration Protests

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has resigned following opposition from the right and left on the country’s new immigration policy.

In tech…

Google Announces New Campus in New York City

Google is building a new 1.7 million square foot campus in New York City’s West Village. With Amazon already in the neighborhood, this may mean a lot of traffic in the city. Here’s the timeline for the two major projects.

Also in tech…

Investigation Reveals the Extent of Facebook’s User Data

Facebook has a lot more user data than we think, and they apparently gave access to other companies, such as Spotify, Amazon, Microsoft, and Netflix.

In California…

California Mandates All New Public Transit Buses Go Electric by 2029

On Friday, December 14, the California Air Resources Board, the state’s public clean air agency, mandated that all new buses for municipal and or local public transit use must be fully electric by 2029. The new rule will prohibit the purchase of any non-renewable energy-powered public transit buses by the end of the next decade. Read more in Duane Paul Murphy’s report for CMN.

Trending today…

Banksy

The residents of a Welsh town woke up to a big surprise when a suspected Banksy work was found painted on the side of a garage. While some are sure that the piece is the work of the mysterious graffiti artist Banksy, others are skeptical.

Last but not least…Subscriber Feedback Survey

As you’ve probably noticed, things in the Morning Scoop have been changing over the past few months — and we want to know what you think. That’s why we’ll be sending out a user survey later today. It should only take a couple minutes and we’d love to hear any feedback you have on our format or content. (Words of praise are also accepted/encouraged).

To our longtime subscribers, thanks for sticking with us! And to our newcomers, thanks for joining and welcome. We have a lot of stuff in the works, and we look forward to what 2019 will bring for CMN and the Morning Scoop!

Today’s Morning Scoop was made possible by Natalia Kolenko, Duane Paul Murphy, and the CMN Staff. The countdown to holiday festivities has begun, and it is definitely crunch time for all of you procrastinating shoppers. Luckily, CMN has got you covered. Check out our holiday gift guide for what to get with your student discount.