Yahoo Movies Trump documents set for release, Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Trump documents set for release
Only a handful of documents will be made available - for now. Plus, reporter Sarah Elbeshbishi explains how some states make a distinction between sexual assault victims who were forced to be intoxicated and those who chose to do so, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meets with Ukrainian leaders amid Russia tensions, tech reporter Brett Molina explains why Microsoft bought a big video game company and AT&T and Verizon launch 5G in most of the country.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Wednesday, the 19th of January, 2022. Today, access to new Trump White house documents, plus the latest from Russia and Ukraine tensions, and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
President Joe Biden will hold his first formal news conference of 2022 today. The move comes amid building criticisms about lack of media access.
A central Texas wildfire is forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. The fire in the city of Bastrop is in the same area as a 2011 wildfire that burned more than 34,000 acres and destroyed nearly 2000 homes.
And André Leon Talley has died. The fashion industry icon and former creative director at Vogue was 73.
The House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection could get access to some of former President Donald Trump's White House documents as soon as today. The National Archives will release about a half dozen pages as Trump pursues a Supreme Court challenge to the committee's demand for his White House records. That move comes separately as the New York Attorney General's office told a court it's uncovered evidence that Trump's company used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to get loans and tax benefits. The office said state authorities have not yet decided whether to bring a civil lawsuit in connection with the allegations, but that Trump and his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, need to be questioned. Trump and his lawyers say the probe is politically motivated.
At least 27 states have laws that distinguish between sexual assault victims who were forced to become intoxicated and those who chose to drink or take drugs. And as reporter Sarah Elbeshbishi explains that distinction can often decide whether charges are even filed.
Sarah Elbeshbishi:
The way that the law is written, rape or sexual assault convictions or charges that are felonies require the victim or the survivor to be mentally incapacitated. This word mentally incapacitated. But mentally incapacitated is defined as someone who is intoxicated or incapacitated due to drugs or alcohol administered without their consent. So it is that line that is the reason why some states will treat these perpetrators easier if the victim had popped a pill or a drink or had a glass, and it makes it that much harder. Even if the individual wasn't drunk, the fact that they had a glass of wine or a drink or something like that would then mean that they couldn't be considered mentally incapacitated because they willingly took that drink.
Part of the reason why doing this story was such a big deal was because there was a lot of backlash when the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned a felony rape conviction back in March of 2021. But, I looked into it and I was like, that's weird. It's because the facts of the case, weren't disputed according to the court opinion, it was because the law requires a mentally incapacitated person to be under the influence without their knowledge. And because that victim in that situation had willingly got drunk and had drugs and took a pill or something, she wasn't considered that. So you learn that it's not as common knowledge. I think the people who work in those areas know about it, but I think as everyday people, you're not very aware of it unless there's a specific situation that comes up.
Taylor Wilson:
Check out Sarah's full story with a link in today's episode description.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Ukrainian and Russian leaders today as tensions continue with Russian troops sitting on Ukraine's border. He'll meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The trip comes after low-level talks with Russian and European officials last week failed to lead to a breakthrough. The AP's Nomaan Merchant has more.
Nomaan Merchant:
The US for the last several weeks has been warning that Russia is potentially planning an invasion, a new invasion of Ukraine. The White House on Friday released what it's us was intelligence suggesting that Russia has already planted operatives in Ukraine to stage a potential false flag attack that could then be used by Russian President Vladimir Putin as pretext to stage an additional invasion of Ukraine. The White House also said that Russia is ramping up its efforts at disinformation to basically sow the ground for a potential invasion. One of the reasons that that's concerning to the West is disinformation was and is a tactic used by the Kremlin in its military engagements in the region.
Russia has denied in various forms, any allegations that it plans to stage another invasion. At the same time, Russian leaders from Vladimir Putin on down have stated repeatedly that they consider Ukraine moving toward the West or potentially joining NATO to be a non-starter. And they have sought written guarantees from the US and from the West that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO.
Now, NATO allies say that that's a non-starter because they can't ban anyone categorically from joining NATO, which they say is a defensive alliance. That seems to be the central tension, that Russia may be using the specter of an invasion to push for security guarantees that it sees is necessary along its borders.
Taylor Wilson:
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said yesterday that the blame for tensions lies on Russia's shoulders.
Jen Psaki:
Where things stand right now, President Putin has created this crisis by amassing a hundred thousand Russian troops along Ukraine's borders. This includes moving Russian forces into Belarus recently for joint exercises and conducting additional exercises on Ukraine's eastern border. So let's be clear, our view is this is an extremely dangerous situation. We're now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine. And what Secretary Blinken is going to go do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward. It is the choice of President Putin and the Russians to make, whether they are going to suffer severe economic consequences or not.
Taylor Wilson:
For all the latest stay with usatoday.com.
Microsoft announced yesterday that it would acquire Activision Blizzard. The company is behind Call of Duty, one of the top-selling video games in the US, and other major titles like World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. As tech reporter Brett Molina tells us, the nearly $70 billion deal could mean that major gaming franchises will only be available on a PC or Xbox.
Brett Molina:
So there's a few reasons why Microsoft would spend almost 69 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard. For starters, it gives them a big portfolio of popular video games, most notably Call of Duty, which has been one of the top selling video games in the US for several years now. They also get a lot of other properties as well, including World of Warcraft, which is a very popular online game, also Candy Crush Saga, which has been a big hit on mobile devices as well.
This also plays into what Microsoft wants to do in the metaverse, which has been this new virtual world that a lot of people in tech have been hyping up as this successor to the internet as we know it. And what this deal allows them to do is gives them these different properties that a lot of fans are familiar with that allow them to get that first foot in the door as far as participating in a metaverse.
The other part of this as well is that Microsoft, in terms of its gaming platform, doesn't have a ton of really strong names in terms of games on mobile devices. Obviously, Microsoft, with its different apps - and Xbox has some other broader apps as well - but specifically to games, they don't have as much. And bringing over these different properties like Call of Duty that they can leverage in the gaming space, as well as their own properties on Xbox, that's another big advantage to this deal, too.
So this is interesting because if you own a PlayStation, there is genuine concern whether you might see Call of Duty on a PlayStation in the next few years. Because if it's under Microsoft, and obviously Microsoft is going to want to do everything to give its Xbox a competitive edge, so that's something that's possible. I've also talked to experts who mentioned that this could be a factor in whether regulators approve this deal.
Call of Duty, again, is one of the biggest names in the video game space. It has been very popular on PlayStation, and to lose that big a name off of your device is significant and it could play a big role. So losing that and losing some of those other Activision Blizzard games that are available, that is going to be a pretty big deal. Now, it's not something that's going to happen tomorrow or even maybe in a year from now, but it is possible in the next few years PlayStation owners might not see any of these Activision games on their consoles.
Taylor Wilson:
You can hear more from Brett on the Talking Tech Podcast, wherever you get your audio.
AT&T and Verizon today will launch 5G networks around the country, the only exception within two miles of airports. Both companies decided to voluntarily limit their launches after the industry group Airlines for America warned the frequency could interfere with devices that measure plane altitude and impact safety. The FAA is studying the potential impacts of 5G on flights and preemptively ordered some Boeing 787 operators to take extra precautions when landing. Today's rollout had already been pushed back two weeks.
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us here every morning wherever you get your audio. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show. And I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5G's bumpy rollout, Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard: 5 Things podcast
