Friday Morning Scoop: Full Speed Ahead
Welcome to the Morning Scoop for June 15, 2018. Despite suffering on the Tesla end of his brand, Elon Musk seems optimistic about continuing in his billionaire ways. His undertaking will be a big feat for a company that has never built anything before.
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Elon Musk Announces High-Speed Transit Will Be Ready in Two Years
Late Wednesday, Elon Musk confirmed that his high-speed transit company, Boring Co., is well under way in creating a path between downtown Chicago and the O’Hare International Airport. According to HuffPost, the underground cars will be able to travel speeds over 100 miles per hour, offering departures every 30 seconds. Accordingly, the planned route will only take 12 minutes each way.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel opened up bidding on a new airport transit system, which will actually have no government funding, according to Bloomberg. This means that Boring Co. will fund the entire project itself, an estimated $1 billion. Fares will cost between $20 and $25, and all profits will go directly to the company, with no revenue for the city of Chicago.
The bid still needs to be approved by the Chicago City Council. Musk announced that after approval, he expects the project to be done within the next 18 to 24 months.
Read Brandon Walker’s full story here.
Solar Power Is on the Rise Nationwide Despite Recent Tariffs
The U.S. has added more solar energy than any other renewable or non-renewable energy resource in the first quarter of 2018. According to a recent report from the Solar Energy Industries Association, the domestic solar markets increased 2.5 gigawatts of new energy capacity in the first three months of this year. This is seen as a 13% increase from last year’s first quarter in 2017..
SEIA projects that despite a global cost decrease for the renewable energy resource, installations for 2017 and 2018 as well as the short-term future may decrease due to recent tariffs imposed on imported solar panels by U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, most domestic imports have been from Asia, including countries such as Vietnam, China, Malaysia, and South Korea.
Duane Murphy tells all in his report here.
New York Attorney General Sues Trump Foundation
On Thursday, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit firing directly at the Donald J. Trump Foundation. According to the Attorney General, “The petition filed today alleges a pattern of persistent illegal conduct, occurring over more than a decade, that includes extensive unlawful political coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions to benefit Mr. Trump’s personal and business interests, and violations of basic legal obligations for non-profit foundations.”
A Trump Foundation representative stated to CNN that it was just bad politics, and “The Foundation has donated over $19 million to worthy charitable causes — more than it ever received. The President himself — or through his companies — has contributed more than $8 million. The reason the Foundation was able to donate more than it took in is because it had little to no expenses. This is unheard of for a charitable foundation.”
Read Erin Whitten’s full report here.
Today in a Tweet
It’s the World Cup 2018! Today starts off with Egypt vs.Uruguay, and Twitter is excited. Today there will also be games featuring Morocco vs. Iran and Portugal vs. Spain.
Last But Not Least: Kellogg’s Recalls Cereal Due to Contamination
Kellogg’s Cereal announced yesterday that recent production of Honey Smacks have been contaminated with salmonella. The discovery comes after reports of consumer illness across the U.S. According to PR News Wire, all boxes of Honey Smacks labeled “Best by June 14, 2018” through “Best by June 14, 2019” should be discarded immediately.
We’ll just stick to oatmeal today.
This Morning Scoop was compiled by Erin Whitten, Duane Murphy, Brandon Walker, and the CMN Staff. Always remember: despite all the complications, you know you could jut listen to that rock’n’roll station, it is alright.
