FOR THE FIRST TIME – PRESIDENT BIDEN COMMENTS ON THE DEADLY WILDFIRES IN HAWAII AND HIS PLANS TO VISIT THE SCENE
AND —
NEW DATA SHOWS HOW TELEVISION VIEWERS ARE CHANGING THE INDUSTRY IN HISTORIC WAYS.
THE RUNDOWN STARTS NOW.
THIS IS STRAIGHT-ARROW NEWS.
BRINGING YOU UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACTS.
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY — AUGUST 16TH.
THANKS FOR JOINING US.
I’M KARAH RUCKER.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAS OFFERED HIS FIRST REMARKS ON THE HAWAII WILDFIRES AFTER FACING CRITICISM FOR NOT COMMENTING ON THE TRAGEDY.
BIDEN REASSURED THE ISLAND OF MAUI FEDERAL RESOURCES WERE ON THE GROUND AND THERE TO STAY FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES.
BIDEN ALSO PROMISED TO VISIT THE DEVASTATED AREAS BUT DID NOT PROVIDE A SPECIFIC DATE.
“My wife, Jill and I are going to travel to Hawaii as soon as we can. That’s what I’ve been talking to the governor about. I don’t want to get in the way. I’ve been to too many disaster areas, but I want to go and make sure we got everything they need. I want to be sure we don’t disrupt the ongoing recovery efforts.”
THE DEATH TOLL HAS NOW REACHED 106 — WITH MOST REMAINS UNABLE TO BE IDENTIFIED.
RESIDENTS HAVE THEIR FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK TO THEIR HOMES — IN NEARLY UNRECOGNIZABLE COMMUNITIES.
FOR THOSE WITH NO HOUSE TO GO HOME TO —
THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF HOTEL ROOMS THAT HAVE OPENED UP IN THE AREA FOR SURVIVORS — ALONG WITH THOUSANDS OF AIR-B-N-B’S.
THE SEARCH FOR DOZENS OF MISSING PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND CONTINUES TODAY.

FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF MARK MEADOWS — ONE OF THE LISTED DEFENDANTS IN GEORGIA’S 2020 ELECTION INDICTMENT —
HAS PETITIONED TO MOVE THE CASE TO *FEDERAL COURT* BECAUSE IT INVOLVES HIS WORK AS A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE.
TRUMP IS EXPECTED TO PURSUE A SIMILAR ROUTE — GETTING HIS CASE UP TO THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND OUT OF STATE COURT — ACCORDING TO SOURCES WHO SPOKE WITH ABC NEWS.
ATTORNEYS FOR MARK MEADOWS SAY THEY ARE ALSO PUSHING TO DISMISS THE CHARGES AGAINST HIM —
SAYING NOTHING HE’S ALLEGED TO HAVE DONE IN THE INDICTMENT — IS CRIMINAL.
THE GEORGIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY HAS ORDERED FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ALONG WITH THE OTHER 18 DEFENDANTS TO TURN THEMSELVES IN BY NEXT FRIDAY.
OUR OWN RAY BOGAN SPOKE TO A LEGAL EXPERT ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THE GEORGIA ELECTION TRIAL TAKING PLACE IN A FEDERAL COURTOOM. YOU CAN SEE HIS REPORT NOW ON S-A-N-DOT-COM.

FOR THE FIRST TIME — NORTH KOREA IS OFFERING PUBLIC REMARKS ON THE U.S. SOLDIER WHO DARTED INTO THEIR TERRITORY ALMOST ONE MONTH AGO.
A SPOKESPERSON SAYS TRAVIS KING CONFESSED TO ILLEGALLY CROSSING INTO THE NORTH — CLAIMING KING WAS SEEKING REFUGE FROM THE U.S. ARMY AFTER BEING RACIALLY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AND WAS RECEIVING “INHUMANE MAL-TREATMENT.”
THE NORTH SAID KING — WHO WAS FACING DISCIPLINE ON ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS IN SOUTH KOREA — HAD THE INTENT OF STAYING IN NORTH KOREA WHEN HE DECIDED TO CROSS INTO THEIR COUNTRY.
IT IS COMMON FOR NORTH KOREA TO HIGHLIGHT RACISM IN THE UNITED STATES TO DEFLECT CRITICISM OF ITS OWN HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD–
THE NORTH’S COMMENTS COME JUST A DAY BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL IS SET TO DISCUSS SUCH HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN NORTH KOREA.

JUST AS LABOR DAY WEEKEND ROAD TRIPS NEAR FOR MANY IN AMERICA– GAS PRICES ARE ON THE RISE. IN FACT, PRICES ARE AT THE HIGHEST POINT THEY’VE BEEN ALL YEAR.
THIS MORNING TRIPLE-A SAYS THE NATIONAL AVERAGE PRICE FOR REGULAR GASOLINE SITS AT 3 DOLLARS AND 87 CENTS A GALLON, UP FROM 3 DOLLARS AND 56 CENTS A MONTH AGO.
GAS PRICES ARE AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS SINCE OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.
CALIFORNIA AND WASHINGTON DRIVERS ARE SEEING PRICES ABOVE 5 DOLLARS A GALLON.
EXPERTS SAY OIL SUPPLY CUTS ABROAD ARE IMPACTING THE PRICE OF GAS AT HOME.
THOUGH HIGH — PRICES ARE STILL LOWER THAN THEY WERE LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME WHEN THE AVERAGE WAS 3 DOLLARS AND 94 CENTS A GALLON.

BROADCAST TV AND CABLE VIEWERSHIP CONTINUES TO FALL – AND NOW THEY’VE HIT RECORD LOWS.
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER — THE TWO FORMS OF LINEAR TELEVISION MAKE UP LESS THAN HALF OF ALL TV VIEWERSHIP AS MORE PEOPLE TURN TO STREAMING PLATFORMS.
NIELSEN, WHO TRACKS TELEVISION RATINGS, SAYS TOTAL BROADCAST VIEWING FOR THE MONTH OF JULY WAS JUST 20% OF ALL TV VIEWERSHIP – “REPRESENTING A NEW LOW.”
WHILE STREAMING SERVICES LIKE YOUTUBE, NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME VIDEO REACHED A NEW RECORD HIGH — 38.7%.
NIELSEN ALSO DISCLOSED THE MOST WATCHED PROGRAMS FOR LAST MONTH – BOTH ON STREAMING PLATFORMS – THE DRAMA “SUITS” SEEN ON NETFLIX AND PEACOCK AND THE CHILDREN’S SERIES “BLUEY” STREAMING ON DISNEY PLUS.

FINALLY THIS MORNING, AN UPDATE TO A HOT BUTTON ISSUE FOR MANY IPHONE USERS.
APPLE HAS SEEMED TO REVERSE ITS DECISION TO MOVE THE END-CALL BUTTON’S POSITION IN ITS UPCOMING I-O-S- UPDATE.
LAST WEEK — REPORTS SHOWED THE RED BUTTON CHANGING SPOTS TO THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF THE PHONE’S SCREEN.
BUT NOW, NEW IMAGES FROM THE LATEST BETA TESTING SHOW THE END-CALL BUTTON IS PRETTY MUCH BACK WHERE USERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH SEEING IT – IN THE CENTER. THOUGH IT’S STILL AMONG OTHER OPTIONS — NO LONGER BY ITSELF — WHICH WOULD BE A CHANGE FROM HOW IT LOOKS TODAY.
APPLE IS NOT COMMENTING.
THE BOTTOM LINE, THE INTERFACE CHANGES ARE NOT FINALIZED YET AND WE WON’T KNOW FOR SURE WHERE THE END-BUTTON WILL END UP UNTIL THE UPDATE IS RELEASED.
THOSE ARE YOUR TOP STORIES THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING.
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UNBIASED. STRAIGHT FACTS. THAT’S STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.
WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW.
UNTIL THEN I’M KARAH RUCKER.
HAVE A GREAT DAY.