It’s difficult to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in this country and to break through the clutter, so we’re here to make it easier. Here’s what we at Countable are reading today:
1. The Big Story: “Donald Trump Declares Himself Freed From Republican Party ‘Shackles’”
“Donald Trump declared on Tuesday morning that he had been freed from ‘the shackles’ of the Republican Party and would now campaign as he saw fit, furthering his split from the party he deemed disloyal to him.” Trump made the announcement in a series of tweets, after dozens of Republicans announced they would no longer support his presidential campaign. Trump also said on Twitter Tuesday that the Democratic Party is more “loyal” than the GOP and that “disloyal R’s are far more difficult than Hillary Clinton [because] they come at you from all sides.”
Read more at the Wall Street Journal.
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2. “Looking to Vote? Twelve States Have Deadlines Tuesday”
Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Tennessee all require voters to register by mail or in-person by Tuesday, Oct. 11. Meanwhile: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico and Pennsylvania will allow online registration, as well as in-person and by mail, through today, Oct. 11.
Read more at the New York Times.
Want to see your state’s deadline? Check out our handy guide and register online here.
3. “Barack Obama: America will take the giant leap to Mars”
In an op-ed for CNN, President Obama set a new goal for the U.S.: “sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time.” Obama also announced that NASA is currently working “with our commercial partners to build new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space,” which will be a necessary first step to get to Mars.
Read more at CNN.
4. “FCC hits Comcast with record cable company fine over billing practices”
The Federal Communications Commission is fining Comcast $2.3 million “for billing customers for products that they never ordered,” the “largest civil penalty” ever imposed by the FCC on a cable operator. Comcast will also have to change its practices, which included “charging customers if they didn’t actively decline or cancel a service.”
Read more at The Verge.
5. “Apple and Samsung face off in the Supreme Court today — here’s why that matters”
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case between Apple and Samsung today, just as the latter company is dealing with the worldwide recall of its Galaxy Note 7 phones, some of which exploded. “A decision could take months. But the resulting opinion could set a precedent on whether the look and feel of a product — protected by design patents — entitles the designer to the entire profit, regardless of what’s inside, legal experts said.”
Read more at CNBC.
— Sarah Mimms
Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Originally published on Tumblr
