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Today is Friday, February 27th. We'll tell you about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein case, what she said about ties to the convicted sex offender and what's expected from her husband, former President Bill Clinton, today. Also, how the US Military mistakenly shot down a drone over Texas. Plus, why someone was arrested for a viral snowball fight, what it means now that Netflix backed out of a big Hollywood bidding war. And how a desperate Uber ride sparked a friendship that's inspiring the world. Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. Today, former President Bill Clinton is being forced to testify before Congress as part of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. At this point, there's no evidence he broke any laws during his relationship with the sex offender, but he is featured heavily in the Epstein files. The former president's wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testified yesterday she was grilled for roughly six hours, during which she insisted she didn't know Jeffrey Epstein and knew nothing of his crimes before the rest of the world. Clinton called the whole thing political theater and questioned why Republican lawmakers insisted upon deposing her as part of their investigation. She also criticized Republicans for not allowing the deposition to be public and for not showing up at the deposition of former Victoria's Secret CEO Les Wexner, who was also mentioned in the files. After her questioning, Clinton spoke to reporters, saying she mostly answered the same questions over and over again. And then at the end, she said things got unusual as she started being asked about UFOs and the pizzagate conspiracy theory from a decade ago. Republicans also spoke to reporters saying they were happy Clinton did answer most questions, but that they were not satisfied with what they learned since more than a dozen times she said, quote, I don't know, you'll have to ask my husband. We'll have the chance to do that today during what GOP lawmakers are promising will be an even longer deposition. So stay tuned. President Trump met with a top US Commander about options for military action against Iran. That's according to reports from outlets like ABC News citing US Officials. It's actually the first time the military commander briefed Trump since the beginning of the crisis with Iran last year. The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was also reportedly involved. It comes as the US Military builds up the largest force in the Middle east in decades, including two aircraft carrier strike groups. But an attack still is Not a sure thing. Yesterday, Trump's top negotiators spoke with Iranian counterparts in what was seen as a last chance at diplomacy. There was no public reaction from the US Side after the talks, but officials from Iran and mediator Oman say the talks showed good progress with understandings on some issues and gaps on others. And everyone agreed to reconvene nuclear talks as soon as next week. Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan today, including the capital of Kabul. This is actually the latest in months of back and forth attacks. But now Pakistan is describing the conflict as open war and both sides are reporting heavy losses. It all stems from Pakistan's allegation that Afghanistan harbors militants who are carrying out attacks inside Pakistan. It's something Afghanistan's Taliban government denies. And instead it says Pakistan is carrying out unprovoked attacks in Afghanistan. The UN Is now calling for de escalation and broader dialogue to be continued. Back in the U.S. the American military used a laser to shoot down a drone over Texas. But it turns out the drone belonged to U.S. customs and Border Protection. This is the second time in two weeks that a laser was fired in the area. And once again, the FAA responded by temporarily closing the airspace near El Paso. Commercial flights were not affected. Still, some lawmakers say their heads were, quote, exploding over this news. They're now demanding independent investigations. So far, no comment from the Trump administration. The Homeland Security Department is being called on to answer for yesterday's controversial arrest of a Columbia University student. The university's president says DHS agents got into her apartment by telling the building superintendent they were police officers looking for a missing child. Security cameras even captured agents showing photos of the alleged missing child to the student's roommate. Once what actually happened came to light, the university's president put out an urgent letter to the campus and there was quickly backlash. But New York City's mayor was already at the White House for an unrelated meeting with President Trump, and he brought up the arrest soon after the student was released from custody. Now it's not clear what may happen to her. The Homeland Security Department says she was arrested because her visa was terminated, meaning she has no legal standing to live in the US despite being enrolled at Columbia, and her deportation case is still active. You may have seen on social media video of what started as a massive snowball fight in New York City this week, and now someone has been arrested for it. The fight had already sparked debate since. Video also shows NYPD officers taking what seemed to be unprovoked snowballs to their heads and backs as they walked through the crowd. Officials say some officers ended up with cuts on their faces. So yesterday a man got arrested for assaulting a police officer, which is a felony. But prosecutors declined to actually bring an assault charge against him yesterday, instead charging him with a misdemeanor. Other people involved in the snowball fight could also be arrested, since the investigation is now ongoing. Speaking of snow, the next potential winter storm is now looming over millions of Americans across 25 states. This one is expected to start in the Midwest on Sunday and reach the Ohio Valley sometime Monday before eventually making its way to the Northeast coast. But exact details are still up in the air. More news still coming up, but first, a break for our sponsor. Learning a language is one of those skills that truly stays with you and can be so rewarding. Not to mention it can be great for brain health and, of course, international travel. Plus, I'm always so impressed when I see someone else who knows multiple languages. So this year, I'm ready to start learning and I'm turning to Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone has been the trusted leader in language learning for over 30 years, has millions of users and 25 languages to choose from, including Spanish, French, German, Japanese and more. Their method ensures you're learning the language naturally, no memorizing random vocabulary lists or feeling lost. And I appreciate that Rosetta Stone allows for on the go learning so it can fit into my busy schedule. Listen, they've got a great deal right now. Lifetime membership gives you access to all 25 languages forever. So don't wait. Unlock your language learning potential. Now the newsworthy listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life. Visit rosettastone.comnewsworthy to get started and claim your 50% off today. Go to rosettastone.comnewsworthy and start learning today. Now back to the news. In a sudden turn of events, Netflix has backed out of its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. And with that, it seems Paramount Skydance has emerged victorious in the intense bidding war for the iconic movie and television studio. As we've told you, Paramount has offered multiple unsolicited bids even after Warner chose to sell to Netflix. And eventually one stuck. The Warner board of directors called Paramount's latest offer of $31 a share superior to Netflix's bid. It works out to about $81 billion. And Netflix's co CEOs decided not to price match, saying the merger was just no longer financially attractive. If the Paramount deal survives regulatory scrutiny, it would give the company not only Warner Bros. And hbo, but also many popular cable networks like cnn, tnt, TBS and Food Network on top of the ones Paramount already owns like CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon. Still, Paramount is 1/13 the size of Netflix at this point, so this is considered the more likely deal to be approved. Remember how we told you the Pentagon gave Anthropic until today to get rid of its technology's restrictions for the military? Well, the artificial intelligence company says it's still not backing down. Anthropic's main concerns are one, the Claude model being used for the mass surveillance of Americans, or 2 the development of weapons that fire without human involvement. The Pentagon's top spokesperson says the government has no plan to do either, that it only wants to work within the law. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth still says the military cannot work with guardrails and that a fanthropic doesn't agree it would jeopardize critical military operations. He's threatened to cut ties and declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, which is basically considered a government blacklist. Or the Pentagon could invoke the Defense Production act to force the company to tailor its model to the military's needs. So Anthropic's CEO now says Hegseth is contradicting himself with those threats since, quote, one labels us a security risk, the other labels Claude as essential to national security. It's still not clear exactly what the Defense Department will do, but but Pentagon officials did already reach out to defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing to gauge how much they use Claude, suggesting they're preparing to label Anthropic a supply chain risk. Stay tuned. Instagram is rolling out a new feature with teenagers mental health in mind. It's going to start alerting parents when their teens repeatedly search for terms related to suicide and self harm and offer some resources to help. Though the alerts won't apply to all teens on the platform since they require both parents and teenagers enroll in parental supervision tools ahead of time. This comes as the social media company is in the middle of two trials over harm to children, and the nonprofit Fair Play says the new notifications don't solve the problem, that it just shifts the burden to parents rather than fixing the dangerous flaws within the app. Well, Instagram says it already blocks dangerous content from showing up in teen account's search results. Anyway, the new alerts will begin rolling out next week. Uber is one step closer to going airborne. This week the company previewed its air taxi booking service that's set to roll out in Dubai this year through the service riders will be able to hail a flying electric vehicle directly through the Uber app, just like requesting a ride on the ground. The air taxis will be able to go up to 200 miles an hour with a range of about 100 miles per charge, and they'll be flown by commercial pilots in Dubai. There will be four landing the international airport, a mall, a hotel and American University of Dubai. An Uber Black car will pick the passenger up where they are and drive them to and from any of those locations to catch the flight. Uber hasn't revealed the exact pricing, but says the aerial portion of the trip will also be similar to ordering an Uber Black. And plans to bring the air taxis to the US Are already in motion, specifically in New York City and Los Angeles. The goal is to be ready to serve American passengers in time for the LA Olympic Games in 2028, which could come in handy for people trying to get around difficult traffic during the global event. Uber says the service is now in the final stages of getting certified with the FAA the night sky is putting on a show this weekend. A rare six planet alignment, AKA a planetary parade, will light up the night. This means you have a chance to see Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Mercury or all at the same time tomorrow evening, so long as the weather cooperates. Astronomers say the best time to view the planets will be about 30 minutes to an hour after sunset while you're looking toward the western sky. You'll need a telescope or pair of sky gazing binoculars to see everything, but four of them should be visible even to the naked eye. Then there will be another option for stargazing next week when much of the country will get a chance to see a total lunar eclipse. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Feel Good Friday when we bring you one extra feel Good or positive news story before the weekend. But first, this episode is sponsored by Hiya Health. One of the easiest and most consistent parts of my kiddo's morning routine is taking his Haya children's vitamins. He loves the feeling of getting vitamins like Mommy every morning, and he loves the taste. I honestly thought the novelty of it would wear off eventually, but we're now two and a half years in and he's still loving and benefiting from both the children's vitamins and Haya's children's probiotics. Of course, I appreciate that Haya's chewable vitamin is supporting his immune system, energy, brain function, teeth and bones and more. And that Haya earned clean Label Project's highest Purity Award certification. And by the way, if getting your kids to eat vegetables feels like an impossible daily battle, Haya's New Kids Daily Greens plus Superfoods is a game changer. It's basically chocolate milk stuffed with veggies. It's a greens powder that's packed with over 55 whole food sourced ingredients. Just mix one scoop with milk or any non dairy beverage and watch them actually enjoy something that's secretly fueling their growing bodies. We've worked out a special deal with Hayya for their best selling children's vitamin. Receive 50% off your first order. To claim this deal you must go to hiahealth.comnewsworthy this deal is not available on their regular website. Go to H I Y A H E a l t h.com newsworthy and get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Okay, now back to Feel Good Friday. Here's a story that proves you never know when you might make your next lasting friendship and turn your entire life around. Seven years ago, Joey Romano was a college student skateboarding near the University of Texas when he slammed into a ditch and broke his wrist. To save some money, he called Uber instead of an ambulance, while the Uber driver who showed up was Benny Lukumu. Lumu insisted on making the hospital trip at no charge, and when he found out Romano had no family nearby to help him, Lumu stayed. He checked him into the ER and kept him company until he was discharged. They ended up having dinner together, and now, seven years later, they're still close. Romano told NBC News he was in a dark place dealing with heavy grief when his accident happened. Now he sees meeting Lekumu as a big turning point, helping him see the good in the world again. And it drives him to look for ways to help others whenever he can. Thank you so much for listening today. We'll be back tomorrow with our special Edition Saturday episode. We'll explain how a major new tax law may change your tax filing. Then we'll be back on Monday with the latest news. For now, have a great weekend.
