Putin talks prisoner swaps; Amazon accused of stealing; exploding air bags and backyard unicorns. This is your midday rundown, aimed down the middle, for Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.
Putin: Future prisoner swaps possible
Putin has told reporters more future prisoner swaps are possible.
As the U.S. welcomes WNBA star Brittney Griner back to American soil today, the country is also struggling with American Marine Paul Whelan left behind.
“Everything is possible,” Putin said, when asked if future swaps are possible. He noted that “compromises have been found” for this deal and can happen again in the future.
Amazon accused of stealing delivery driver tips
Amazon is being sued for allegedly stealing more than $1 million worth of delivery driver tips.
The lawsuit accuses Amazon of deceiving its customers into thinking tip money they paid online was going straight to the delivery driver on their route. But the lawsuit alleges the extra money customers tipped in was used by Amazon to cover wage increases for drivers across the board. Thereby, subsidizing Amazon’s labor costs.
“My office will use every tool available to hold Amazon, and any company that lies to consumers and cheats workers, accountable. Amazon is one of the richest companies in the world. It can and must do better,” said the attorney general leading the lawsuit.
Amazon said the lawsuit is without merit.
Potentially explosive air bags investigated
Air bag inflators used in tens of millions of cars are now being investigated after federal safety regulators raised concerns.
In a letter sent this week to a dozen auto makers, officials are asking for information regarding inflators used in passenger and driver’s side air bags. The concern is over the potential for these air bags to explode.
The air bags have reportedly exploded six times and left two people dead and four injured. The investigation has been ongoing for seven years. There have been seven small recall campaigns in that time span over the air bags.
Some car manufacturers have conducted third-party testing on the air bags and say there’s no evidence of an air bag defect.
House releases report on Washington Commanders
Congress has released their findings after a yearlong investigation into the Washington Commanders NFL football team.
The House Committee members say the owner, Dan Snyder, along with the NFL, failed to protect workers from sexual harassment.
They accuse Snyder of going to extraordinary lengths to stall investigations into himself and the team. And the committee accuses the NFL of failing to address the misconduct happening within the organization.
A spokeswoman for the Commanders has indirectly responded to the House Committee’s findings. She forwarded a memo written by Republican committee members calling the investigation “a sham” intended to harass a private business.
Girl asks county for permission to own unicorn
A little girl in California is one step closer to owning a unicorn. Madeline just received a license from Los Angeles county, granting her permission to have a unicorn in her backyard.
Madeline wrote to animal control, asking if she can have approval for a unicorn to live in her backyard if she finds one. The logical first grader knew the first step to owning a mythical creature was getting permission. It would have been sad to find a unicorn and not be able to keep it.
The county gave her a “permanent” unicorn license, and in the meantime, sent her a stuffed animal until she finds her real-life unicorn. Now Madeline needs to get busy writing another letter. This time to Santa, to see if any of his reindeer might have any unicorn friends.
