Stories by Rashaan Ayesh

Rashaan AyeshJul 13, 2019

Juul CEO apologizes to parents, says more studies needed

Juul vaping pods being sold — Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Juul CEO Kevin Burns admitted his company doesn't know much about the long-term effects of vaping, and apologized to parents whose teens are addicted to the company's products, in an interview scheduled to air Monday on CNBC.

Why it matters: Teen vaping is being treated as a national epidemic, and there is little research about its long-term effects on users. Lawmakers are debating how to regulate vaping products, with some legislators pushing to raise the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 to curb teen use of e-cigarettes.

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"First of all, I'd tell them I'm sorry that their child is using the product. It's not intended for them. I hope there was nothing that we did that made it appealing to them. As a parent of a 16-year-old, I'm sorry for them and have empathy for them with the challenges they are going through."

— Juul CEO Kevin Burns

Context: Juul released its first public health study in Feb. 2019, looking for differences between cigarette smokers who completely quit versus those who transitioned to Juul products, reports Business Insider. The company found no difference between the two, but the trial presents some limitations because it didn't look at users who use both traditional burned cigarettes and vaping products.

Go deeper: Tobacco use is soaring among U.S. kids, driven by e-cigarettes

Juul

Rashaan AyeshJul 13, 2019

Hotel attack in Somalia leaves more than 20 dead

Hotel in Kismayo, Somalia following a terror attack by Al-Shabab — The Medina hotel in Kismayo, Somalia July 13, a day after at least 26 people were killed and more than 50 injured in an attack claimed by Al-Shabaab militants. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

More than 25 people, including 2 Americans and at least 2 journalists, were killed in an attack on a hotel that began Friday night and lasted at least 14 hours in Kismayo, Somalia, reported BBC.

The big picture: The terror group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the strike that began when a suicide bomber who rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the gates of the Asasey Hotel. Four gunmen then stormed the building, the AP reports. Al-Shabab retreated from Kismayo in 2012, a "port [that] had been a major source of revenue for the group," says Al-Jazeera.

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Similar attacks are "frequent" in Somalia, but Kismayo had been relatively peaceful since al-Shabab was forced out, per BBC.

Why it matters: Regional politicians and clan leaders were meeting to discuss next year's elections when the attack began on Friday night. This is "a blow to the Somalia government’s efforts to hold nationwide, one-person, one-vote elections next year," writes AP.

Details:

The attack lasted more than 14 hours and all attackers were killed, says AP.
Journalists Somali-Canadian Hodan Naleyah and Mohamed Sahal Omar were also killed, says Al-Jazeera.
More than 50 people were wounded.
Al-Shabab has ties to al-Qaeda.

Somalia

Rashaan Ayeshupdated Jul 13, 2019

Track the 2020 Democrats' Q2 fundraising

2020 Presidential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden, President Trump and Mayor Pete Buttigieg — Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto/Kim Min-Hee - Pool/Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The 2020 candidates are slowly revealing how much they've managed to raise during the second quarter of the year — with Mayor Pete Buttigieg leading the Democratic coalition.

Why it matters: These fundraising numbers will be important for the Democratic candidates as they fight to secure their spots for the primary debates. All candidates have to submit their fundraising numbers to the Federal Elections Commission by July 15.

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By the numbers:

Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised $24.8 million from 294,000 donors.
Former Vice President Joe Biden raised $21.5 million with over 256,000 donors.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised $19.1 million, from 384,000 donors.
Sen. Bernie Sanders raised $18 million. The campaign claimed more than 1 million donations, without breaking down the number of individual donors in the quarter.
Sen. Kamala Harris raised nearly $12 million from 279,000 donors.
Sen. Michael Bennet raised $2.8 million.
Gov. Steve Bullock raised $2 million.
Rep. Tim Ryan raised $895,000 with over 13,000 individual donors.

The big picture: President Trump and his committees have raised $54 million, while the RNC raised another $51 million.

Go deeper ... 2020 presidential election: Track which candidates are running

2020 elections