Today’s Big Story

The Password Crackdown Is Coming

Will your favorite streamer find out you’re sharing passwords?

Heads up Mom: I’m about to put you on blast. You see, I’ve been letting my mother use my Netflix password for years. But we all know those days of sharing log-ins are coming to an end. And everyone—from those actually paying to the ones still bumming an account—wants to know how these crackdowns on password sharing will affect them.

A few months back, Disney promised to put a stop to sharing. That's set to come into effect in the very near future for many more Disney+ users, meaning that account sharers will have to pay extra or have separate subscriptions to keep using the service. Disney started targeting account sharing in Canada late last year and in June in select other countries. Engadget says it’s about to expand those efforts in the coming weeks.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said on an earnings call with investors this week that the crackdown “kicks in, in earnest in September … and by the way, we've had no backlash at all to the notifications that have gone out and to the work that we've already been doing.” It's unclear how much Disney will charge U.S. customers to share their account with someone located outside of the primary household. Netflix charges an extra $8 per month per additional household, and that strategy has paid off. Seriously, for such a drastic move, Netflix says it actually grew subscribers. Perhaps that’s why competitors are pulling from the playbook.

Following in the footsteps, both Hulu and Max confirmed that their crackdowns are coming in 2024 too, which doesn’t leave much time. In light of that, it’s probably a good time to reacquaint ourselves with which major services aren’t cracking down. According to Vulture, Amazon seems to be not too concerned with password sharing for its Prime Video streamer. It’s a multi-use membership that is used to having many people accessing through one paid account. Peacock has no plans for a crackdown either at the moment. Apple TV+ is letting it slide, too. As for when to come clean, I’m just going to wait until I get the official notice that Mom’s been cut off.

The Number of U.S. Abortions Keep Rising

They exceed pre-Roe numbers as telehealth access grows

The number of women getting abortions in the U.S. actually went up in the first three months of 2024 compared with before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a report released Wednesday found, reflecting the lengths that Democratic-controlled states went to expand access.

Although abortions have decreased in the 14 states with abortion restrictions, they increased in states with liberal abortion access, especially states like Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico, which border states with restrictions, reports ABC News.

A major reason for the increase is the use of telemedicine to see patients in places that have abortion bans, according to the quarterly #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion access. These remote services, which prescribe patients abortion pills, are used in 20% of U.S. abortions. Before Roe was overturned, less than 5% of U.S. abortions were administered via telehealth. In states that have restricted access to abortion, chemical abortions are convenient, affordable and rising in popularity—and accounted for 63% of American abortions last year.

Two Veterans Vie to be VP

Vance reopens line of attack into Walz’s military record

Former President Trump and his running mate JD Vance turned their attacks toward Vice President Kamala Harris' newly announced No. 2, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Wednesday, accusing him of abandoning his unit deploying to Iraq when he left the Army National Guard and ran for Congress in 2005.

According to CNN, while Walz retired two months before his unit received alert orders to deploy to Iraq, the attacks on Walz’s military record are part of the race from both parties to define the relatively unknown governor after he was tapped Tuesday as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Walz’s 24-year military service is one of several facets of his background that appeal to voters that the Harris campaign is trying to reach with his selection and that Republicans are trying to blunt by painting him as an out-of-touch liberal.

Vance, who served in the Marines as a public affairs specialist—and deployed once to Iraq for roughly six months—attacked Walz for what he called “stolen valor garbage” at a campaign stop. Axios, however, reports that Walz has acknowledged that he did not face combat “during his decorated military career, which began when he signed up two days after his 17th birthday.” Walz has faced such attacks before, including in his re-election campaign in 2022, when his GOP opponent questioned his decision to leave the service in 2005. Walz’s campaign responded with a letter signed by 50 veterans praising his record and leadership.

A Symbol of Resilience

How Lahaina’s 150-year-old banyan tree is coming back to life after devastating fire

Here’s some good news: Remember the deadly and devasting wildfires in Maui last August? Remember the historic banyan tree in Lahaina—the huge one that’s more than 150 years old? Well, through painstaking pruning and care, watering and nursing during the past year, a team of arborists and volunteers have brought it back to life.

They helped it grow and coaxed fresh leaves that are now nearly 7 feet long—an encouraging sign that like Lahaina itself, the iconic tree will not only survive but thrive. The oldest living tree on Maui, the banyan was a gift from India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Protestant missionaries in Lahaina.

The tree is a locally important site. “It is listed as an Exceptional Tree by the County of Maui which gives it protections similar to an historic designated building,” the deputy executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, told Newsweek after the fire. Sensors, acting like a “heart monitor”, were installed to track the flow of sap through the branches and dead branches were removed by arborists to direct the tree's energy towards surviving parts. According to Duane Sparkman, chair of the Maui County Arborist Committee, Lahaina lost some 25,000 trees in the fire, but their most important one can, thankfully, be revived.

Grow Your Own Herbs

It’s a hobby that pays off in multiple ways

Urban gardening has really taken off in the past few years amongst Millennials. According to the National Gardening Survey, just over a third of all who garden today are between the ages of 18 and 34. And it's a trend that continues to grow—no pun intended—as our desire for fresh, quality food increases.

But there is also practicality in gardening—whether you're growing an entire garden or just tending to a few pots on your windowsill. It teaches you a sense of self-reliance and sustainability. Growing your own food, you'll find, is a skill that pays off in multiple ways.

Showing up counts for a lot.