Hayden Panettiere’s Death; Iran’s Secret War Plan; Meta’s Legal Reckoning; $20K Dorm Makeovers

**Mosheh Oinounou** (0:04)
Hey, everybody, it is Tuesday, August 18th. You're listening to the Mo News Podcast. I'm Moshe Oinounou.

**Jill Wagner** (0:08)
And I'm Jill Wagner. This is the place where we bring you just the facts.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (0:12)
And where we read all the news and read between the lines so you don't have to, whether you're traveling with friends or traveling alone, Jill.

**Jill Wagner** (0:19)
Yeah, apparently traveling alone is having a moment. More people Googled solo travel than ever before this year. And in a recent survey, about 64% of solo travelers said freedom and spontaneity were among the best parts of traveling alone.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (0:38)
Yeah. And apparently this is not just if you are single or living alone. In fact, we have seen increasing evidence of couples vacationing separately, especially if they have different interests. Now, younger travelers are driving much of the boom here. Many of them said they want to meet new people while they travel, so it's not just for introverts who want to travel by themselves, but they're traveling on their own to see new places, to meet new people. That's up, people who want to meet others on solo trips. Also, solo travelers say they very much enjoy and want to do it again. Nearly two-thirds of them, first-time solo travelers say they're going to do this at least one more time. Jill, there are a few times I took solo trips during my single days, wanted to see various parts of the world.
One of the trips I did, I went solo to Portugal and Germany on my own to knock those off my list and had a lot of fun.

**Jill Wagner** (1:28)
I went to a yoga retreat in Mexico solo, also in my single days. I don't know how I feel about solo traveling now that I'm married, but I do get it if you're going somewhere that maybe your partner is not interested in.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (1:43)
Whether you're an introvert, you don't really want to talk to anyone, or whether you're a social butterfly, certainly there are lots of opportunities to do that. Plus, you can also do group travel, where you travel solo, but then you can meet up with a group for various portions of wherever you go. So just the latest travel trend that we spotted. So if there's that place you're trying to get to or the place you want to get to, and you're like, well, I can't do that by myself.

**Jill Wagner** (2:08)
Millions are saying, go for it. Yes, you can.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (2:12)
Within reason, of course, there are places that are not very safe, especially some cases for women to travel solo, but that's part of the research process depending on where you're looking to go.

**Jill Wagner** (2:21)
Okay, now to the headlines. Looking back at the life of actor Hayden Panettiere, known for roles in shows like Heroes and Nashville. She died suddenly this weekend at the age of 36, what we know about her death.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (2:33)
This was some real shocking news that we learned late on Sunday night. She actually recently wrote a memoir talking about the very struggle she's been through in life, post-traumatic depression, addiction, et cetera. We'll discuss all of it in today's podcast.

**Jill Wagner** (2:47)
To the Iran War, the 60-day ceasefire has officially expired without an extension. Where things stand nearly six months into this war, as President Trump issues a threat to Oman.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (3:00)
Oman trying to negotiate a deal there over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump pledging potential military action against them. We'll explain what the strategy is there. Plus, we're getting some new reporting on what Iran has been up to these past 60 days and their plans to escalate the war starting with that ceasefire deal that they signed two months ago.

**Jill Wagner** (3:19)
It's primary day in America. We'll be taking a look at Florida, where we're watching several big races. It is the first election after a Republican redistricting effort. What it means for some Democratic incumbents. Hi Andy, you up? The UK's new prime minister was texting with someone he thought was President Trump's chief of staff, Suzy Wiles.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (3:42)
Turns out it was an imposter. The UK prime minister bamboozled for a bit. And this isn't the first time this has happened.

**Jill Wagner** (3:48)
A major trial in California, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, facing what some are calling its tobacco moment.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (3:57)
Remember big tobacco getting sued for what they knew cigarettes were doing to our health for decades? Well, now that moment coming to Meta and social media, trying to get at what Mark Zuckerberg and Meta knew all these years about what social media was doing to us, particularly our kids and the enormous sum of money, Jill, that the states are asking for as part of this lawsuit. Enormous.