5 things you need to know Friday
1. Pre-orders begin for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
Cue the frenzy. Eager Apple users are getting their first chance at securing the newest iPhones Friday. Pre-orders started at 12 a.m. PT. While customers won't have the phone until Sept. 19, analysts expect the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to sell out over the course of the week. "This will be the biggest iPhone launch since the introduction of the first iPhone," says Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies.
2. The U.S. and the European Union to unveil tighter sanctions on Russia
The economic sanctions previously alluded to by President Obama with the support of the European Union will be announced Friday to put pressure on the Kremlin to end its military support for separatists in east Ukraine. The new measures, which also take effect Friday, tighten Russian access to Western loans, especially for big state oil companies, and add new names to the blacklist of Russians subject to visa bans and a freeze of assets.
3. Oscar Pistorius guilty of 'culpable homicide'
A South African judge on Friday convicted athlete Oscar Pistorius of "culpable homicide" in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. A conviction of culpable homicide, the term for manslaughter in South Africa, carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence. Pistorius had already been cleared of murdering Steenkamp. Sentencing awaits.
4. Solar flare may cause technological disturbances
A "strong" solar flare that launched off the sun Wednesday could cause some fluctuations in Earth's power grid, and slight disturbances in satellites and radio transmissions on Friday and Saturday. Major disruptions are not expected, even though the powerful flare is at the high end of the solar flare scale. In a more beautiful side effect, those in the northern part of the country may be able to see the glowing lights of the aurora borealis in the evenings.
5. Presidents celebrate AmeriCorps' 20th anniversary nationwide
As the volunteer-based service program celebrates its 20th year, President Obama and Bill Clinton will welcome hundreds of AmeriCorps volunteers on the White House lawn. Clinton commissioned the first group of volunteers in 1994. Former president George W. Bush and his wife Laura will appear in a video for the ceremony, while his father George H.W. Bush will participate in a Kennebunkport, Me., pledge ceremony for the organization near his home.
And, the essentials:
Weather: Much of the central and southern U.S. will see a soggy end to the week, while parts of Colorado will endure some unwelcome September snow.
Stocks: U.S. stock futures were pointing slightly higher.
TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch this weekend? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at Showtime's Masters of Sex and the Miss America Pageant.
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Contributing: Jefferson Graham, Doyle Rice, Doug Stanglin, Paste BN