May 31, 2017 - Politics & Policy

House Intel issues seven subpoenas on Russia

Kathy Willens / AP

The House Intelligence Committee issued seven subpoenas today — four were related to its ongoing Russia investigation and three were linked to the potential "unmasking" of Trump associates in classified reports collected during the Obama administration, according to the Wall St Journal.

The Russia targets: Ousted national security advisor Michael Flynn and his consulting group, Flynn Intel Group, LLC; plus, Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen and his law firm, Michael D. Cohen & Associates PC.

The unmasking targets: The NSA, FBI, and CIA all got subpoenaed relating to unmasking requests made by three Obama-era officials: national security advisor Susan Rice, CIA Director John Brennan, and U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power.

Why it matters: The split reflects the diverging priorities of the Democrats, focused on links between Trump associates and Russia, and the Republicans, many of whom claim the real issue is leaking or, in this case, unmasking.

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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 12 mins ago - World

China says U.S. is "endangering peace" with high-level visit to Taiwan

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during a June briefing in Washington, DC. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday night he will lead a delegation to Taiwan "in the coming days."

Why it matters: It's the highest-level visit by a U.S. cabinet official to Taiwan since 1979. Azar is also the first U.S. Cabinet member to visit the island state in six years. The visit has angered China, which views Taiwan as part of its territory. Chinese officials accused the U.S. early Wednesday of "endangering peace" with the visit, AFP reports.

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Axios
Updated 57 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 a.m. ET: 18,543,662 — Total deaths: 700,714 — Total recoveries — 11,143,031— Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 a.m. ET: 4,771,236 — Total deaths: 156,807 — Total recoveries: 1,528,979 — Total tests: 57,543,852 — Map.
  3. States: New York City health commissioner resigns in protest of De Blasio's coronavirus response — Local governments go to war over schools.
  4. Public health: 59% of Americans support nationwide 2-week stay-at-home order in NPR poll.
  5. Politics: Trump's national security adviser returns to work after coronavirus recovery — Republicans push to expand small business loan program.
  6. Sports: Indy 500 to be held without fans — Rafael Nadal opts out of U.S. Open.
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Dave Lawler
Updated 2 hours ago - World

At least 100 killed, 4,000 injured after massive explosion rocks Beirut

Photo: Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images

A major explosion has slammed central Beirut, Lebanon, damaging buildings as far as several miles away and injuring scores of people.

Driving the news: At least 100 people have been killed and over 4,000 injured in the blast — and the death toll is likely to rise, the Lebanese Red Cross said, per AP. Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the explosions occurred at a warehouse that had been storing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate for the past six years.

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