Jun 13, 2017 - World

North Korea releases imprisoned American student

Kim Kwang Hyon / AP

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced this morning that American student Otto Warmbier, who attended UVA, was released from North Korea, per the AP.

Think back: Warmbier was imprisoned by North Korea last March after stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel while in the country on vacation. He was sentenced to 15 years in a hard labor camp.

More news: The Washington Post reports that Warmbier is currently in a coma and being medically evacuated. North Korea claims that he contracted botulism shortly after his trial last year and never woke up after being given a sleeping pill.

Worth considering: Former NBA star and noted Kim Jong-Un pal Dennis Rodman headed to North Korea yesterday, but WaPo's Anna Fifield calls the timing a "bizarre coincidence" and "perhaps a deliberate attempt by North Korea to distract."

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Jonathan Swan

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump's Tucker mind-meld

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images and BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

If you want to understand the rhetorical roots of Trump's Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore, go back and watch Tucker Carlson's monologues for the past six weeks.

Between the lines: Trump — or rather his speechwriter Stephen Miller — framed the president's opposition to the Black Lives Matter protest movement using the same imagery Carlson has been laying out night after night on Fox.

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Axios

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. ET: 11,366,145 — Total deaths: 532,644 — Total recoveries — 6,154,138 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. ET: 2,874,396 — Total deaths: 129,870 — Total recoveries: 906,763 — Total tested: 35,512,916 — Map.
States: Photos of America's pandemic July 4 — ICU beds in Arizona hot spot near capacity — Houston mayor warns about hospitals
Public health: U.S. coronavirus infections hit record highs for 3 straight days.
Politics: Former Trump official Tom Bossert says face masks “are not enough”
World: Mexican leaders call for tighter border control as infections rise in U.S.
Sports: Sports return stalked by coronavirus
1 📽 thing: Drive-in movie theaters are making a comeback.

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Jonathan Swan

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Bolton's hidden aftershocks

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The news media has largely moved on, but foreign government officials remain fixated on John Bolton's memoir, "The Room Where It Happened."

Why it matters: Bolton's detailed inside-the-Oval revelations have raised the blood pressure of allies who were already stressed about President Trump's unreliability.