Mar 16, 2018

Russia probe moves further into Trump's house

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Russia dominated cable news coverage last evening, even after the tragic bridge collapse in Miami.

Be smart: Three huge developments set up a new tension for Trump... Mueller's incursion into the Trump Organization, impinging on the president's red line of family finances, is sure to get under Trump's skin, and may make him want to fire Mueller. On the other hand, by sanctioning Russians who had been indicted by Mueller, the administration was giving its seal of approval to the special counsel's findings.

  • Mueller "has subpoenaed the Trump Organization ... to turn over documents, including some related to Russia," per N.Y. Times."The order is the first known instance of the special counsel demanding records directly related to President Trump’s businesses."
  • "The Trump administration slapped Moscow with its first sanctions for meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign," per The Wall Street Journal, "punishing ... Russians already indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller."
  • "Cyberattacks Put Russian Fingers on the Switch at Power Plants, U.S. Says," per N.Y. Times: "The Trump administration accused Russia ... of engineering a series of cyberattacks that targeted American and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems, and could have sabotaged or shut power plants off at will."

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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 47 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. Wednesday of "endangering peace" with the visit, AFP reports.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours 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 3 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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