May 20, 2018

Trump demands DOJ investigation into FBI surveillance of his campaign

Continuing his Sunday tweetstorm, President Trump announced his plan to "officially" demand tomorrow that the Department of Justice investigate whether the FBI and DOJ under the Obama administration "infiltrated or surveilled" the Trump campaign.

The big picture: As Axios' David Nather reported last week, there's no evidence that these agencies placed a "spy" inside the Trump campaign. But, per the Washington Post, the FBI did utilize an informant — named by NBC News as American academic Stefan Halper — to attempt to solicit information from Trump campaign associates Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and Sam Clovis for the Russia investigation.

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Axios

Updated 12 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 19,909,062 — Total deaths: 732,128 — Total recoveries — 12,138,271 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 5,053,123 — Total deaths: 163,047 — Total recoveries: 1,656,864 — Total tests: 61,792,571 — Map.
Business: Richer Americans are more comfortable eating out.
Public health: How America can do smarter testing.
Sports: The cost of kids losing gym class — College football is on the brink.
🎧 Podcast: Indoor air is the next hotspot.

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Kia Kokalitcheva

1 hour ago - Economy & Business

Twitter jumps into the fray for TikTok

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Twitter is the latest to join the cast of the ongoing spectacle that is TikTok’s battle to stay open for business in the U.S., per a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: The saga to keep TikTok available to U.S. users is getting more complicated, with the company already in a President Trump-imposed time crunch and juggling a number of options.

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Marisa Fernandez

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Downtown Chicago hit by widespread looting

Police officers inspect a damaged Best Buy in Chicago that was looted and vandalized. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Chicago police responded to hundreds of people looting stores and causing widespread property damage in the city's downtown overnight, resulting in at least one exchange of gunfire, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The state of play: Police superintendent David Brown said the event was a coordinated response after an officer shot a suspect on Sunday evening, per CBS Chicago.