U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party is projected to win a majority of 28 seats in Thursday's high-stakes election, down from a 68-seat majority forecast by the same poll in late November.
Why it matters: YouGov's MRP poll of 100,000 voters was the only one to accurately predict that Theresa May would lose her majority in the shock 2017 election. With just two days left in what's been a brutal election campaign, the opposition Labour and Liberal Democrat parties will be doing everything they can to block Johnson from earning a majority and passing his Brexit deal through Parliament.
Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department on Tuesday for violating the Privacy Act by "unlawfully" releasing text messages between her and the bureau's former deputy assistant director Peter Strzok — with whom she was having an affair.
Why it matters: The lawsuit cites the Justice Department's inspector general report, which was released earlier this week and concluded that political bias did not influence the FBI's Russia investigation. Despite this, Page claims that Trump and his allies have used the text messages to attack her over allegations that she and the FBI sought to take down a president they didn't like, "fueling unwanted media attention that has radically altered her day-to-day life."
Since falling to its weakest level in more than three decades against the dollar on Sept. 3, the British pound has been on a tear. It has risen by nearly 10% to its strongest level against the dollar since May and its highest against the euro since May 2017.
What's happening: Currency traders are shaking off fears of a no-deal Brexit. Polling ahead of Thursday's election shows the Conservatives in the lead and they are expected to gather behind Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit plan.
President Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday during Lavrov's first trip to Washington, D.C., since their controversial oval office meeting in 2017.
Why it matters: Lavrov met with Trump in the Oval Office in 2017 when Trump reportedly divulged classified information to the foreign minister and Sergey Kislyak, who was then the Russian ambassador to the U.S., the day after he fired then-FBI Director James Comey as the Bureau probed ties between Trump associates and Russia.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to be steaming toward the parliamentary majority he desperately desires to pass his Brexit deal and end the gridlock in Westminster.
Why it matters: Thursday’s vote is the culmination of three years of intense efforts to deliver Brexit, and to block it. The rocky road Johnson has plodded along since replacing Theresa May in July would become much smoother with a resounding electoral mandate.
A group of European leaders meeting in Paris on Monday aims to revive progress on terms for peace in eastern Ukraine, an effort that has largely stalled since the second Minsk agreement was signed in February 2015.
Why it matters: It’s the first such meeting in more than three years among France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia — the so-called Normandy Four. Russian President Vladimir Putin enters the talks with his greatest leverage yet, which does not bode well for Ukraine.
The World Anti-Doping Agency on Monday banned Russia's flag and national anthem from international sporting competitions — including the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo — for four years after state authorities tampered with a doping laboratory's database, AP reports.
The big picture: Russian athletes not implicated in the scheme will be allowed to compete in neutral uniforms, but will not be able to display their flag or anthem. Some officials were frustrated that the ban, which will almost certainly face an appeal, couldn't go farther, as it still allows Russian athletes to take part in international competition.
