- source
- Rich Polk/Getty Images
Hello! Here’s what’s happening on Thursday.
1. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is questioning whether wealthy Russians illegally funneled money into Trump’s campaign and inauguration. Mueller is also investigating whether Americans or American companies acted as conduits.
2. Russia’s call for a joint inquiry into the poisoning of an ex-spy in the UK has been rejected. Russia is believed to be behind last month’s assassination attempt, despite its denials.
3. Top Trump officials are scrambling to downplay the threat of a trade war with China. Trump rolled out $50 billion worth of tariffs on China on Tuesday, and China retaliated the next day.
4. The Pentagon is close to awarding a $10 billion deal to Amazon. Trump has been attacking Amazon on Twitter, and he recently dined with the chief executive of Amazon's competitor Oracle.
5. Facebook said most of its 2 billion users may have had their personal data scraped. The company also announced a slew of changes to restrict user information, but here's what data could have been accessed.
6. Israel released a number of African migrants awaiting deportation. Israel originally planned to deport migrants to a third country in Africa, but the deal fell through.
7. National guards will be sent to the US-Mexico border. The Trump administration authorized the deployment of the National Guard along the tense border.
8. Brazil's top court rejected a bid by a convicted ex-president to avoid jail time while he seeks re-election. The former leader had planned to run in the country's October elections, but will likely be forced to face a 12-year jail sentence instead.
9. A student shot at Parkland school has finally been released from the hospital. Anthony Borges shielded his classmates during the devastating school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.
10. American actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson praised Saudi Arabia's crown prince in a bizarre Instagram post. Mohammad bin Salman is currently visiting Los Angeles on the last leg of his US tour.
And finally...