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TOP STORIES
Thursday, May 17
GRAB ’EM BY THE PAYMENTS A new financial disclosure document reveals Trump paid his attorney Michael Cohen more than $100,000 to reimburse a payment made to a third party — an apparent reference to the $130,000 Cohen paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair. However, Trump should have revealed his payment on last year’s financial disclosure form, an omission that has been referred to the Department of Justice by the Office of Government Ethics. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook]
‘THESE ARE ANIMALS’ Trump used a White House roundtable discussion with California leaders to demand the Department of Justice prosecute a political opponent before ranting that immigrants “aren’t people. These are animals.” [HuffPost]
REX OFF THE LEASH Rex Tillerson, whose brief tenure as secretary of state peaked when he called Trump a “moron,” took another veiled swipe at his former boss Wednesday, giving a commencement speech at Virginia Military Institute in which he waxed on American democracy, concluding: “If our leaders seek to conceal the truth, or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom.” [HuffPost]
‘DIRT’ DISAPPOINTMENT Jared Kushner was reportedly agitated in the infamous Trump Tower meeting when Russian lawyer and Putin informant Natalia Veselnitskaya failed to deliver the Kremlin’s “smoking gun” dirt on Hillary Clinton that the Trump team had been promised. [HuffPost]
‘A BETRAYAL OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’ EPA chief Scott Pruitt was lambasted by the Senate appropriations committee Wednesday for the myriad ethical scandals plaguing him, with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) accusing him of turning the department into “a laughingstock.” [HuffPost]
‘NEW PHASE’ OF EBOLA OUTBREAK Officials warned the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has entered a “new phase” after a case was confirmed in the urban area of Wangata, home to more than 1 million people. [HuffPost]
WHAT’S BREWING
FILE HEIST The whistleblower who leaked the financial records of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen did so after discovering that two files had disappeared from a government database. [HuffPost]
‘CROSSFIRE HURRICANE’ A New York Times report details the early days of a secret FBI probe into possible Trump campaign collusion that only five officials knew about. [New York Times]
BANNON TRIED TO SUPPRESS BLACK VOTE Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie told senators former Trump adviser Steve Bannon wanted to incite a “culture war” and the company actively worked to suppress the black vote. [HuffPost]
STONE’S SOCIAL GUY SUBPOENAED Special counsel Robert Mueller has issued two subpoenas to a social media expert who worked for Trump adviser Roger Stone during the 2016 presidential campaign. [Reuters]
‘HETWASHED’ The trailer for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the forthcoming biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, has been slammed for ignoring the singer’s homosexuality. [HuffPost]
CHINESE LIFTOFF China has launched its first privately developed rocket, the latest milestone in the country’s ambitious space exploration program. [Reuters]
BEFORE YOU GO
This angry white guy’s rant about people speaking Spanish in Manhattan has gone viral.
Yanny Or Laurel? We’ve got the definitive answer.
We’ve put together a rundown of the surprise shows heading to Netflix in May.
Jameela Jamil shredded Kim Kardashian for promoting “appetite suppressant” lollipops.
Hilary Duff just publicly dragged a neighbor who keeps her up “all night.”
Singer Pink delivered a badass response to a troll who said she looked old.
This “despicable” video shows an 8-year-old with autism being taunted by a bus driver.
Our columnist sets out how Democrats can beat Trump’s white identitypolitics.
Here are 33 of the best chicken and rice recipes for dinner.
And here are 18 of the most dark and disturbing lullabies from around the world.
Epix has ordered “Pennyworth,” a Batman prequel focusing on the early life of Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred Pennyworth.
San Francisco is considering banning merchants from providing customers with single-use plastic straws, which environmentalists say pose serious health risks to marine life.
This writer explains why teachers shouldn’t have to hoard sick days to invent maternity leave.
Rudy Giuliani has given a bizarre new defense of Trump’s possible campaign collusion.
Congratulations to Chrissy Teigen And John Legend, who used Twitter to announce the birth of a baby boy.
And Meghan Markle has confirmed that “sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding.”
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