News

The BBC reports: North Korea has claimed that the missile it tested on Sunday was a new type of rocket capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead. The missile, launched at a steep angle, reached an altitude of 2,000km (1,242 miles) and traveled about 700km, landing in the sea west of Japan. North Korea said on Monday it was a …

The New York Daily News reports: The new Miss USA is a scientist at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and she knows a thing or two about dropping a bomb. Pageant winner Kara McCullough sent heads shaking Sunday night when she said affordable health care in America is a “privilege” instead of a “right.” McCullough, 25, who started the day …

Shocking, huh? The Washingtonian reports: According to two GOP lawmakers who have spoken to Chaffetz directly and four senior House Republican aides, Chaffetz has been telling people he’ll take on what one source calls a “substantial role” in on-air talent at Fox News Channel, possibly as early as July, amplifying whispers that Chaffetz will not finish out his current term. …

The Washington Examiner reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s former chief of staff, Josh Holmes, on Sunday declared his old boss’s strong support for the potential nomination of Merrick Garland as FBI director. “I think the Senate majority leader thinks that’s a fantastic idea,” Holmes said during a panel discussion on “Fox News Sunday.” He was reacting to Sen. Mike …

ABC News reports: Former FBI director James Comey attended a Broadway musical matinee in Washington Saturday, marking his first prominent public appearance since being dismissed Tuesday by President Trump. Comey and wife Patrice attended the afternoon performance of “Fun Home,” a Broadway musical currently on tour across the country, at the National Theater. “Fun Home” is a true story about …

Politico reports: The White House on Saturday said President Donald Trump “cannot imagine that Russia is pleased” with North Korea’s latest missile test. The statement from press secretary Sean Spicer said “the missile impacting so close to Russian soil – in fact, closer to Russia than to Japan – the President cannot imagine that Russia is pleased.” South Korea and …

I really thought Italy and the dancing gorilla had this, especially since the video for their entry has over 114 million views on YouTube. Sky News reports: Portugal has won its first-ever Eurovision Song Contest for Salvador Sobral’s performance of Amar Pelos Dois. Sobral, who has fought ill health to take part in the competition, was crowned winner during a …

The New York Daily News reports: Shutting down the global cyberattack that infected nearly 100 nations came down to a twenty-something British computer geek vacationing at home. The security researcher says he shut down the fast-spreading ransomware program by purchasing a domain name for $10.69 — and accidentally activating its kill switch. In a lengthy Saturday web posting, the 22-year-old …

The New York Times reports: President Trump has broadened his search for a new F.B.I. director in recent days, moving to install a leader who would be viewed as independent from the White House amid the backlash over his abrupt dismissal of James B. Comey. Four candidates will be interviewed Saturday, according to a person familiar with the meetings: Andrew …

CNN reports: Former FBI Director James Comey will not testify before the Senate intelligence committee next week, according to the panel’s vice chairman, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. “We just heard from the director that he’s not able to make Tuesday,” Warner told CNN’s Manu Raju. “It’s my hope that that we will be able to find a time. …

Fox News this afternoon released a portion of an interview Trump has done with nutcase Jeanine Pirro in which he doubles down on this morning’s tweeted threat to pull back on press briefings. Not only that, Trump wouldn’t commit to keeping Spicey around much longer. Via Mediaite: “Is Spicer your press secretary today and tomorrow?” Pirro asked. “Will he be …

CNET reports: A global ransomware attack is holding more than 60,000 computers hostage. Banks, telephone companies and hospitals have all been ensnared in the worldwide hack, with the malware locking down computers while demanding a hefty sum for freedom. The attack has hit thousands of computers across China, Russia, Spain, Italy and Vietnam, but the UK hospitals have attracted the …

Politico reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reversing one of the central elements of the Obama administration’s criminal justice reform agenda: a Justice Department policy that led to prosecutors in drug cases often filing charges in a way that avoided triggering mandatory minimum sentences in federal law. Sessions is withdrawing a 2013 directive from Attorney General Eric Holder that instructed …

From an interview with GQ Magazine: Last June, when The Washington Post published an op-ed suggesting he could be a viable candidate, Johnson posted a screen grab and gave the idea a boost. On Instagram, he called the Post piece “interesting” and “fun to read,” adding that “the most important thing right now is strong honest leadership from our current …

Via Quinnipiac: American voters, who gave President Donald Trump a slight approval bump after the missile strike in Syria, today give him a near-record negative 36 – 58 percent job approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Critical are big losses among white voters with no college degree, white men and independent voters. Today’s job approval …

Unsurprisingly, Spicer is ducking the gig today: One day after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Sean Spicer will not be conducting the daily White House press briefing. In his place will be Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy White House press secretary, who previously filled in for Sean Spicer on Friday, May 5th. So where is Sean Spicer …

CBS News reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin said the firing of former FBI Director James Comey will have “no effect” on U.S.-Russia relations, reacting for the first time to President Trump’s dramatic ouster of the man leading the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. Putin spoke with CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer shortly before taking to the ice …

Heavy.com reports: James Comey may have just been fired by President Donald Trump from his position as FBI Director, but he already has a new job offer from a surprising source: WikiLeaks. Shortly after he was fired, Julian Assange tweeted that he would be happy to offer Comey a new job if he wanted to continue to properly investigate the …

The Hill reports: A White House spokeswoman early Wednesday rejected the suggestion that President Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey was related to the Russia investigation. “Absolutely not,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “There’s no evidence of any collusion,” she added. Huckabee Sanders was further pressed about the president’s past praise of …

According to multiple outlets, late this afternoon the FBI sent a letter to Congress “correcting” Director James Comey’s “inaccurate” testimony before the Senate that senior Clinton aide Huma Abedin had forwarded “hundreds or thousands” of classified emails to the laptop of her now-estranged husband, Anthony Weiner. In fact, only a “handful” of emails were mistakenly forwarded. BREAKING: FBI sends letter …