Donald Trump

Happening Today: Mike Pompeo, Colon Cancer Screening, Harvey Weinstein, Meek Mill

What to Know

  • A top lieutenant of North Korean leader is in the United States conducting one of three sets of parallel talks aimed at salvaging a summit
  • New American Cancer Society guidelines recommend U.S. adults start colon cancer screening earlier, at age 45 instead of 50
  • Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on rape and criminal sex act charges, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. says

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3 Sets of Talks Aimed at Salvaging Summit Between Trump, Kim

A top lieutenant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in the United States conducting one of three sets of parallel talks aimed at salvaging a summit between Kim and President Trump. Kim Yong Chol is meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York to finalize plans for the summit, while lower-level officials have been meeting at the inter-Korean border and in Singapore for other pre-summit negotiations. Kim Yong Chol is likely to convey to Pompeo that Kim Jong Un is serious about the summit and also to discuss the contents of a joint statement to be issued at its end. Some experts say major thorny issues are still unsettled, and that is why a senior official like Kim Yong Chol has traveled to the United States to narrow the gap.

Ex-FBI Deputy Wrote Memo on Comey Firing, a Source Says

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe drafted a memo on circumstances leading up to the firing of his onetime boss, James Comey, a person familiar with the situation says. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a secret document that has been turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller. His team is investigating whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election and whether the president sought to obstruct that inquiry through actions including the firing of Comey last May. The memo concerns a conversation that McCabe had with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about Rosenstein's preparations for Comey's firing. Rosenstein played an important role in that episode, having written a memo faulting Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation that the White House held up as justification for President Donald Trump's decision to fire the FBI director. Rosenstein has said he wrote a memo laying out his concerns with Comey after learning that the White House intended to fire him. According to McCabe's memo, Rosenstein indicated to him that he was initially asked to reference the Russia investigation in his own memo on Comey.

Colon Screening Should Start at Younger Age, Cancer Group Says

New guidelines recommend U.S. adults start colon cancer screening earlier, at age 45 instead of 50. The American Cancer Society's advice puts it out of sync with guidelines from an influential government advisory group, which kept the age at 50 in an update two years ago. Cancer society officials acknowledge the shift to 45 could cause confusion for doctors and patients but felt strongly that they needed to act now. The advocacy group was influenced by its study, published last year, that found rising rates of colon cancer and deaths in people younger than 50. Experts aren't sure why there has been a 50 percent increase in cases since 1994. The guidelines are for men and women ages 45 to 75 of average risk for colon cancer; recommendations are different for people with certain conditions, like Crohn's disease, or a family history of colon cancer.

Grand Jury Indicts Harvey Weinstein on Rape Charges

Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on rape and criminal sex act charges, furthering the first criminal case to arise from a slate of sexual misconduct allegations against the former movie mogul. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said the indictment brings Weinstein "another step closer to accountability." The announcement came hours after Weinstein's lawyers said he'd decline to testify before the grand jury because there wasn't enough time to prepare him and "political pressure" made an indictment unavoidable. A statement issued through a Weinstein spokesman said the 66-year-old film producer, who has denied the allegations, learned of the specific charges and the accusers' identities only after turning himself in.

Rapper Meek Mill Loses Bid to Have Judge Removed From Case

A supervising judge has denied a request from Meek Mill’s legal team to remove the judge who sent the Philadelphia rapper to prison from his ongoing legal case. Mill and his legal team went to court to demand that Judge Genece Brinkley be removed from the case. President Judge Leon Tucker told Mill in the hearing that he doesn't have jurisdiction over the matter. The rapper's attorneys maintain that Brinkley is biased and isn't handling his case ethically. She has strongly defended her impartiality as Mill's legal team has alleged she's been waging a vendetta against the rapper. Mill wants another judge to supervise his probation. One of Brinkley's last rulings in the case called for an evidentiary hearing, set for next month, which could determine if a new trial is warranted.

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