Happening Today: Texas Explosions, Trump on Drug Dealers, Cynthia Nixon, Weinstein Co.

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Explosion Rocks Texas FedEx Facility Amid Series of Bombings

An explosion was reported at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio, authorities say. Local police said an employee suffered a non-life-threatening "percussion-type" injury from the blast shortly after midnight at a FedEx Ground freight facility in Schertz, northeast of San Antonio, but a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives representative said there were no injuries. It wasn't clear if it was a package that exploded, the ATF representative said. The FBI is also investigating. The explosion follows a series of package bombings in the Austin area that have left two people dead and four injured. Federal agents told The Associated Press the explosion in Schertz is likely linked to the Austin-area serial attacks.

Hidden Camera Shows Cambridge Analytica Pitching Tricky Tactics

In a meeting with the head of Cambridge Analytica — the political data firm used by the Trump campaign in 2016 — reporters from NBC News’ U.K. partner ITN Channel 4 News posed as potential clients interested in changing the outcome of the Sri Lankan elections. The reporters, who were trying to find out how the company operated, quickly learned about the novel and deceptive methods employed by the company, including bribes, blackmail, and misinformation campaigns. The findings were broadcast by the network on Monday. On hidden camera, the reporters recorded Alexander Nix, chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, discussing the idea of hypothetically entrapping an opposition leader. He described how the company could record a person accepting a bribe, "an offer he can't refuse," or "send some girls around to the candidate’s house."

Trump Calls for Death Penalty to “Get Tough” on Drug Pushers

Embracing the tough penalties favored by global strongmen, President Trump brandished the death penalty as a fitting punishment for drug traffickers fueling the opioid epidemic. The scourge has torn through the rural and working-class communities that in large numbers voted for Trump. And the president, though he has come under criticism for being slow to unveil his plan, has seized on harsh sentences as key to stopping the plague. The president made his announcement in New Hampshire, a state hit hard by opioids and an early marker for the re-election campaign he has already announced. Trump called for broadening education and awareness about drug addiction while expanding access to proven treatment and recovery efforts. But the backbone of his plan is to toughen punishments for those caught trafficking highly addictive drugs. The president formalized what he had long mused about: that if a person in the U.S. can get the death penalty or life in prison for shooting one person, a similar punishment should be given to a drug dealer whose product potentially kills thousands.

Want to Avoid the Flu While Flying? Try a Window Seat

Worried about catching a cold or the flu on an airplane? Get a window seat, and don't leave it until the flight is over. That's what some experts have been saying for years, and it's perhaps the best advice coming out of a new attempt to determine the risks of catching germs on an airplane. It turns out there's been little research on the risks of catching a cold or flu during air travel. Some experts believed that sitting in a window seat would keep a passenger away from infectious people who may be on the aisle or moving around. The new study came to the same conclusion. The study was ambitious: Squads of researchers jetted around the globe to test cabin surfaces and air for viruses and to observe how people came into contact with each other. But it also had shortcomings. In a total of 10 flights, they observed only one person coughing. And though the experiment was done during a flu season five years ago, they didn't find even one of 18 cold and flu viruses they tested for.

Cynthia Nixon Announces Run for Governor of New York

Former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon is running for New York governor. After flirting with a run for months, Nixon tweeted she will challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York's Democratic primary in September. It sets up a longshot bid pitting an openly gay liberal activist who has never held political office against a two-term incumbent with a $30 million war chest and possible presidential ambitions. Her campaign website said Nixon won't accept any corporate contributions and will limit contributions from any individual or organization to $65,100 for the election cycle. Nixon has her work cut out for her, however. A Siena College poll released showed Cuomo leading her 66 percent to 19 percent among registered Democrats, and by a similar margin among self-identified liberals.

Weinstein Co. Files for Bankruptcy Protection

The Weinstein Co. has filed for bankruptcy protection with a buyout offer in hand from a private equity firm, the latest twist in its efforts to survive the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down co-founder Harvey Weinstein, shook Hollywood and triggered a movement that spread out to convulse other industries. The company also announced it was releasing any victims of or witnesses to Weinstein's alleged misconduct from non-disclosure agreements preventing them from speaking out. That step had long been sought by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who filed a lawsuit against the company last month on behalf of its employees. The Weinstein Co. said it has entered into a "stalking horse" agreement with an affiliate of Dallas-based Lantern Capital Partners as part of its bankruptcy protection filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. That means Lantern has agreed to buy the company, subject to approval from the court. The company made the filing about two weeks after negotiations to sell the company to a group of investors fell apart. Lantern, which had been one of those investors, has now offered to buy most of the assets of the company and keep on its employees, the Weinstein Co. said.