BitGou: Thursday Morning Briefing: Release of long-awaited Mueller report is a watershed moment for Trump

2019年4月18日星期四

Thursday Morning Briefing: Release of long-awaited Mueller report is a watershed moment for Trump

Mueller Report

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report on Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election will be released today, providing the first public look at the findings of an inquiry that has cast a shadow over Donald Trump’s presidency. Here is a timeline of significant developments in Mueller’s investigation and contacts between Trump’s campaign and Moscow. Here are five things to look for when the report is issued.

Attorney General William Barr’s planned release of the nearly 400-page report comes after Mueller wrapped up his 22-month investigation last month into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia and questions about obstruction of justice by the president. The release marks a watershed moment in Trump’s presidency, promising new details about some of the biggest questions in the probe.

Highlights

Exclusive: A new Trump administration report on international compliance with arms control accords provoked a dispute with U.S. intelligence agencies and some State Department officials, who are concerned that the document politicizes and slants assessments about Iran, five sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Twenty years after Columbine thrust the horror of school shootings into the American consciousness, survivors are helping each other to heal. "Trauma isn’t a competition. You don’t need to compare it to anyone else's. It's your own,” said Heather Martin, a Columbine survivor and founder of The Rebels Project.

Stephen Miller, the White House aide driving a hardline immigration stance, was invited to testify to a House committee about the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the border.

Tech

Pinterest’s initial public offering set the online scrapbook company’s valuation at $12.7 billion, above its expectations and a sign of strength for the tech IPO market after Lyft’s struggles.

T-Mobile US’ $26 billion deal to buy Sprint banked on changes in wireless technology and media streaming to win U.S. antitrust approval, but the bet now looks precarious. Growing skepticism from the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust staff over the impact of the merger on competition in the market will test the resolve of the companies to complete the deal that would see the top U.S. wireless carriers shrink to three from four.

Facebook said it may have “unintentionally uploaded” email contacts of 1.5 million new users since May 2016, in what seems to be the latest privacy-related issue faced by the social media company. “We estimate that up to 1.5 million people’s email contacts may have been uploaded. These contacts were not shared with anyone and we are deleting them,” Facebook told Reuters, adding that users whose contacts were imported will be notified.

Major finance and tech firms are pouring money into startups building technology to develop the crypto market, even though they’re steering clear of the volatile currencies themselves. Such bets, by companies including London Stock Exchange Group and Microsoft, spiked over five-fold to a record $2.4 billion over 117 investments in 2018. This suggests large companies see promise in the nascent technology, even as it struggles for acceptance.

World

As Indonesia president heads for poll win, police warn on security

Indonesian President Joko Widodo appeared on course for a second term, based on unofficial vote counts and despite the objections of his rival, while police vowed firm action against any rallies that could disturb security.

4 min read

North Korea calls for Pompeo to be dropped from talks; tests tactical weapon

North Korea said it no longer wanted to deal with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and said he should be replaced in talks by someone more mature, hours after it announced its first weapons test since nuclear talks broke down.

6 Min Read

At least 29 killed in Madeira when tourist bus veers off the road

At least 29 people, most of them German tourists, were killed and 27 others injured when their bus veered off a steep narrow road on the Portuguese island of Madeira, authorities said.

3 min read

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