| Breaking down the Mueller charges |
| What happened: The first charges in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign came to light Monday, as a federal grand jury charged Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates with secretly working to influence the U.S. government on behalf of pro-Russian factions in Ukraine, then laundering their profits and making false statements to investigators. Both pleaded not guilty. Of Manafort, Sean Spicer said in June 2016: "Paul's in charge." On Monday White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the charges don't "have anything to do with us." Separately, former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to FBI agents about his meetings with a professor he knew was tied to the Russian government who offered him "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. Having trouble keeping track? Here are the key players and key takeaways: |
| • | The filings are the first allegation by prosecutors that Trump's campaign aides directly coordinated with people they believed were tied to the Russian government | | • | Collecting damaging intel on the opposition is routine in presidential campaigns, but the involvement of a foreign government is remarkable | | • | It stops short of alleging collusion | | • | It signals Mueller's investigation will continue despite Trump calling it a "witch hunt" and insisting even after the charges were announced that there was "NO COLLUSION!" | | • | The indictments seem unlikely to shift the congressional investigations into Russian meddling. | |
| If you point the finger at the media, as Eric Trump did in an e-mail asking for voters' money in the middle of this, you can read the indictment for yourself. |
| Court to Trump on transgender troops: You can't really do that |
| A federal court on Monday blocked President Trump's ban on transgender service members, preventing the Pentagon from overturning policies initiated by the Obama administration to allow transgender troops from serving openly. The order in Washington by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly temporarily prevents to the Pentagon from enacting the ban that Trump announced by tweet in July. The court found that the ban likely means the plaintiffs had their rights to due process violated. |
| Those Harvey Weinstein allegations opened the floodgates |
| Anthony Rapp came forward Sunday night to say fellow actor Kevin Spacey pushed him on a bed and climbed on top of him during a party at the future Academy Award winner's apartment in 1986. Rapp, then 14 , got away before the encounter went any further. Spacey said he's "beyond horrified" by the allegations and posted on Twitter that he doesn't remember the encounter but apologizes for the behavior. Spacey, now 58 and a two-time Oscar winner, said publicly for the first time that he is gay. A number of LGBT celebs had major problems with his statement. Outside of Hollywood, NBC News and MSNBC severed ties with political analyst and veteran journalist Mark Halperin on Monday, days after multiple women told CNN he sexually harassed or assaulted them during his time at ABC News. More headlines: |
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| The AI that can detect cancer in under a second |
| A big reason Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg loves artificial intelligence is the potential for diagnosing diseases much faster than modern medicine. Case in point: Japanese researchers developed an AI capable of assessing polyps found during a colonoscopy in less than one second. The AI uses a magnified version of the polyp, compares it across other polyp images, then makes the assessment. In a study of more than 300 polyps, the system reported 86% accuracy. The ultimate goal for researchers is to create a system that can automatically detect and analyze polyps. Just last week we reported that a doctor discovered his own cancer by testing out an iPhone ultrasound device. |
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| A 12-year-old's suicide attempt killed a grad student who wanted to help kids with depression |
| This is so heartbreaking. Virginia State Police are investigating a suicide attempt by a 12-year-old boy who jumped from an interstate overpass, killing a driver below. Marisa Harris, 22, was a graduate student who wanted to help kids combating depression. Harris' mom called it "ironic," saying the boy who killed her is a child she would have helped. The boy was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. |
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