promoearn: Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Don McGahn, general counsel for the Trump transition

White House counsel Don McGahn interviewed with Mueller

White House counsel Don McGahn cooperated heavily with special counsel Robert Mueller's team, giving them interviews that spanned about 30 hours in total, a person familiar with McGahn's contact with the special counsel's office told USA TODAY. The source did not elaborate on the contents of his discussions with Mueller's team, but The New York Times, which first disclosed the scope of McGahn's cooperation Saturday, said McGahn took Mueller's team through President Donald Trump's comments and actions in some of the most controversial topics that have surrounded the White House. Trump later confirmed on Twitter he did instruct McGahn to "fully cooperate" with Mueller's team . He also alluded to other members of his staff being interviewed.

Former UN leader Kofi Annan, Nobel winner, dead at 80

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan died Saturday of a "short" but unspecified illness, his foundation confirmed. He was 80. Annan, from Ghana, started at the UN in 1962, rising through the ranks to secretary-general from 1997 to 2006. He received the 2001 Nobel Prize for Peace, which he shared with the organization. Annan presided over some of the worst failures and scandals at the world body, which forced him to spend much of his time struggling to restore its tarnished reputation. Annan stepped down from his post in 2006 but continued to hold an influential role in international diplomacy.

Anger flares as Italy honors bridge victims

Saturday became a national day of mourning in Italy amid a weekend of funerals and remembrances for victims of last week's Genoa highway bridge collapse. That day, as crews found four more bodies in the rubble, angry families declined to participate in a state funeral for those who plunged to their deaths when the 150-foot tall Morandi Bridge gave way. Sadness erupted Friday at the funeral of four men in their 20s as the cardinal of Naples accused Italian officials of negligence. While the cause of the bridge's collapse remains unknown, the tragedy has raised questions about Italy's aging infrastructure.

Mueller team wants jail time for George Papadopoulos

George Papadopoulos, a former policy adviser for the Donald Trump campaign, lied to the FBI during the Russian probe and should spend up to six months in jail , according to a late Friday court filing by prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller. Those lies, they said, resulted in the FBI missing an opportunity to properly question a professor Papadopoulos met during the campaign who tipped him that the Russians had "dirt" on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails." Papadopoulos was the first Trump campaign adviser to plead guilty in Mueller's investigation.

'Crazy Rich Asians' debuts at No. 1

Glitz won out over guns at the box office this weekend as gilded romance "Crazy Rich Asians" took No. 1 over Mark Wahlberg's action-packed "Mile 22." Studios on Sunday said that "Crazy Rich Asians" took in an estimated $25.2 million from 3,384 locations this weekend. The film starring Constance Wu has banked $34 million since opening Wednesday, far surpassing early industry expectations. It's a surefire win for the film, the first studio-produced movie led by Asian-Americans in 25 years, which cost $30 million to produce.

Contributing: Associated Press

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