promoearn: Could Trump be charged after office? 'Yes.'

Wednesday, July 24

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Intelligence Committee during a much-anticipated hearing about Russian interference into the 2016 election, and possible efforts by President Trump to obstruct Mueller's investigation, in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 24 July 2019. EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW ORG XMIT: STX01

Could Trump be charged after office? 'Yes.'

Neil Armstrong's mysterious death, and the top moments from Mueller's testimony: Wednesday's news

It was Mueller time. We'll get to that in a second, plus swimmers missing in Lake Erie, Neil Armstrong's mysterious death and a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. It's Ashley. Here's what to know Wednesday.

But first, a really bad trip 🌋: An Indiana man fell down a volcano during his Caribbean honeymoon. He survived, but his wife was "freaking out."

Mueller: No exoneration for Trump

Former special counsel Robert Mueller told lawmakers Wednesday that the investigation he supervised revealed a "serious" threat to American democracy and reinforced his conclusion that he had "not exculpated" President Donald Trump.

In terms of takeaways, Mueller saying that he didn't clear Trump of obstruction was probably the biggest bombshell. And when Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, asked, "Could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?" Mueller immediately answered: "Yes."

More top moments from Mueller's highly-anticipated, back-to-back hearings:

•	"It is not a witch hunt," Mueller said, rebutting Trump's criticism of the inquiry. Trump later tweeted, "End this witch hunt."
•	Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election is one of the "most serious" threats to U.S. democracy, Mueller said.
•	When Mueller said Trump is "not exculpated," Merriam-Webster chimed in online: "To be 'exculpated' is to be cleared from alleged fault or guilt."
•	Aside from collusion and obstruction comments, most of what Mueller said was, "Could you repeat the question?"

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, left, and former Deputy Special Counsel Aaron Zebley arrive to testify before the House Intelligence Committee.

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Facebook's $5 billion privacy fine – the largest in US history

Good news, Facebook users: The platform is about to get much more secure. Bad news, Facebook: You're out $5 billion. The social networking giant must expand privacy protections across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine as part of an FTC settlement – the largest in U.S. history – for privacy violations. The settlement concludes a year-long investigation, prompted by the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal (remember when 50 million Facebook user's data was taken without permission?). Facebook must also adopt checks and balances while curbing CEO Mark Zuckerberg's oversight of security – sorry, Zuck.

What everyone's talking about

•	Two swimmers have disappeared into Lake Erie, and officials have shut down the beach.
•	A school district threatened foster care for kids with overdue lunch bills. A CEO offered to pay the costs but was denied.
•	A bull bison tossed a 9-year-old girl into the air after charging a group of 50-some tourists.
•	Two men were fined for eating raw squirrels to protest veganism as people begged them to stop.
•	Bryce Dallas Howard: My dad Ron Howard "legit" thought Jessica Chastain was me.

Hospital paid Neil Armstrong's family $6 million over his death

After astronaut Neil Armstrong died at a Cincinnati hospital in 2012, his sons privately claimed the hospital made a string of lethal mistakes. Then, for two years, Armstrong's sons threatened a wrongful-death suit against Mercy Health, the largest hospital system in Ohio, accusing the hospital of causing a heart complication and triggering a series of grave medical errors, as The Cincinnati Enquirer found this week. The hospital said it did nothing wrong but still paid the Armstrong family $6 million. In return, the family agreed to be silent about the last days of the first man on the moon – until now.

Neil Armstrong inside the lunar lander after his historic first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969.

NASA

Real quick

•	Chicago police are investigating an attack on a teen shown repeatedly struck by a group of people in a viral video.
•	July will be the hottest month on Earth since records began in 1880, scientists say.
•	Summer Olympics are a year away: Here's what to know about the new sports debuting in Tokyo.
•	Teen rapper Tay-K was sentenced to 55 years in prison for a deadly home invasion.
•	Rutger Hauer, who played "Blade Runner" replicant Roy Batty, has died at 75.

Find them aliens 'dat big boi'

Forget Area 51, a new plan to storm Loch Ness and find "Nessie" is gaining traction online. The day after a tongue-in-cheek plan to raid Area 51 is set to take place in Nevada to "see them aliens," Facebook users are planning to storm Loch Ness in Scotland to spot the famed folklore monster. More than 40,000 Facebook users have expressed interest in the event, titled: "Storm Loch Ness, Nessie can't hide from us all." The description says, "The time is now for us to find dat big boi."

An undated photo of a shadowy shape that some people say is a photo of the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. For hundreds of years, visitors to Scotland's Loch Ness have described seeing a monster that some believe lives in the depths. Now the legend of "Nessie" may have no place to hide. Researchers will travel there next month to take samples of the murky waters and use DNA tests to determine what species live there.

Michael Phelps' world record in 200 butterfly? Shattered

Michael Phelps owned the world record in the 200-meter butterfly for 18 straight years. And now, thanks to 19-year-old Hungarian swimmer Kristof Milak, it's been broken. Shockingly shattered, actually. At the FINA world championships Wednesday in South Korea, Milak clocked a time of 1:50.73, shaving .78 seconds off Phelps' world record.

Hungary's Kristof Milak celebrates after winning the men's 200m butterfly final in a world record time at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) ORG XMIT: XMB261

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