“INCREDIBLE arena you guys have here...simply gorgeous” - One NBA team complimenting another. The league banned mean tweets. So now they’re killing each other with kindness.

RUSSIAN INTO QUESTIONS

THE STORY

The US intelligence community is spilling a lot of Russian tea right now. 

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Yesterday, current and former US officials leaked that members of President Trump’s campaign team were in regular touch with Russian intelligence officials leading up to the 2016 election. They say this was happening around the time Russia was interfering with the election. They also say there’s no evidence that Trump’s campaign worked with Russia on this interference. Also yesterday, Russia violated a Cold War-era treaty by deploying a land missile. Oh, and this comes at a time when the Trump administration doesn’t have a permanent national security adviser to weigh in.

REMIND ME ABOUT THAT.

Earlier this week, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned. Back in December, former President Obama announced sanctions against Russia for election meddling. That same day, Flynn had a series of convos with Russia’s ambassador to the US. Flynn repeatedly denied that he discussed the sanctions with the ambassador. Since then, several US intelligence officials have raised their hands to say ‘erroneous.’ And they have the call transcripts to prove Flynn may have even suggested the incoming Trump administration would be open to lifting the sanctions. 

WHAT HAPPENED THEN?

THEN it came out that the Justice Department actually briefed the Trump administration last month on all of the above. It’s unclear what the administration did with that info. But not only did Flynn mislead his White House co-workers about his convos with the Russian ambassador, he may have lied to the FBI. If true, this would be a felony.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?

The Trump administration says Flynn resigned because of trust issues, not legal issues. And the real concern is finding the source of all these intelligence leaks. Critics - including some Republicans - say there needs to be an independent investigation into Flynn.

theSKIMM

For months, there have been questions about the Trump team’s ties to Russia. Those questions aren’t going away. Meanwhile, Trump still doesn’t have a full senior staff in place to help him address major foreign policy issues…like this Russian missile launch.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO BOUGHT ALL THE “BOURNE” MOVIES ON iTUNES...

Heard about Kim Jong Nam? Earlier this week, the older half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was killed in a possible assassination plot. Where? At an airport in Malaysia. Weapon of choice? Apparently poisoned needles. Today, police arrested a suspect. The older Kim was once considered next in line to his father and NK’s former leader, Kim Jong Il. But some say he f’ed up when he was caught trying to sneak into Japan on a fake passport…to go to Tokyo Disneyland. As one does. So when Papa Kim died, Kim Jung Un took the Iron Throne instead. And he’s been working on consolidating his power ever since. Three years ago, he brutally executed his uncle - one of the country’s most powerful men - for being a “traitor.” Now some, including the US gov, are wondering if Kim Jong Un just did the same with his brother. Cue ominous tones.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU GET TO THE END OF YOUR TRUE CRIME PODCAST…

Here’s another case closed. Yesterday, a New York jury found a former convenience store clerk guilty of murdering six-year-old Etan Patz. Back in 1979, Patz went missing while walking to his school bus stop alone in Manhattan. He was one of the first missing kids to have his photo printed on milk cartons. Investigations went on for decades. Finally, in 2012, police arrested Pedro Hernandez. He later confessed to luring Patz into the basement of the convenience store and killing him. Hernandez was originally tried back in 2015, but it was a mistrial after the jury couldn’t reach a verdict. Prosecutors went for round two and this time the jury said ‘guilty.’ Hernandez now faces 25 years to life in prison.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU FIND OUT THIS GERMAN SHEPHERD WON BEST IN SHOW...

We can’t all be winners. Looking at you, Aetna. Yesterday, Aetna and Humana said ‘it’s not you it’s me’ and ended their engagement to merge. On the same day, Anthem’s side-merger with Cigna fell through. Last week, a federal judge blocked the Cigna-Anthem hook up, because antitrust. Anthem said it would appeal. But now Cigna’s saying ‘ain’t got no time for this drama’ and broke it off altogether. Who’s also feeling rejected? Credit Suisse and Toshiba. Yesterday, both companies reported billions of dollars in losses. Now, Credit Suisse says it’s going to cut as many as 6,500 jobs this year. Toshiba’s problems come from years of bad business decisions and now, the chairman is stepping down.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO FINDS SIRI’S VOICE ANNOYING...

Would Keith Morrison’s do?

THING TO KNOW

PewDiePie: Not a dessert. He’s the big time YouTube star that your gamer friend has probably heard of. And who just lost out on a multi-million dollar deal with Disney after allegedly posting anti-Semitic videos. Game over.

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