It Just Keeps Getting Crazier: Trump Campaign Had At Least 18 Undisclosed Contacts with Russians
The Daily 5 is Sharp’s essential reading list for what’s happening in the world today. Make sure to follow us on Twitter or subscribe to the Sharp Insider newsletter to stay up to date.
Here’s what we’re reading today.
1. Donald Trump talked Michael Flynn into White House job
“President Donald Trump pressured a ‘reluctant’ Michael Flynn into accepting a job as the White House’s top national security official even after Flynn warned the president that he was under investigation over undisclosed lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, The Daily Beast has learned.
“The president’s continued loyalty to his ousted former aide is so strong, in fact, that the two have remained in touch despite the potential that their communication could be portrayed as White House interference in a federal investigation.”
+1: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians – Reuters
+1: Top Republican to House of Representatives in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump – Washington Post
+1: Flynn hasn’t responded to subpoena – The Globe and Mail
2. NAFTA will be renegotiated
“Donald Trump has formally launched the process to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, setting the stage for talks to begin in August.
“In letters to Congressional leaders Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer set the clock ticking on talks to redraft the trade pact, saying that negotiations would begin as soon as possible but no sooner than 90 days.”
3. Alberta’s Wildrose, PCs agree to create new United Conservative Party
“Alberta’s two conservative parties have struck a tentative deal to unite as the United Conservative Party. Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney announced the merger Thursday at a news conference in Edmonton.
“‘This is a great day, a historic day for Alberta,’ Kenney said.”
– CBC News
4. The U.S. is waging a massive shadow war in Africa, exclusive documents reveal
“Today, according to U.S. military documents obtained by VICE News, special operators are carrying out nearly 100 missions at any given time — in Africa alone. It’s the latest sign of the military’s quiet but ever-expanding presence on the continent, one that represents the most dramatic growth in the deployment of America’s elite troops to any region of the globe.”
5. Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into an empire, dies at 77
“‘Fair and balanced’ was Mr. Ailes’s defining phrase for Fox News, along with another slogan: ‘We report. You decide.’ Though routinely mocked by liberal critics, who regarded the network as decidedly unfair and imbalanced, those words amounted to an article of faith for Mr. Ailes, who created Fox News with Rupert Murdoch’s money and guided it for two decades.”
