10 things you need to know today: August 12, 2018
1.
Organizers of last year's "Unite the Right" rally, the white nationalist march that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, are holding a second demonstration in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. Only a few hundred participants are expected at the "white civil rights" protest, and they will likely be well outnumbered by anti-racist counter-protesters. "We have people coming to our city for the sole purpose of spewing hate," Mayor Muriel Bowser said of Unite the Right. "We denounce hate, we denounce anti-Semitism, and we denounce the rhetoric we expect to hear this Sunday." [WTOP, The Associated Press]
2.
"The riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division," President Trump tweeted Saturday. "We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!" Saturday was the one-year anniversary of the white nationalist rally that left one anti-racist activist and more than a dozen others injured in Charlottesville. Last year, Trump sang a different tune, repeatedly blaming "many sides" for the violence. This year, several hundred activists held a memorial demonstration in Charlottesville that included a nonviolent standoff with heavily armed police. [CNBC, Reuters]
3.
"Why isn't the FBI giving [fired Deputy FBI Director] Andrew McCabe text massages [sic] to Judicial Watch or appropriate governmental authorities," President Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday morning. "FBI said they won't give up even one (I may have to get involved, DO NOT DESTROY). What are they hiding? McCabe wife took big campaign dollars from Hillary people." Trump has long claimed McCabe abused his position to help Hillary Clinton in exchange for donations to his wife's Democratic congressional campaign, but McCabe did not have oversight of Clinton's emails investigation until after his wife lost her race. [The Washington Examiner, The Week]
4.
President Trump claimed on Twitter Saturday afternoon the media "refuses to report" the fact that Nellie Ohr, the wife of former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, worked for Fusion GPS, the firm responsible for the Steele dossier. Whether the dossier was improperly used to launch investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia is the subject of partisan disagreement. "I have never seen anything so Rigged in my life," Trump wrote at the end of his tirade. "[Attorney General Jeff Sessions] is scared stiff and Missing in Action. It is all starting to be revealed - not pretty." [The Associated Press, Politico]
5.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) suspended his re-election campaign Saturday, four days after he was arrested by the FBI on insider trading charges. "After extensive discussions with my family and friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party, and President Trump's agenda for me to suspend my campaign for re-election to Congress," Collins said in a statement. Collins was President Trump's first congressional endorser. He allegedly dumped stock in a drug company after privately learning its multiple sclerosis product did not work. [CNN, The Daily Beast]
6.
Hawaiians voted in Democratic and Republican primaries Saturday, the former garnering more attention given the state's deep blue voting base. Though his popularity suffered thanks to his handling January's false alarm missile alert, incumbent Gov. David Ige (D) won a relatively easy victory, besting his strongest challenger by a seven-point margin. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D) also won her primary race, while the other House primary — an open seat because Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) challenged Ige — is projected to go to former Rep. Ed Case, a Blue Dog Democrat, over state Rep. Kaniela Ing, a democratic socialist. [The Associated Press, NPR]
7.
A Baltimore police officer who has not been officially identified has been put on paid suspension after he was seen beating a man in a viral video clip. The officer pushed Dashawn McGrier, 26, against a wall and punched him repeatedly. McGrier appears to try to move the cop's hand away but does not fight back. He was not arrested and was hospitalized to check for fractures on his face and ribs. Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said in a statement she has seen the "very disturbing" video and has "demanded answers and accountability." [The Baltimore Sun, Fox News]
8.
NASA launched its Parker Solar Probe at 3:31 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. The launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, is NASA's first mission to explore the sun. Powered by a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, the car-sized probe will travel millions of miles to reach the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere. The probe is protected by heat shields capable of withstanding temperatures up to 2500 degrees Fahrenheit, and it will complete 24 orbits of the sun by 2025, reaching speeds up to 430,000 mph. The first information from the mission will be transmitted back to earth later this year. [CNN, The Associated Press]
9.
Author V.S. Naipaul died Saturday at his home in London, his family reported Sunday. He was 85. Born in Trinidad, Naipal won the 2001 Nobel Prize for Literature "for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories." His novels, including A Bend in the River and A House for Mr. Biswas, addressed themes of colonialism, exile, and more. Naipal was "a giant in all that he achieved," said his wife, Nadira, "and he died surrounded by those he loved having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavor." [NBC News, The Associated Press]
10.
The airline employee who stole and fatally crashed an empty plane at the Seattle airport late Friday has been identified as Richard Russell, 29. His family has described him as "a faithful husband, a loving son, and a good friend," expressing total shock at his decision to take the plane. "We are devastated by these events, and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now," said a statement from the family. Russell had worked for the airline for several years but should not have been on the plane alone. Security protocols are being reviewed. [NBC News, CNN]