Reuters: U.S.

Friday, July 13, 2018

This 'special relationship' is getting awkward

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Friday 7.13.18

Instead of going over the rainbow, you can dive right in at this Australian lake with naturally mind-blowing colors. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.

By Doug Criss
President Trump in the UK
 
President Trump criticized UK Prime Minister Theresa May in a British tabloid interview published as the President and Prime Minister were still at a gala dinner May threw last night in Trump's honor. And today, the two will hold meetings and a joint news conference. Awkward, anyone? Trump's criticism of May -- that her "soft Brexit" plan would likely kill a new US-UK trade deal -- will surely come up when they face the media. So will Trump's endorsement of Boris Johnson, the just-resigned British Foreign Secretary and May's chief political rival, whom Trump said would be a "great prime minister." With a friend like Trump, May doesn't need enemies, CNN's Stephen Collinson notes.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump will also have tea today with Queen Elizabeth II, his first visit with the monarch. And, oh yeah, the "Trump Baby" protest balloon is flying high over Parliament. You can see it here.
 
Strzok hearing

Well, that was ... something. Embattled FBI agent Peter Strzok took on House Republicans in a mammoth, 10-hour hearing that was as contentious and chaotic as any we've ever seen. Strzok forcefully defended his actions in the Hillary Clinton email and Russia investigations and tried to explain those infamous anti-Trump text messages (which he was forced to read out loud).

But Republicans were having none of it, saying the texts prove that not only was Strzok biased against the President but so was the entire Russia investigation being conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller. There were shouting matches between lawmakers and threats to hold Strzok in contempt. When it was all over, not many minds seemed to have been changed. CNN national security analyst Josh Campbell said Congress embarrassed itself, while Collinson declared it wasn't "democracy's finest hour." Here are nine key moments from the hearing.
 
Syria

The town where Syria's bloody civil war started more than seven years ago has been retaken by government forces. Syrian state media said troops yesterday entered the town of Dara'a and raised the nation's flag. It was there that the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, after graffiti taunting Assad led to the arrest and torture of teen boys. Now, with millions of Syrians killed or displaced, the government's retaking of Dara'a may well signal an end to the war.
 
AT&T-Time Warner 
 
The drama apparently isn't over in AT&T's purchase of Time Warner. The Justice Department said it will appeal a judge's approval of the deal. An appeal might be tough sledding for Justice, though. The judge in the case never seemed to buy the government's argument that consumers would be harmed if the deal went through. AT&T has since changed the name of Time Warner to WarnerMedia, which is the parent company of CNN (and this humble newsletter). AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said his company is prepared and "not worried" about the appeal. It's still unclear how this is playing with other companies that saw the ruling as a green light to pursue mergers.
 
Emmys
 
Netflix seems to have beaten HBO at its own game with its investment in original programming (a strategy HBO worked for years to great success), paying off with 112 Emmy nominations, edging out HBO's 108. It's the first time this century any company's beaten HBO in the Emmy nods race and highlights the banner year for streaming services, with shows like Netflix's "The Crown" and Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" earning multiple nominations.

Still, HBO had a lot to celebrate, with uber-show "Game of Thrones" leading all others with 22 nominations. "Killing Eve" actress Sandra Oh made history as the first woman of Asian descent to nab a nomination for best actress in a drama. Even the embattled sitcom "Roseanne" scored a pair of nominations. And just weeks after his death, Anthony Bourdain and his CNN show "Parts Unknown" earned six nominations. Here are the major category nominees.
 


Intense, but totally worth it.
Stormy Daniels, on her arrest at a Columbus, Ohio strip club. The charges were dropped, and Daniels performed last night at a different Ohio club.
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Caught on camera
The Montreal family thought squirrels were eating their tomatoes. A check of their security camera revealed a human culprit.

Saying good-bye
Garrett loved Batman and Thor, and hated pants, needles and cancer. The remarkable 5-year-old prepared his own obit before he died last week.

Building chaos
Build-A-Bear had to shut down lines for its "Pay Your Age Day" event and offer vouchers after massive crowds overwhelmed stores.

World's largest
Attention avocado toast-loving millennials. You might want to make your way to Australia, where they're growing "Avozillas" -- avocados as big as your face.
 
Quiz time
Southwest Airlines said it'll stop serving what complementary item to passengers?
A. pretzels
B. soda
C. coffee
D. peanuts

Play "Total Recall: The CNN news" quiz to see if you're right.

And to celebrate the season premiere of CNN's Original Series "The History of Comedy" (Sunday night at 10 ET), test your comedy knowledge with CNN's new audio quiz on your Amazon devices! Just say, "Alexa, ask CNN for a quiz."
 
19 cents
That's how much the stock for MoviePass, the popular movie subscription service, is worth. But the company's CEO says everything is fine.
Soothing sounds
Playing Bach in the middle of Thailand for an elderly blind elephant? There's no sweeter way to start your weekend. (Click to view.)
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