5: Kim Jong Un’s Half-Brother Assassinated by Women with Poison Needles, Reports Say
If confirmed as an assassination, it would be the highest-profile killing of a North Korean since Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek was executed in late 2013.
The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been killed in Malaysia, according to South Korean security sources.
Vice News
4: Michael Flynn Resigns as National Security Adviser
President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has resigned following revelations he spoke with the Russian ambassador about U.S. sanctions during a late December phone call. Flynn now says he misinformed Vice President Mike Pence and top White House officials about contents of the call. The phone call was on December 29—the same day President Obama imposed sanctions against Russia and expelled diplomats in retaliation for the alleged Russian hacking of the U.S. election.
Flynn has claimed the phone call involved only small talk. But U.S. officials who reviewed a transcript of a wiretap of the conversation say Flynn discussed the sanctions—a move that violates a 1799 U.S. law, the Logan Act, which prohibits unauthorized people from negotiating with a foreign government.
The Washington Post reports former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates had warned Trump’s administration weeks ago that Flynn might be lying about the call. Last month, Trump ousted Yates after she refused to defend his Muslim travel ban. On Monday, The Washington Post reported the Justice Department had warned the White House that Flynn’s call and his lies made him a blackmail risk. His resignation Monday came after a tumultuous few days in which Flynn increasingly lost support from Trump and key White House officials, even as members of Trump’s inner circle publicly contradicted each other about Flynn’s fate.
On Monday, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway went on MSNBC to say Flynn had the “full confidence” of the president. One hour later, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Trump was “evaluating the situation.” On Monday night, Trump accepted Flynn’s resignation and appointed retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to be the acting national security adviser.
Many are now asking what, if anything, Trump himself knew about Flynn’s conversation. Longtime New York Times reporter and editor Jim Roberts tweeted Monday, “There is still a HUGE question hanging. Did Trump or Bannon know that Flynn was discussing sanctions with the Russian AMB?” Some are even calling for impeachment hearings.
Flynn has been one of Trump’s most criticized and controversial picks for top positions. Flynn is well known for his anti-Muslim worldview, having called Islam a “cancer” and saying “fear of Muslims is rational.” His son, also named Michael Flynn, was fired as a member of Trump’s transition team after he shared fake news pushed by right-wing websites. Among the conspiracy theories Flynn pushed is one claiming Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats were running a child sex ring from the back rooms of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant.
Democracy Now
3: What Did @realDonaldTrump Know About Russia and When Did Donald Trump Know It?
TWO IMPORTANT QUESTIONS remain unanswered following the late-night resignation of Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn: What did the president know and when did he know it?
Flynn stepped down on Monday night, days after nine current and former U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials told the Washington Post that there was proof — in the form of intercepted phone calls — that he had lied to the public and to Vice President Mike Pence when he said that he had not discussed new sanctions imposed on Russia for election-related hacking in five conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on December 29 .
But Flynn’s claim in his resignation letter that he had “inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador,” made no mention of what Trump — at that time the president-elect — knew of the calls.
Looking back at one of Trump’s own tweets, which he posted on December 30 — the day after Flynn secretly urged Russia not to respond to the Obama administration’s new sanctions — makes it hard not to wonder if he knew about his aide’s effort to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay.
The Intercept
2: Palestinians in East Jerusalem battle for their homes
Occupied East Jerusalem – Ahmad Sub Laban gently peeled back the blinds covering a window in his home, revealing the golden Dome of the Rock in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
“If you look outside this window, you will understand exactly why the Israelis are targeting us with eviction,” he told Al Jazeera.
The Sub Labans are among at least 180 Palestinian families threatened with eviction by Israeli settler groups throughout occupied East Jerusalem, including 21 families in the Old City.
Aljazeera
1: Republicans split over Flynn inquiry amid calls for investigation of Trump’s Russia ties
Donald Trump’s ties with Russia must be investigated following the resignation of his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, Democrats demanded on Tuesday.
Flynn was forced to stand down after it emerged that he discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador to Washington, then misled Vice-President Mike Pence about the conversations. Trump was under growing pressure on Tuesday to explain what he knew about the phone calls and when.
The president broke his silence with a tweet that attempted to deflect attention: “The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N.Korea etc?”
The Guardian
