Wednesday Morning Scoop: Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun
Welcome to the Morning Scoop for Wednesday, April 18, 2018. We hope this makes your hump day a little more informed. We would say better, but we don’t control whether there’s good news or bad news.
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CIA Director Mike Pompeo Met with Kim Jong Un
President Trump confirmed early this morning that CIA director Mike Pompeo held a secret meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The meeting took place several weeks ago over Easter weekend, which USA Today reports was at the same time that Trump was visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The President reported in a news conference this morning that Pompeo’s meeting with Kim Jong Un is part of a larger negotiation strategy to get North Korea to denuclearize, and perhaps release several Japanese hostages. He added that North Korea poses a very large threat to Japan, which he believes has “grown closer than ever” to the United States. Both the President and Prime Minister have previously shared that they are meeting at a summit to discuss issues with North Korea, expected to be held sometime in early June.
Mike Pompeo is President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State.
Stormy Daniels Reveals Man Who Threatened Her Into Silence
Yesterday, Stormy Daniels released a sketch of the man that she says threatened her into silence about her alleged affair with President Donald Trump on ABC’s The View.
In May 2011, Daniels agreed to give an interview to a magazine for $15,000, voiding the contract that guaranteed her secrecy. In her interview with Anderson Cooper for CBS’s 60 Minutes, Daniels recounted that weeks after her arrangement with the publication, an unknown man had approached her, and her young daughter, at a Las Vegas parking vicinity.
Daniels admitted in her 60 Minutes interview that she had been unsuspecting of the man’s intention as there was “nothing alarming about the way he looked.” The alleged perpetrator had warned Daniels to “leave Trump alone” and stated that it would be a shame for her daughter if anything happened to Daniels. Consequently, Daniels did not report the encounter to the authorities nor did she proceed with the interview.
The man in the composite sketch, unveiled on The View, is described as a “lean but fit” Caucasian male in his 30s to early 40s and is approximately 5’9″ to 6′ tall.
Read Roxanneh Mousavi and Rachel Chan’s report here.
Former First Lady Barbara Bush Dies at 92
Former first lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday evening at the age of 92.
Bush’s declining health was made known earlier this week in a statement by Jim McGrath, a family spokesman.
“Following a recent series of hospitalizations, and after consulting her family and doctors, Mrs. Bush, now age 92, has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care,” the statement reads. “It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of failing health, worrying not for herself — thanks to her abiding faith — but for others.”
McGrath announced the death on Tuesday evening in another statement posted to Twitter, which eulogized the former first lady. Other notable public figures also shared heartfelt eulogies with the world via Twitter late last night.
Read Arianna Lynne’s full report here.
Today in a Tweet: U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley Has an Epic Clap-Back
She definitely was not “confused” about Russian sanctions.
Last But Not Least: Taxpayers Given One More Day to File Their Taxes Online
Yesterday was a dreaded day for millions of Americans who wait until the last minute to file their taxes. But the high volume of incoming data on the Internal Revenue service (IRS) website caused it to crash until later in the afternoon, displaying the message: “Planned Outage – April 17, 2018 to December 31, 9999.”
Because of this technological glitch, the IRS extended the tax deadline to today, April 18, 2018. Procrastinators, rejoice!
This Wednesday Morning Scoop was compiled by Arianna Lynne, Roxanneh Mousavi, Rachel Chan, and the CMN staff. The staff visited Philadelphia yesterday, but unfortunately it was only sunny in the morning. Tell Rob McEhlhenney and Glenn Howerton that they lied to us.
