Trump's right-hand woman just quit
Flint water criminal charges? Dismissed. Press secretary Sarah Sanders? Out. Here's the news everyone's talking about today.
But first, I feel old: How many phone numbers do you know by heart? When's the last time you made a mixtape? Here are 20 things nobody does anymore. Thanks, technology.
'Hey, Google, play "I will remember you" by Sarah McLachlan'
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, one of President Donald Trump's fiercest defenders, is out. Sanders became the public face of the administration's most contentious chapters, including throughout special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Trump announced the news in a tweet Thursday, saying Sanders "will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas."
Also, whoa: A federal watchdog agency urged that Kellyanne Conway, a senior aide to Trump, be fired over political remarks.
Flint water crisis criminal charges? All dismissed
All pending criminal charges arising from the Flint drinking water crisis have been dismissed, Michigan's attorney general announced Thursday, starting over a new, expanded investigation. Charges against all eight of the remaining defendants were dismissed, including the involuntary manslaughter charge against former health director Nick Lyon. Charges were dismissed against other health department officials, plus two former Flint emergency managers and current or former employees of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Flint.
Reminder: The Flint water crisis began way back in April 2014.
Cuba Gooding Jr. has been arrested
Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was arrested and charged with "forcible touching" after surrendering to the NYPD Thursday. The actor denied allegations that he groped a woman's breast in a New York bar Sunday. He turned himself in after being sought for questioning for three days.
What everyone's talking about
- Justin Bieber challenged Tom Cruise to a fight. But ... but why?
- Meghan McCain has a request for reality TV: Keep the government out of it.
- Snakes on a plane: A snake unknowingly stowed away in a man’s bag slithered out when he arrived on Maui.
- Flying Southwest or American this summer? Check your reservation for new Max 8 cancellations.
- Here's the "messy and complicated" story of America's shrinking abortion rate.
Two tankers attacked. Blame Iran, US says
An attack on two international oil tankers off the Iranian coast left one ship billowing black smoke and forced crews of both to abandon ship Thursday. The attack was the work of Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "This is only the latest in a series of attacks instigated by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its surrogates against American and allied interests," Pompeo said. The attack drew parallels to a similar situation last month off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, where four oil tankers were sabotaged.
*Taps mic* Jessica Biel has an announcement
Jessica Biel wants to clarify something: She is “not against vaccinations,” even though she was seen with vaccination skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while lobbying against a bill criticized by vaccine skeptics. After criticism, the actress said, "I am not against vaccinations – I support children getting vaccinations, and I also support families having the right to make educated medical decisions for their children alongside their physicians." Biel wrote she was lobbying against the bill because of its handling of medical exemptions, which she views as harmful.
Real quick
- These Dems made the debates: Meet the Democratic candidates who made the stage for the first set of debates.
- "Counting On" matriarch "Grandma" Mary Duggar died of an accidental drowning.
- Breaking down his options: What's next for Kevin Durant after Achilles injury?
- Heat wave: Phoenix ties record-high temperature as heat warning continues.
- A beloved trans woman was brutally murdered by her boyfriend. Her story reveals a nationwide problem.
- Stanley Cup Finals: Fans loved seeing Brad Marchand cry after Game 7.
Millennials are dying of despair
Young adults were more likely than any other age group to die from drugs, alcohol and suicide over the past decade, underscoring a crisis that shows little sign of stopping, according to an analysis out Thursday. Drug-related deaths among young people 18 to 34 soared 108% from 2007 to 2017, while alcohol deaths were up 69% and suicides increased 35%. The analysis found the increases for these "deaths of despair" were higher overall than for baby boomers and senior citizens. Why? One expert cited "burdensome levels of education debt," mental health and housing costs, plus the challenge of building careers during the "Great Recession" and an opioid crisis.
Four years ago: Becky Savage found her hockey star sons both dead on the same day after opioid overdoses.
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