A Test for the West. Trump’s Lawyer’s Lawyer. Mr. Zuckerberg Goes to Washington.

IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ
 

Syria, Iran, and Russia Pose a Serious Test to the West (and the Rest):President Trump said Monday he’d decide within 24 to 48 hours whether to launch a military reprisal against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for the reported chemical attack on Douma over the weekend. Responding to questions by reporters, Trump said: “Nothing is off the table … If it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out, and we’ll know the answers quite soon. So we’re looking at that very, very strongly.” Later he said he might have a decision by the end of the day. New national security adviser John Bolton stood beside the president as he made his remarks.

Elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron held talks in Paris with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who strongly backs the Syrian opposition. British Prime Minister Theresa May, speaking from Stockholm, said: “We are working urgently with our allies to assess what has happened.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted there was no evidence a chemical attack had occurred, let alone any Syrian government involvement. Lavrov said Russian military specialists visited Douma and found no trace of any chemical substance having been used against civilians. The specialists were able to enter Douma because, after the devastating attack over the weekend, the rebels agreed to abandon their resistance to a Syrian government takeover.  

Israel, meanwhile, forewent talk for action, sending two jets on an overnight air raid inside Syria, striking an airbase near Homs. Israel fears that if Iran is allowed to become entrenched in Syria, it will supply arms to Hezbollah forces close to the Israeli border in southwest Syria.

 
 
 
NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ
 

FBI Raids Trump’s Lawyer’s Office: While President Trump was debating if and what military actions to undertake in Syria, the FBI swooped into the business office and the hotel room of Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen. The FBI gathered up volumes of business records, slews of emails, and reams of documents related to several topics, including a payment to an adult film star. Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, said the raid was “‘completely inappropriate and unnecessary,’ and said federal prosecutors had told him it stemmed partially from a referral by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller.”

The raid greatly irritated Trump. He mused about possibly firing Mueller and once again vented his frustration at his attorney general and deputy attorney general. Trump’s reaction came “without any prompting from reporters, who had been brought into the Cabinet Room where the president was meeting with Jim Mattis, the secretary of defense; John R. Bolton, the new national security adviser; and other military officials to discuss the situation in Syria.”

 
 
 
MIXED NUTS: QUICK TAKES ON WORLD NEWS
 

– Laws are on the books in India that make it illegal to employ children under the age of 14.  But staggering numbers of young children are forced to live in inhumane conditions and often abused while working in workshops assembling cheap imitation jewelry and toiling in fields and factories for the agriculture industry. (The Guardian)

– The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that thousands of children are in desperate need of psychological help following a series of catastrophic earthquakes and aftershocks in Papua New Guinea. The lack of water and shelter and threat of disease exacerbates the mental trauma and adds to the suffering caused by ongoing violence in the country. (The Guardian)

– The verdict is in from international observers dissecting Hungary’s presidential election on Sunday, and it’s not pretty. On top of all the usual corruption, xenophobic rhetoric, and intimidation, watchers found that way more than three billboards (displaying the ruling party’s anti-immigration messages, but funded with public money) had appeared outside small towns. (The Guardian)

– President Trump will leave Friday to attend a week-long Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru.  His agenda of trade talk could be waylaid by his penchant for trash talk, aimed at the many Latin American countries Trump has disparaged over immigration, narcotics, job-stealing, and trade. Despite the president’s profound unpopularity in the region, a Peruvian diplomat said: “Nobody has lost any sleep over Trump. We all know how to smile and nod along, so we’re not too worried.” (Reuters)

– According to a research organization in Brussels, President Trump “has created an environment to divide countries,” which could explain the agonizing position Europe finds itself in as it tries to navigate between its two biggest trading partners, the US and China. Europe doesn’t just lament the disruption in world trade; it also fears the entire postwar system for resolving conflict is damaged. (NYT)

– The acting director of the US Office of Government Ethics sent a letter Monday to the top ethics official of the EPA, questioning a series of actions taken in three separate areas by Administrator Scott Pruitt and asking the agency to take “appropriate actions to address any violations.” The letter followed the one sent to President Trump on April 6th from the Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on Oversight, and 63 other House Democrats, all calling for Pruitt’s resignation or firing. (NYT)

 
 
 
KEEPING OUR EYE ON (WHILE THEY KEEP THEIR EYES ON US)
 

– Facebook’s privacy woes continue as it discovers CubeYou, another data analytics firm, was using tactics similar to Cambridge Analytica. It’s now believed that “Cambridge Analytica received unauthorized access to data from as many as 87 million Facebook user accounts to target political marketing.” Facebook has begun alerting “users whose data was shared with Cambridge Analytica.” (CNBC & BBC)

– Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg will be addressing Congress Tuesday and Wednesday. In his prepared testimony, he acknowledges mistakes made by Facebook, discusses how to avoid another Cambridge Analytica or CubeYou, and promises to invest more in security in order to prevent foreign interference in elections. (CNBC)

– Mark Zuckerberg isn’t the only one apologizing on behalf of Facebook. So is Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg, former Facebook employees, and its earliest investors. (NPR)

– Facebook isn’t the only techopoly in hot water. Google’s “YouTube has been accused of violating child protection laws in the US, by a collection of 23 consumer, child safety and privacy advocacy groups.” (BBC)

– In the coming days to years, Facebook and Google will see if the lobbying dollars they spent had any effect: “Facebook reported its 2017 lobbying cost at nearly $12 million. Google spent even more: $18 million.” (NPR)

 
 
 
LOOSE NUTS: FASCINATING NEWS
 

– “US Senator Tammy Duckworth, 50, has given birth to a daughter, becoming the first sitting female US senator to give birth while in office.” Congratulations! (BBC)

– Americans spend more than they save. Of late this has also been true of the US government, whether it’s a Republican or Democrat in office: “America’s deficit is rising sharply and will surpass $1 trillion per year by 2020, a gap that has grown since Congress cut taxes and increased spending.” (Washington Post)

– The news couldn’t be more serious as of late, so to lighten up today’s Daily Pnut, here’s a couple of articles & videos sure to bring a laugh or smile. One of our all time favorite comedy duos: “All 298 Key & Peele Sketches, Ranked” (Vulture). And, “SNL’s Nike Created the World’s Most Useful Leggings” (The Cut)

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