The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, perhaps within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday.
Mr. Pompeo would probably be succeeded at the C.I.A. by Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and key ally of the president on national security matters, according to the White House plan. Mr. Cotton has signaled that he would accept the job if offered, said the officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations before decisions are announced.
Mr. Trump has not signed off on the plan developed by John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, officials said, but the president is said to have soured on Mr. Tillerson and is ready to make a change at the State Department. Mr. Trump spoke harshly about Mr. Tillerson in front of White House aides as recently as Thursday but did not seem ready yet to replace him, according to one person close to the president.
Slobodan Praljak, a former Bosnian Croat official who was on trial Wednesday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, has reportedly died after drinking poison.
Praljak, 72, was filmed drinking the poison Wednesday.
.
Former Bosnian Croat Official Dies After Drinking Poison
Garrison Keillor, one of the nation’s most lauded humorists, was fired Wednesday by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of “inappropriate behavior” that occurred while he was in charge of “A Prairie Home Companion,” his long-running variety show heard nationwide by millions every week.
Keillor, 75, who retired from the show last year and did not respond to a request for comment, denied any wrongdoing but described what he believed to be the allegation against him in an email to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
As the co-host of NBC’s “Today,” Matt Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy as a present. It included an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her, which left her mortified.
On another day, he summoned a different female employee to his office, and then dropped his pants, showing her his penis. After the employee declined to do anything, visibly shaken, he reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act.
He would sometimes quiz female producers about who they’d slept with, offering to trade names. And he loved to engage in a crass quiz game with men and women in the office: “f—, marry, or kill,” in which he would identify the female co-hosts that he’d most like to sleep with.
These accounts of Lauer’s behavior at NBC are the result of a two-month investigation by Variety, with dozens of interviews with current and former staffers. Variety has talked to three women who identified themselves as victims of sexual harassment by Lauer, and their stories have been corroborated by friends or colleagues that they told at the time. They have asked for now to remain unnamed, fearing professional repercussions.
Donald Trump potentially has millions of lives in his hands as the threat of a devastating war with North Korea swiftly escalates.
Yet the President of the United States is raising new questions about his temperament, his judgment and his understanding of the resonance of his global voice and the gravity of his role with a wild sequence of insults, inflammatory tweets and bizarre comments.
.
On Wednesday Trump caused outrage and sparked fears of violent reprisals against Americans and US interests overseas by retweeting graphic anti-Muslim videos by an extreme far right British hate group. Earlier this week he used a racial slur in front of Native American war heroes. He’s attacked global press freedom, after cozying up to autocrats on his recent Asia tour.
“To expect China to be able to solve the problem by having tougher sanctions is unrealistic,” an expert warns.
North Korea fired yet another intercontinental ballistic missile this week, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump’s now-familiar call for China to crack down on its defiant trading partner with tougher sanctions.
In a phone call Wednesday, Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping that his country must “use all available levers to convince North Korea to end its provocations and return to the path of denuclearization,” according to a statement from the White House.
Trump subsequently announced that additional “major sanctions” against North Korea are forthcoming and claimed the situation “will be handled!” But the tired strategy of sanctioning Pyongyang ― a regime hellbent on advancing its nuclear abilities at all costs ― has not yet proved to be an effective one.
In 2012, “Today” show host Matt Lauer appeared on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter, next to a headline that read “The New Most Powerful Face in News.”
No one would dispute that characterization — at the time, Lauer had just signed a monstrous four-year contract with NBC, reportedly north of $20 million a year. Not only was he one of the highest-paid personalities on television, but as the star anchor of the country’s top-rated morning show, he could help shape the national conversation from his perch at 30 Rockefeller Center.
.
“Today” show co-hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry at the “Today” show 60th anniversary celebration in 2012 in New York. (Evan Agostini/AP)
Global arms experts say North Korea’s latest test of a ballistic missile was an expected but troubling development that further solidifies Kim Jong Un’s role as a nuclear-backed strongman.
A defiant North Korea launched what appeared to be another intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, and initial reports put the weapon’s range at more than 8,100 miles. As tested, such a weapon would be able to travel more than enough distance to reach Washington, D.C., or New York City.
Experts say it’s unlikely the missile would be able to deliver a nuclear bomb that far just yet, as it appeared likely that Tuesday’s launch carried a lighter mock warhead. But many say such a reality is one step closer, and the test advances North Korea’s weapon program despite efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to quash Kim’s ambitions.
.
JUNG YEON-JE via Getty Images
“We can’t claim that we were surprised by this,” global arms experts say.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday retweeted a series of overtly Islamophobic videos shared by a controversial British far-right activist.
The videos, posed Britain First Deputy Leader Jayda Fransen, claimed to show various violent crimes committed by Muslims. Britain First is widely known in the U.K. for spreading Islamophobic and racist videos, including many proven to be fake.
Fransen’s first tweet shows a boy beating another boy on crutches. The caption says: “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” Yet the video’s original caption, released with the video in May on a Dutch website, mentioned neither race nor religion. A 16-year-old pictured in the video was charged with provoking the fight, and a 16-year-old who shot the video also was charged, local media reported.
NBC has fired longtime “Today” host Matt Lauer following allegations of workplace misconduct, the network announced on Wednesday.
“We are devastated,” “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie said in an emotional statement. “All we can say is we are heartbroken.”
Guthrie said that NBC News chairman Andy Lack informed employees early Wednesday about the decision after having received a complaint about Lauer’s behavior on Monday night. She read Lack’s note on-air, noting that while the network says it had never received a complaint about Lauer before, it has “reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”
Both Guthrie and co-host Hoda Kotb appeared shaken by the news.
.
Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
.
Former Bosnian Croat Official Dies After Drinking Poison
Trump’s behavior raises questions
.
Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
James' World 2 