A Trump tirade. Europe worries. And weather woes. It’s Wednesday, and here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
1. Campaign 2016
Got $35K lying around you can drop on few real estate courses? Step right up and enroll at Trump University. That’s how “team members” would entice potential students, according to 400 pages of Trump University “playbooks” released yesterday. Also yesterday, Donald Trump held an epic news conference/rant where he detailed donations to various veteran groups after months of dodging questions about exactly that.
2. Gorilla killed
Now begin the investigations. Cincinnati cops say they’re looking into whether charges ought to be filed against the parents of the 3-year-old boy who was dragged around by a 450-pound gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is looking into operations at the zoo. And CNN found the zoo was out of compliance nine times in the last three years — although none involved the gorilla exhibit.
3. Zika
Dear World Health Organization: Postpone or move the Olympics out of Rio this summer because we just don’t have a good handle on how to deal with Zika. That’s the gist of an open letter that 100 doctors and professors sent. The WHO says, nah, moving or canceling the Games won’t stop the virus from spreading. Just yesterday, a baby with Zika virus-related microcephaly — a condition where babies have unusually small heads — was born at a New Jersey hospital.
4. Weather
The miserable weather in Texas — heavy rains and flooding that’s left seven people dead — isn’t over. Another big storm system is set to hit east Texas tomorrow and Friday, raising the levels of already-swollen rivers and further inundating saturated land with rain. Southeast Texas suffered through two 500-year flood events in two months, and storms killed at least 22 people there in May.
5. Travel warning
Going to Europe this summer? Have fun — but be careful, says the State Department. There’s no specific threat. But the specter of ISIS-inspired attacks loom. For one thing, France says it doesn’t think everyone connected with the Paris and Brussels attacks has been arrested yet. The biggest security headache this summer? The European Soccer Championship in France, and the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day in Poland. Both will draw huge crowds.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
All about the Lincolns
Brett Sanders was ticked about his $212 traffic ticket. So he marched right down to municipal court and paid it — with two buckets full of pennies.
‘Truth ain’t lie dude’
An official Chinese government Twitter account kept it real with a slang-filled tweetstorm. If by “keeping it real,” you mean “went all bizzaro.”
Today in faceplam
Politics hit a new low at the Libertarian Party convention when a candidate stripped down to his undies on stage. But it’s OK, because it “was a dare.”
Can you be my wingman?
A kidnapped soccer player in Mexico pretty much facilitated his own rescue by fighting with his captors and calling the cops himself.
Heaven or hell?
A Chinese resort is turning abandoned vehicles into Hello Kitty and Mickey Mouse hotels, which either thrills you or terrifies you.
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Here’s what’s coming up later
Storm stats
Today’s the official start of hurricane season in the Atlantic. Yes, Tropical Storm Bonnie jumped the gun last weekend, but nature does what it wants, right?