The Mormon church is pulling older teens out of the Boy Scouts. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
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1. James Comey firing
The White House is still struggling to get its story straight on why President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. Trump’s crew settled (kind of) on an explanation, then the President blew it all up in an interview with NBC. Team Trump — including Vice President Mike Pence, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee, senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and others — said Trump made the decision based on the deputy attorney general’s recommendation and NOT the Russia investigation. But then Trump undercut them all and said he’d been thinking about dumping Comey for a while now and “this Russia thing” was part of his thought process. Gee, thanks boss.
But that wasn’t the only story to unravel. Team Trump had also said Comey had to go because morale was in the trash over at the FBI. But Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe shot that down, too. He told the Senate intelligence committee that Comey enjoyed “broad support within the FBI and still does to this day.” And that’s probably one of the reasons why Trump’s planned visit today to FBI headquarters got scratched, sources tell CNN.
In the interview, Trump also said he directly asked Comey during a dinner this year if he was under investigation. Trump said Comey said no. Did that really happen? Only Comey can answer that question, and so far he’s not talking.
CNN’s Stephen Collinson writes that Trump’s long-simmering animosity toward Comey is just the latest example of how the President’s anger could be dangerous for the nation.
2. ICE
ICE just wrapped up its largest anti-gang operation ever, resulting in more than 1,300 arrests over six weeks. But it didn’t target immigrants. Most of the people arrested — 993 — were Americans. Fewer than 400 arrestees were here illegally. Those nabbed included members of the Bloods, the Crips and the notorious MS-13 gangs.
Meanwhile, CNN’s Sara Weisfeldt reports that Jeanette Vizguerra — a mother of four who has been holed up in a Denver church for 86 days for fear of deportation — has been granted a temporary stay by ICE. She plans to walk out of the church this morning.
3. Hepatitis C and opioids
New hepatitis C infections are up sharply, and health officials think the opioid epidemic is to blame. New virus infections almost tripled — to 2,436 cases in 2015. Most of the rise involves people in their 20s who inject drugs. That’s led folks at the CDC to think that the opioid epidemic, which has slammed rural and suburban parts of the country, is the reason. People who have gone from taking prescription pills to injecting heroin (an opioid made from morphine) are a big part of the new infections.
4. Air Force One
Talk about a bad day at the office. Three mechanics at Boeing caused $4 million of damage while working on a plane in the Air Force One fleet. And did we mention, they also could have started an in-flight fire? The mechanics contaminated the plane’s oxygen system when they cleaned it back in April 2016. Boeing said they didn’t follow proper procedures. If the contamination hadn’t been discovered, it could have sparked a fire or explosion. Boeing said it has since fixed the problem but wouldn’t say if the mechanics were fired.
5. Sushi
If you’re eating breakfast, you may want to skip this item. You’ll need to start being extra careful with your sushi, because it could be contaminated with parasites. A new report says anisakiasis, an illness caused by eating parasite-contaminated fish or seafood, is rising in Western countries. That’s because eating sushi and other raw or uncooked fish is gaining popularity here. And if you get anisakiasis, it’s nothing nice. Think gastrointestinal pain, nausea and vomiting. Ugh. So how do you protect yourself? You could give up sushi. Or you could make sure it has been properly heated or frozen to kill parasites.
This just in …
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is paving way for stricter sentences, ending an Obama-era policy meant to limit cases with mandatory minimum penalties for nonviolent drug crimes.
Breakfast Browse
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Space maker
Steve Harvey got tired of his staff invading his personal space and time, so he did something about it, with a you-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it memo.
Option X
Don’t ID yourself as male or female in life? You may not have to in Oregon either, where a third gender option may soon be available on driver’s licenses.
Making team intros great again
“Eye of the Tiger.” “Get Ready For This.” They’re staples of sports team intros. But the men’s lacrosse team at Adelphi University had something else in mind.
Need for speed
So how do you drive a car that’s worth almost half-a-million dollars? (Not) very slowly.
Executive privilege
In Trump’s White House, the President gets two scoops of ice cream while everyone else gets one. Those are the perks of being POTUS.
And finally …
LOL mom
It’s almost Mother’s Day — the perfect time for Jimmy Kimmel’s staffers to share their moms’ most hilarious texts. (Click to view)