10 things you need to know today: August 9, 2017

1. North Korea reaches nuclear milestone and threatens strike on Guam

North Korea has succeeded in making a miniaturized nuclear warhead it could put onto the tip of a missile, a key milestone, according to a confidential assessment completed last month by the Defense Intelligence Agency. North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un is "carefully examining" hitting the U.S. territory of Guam with missiles. Another U.S. assessment hiked estimates of North Korea's nuclear arsenal to as many as 60 nuclear weapons. President Trump said at his Bedminster, N.J., golf course that North Korea would face harsh punishment if it didn't dial back its threats. "They will be met with the fire and fury and frankly power," Trump said, "the likes of which this world has never seen before."

The Washington Post The New York Times

2. Car injures six French soldiers, triggering a terrorism investigation

A car rammed into a group of French soldiers as they left their barracks in a Paris suburb on Wednesday, injuring six. Four of the soldiers, part of the Operation Sentinel security patrol deployed to guard French towns after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks, were described as having light injuries. Local Mayor Patrick Balkany said the "odious attack" was "without a doubt deliberate." The driver and car remained "on the run," police said. French counterterrorism prosecutors launched an investigation, aiming to charge those involved with attempted murder. France has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

NBC News The Associated Press

3. 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocks remote area in China, killing 19

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit a remote area in China's southwestern province of Sichuan on Wednesday, killing 19 people and injuring 247, according to the provincial government and local media. The quake hit in a mountainous region close to the Jiuzhaigou nature reserve. Six of the dead were tourists. Rescuers were slowly evacuating tourists and local people trapped by landslides. A separate 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck in a remote part of the northwestern Xinjiang region more than 1,200 miles away, injuring 32 people.

Reuters

4. Trump hits 200 days with 38 percent approval rating

CNN released a poll on Tuesday, President Trump's 200th day in office, that found only 38 percent of respondents approved of Trump's job performance, while 59 percent disapproved, with 47 percent disapproving strongly. Only 59 percent of Republicans expressed approval. At 200 days, 59 percent of respondents considered Trump's presidency a failure, compared to 36 percent who called it a success. Sixty-two percent said Trump's actions and statements have made them less confident in his presidential abilities. Only 30 percent of respondents said they admire Trump, 34 percent said they are proud to have him as president, 55 percent said he has lowered the stature of the presidency, and 36 percent of respondents found Trump honest and trustworthy, versus 60 percent who said he wasn't.

CNN

5. South Africa's Zuma survives no-confidence vote

South African President Jacob Zuma survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday. It was the fourth such vote he has faced, but the first to be held by a secret ballot that gave cover to dissenters within his ruling African National Congress. The balloting was closer than expected with 177 lawmakers voting against Zuma and 198 standing by him, with nine abstaining. Zuma would have been forced to resign if he had lost. His standing and that of his party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid, has suffered over allegations of corruption, but Zuma told jubilant supporters his victory showed that "the A.N.C. is supported by the overwhelming majority" of South Africans.

The New York Times

6. Trump privately expresses 'appreciation' to Special Counsel Mueller

President Trump has privately sent messages of "appreciation" to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, USA Today reported Tuesday. Trump's chief legal counsel John Dowd confirmed he has "been in contact with Mueller's office" on Trump's behalf to send the president's "greetings" because he "appreciates what Bob Mueller is doing. He asked me to share that with him and that's what I've done." Dowd added that the communications with Mueller have been "proper" and "constructive." On Twitter and in public statements, Trump has called Mueller's investigation into Russia's election meddling and the Trump team's potential ties to it a "witch hunt."

USA Today

7. Kenya's president leads vote count as rival cries 'fraud'

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta held an overwhelming lead in preliminary results in the country's presidential election, but his rival called the figures "fake," stoking fears of political violence. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission's website showed Kenyatta with 54.4 percent of the vote to challenger Raila Odinga's 44.7 percent with ballots tallied from 90 percent of the East African nation's 40,833 polling stations. Odinga said a hacking scheme used the login of a murdered election official to manipulate the results, and he told his supporters not to accept the outcome, which he called a "complete fraud."

The Washington Post Bloomberg

8. Disney pulls away from Netflix to launch its own streaming service

Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it would pull its children's programming from Netflix in 2019 to launch its own competing streaming video service. Disney's stock dropped by nearly 4 percent after the announcement, which Disney unveiled along with its quarterly results. The Disney-branded streaming service will be similar to one its sports network, ESPN, is launching in 2018. Analysts said spending on the technology needed to provide the service could weigh on Disney's future earnings. Disney is betting it will make more money in the long run by charging its own subscribers than it does renting its content to Netflix. Shares of Netflix dropped by 3 percent.

Reuters The Washington Post

9. McDonald's aims to double presence in China

McDonald's announced Tuesday that it expects to nearly double the number of restaurants it has in China over the next five years. If the plans pan out, China will replace Japan as the fast-food chain's second-biggest market, after the U.S. McDonald's has 2,500 restaurants in China now, and aims to have 4,500 by 2022. McDonald's joins numerous other U.S. companies that have responded to slowing growth at home by ramping up operations in China, the world's second largest economy. Starbucks is looking to more than double its store count in China to 5,000 by 2021.

The Associated Press

10. Singer Glen Campbell dies at 81

Grammy-award winning singer and guitarist Glen Campbell, who became a household name in the '60s and '70s with such hits as "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Wichita Lineman", died Tuesday after a "long and courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease," his family said in a statement. Campbell was 81. He sold more than 45 million records in a career that spanned six decades. He also made a mark as a sessions player, appearing on such hits as Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". In 2011, Campbell revealed he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and he embarked on a farewell tour, playing 151 shows.

Rolling Stone