10 things you need to know today: July 13, 2017
Trump says he 'didn't know' about son's Russia meeting, Senate Republicans prepare to unveil revised health plan, and more

- 1. Trump says he 'didn't know' about son's meeting with Russian lawyer
- 2. Senate GOP leaders to unveil health plan
- 3. Trump's nominee for FBI director vows independence
- 4. Trump arrives in Paris for talks with Macron
- 5. Former Brazil President Lula da Silva sentenced to 9 years for corruption
- 6. Dow surges to record after Yellen remarks
- 7. Russian court sentences killer of Putin critic to 20 years
- 8. Democrat files articles of impeachment against Trump
- 9. Massive iceberg breaks away from Antarctic ice shelf
- 10. U.S. grants visas to let Afghan girls enter U.S. for robotics contest

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
1. Trump says he 'didn't know' about son's meeting with Russian lawyer
President Trump told Reuters Wednesday that he "didn't know until a couple of days ago" that his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., had met with a Russian lawyer in June 2016, during the presidential campaign. Trump said he did not fault his son for meeting with the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, saying his son made the decision in the heat of a non-traditional campaign. "I think many people would have held the meeting," the president said. Trump Jr.'s emails indicated that he readily accepted the invitation to talk with Veselnitskaya after he was told she might have damaging information on Hillary Clinton, then Trump's Democratic opponent, that came from Moscow's effort to help Trump beat Clinton.
2. Senate GOP leaders to unveil health plan
Senate Republicans plan to unveil their newly revised health bill on Thursday, with opposition from both GOP moderates and conservatives threatening to prevent supporters from mustering the 50 votes needed to pass it. With just 52 Republicans in the Senate, the GOP can only afford to lose two votes. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has said he won't approve the latest version as written because it preserves too much of ObamaCare, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) says the problem is that the bill would cut too much. President Trump said he would be "very angry" if Senate Republicans failed to get the bill passed, because the GOP has promised for years to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. "I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand, waiting for our senators to give it to me," Trump said. "It has to get passed. They have to do it. They have to get together and get it done."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
The New York Times The Washington Post
3. Trump's nominee for FBI director vows independence
Chris Wray, whom President Trump nominated to be the new FBI director, drew a clear line between his views and Trump's on several key issues during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Wray rejected the suggestion that the investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion by Trump associates was a "witch hunt," a claim Trump has made repeatedly. Wray, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, vowed never to let politics sway his decisions, and said he "sure as heck" would never give Trump a pledge of loyalty. "My loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law," Wray said. "Those have been my guideposts throughout my career, and I will continue to adhere to them no matter the test."
4. Trump arrives in Paris for talks with Macron
President Trump, facing fallout at home over his son's meeting last year with a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton, arrived in Paris early Thursday for meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron aiming to improve relations between the U.S. and France. The two leaders will discuss security and counterterrorism issues, including the Syrian civil war. Macron and Trump will have to get past their differences — Trump expressed support for Macron's opponent, Marine Le Pen, in France's election, and Macron has been a vocal critic of Trump's decision to pull America out of the Paris climate agreement. During the trip, Trump also will serve as guest of honor at Friday's Bastille Day parade. One French official says Macron wants to "bring Trump back into the circle so that the United States, which remains the world's number one power, is not excluded."
5. Former Brazil President Lula da Silva sentenced to 9 years for corruption
A Brazilian judge on Wednesday found former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva guilty on corruption and money laundering charges, and sentenced him to nine and a half years in prison. Lula was found guilty of accepting $1.1 million in improvements and expenses for a beachfront apartment from a construction company, which received lucrative contracts from the state-controlled oil company Petrobras in exchange. Da Silva has called the accusations a "farce," but the conviction has severely damaged the reputation the charismatic leader built raising his South American nation's international profile while serving as president from 2003 to 2010. "This goes far beyond himself and his political career, which is seriously damaged. It's Brazil's reputation," said Christopher Sabatini, executive director of Global Americans, a research group in New York. "He was a brand. Brand Brazil."
6. Dow surges to record after Yellen remarks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a record close on Wednesday, after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen gave an upbeat view of the state of the economy in congressional testimony. U.S. stock futures edged higher early Thursday, pointing to further gains at the open. Yellen indicated that the Fed could continue gradually raising interest rates and start unwinding the massive bond and mortgage-backed securities holdings it accumulated to boost the economy. The news pleased investors and analysts who were concerned that the Fed might change course due to the recent dip in inflation, which had been approaching the Fed's 2 percent target rate. "People were worried about her coming out more hawkish. She said exactly what the market expected and that's why the market was happy with it," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Financial Partners in North Carolina.
7. Russian court sentences killer of Putin critic to 20 years
A Russian court on Thursday sentenced Zaur Dadayev, a former soldier in Chechnya, to 20 years in prison for the 2015 murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, one of President Vladimir Putin's most outspoken critics. Four other men convicted as accomplices received terms between 11 and 19 years. Prosecutors said Dadayev was the one who pulled the trigger. Nemtsov, 55, was shot as he walked over a bridge near the Kremlin with his girlfriend. He had been working on a report on Russia's involvement in Ukraine's conflict. "The shortcoming of this sentencing is that those who ordered and organized this crime are not in the dock," said Vadim Prokhorov, a lawyer for Nemtsov's daughter Zhanna.
8. Democrat files articles of impeachment against Trump
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) on Wednesday filed articles of impeachment against President Trump, clashing with leaders of both parties. Democrats have sought to discourage talk of impeachment to avoid distracting from their efforts on the economy, health care, and investigations into Russia's alleged election meddling and possible collusion with Trump associates. The GOP-controlled House is not expected to take Sherman's effort, which was co-sponsored by just one other Democrat, very seriously. Sherman accuses Trump of trying to obstruct justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey, allegedly in an attempt to impede the Russia investigation, and says his call for Judiciary Committee hearings is "the first step on a very long road."
9. Massive iceberg breaks away from Antarctic ice shelf
An iceberg larger than the state of Delaware broke away from the Antarctic Peninsula on Wednesday. The trillion-ton mass of ice is one of the largest on record, covering 2,240 square miles, compared to Delaware's 1,954 square miles. Scientists at the British research team Project Midas confirmed the break using data from NASA satellites, saying they had been monitoring a rift in the Larsen C ice shelf for years before it began growing quickly in January. It is normal for ice shelves to accumulate ice from snowfall and shed it through melting and the breaking or calving of ice bergs, but the massive Larsen C break is so big, reducing Larsen C by 12 percent, that it has raised fears that it could destabilize the remainder of the shelf. "As climate warming advances farther south, it will affect larger and larger ice shelves that currently hold back bigger and bigger glaciers, so their collapse will contribute more to sea level rise," said Eric Rignot, a UC Irvine glaciologist and research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
10. U.S. grants visas to let Afghan girls enter U.S. for robotics contest
The Homeland Security Department has approved a request for visas to allow six Afghan teenage girls and their chaperone to participate in an international robotics competition in Washington, after their applications were denied twice. The earlier denials had sparked criticism over the Trump administration's treatment of Muslims trying to enter the U.S., and accusations that the U.S. was pulling back from efforts to support young women in Afghanistan, where they have limited educational opportunities. Politico reported Wednesday that President Trump personally intervened, asking the National Security Council to address the matter. Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, tweeted her support and said she looked forward to welcoming "this brilliant team of Afghan girls" to Washington next week.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 launch of the U.S. print edition. Harold has worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, Fox News, and ABC News. For several years, he wrote a daily round-up of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons.
-
5 tips to save on heating bills
The Explainer Follow these expert recommendations for a cozy and cheap winter
By Becca Stanek Published
-
Should you fire your financial adviser? 4 signs it's time to say goodbye.
The Explainer Breakups are never fun, but you have to protect your wallet
By Becca Stanek Published
-
The daily gossip: Man arrested in connection with shooting of Tupac Shakur, an OceanGate movie is in the works, and more
Feature The daily gossip: September 29, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 29, 2023
Daily Briefing House committee starts Biden impeachment inquiry, court rejects Trump's request to delay civil fraud trial, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 29 September 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 28, 2023
Daily Briefing Republican rivals clash as absent Trump tries to upstage debate, the Senate approves a formal dress code, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 27, 2023
Daily Briefing A New York judge rules Trump defrauded banks, Biden visits auto workers on picket line, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 26, 2023
Daily Briefing Congress returns to work with shutdown looming, Ukraine says it killed Russia's Black Sea Fleet commander, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 25, 2023
Daily Briefing GOP leaders pressure far-right holdouts to help prevent a shutdown, Hollywood writers reach tentative deal to end strike, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 24, 2023
Daily Briefing Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian population to leave region amid fears of persecution, Atlantic coast remains under flood warnings from Ophelia, and more
By Justin Klawans Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 22, 2023
Daily Briefing Zelenskyy visits Washington as Biden unveils more Ukraine aid, Rupert Murdoch steps down at Fox and News Corp., and more
By Harold Maass Published