10 things you need to know today: August 16, 2018

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

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1. Trump revokes ex-CIA chief John Brennan's security clearance
2. Jury starts deliberation in Manafort trial
3. London police identify man arrested in Parliament car crash
4. South Korean president proposes more economic collaboration with North
5. Polls show Democrats hold big lead on generic ballot
6. Latest school suicide bombing kills dozens in Afghanistan
7. Dozens overdose in New Haven park
8. Boat carrying school children sinks in Sudan
9. Giuliani says Trump lawyers will fight Mueller subpoena
10. Corona beer maker invests big in Canada's top cannabis producer

published 16 August 2018

1. Trump revokes ex-CIA chief John Brennan's security clearance

President Trump is revoking former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday. Brennan has criticized Trump, saying it was "nothing short of treasonous" for Trump to appear to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies on the question of Russian election meddling. Sanders said Brennan had lied, and "leveraged his status" as a former Obama administration intelligence chief to make unfounded allegations against Trump. Sanders said the security clearances of other former intelligence officials also were "under review." Trump told The Wall Street Journal the decision was linked to Brennan's role in the Russia investigation, which the president called "the rigged witch hunt." Brennan, supported by many lawmakers, called the move an undemocratic attempt to "suppress free speech" and "punish critics."

The jury in Paul Manafort's federal trial will start deliberations on Thursday after hearing closing arguments from both sides on Wednesday. President Trump's former campaign chairman is facing 18 charges of tax evasion, money laundering, and bank fraud. Prosecutor Greg Andres says Manafort "lied to keep more money when he had it, and he lied to get more money when he didn't." The defense argued that Manafort was so rich, he didn't need to hide money. The trial is being held in Alexandria, Virginia, and the jury is comprised of six men and six women. If convicted, Manafort could be sent to prison for life.

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London police on Wednesday identified the man arrested on suspicion of terrorism for crashing a car outside the Houses of Parliament as Salih Khater, a 29-year-old British citizen from the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan. Khater, who arrived in the U.K. as a refugee and received asylum, also faces pending charges for attempted murder, as two pedestrians were injured in the crash. Khater's brother, Abdullah Khater, described him as a "normal person" with no fanatical beliefs, and said the family is in "a state of shock" over the incident.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday proposed expanding economic cooperation with North Korea, including joint economic zones along the heavily fortified border. Moon also suggested a linked rail network. The pitch was seen as an effort to ease tensions and encourage Pyongyang to take concrete steps toward denuclearization, a goal North Korean leader Kim Jong Un committed to in his June summit with President Trump. Moon said his proposal, which goes further than anything the Trump administration has supported, would benefit both Koreas. "We must overcome division for our survival and prosperity," Moon said.

A day after the latest round of primary elections, two polls found Democrats holding a solid lead over Republicans on a generic ballot. A CNN/SSRS poll released Wednesday found that, if congressional elections were held today, 52 percent of registered voters would pick the Democratic candidate while just 41 percent would choose the Republican. A second poll, from Quinnipiac, gave Democrats a slightly slimmer margin, with 51 percent of respondents backing the Democrat and 42 percent the Republican. Democrats are hoping to hold onto the edge in the November midterm elections, when they also are expected to benefit from high voter turnout. In June, a nationwide poll using a generic ballot found Democrats with an 8-point lead.

A suicide bombing against a group of teenagers studying for university exams in Kabul killed at least 34 people, most of them in an English class. No group immediately claimed responsibility, although the Taliban denied involvement. The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks by militant groups on schools and other soft targets. More than 1,000 schools across Afghanistan are closed over security concerns, and 86 have been destroyed in attacks this year, according to the United Nations. "Attacks on educational institutes by hardline Islamic groups are one of the most horrific issues facing our nation today," said Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak after Wednesday's attack on the Mawoud Academy.

More than 47 people appeared to have overdosed on synthetic marijuana, or K2, possibly laced with fentanyl, in a New Haven, Connecticut, park, police said Wednesday. Twenty-five of the apparent overdoses occurred within three hours, and some of them happened in clusters of four to six. Police arrested one suspect in connection with the cases, some of which were reported to authorities by horrified park-goers. The victims had such symptoms as vomiting, hallucinating, and high blood pressure. "We have a guy laid out in the alleyway, unresponsive, eyes wide open. He's out cold," one unidentified bystander shouted. Emergency crews administered naloxone, an antidote for narcotic overdoses, to some of the victims, but it did not seem to work.

A boat sank crossing a flooded area in Sudan near the Nile River on Wednesday, killing at least 21 students and one woman, Sudan's state news agency reported. The boat was carrying more than 40 students heading to a school on the other side of the Nile when its engine failed in a strong current during the 1.6-mile trip. Some of the children panicked and ran to one side of the boat, causing it to tip over. The children, aged 7 to 16, normally walk to school but have been forced to use a boat for several days due to heavy rains. "One family lost five daughters ... and two families lost three children each," said Ab el-Khayr Adam Yunis, the headmaster of the Kenba High School.

Rudy Giuliani told The Washington Post on Wednesday that President Trump's legal team is waiting to hear back from Special Counsel Robert Mueller about terms for a presidential interview, and preparing a rebuttal in case there is a subpoena. "We would move to quash the subpoena," Giuliani said. "And we're pretty much finished with our memorandum opposing a subpoena." Giuliani, Trump's lead lawyer regarding the Russia investigation, said his colleagues are prepared to "argue it before the Supreme Court, if it ever got there." Mueller's team and Trump's lawyers have been trying for months to come to an agreement over interviewing Trump. Last week, Trump's attorneys sent Mueller a letter stating Trump would not answer any possible obstruction of justice questions.

Corona beer maker Constellation Brands announced Wednesday that it would infuse another $4 billion into Canada's top cannabis producer, Canopy Growth. The move marks the biggest investment in the pot industry, which is seeing booming demand. Constellation invested nearly $200 million in Canopy last year in a partnership to make a non-alcoholic cannabis-based beverage, making it one of the first alcohol makers to dive into the pot business. Toronto-listed Canopy's shares rose by as much as 35 percent on the news, but Constellation shares fell by 8 percent in New York. Canopy said it would use the proceeds from the deal to expand and raise its profile in the nearly 30 countries likely to approve medical marijuana. "This (deal) marks the end of the warm-up in our sector," Canopy CEO Bruce Linton said. "It's fully go-time."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.