10 things you need to know today: June 17, 2019

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1. Trump fires pollsters after leaked polls show him trailing Biden
2. Power mostly returns to Argentina, Uruguay after massive blackout
3. Record numbers of African migrants crossing U.S.-Mexico border
4. At least 1 killed in Philadelphia graduation party shooting
5. Hong Kong protesters clear streets but demonstrations continue
6. Four people found dead in Iowa home
7. Israel renames Golan Heights settlement after Trump
8. Iran says it will break nuclear stockpile limit in blow to nuclear deal
9. Gary Woodland takes home first major golf title at U.S. Open
10. U.S. cruises past Chile to World Cup knockout rounds

published 17 June 2019

1. Trump fires pollsters after leaked polls show him trailing Biden

The Trump re-election campaign has fired several internal pollsters after leaked polling data showed President Trump trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in several key states in 2020. The polls showed Trump losing to Biden by double-digits in battleground states including Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and holding only a small lead in Texas. Trump disavowed the leaked data last week, calling the numbers "fake." His campaign called the numbers old and outdated. The pollsters getting the boot reportedly include Michael Baselice, the president and CEO of Baselice & Associates Inc., and Brett Lloyd, president and CEO of The Polling Company, the firm that White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway founded and formerly ran.

Electricity has mostly been restored after a massive blackout left tens of millions of people without power in Argentina and Uruguay on Sunday. More than 80 percent of customers in Argentina and 88 percent in Uruguay had their power back by Sunday evening, after an unexplained electrical failure that morning left most of the two countries in darkness. The outage, which occurred as some people in Argentina were heading to the polls for local elections, also hit parts of Chile and Paraguay. Officials are still investigating the cause of the failure, but some Argentine media outlets reported the outage was connected to a failure in electricity transmission from a hydroelectric dam. Argentine Energy Minister Gustavo Lopetegui said that while officials do not think the outage was caused by a cyberattack, they are "not ruling out any possibility."

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African migrants fleeing economic hardship and human rights abuses are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers. Border patrol agents in Del Rio, Texas, stopped at least 500 African migrants in one recent week, more than double last year's total number of 211 African migrants detained along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. The migrants are primarily from the Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola. They fly to South America from Africa, then travel by land to the U.S.-Mexico border, with many seeking asylum at ports of entry. Many of the asylum seekers are being bused to Portland, Maine, where Somali refugees were resettled in the 1990s.

One person died and at least five were injured when shots were fired at a graduation party in Philadelphia on Sunday. The incident, which happened in Southwest Philadelphia, occurred after 10 p.m. Sunday night. A 24-year-old was fatally shot in the back, and five other victims, including three teenagers, sustained injuries. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said three men were seen in a parking lot when one of them walked up to the party and began firing. About 60 people were at the party when the shooting occurred. The incident comes at the end of a violent weekend in Philly — before Sunday's shooting, more than a dozen people had been shot since late Friday night across the city.

Protesters in Hong Kong have cleared the city's streets but remain close by to government headquarters to continue demanding that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam resign and abandon a controversial bill that would allow some people to be extradited to China. Police reopened the streets to traffic, but demonstrators stayed close to the Legislative Council, still protesting Lam and her handling of the bill. Joshua Wong, an activist previously imprisoned on a contempt charge, was released Monday after serving half of his two-month sentence. Wong left prison and joined protesters, sending a tweet calling for Lam's resignation. Nearly 2 million Hong Kong residents have joined the demonstrations, highlighting widespread worries that the former British colony could lose its autonomous status.

Four people were found dead from gunshot wounds in their home in West Des Moines, Iowa over the weekend. Chandrasekhar Sunkara, 44, and Lavanya Sunkara, 41, were found dead along with two unnamed boys ages 15 and 10. The victims were found Saturday morning by other family members who were staying in the house as guests. One of the guests ran outside to find help and alerted a person walking by to call 911. Police said all victims died of apparent gunshot wounds but that an autopsy would be performed to determine the exact cause. Police are investigating the crimes with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed his appreciation for President Trump on Sunday, gathering with Cabinet members to inaugurate the newly-named settlement "Ramat Trump." The name, which is Hebrew for "Trump Heights," is in honor of Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, an area Israel took from Syria in 1967. Most of the international community does not share this view of the Golan, which contains 30 settlements considered illegal under international law. Trump tweeted in March his support of Israel's sovereignty over the area, and Netanyahu announced in April his intent to name a settlement after the president. U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said he couldn't "think of a more appropriate and a more beautiful birthday present" for Trump, who celebrated his 73rd birthday on Friday.

Iran revealed it plans to break the uranium stockpile limit in 10 days, saying it will increase its enrichment of low-grade uranium. The upgrade, which will bypass the parameters set in the 2015 nuclear deal, is another indication of the deal unraveling since President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord last year, re-imposing sanctions on Iran in the process. Iran has said it will reverse newly imposed measures if Europe steps in to help it circumvent U.S. sanctions, but so far Europe has not done so. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. are on the rise after two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman last week. The U.S. blames Iran, but Iran denied any involvement. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday the U.S. is "considering a full range of options" in dealing with Iran, including military force, while emphasizing that Trump does not want to go to war with the country.

Gary Woodland won the 119th U.S. Open on Sunday in Pebble Beach, California, taking home his first major golf title and besting two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka. Woodland finished with a two-under 69, bringing his tournament total to 13-under and three strokes ahead of Koepka, who won the last two U.S. Opens and took home this year's silver trophy. Had Koepka struck gold on his third bid, he would have made history as the first man in 114 years to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles. Woodland, who had never finished in the top 10 of a major golf championship until 2018, finished with the lowest 72-hole score in six U.S. Opens.

The U.S. women's soccer team secured its spot in the World Cup knockout rounds on Sunday, beating Chile 3-0 in Paris. Two goals from team captain Carli Lloyd fueled the win, along with a score from Julie Ertz. Sunday's win and last week's 13-0 domination over Thailand gives the team a plus-16 goal differential, meaning they'll win Group F as long as they at least draw with Sweden when they face them on Thursday before the knockout rounds begin. Both teams have a perfect record in the tournament thus far. The reigning U.S. champions will begin to face tougher opponents as they advance to the knockout rounds with 16 teams. "We are climbing up a mountain now, and it's only going to get harder," Lloyd said.

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