10 things you need to know today: June 18, 2019

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1. Pentagon to send 1,000 more U.S. troops to the Middle East
2. U.S. reinstates some aid to Central American countries hours after announcing cutoffs
3. Trump says removal of illegal immigrants will begin next week
4. Police identify Dallas gunman as 22-year-old Army veteran
5. Trump to announce 2020 re-election bid in Orlando
6. Former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi dies during court appearance
7. Biden says he plans on winning Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas
8. United Nations condemns itself for handling of Rohingya crisis
9. Four people shot, three arrested at Toronto Raptors rally
10. Gloria Vanderbilt dies at 95

published 18 June 2019

1. Pentagon to send 1,000 more U.S. troops to the Middle East

The Pentagon announced it will send more than 1,000 additional U.S. troops to the Middle East after recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman have increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. Central Command Chief General Frank McKenzie requested the deployment, which comes after 1,500 troops were sent to the region late last month after similar attacks took place. Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said the recent "hostile behavior" of Iranian forces threatens U.S. "personnel and interests across the region." The U.S. has implicated Iran in last week's attacks, but Iran continues to deny having any involvement, saying the accusations are "unfounded."

The U.S. announced Monday evening it will follow through with supplying $432 million in previously-approved funding to El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, backtracking on a statement made hours earlier that it would cut off aid to the three Central American countries. The Trump administration previously said it would be cutting more than $615 million in aid in order to send a message about the migrant border crisis. But after reviewing the cuts, the State Department agreed to go ahead with the money that had already been approved by Congress. The funds, which come from the 2017 budget, will be spent on health, education, and poverty alleviation programs, as well as anti-crime efforts that could potentially lessen migrant outflows. Many lawmakers argued against Trump's decision to cut funding, saying it wouldn't do anything to slow down migration numbers.

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President Trump announced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will begin the process of deporting millions of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. next week. "They will be removed as fast as they come in," Trump said. In a series of tweets Monday night, Trump blamed congressional Democrats for the border crisis but praised Mexico and Guatemala for ramping up efforts to alleviate the influx of migrants. Writing on Twitter, Trump said: "The only ones who won't do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!" Trump's proclamation reportedly shocked some ICE officials, who said they were unaware Trump was going to announce enforcement plans via Twitter.

Police identified the masked gunman who opened fire in front of a federal Dallas courthouse Monday morning as 22-year-old Army veteran Brian Clyde. Clyde was shot dead shortly after he began shooting outside the Earle Cabell Federal Building in downtown Dallas. His attack shattered doors, but did not seriously injure any bystanders. Police said Clyde, who was carrying more than 150 rounds of ammunition, was a former Army infantryman who was discharged in 2017. A public records search did not show Clyde with any criminal record, but he had reportedly shared images and videos of weapons on social media in recent days. Police are still investigating a potential motive for the attempted attack.

President Trump is set to launch his 2020 bid for re-election Tuesday evening while speaking at a rally in Orlando, Florida. Trump is expected to tout himself as an outsider — a strategy he took in 2016 before assuming the most prestigious position of power in the U.S. Trump plans to appeal to the base that elected him in highlighting his kept promise to "go to Washington and shake things up." He is expected to cite a strong U.S. economy and highlight his actions on taxes, military spending, and judicial appointments as indicators of his success. Trump's approval rating has hovered around 40 percent for the duration of his term, and recent polls show him struggling to overtake some Democrats in 2020. The rally, which has not yet taken place, has already been heralded by Trump as record-setting.

Former president of Egypt Mohammed Morsi died Monday at age 67 after collapsing during a court hearing. Morsi, a former top member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was Egypt's first democratically elected president and served after President Hosni Mubarak was ousted during the Arab Spring. He only served one year of his four-year term before a military coup unseated him. Since then, Morsi had been serving prison time for multiple criminal offenses. He was facing charges of espionage when he collapsed in court, and in his final moments before fainting, Morsi insisted he was Egypt's legitimate president. He died shortly thereafter.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was boastful at the Poor People's Moral Action Congress on Monday, saying he intends on winning Southern strongholds like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas if he is the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020. Biden said he plans on campaigning in the South, and has "no intention of walking away" from the states based on recent polling. No Democratic presidential nominee has won Georgia since Bill Clinton did so in 1992, and President Trump secured the state by about 5 percentage points in 2016. A Democrat hasn't won South Carolina since Jimmy Carter did so in 1976, and Trump won that state soundly in 2016 by 14 percentage points. Some polls have pointed toward a potential Biden upset in Texas, with one from Quinnipiac University showing Biden besting Trump by four percentage points.

The United Nations has implicated itself for an "obviously dysfunctional performance" in handling the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. In a U.N. report commissioned by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the organization says "serious errors were committed and opportunities were lost" in the agency's approach to the violence against the ethnic minority. The report says there was a systemic failure on behalf of the organization fueled by competing strategies between agencies, a "culture of mistrust" with Myanmar's government, and mixed signals from the field. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been killed in Myanmar in what the U.N. has described as a possible genocide. More than 700,000 have fled to Bangladesh. The report is expected to go public this week.

Four people were shot Monday at a rally in Toronto celebrating the Raptors' first ever NBA championship. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said four people suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds, and an unknown number of people sustained minor injuries from attempts to flee the shooting. Police arrested three people and recovered two firearms after the attack, but they did not say whether they think the shooting was a targeted incident or an act of terrorism. The attack occurred near Nathan Phillips Square while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Toronto's mayor, and the Raptors players were on stage. One million fans were in attendance. Saunders said of the incident: "The vast majority didn't even know this happened."

Gloria Vanderbilt died at her home Monday at the age of 95. Vanderbilt was the daughter of railroad heir Reginald Vanderbilt and his second wife Gloria Morgan. She became an accomplished actress, artist, socialite, and author during her lifetime. Her final piece of written work was a book she co-authored with her son, Anderson Cooper, in 2016. Cooper announced his mother's passing in an on-air eulogy on CNN Monday morning. Speaking about his mother, Cooper said: "Gloria Vanderbilt was an extraordinary woman who loved life and lived it on her own terms. What an extraordinary life. What an extraordinary mom. What an incredible woman."

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