Trump wants to strip former intelligence officials of security clearances

The White House said the president is upset that "people are politicizing agencies" No Images? Click here   By Paul Vale     Tuesday, July 24  TRUMP: REVOKE SECURITY CLEARANCE OF MY CRITICS President Donald Trump wants to revoke the security clearances of several former intelligence officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Why? Because they’ve criticized him. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook] N.Y. DAILY NEWS CULLS HALF ITS STAFF New York’s Daily News, the Gotham tabloid known for its brutal front page splashes, has laid off half its newsroom — the latest round of cuts at the beleaguered Tronc. In an email to staff, the company said: “We are reducing today the size of the editorial team by approximately 50 percent and re-focusing much of our talent on breaking news.” [HuffPost] FOX NEWS DUPED INTO BOOKING WRONG GUEST “Fox & Friends First” booked the wrong guest and got an earful about Trump’s family separation immigration policy. How did this happen? The intended guest — anti-immigrant Arizona Democratic congressional candidate Ann Kirkpatrick — once shared the same spokesman as Barbara L’Italien, the pro-immigration Massachusetts Democratic state senator, who appeared on the show. Fox hadn’t updated their records and L’Italien and her representative took the opportunity to stick it to the network over Trump’s policy. [HuffPost] IRAN DISMISSES TRUMP TWITTER RANT Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has dismissed an angry Twitter warning from Trump, posting: “COLOR US UNIMPRESSED.” [Reuters] PROSECUTORS HAVE 12 COHEN AUDIO TAPES The raid on Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen led to the discovery of 12 tapes, which prosecutors now hold. The recording of Trump discussing a payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claims she began a nearly yearlong affair with Trump in 2006, is the only one that has leaked so far. [HuffPost] TRUMP BACKPEDALS ON RUSSIAN ‘HOAX’ Trump flipped -- again -- on Russian election interference, calling it a “hoax” in a Monday tweet. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was then wheeled out to try and clean up the mess, improbably arguing that the president was only referring to the “collusion component” and was not disputing the overall interference. [HuffPost]         GREECE WILDFIRES KILL 50 Wildfires have swept through a small resort town near Athens, killing at least 50 and trapping families with children behind walls of smoke and flames. [Reuters] LAOS DAM BREAKS Hundreds of people are reportedly missing after a hydroelectric dam broke in Laos. [The Guardian] HOLDER WEIGHS RUN Former Attorney General Eric Holder told Stephen Colbert he is 'thinking about" running for president in 2020. [HuffPost] RUSSIAN HACKERS INFILTRATE U.S. UTILITIES Russian-backed hackers carried out a long-running campaign last year that put them inside the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities, where they could have caused blackouts. [WSJ] NORTH KOREA DISMANTLES NUKE FACILITY Satellite images suggest North Korea has started to dismantle facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles — a possible first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to Trump in Singapore. [Reuters] IRAQ WAR CHEERLEADER TARGETS IRAN Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary and a vocal advocate for the disastrous Iraq War, was back at it Monday, suggesting that the U.S. should work to destabilize Iran. [HuffPost] WILKIE CONFIRMED AS VA SEC. The Senate has confirmed Pentagon official Robert Wilkie to be secretary of Veterans Affairs. The vote was 86-9. [HuffPost] GEORGIA STATE REP. REFUSES TO RESIGN Jason Spencer (R) insists he will not resign from the remainder of his term in the Georgia House, despite the representative's wild appearance on Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Who Is America?” in which he used a racist slur, showed his butt, and put on a racist Chinese accent. [HuffPost]       Man’s best friend has never looked better in these winning images from “Dog Photographer Of The Year.” Massachusetts has moved to pre-emptively protect the right to abortion in the state by passing a bill to repeal a series of decades-old laws dating back almost 200 years that criminalized abortion. Here’s how therapists think Meghan Markle should deal with her family. Chris Pratt has broken his silence on the firing of “Guardian of the Galaxy” director James Gunn — with a Bible quote. Robert De Niro may join Joaquin Phoenix in the forthcoming “Joker” origin movie. These are the best movies coming to Netflix this week. What would happen if a huge nuclear bomb was detonated in the deepest part of the ocean? This video explains all. Twitter just slammed Ivanka Trump over her “clarifying” op-ed on her father’s breastfeeding policy. An elderly woman narrowly escaped tragedy at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Monday when a 220-pound stone fell just steps from where she was praying. The scandals are piling up for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch is in talks with Warner Bros. to helm the remake of Bruce Lee’s 1973 classic “Enter the Dragon.” Abby Huntsman, a co-host of the popular Fox News program “Fox & Friends Weekend,” is in talks with ABC to join “The View.” Adult film star Stormy Daniels and her husband, Glendon Crain, have filed for divorce. Trump’s former press secretary, Sean Spicer, said during an interview with the BBC that would like to “do over” the day he declared the inauguration crowd the largest in history. And our guest writer reveals what she learned from losing weight against her will.  And love this newsletter? Share it with a friend!      HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More. Start your workday the right way with the news that matters most — all with a dash of signature Morning Email snark. Does somebody keep forwarding you this email? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Check out HuffPost Politics for more of the good stuff. ©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe     - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe