The VICE Morning Bulletin

Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by VICE.

US News

NYPD Gathering Evidence on Weinstein Allegations
The Special Victims Division is trying to "locate and interview any potential victims" of the disgraced Hollywood producer, according to a NYPD official. The move follows three allegations of rape published in an exhaustive New Yorker report. NYPD officials are said to be angry about the Manhattan District Attorney's decision not to charge Weinstein back in 2015.—New York Post

Trump Threatens Congress Over Tax Plan
Speaking about his proposed tax reform in Pennsylvania, the president said: "To all of our great congressmen, congresswomen... all I can say is, you better get it passed." The administration wants to reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three, and cut the corporate tax rate by 15 percent. Separately on Wednesday, Trump indicated he'd likely forge a new trade deal with Canada if the US abandoned NAFTA.—NBC News / Reuters

Death Toll Still Rising in California
Officials said 23 people have been killed and 285 were still missing (in Sonoma County alone) as fires continue to rage across northern California. More than 8,000 firefighters are trying to tackle the flames, with roughly 1,000 fire departments engaged in the effort.—ABC News

Boy Scouts of America to Let Girls Enroll
The organization said it had decided to give girls the chance to join at Cub Scout level and attain Eagle Scout status "after years of receiving requests from families and girls." The Girl Scouts of America questioned the move, however, claiming "the benefit of the single-gender environment has been well-documented."—CNN

International News

Palestinian Leaders Strike Deal on Reconciliation
Hamas and Fatah have come to a nominal power-sharing arrangement following several days of talks in Cairo, according to both Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Hamas recently agreed to give up administrative control of the Gaza Strip to the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank.—VICE News

Australian Military Data Stolen by Hacker 'Alf'
Roughly 30 gigabytes of information about navy vessels, submarines, and jet fighters was swiped in the cyberattack, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) intelligence agency has revealed. The agency has given the name "Alf" to the unknown hacker, after a character from the soap opera Home and Away.—ABC News

British Recruiter for ISIS Reportedly Killed in Syria
Sally-Anne Jones, the 48-year-old believed to have recruited young women from western countries to the Islamist group in Syria, was reportedly killed in a US drone attack. Anonymous US officials said they were "confident" the London-born woman was killed back in June.—BBC News

Kenyan Opposition Protests Election Legislation
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga clashed with police Wednesday after parliament passed legislation that appeared to allow President Uhuru Kenyatta to remain in power. Odinga pulled out of Kenya's presidential election rerun in the belief it would be corrupted; the new law would guarantee victory to the remaining candidate.—Al Jazeera

Everything Else

'Despacito' Viewed Four Billion Times on YouTube
The video for the Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee song has become the first ever to reach the landmark number on the website. "Thank you for supporting family. Thanks Puerto Rico," said Fonsi on Twitter.—Billboard

Ben Affleck Apologizes for Groping Incident
The star tweeted an apology to actress Hilarie Burton after footage emerged that appeared to show him grabbing her breast on the MTV show Total Request Live in 2003. Burton tweeted: "I had to laugh back then so I wouldn't cry."—VICE News

Tom DeLonge Launches Space Research Group
The former Blink-182 member said his new venture, To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science, would delve into the "outer edges of science" and reach beyond "mainstream ideology." DeLonge is a UFO enthusiast.—Rolling Stone

SXSW Shares 2018 Lineup
The music festival in Austin, Texas, shared a list of more than 200 artists slated to perform at next year's event in March. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and director Darren Aronofsky are among the keynote speakers.—Pitchfork

Beyoncé Shares New 'Freedom' Visuals
The singer released a video in recognition of the International Day of the Girl. It features girls around the world singing the Lemonade track and a series of grim statistics, including the fact that 130 million girls are not in school.—Noisey

Gucci Will No Longer Make or Sell Fur
President and CEO Marco Bizzarri shared the fashion label's new, fur-free policy at the London College of Fashion. Bizzarri said Gucci wanted "to create the necessary conditions for a progressive approach to sustainability."—i-D

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