The VICE Morning Bulletin

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

US News

Trump's SOTU Goes in on Immigration
The president used his first State of the Union speech to appeal for bipartisan unity on immigration, while still pledging to crack down on “chain migration”—the ability for legal immigrants to bring family members to the US. While Democratic lawmakers jeered at this portion of Trump’s address, white supremacists Richard Spencer and David Duke praised the president for saying “Americans are dreamers, too.”— Newsweek

Gitmo to Remain Open Under Executive Order, Possibly Get New Inmates
The president signed an order Tuesday reversing the Obama administration’s attempt to wind down operations at the notorious detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. During his State of the Union address, Trump said the order directed Defense Secretary James Mattis “to reexamine our military detention policy” and promised that “in many cases,” new suspected terrorists would be sent to Guantanamo Bay.—CNN

CIA Boss Said to Have Met with Russian Spy Chief Despite Sanctions
Sergey Naryshkin, the director of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, was in the US and reportedly spoke with CIA Director Mike Pompeo last week. According to the Russian embassy, the visit by Naryshkin—currently on a US sanctions list—was related to the “joint struggle against terrorism.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded to know if sanctions were discussed.—CBS News

Justice Officials Beg White House Not to Release FBI Memo
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray reportedly met Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly on Monday in a bid to prevent the release of a Republican-penned memo alleging surveillance abuses at the FBI. After his State of the Union address, Trump appeared to tell a GOP lawmaker he was “100 percent” in favor of making the memo public.—The Washington Post / Politico

International News

Pope Sends Vatican Investigator to Chile
Pope Francis asked Archbishop Charles Scicluna to head to the South American country to review claims of sexual abuse and an alleged cover-up. The pontiff was criticized on his recent trip to Chile for defending Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused of knowing about the actions of a priest who abused young boys in his care. The pope subsequently apologized.—BBC News

Earthquake Hits Afghan-Pakistani Border
Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region close to the border with Pakistan was shaken by a major (6.1 magnitude) earthquake Wednesday. At least one person died and eight others were wounded when several roofs collapsed in a village in the Pakistani border province of Baluchistan. Multiple injuries were also reported in at least one Afghan village. —AP

Four Arab Countries Condemn UN Report on Qatar Beef
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates denounced a United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) report on their economic blockade of Qatar as “misleading” and “inaccurate.” The UNCHR report found they had no legal basis for cutting diplomatic and economic ties with the neighboring country. In a joint statement, the four nations again accused Qatar of providing support for terrorism.—Al Jazeera

Egypt's President Warns Opposition Not to Boycott Election
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi vowed action against anyone disrupting or casting doubt on the legitimacy of presidential elections planned for March, after several opposition figures called on Egyptians not to take part. The former general warned he would take “measures against anyone who believes he can mess with [Egypt’s] security."—AP

Everything Else

Stormy Daniels Says She Didn't Sign Denial Statement
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday night, the adult star distanced herself from a signed statement put out by her publicist, which refuted claims she took "hush money" not to talk about her alleged affair with Trump. She told Kimmel: “That doesn’t look like my signature, does it?”—VICE News

Facebook Bans Cryptocurrency Ads
The company said advertising related to Bitcoin and other digital currencies would no longer be allowed on the social network. Facebook’s blog post claimed many of the ads are “associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices.”—Motherboard

DJ Who Groped Taylor Swift Gets New Radio Job
David Mueller will host a morning show for Mississippi station 92.7 KIX despite being found liable for groping the singer. Delta Radio CEO Larry Fuss said the publicity Mueller would bring played “a tiny bit” of a part in the decision to hire him.—Rolling Stone

New Zealanders Face Lawsuit Over Lorde's Israel Boycott
Israeli rights group Shurat HaDin said it will sue Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab, the two women said to have persuaded fellow New Zealander Lorde to scrap her Tel Aviv show in an open letter.—The Washington Post

Wesley Snipes Almost Made ‘Black Panther’ in the 1990s
The actor revealed he attempted to bring the Marvel superhero to the big screen two decades ago. “I think Black Panther spoke to me because he was noble,” said Snipes, who wanted his version set in a futuristic Africa.—i-D

Federal Agencies Investigate iPhone Slowdown
The Department of Justice and the Securities & Exchange Commission launched an official inquiry after Apple admitted some iPhones models were programmed to slow down to deal with battery issues.—VICE News

Make sure to check out the latest episode of VICE's daily podcast. Today we’ll hear from VICE IMPACT about their recent advocacy campaign for voting rights ahead of the midterm elections.

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