The VICE Morning Bulletin

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

US News

Looks Like Sam Nunberg Will Cooperate After All
After a string of bizarre TV interviews in which he vowed to ignore and even mocked a special counsel subpoena, the former Trump campaign aide said late Monday he would likely “end up cooperating” with Robert Mueller's investigators. Earlier, Nunberg suggested he thought Trump “may have done something during the election,” and accused the former campaign adviser Carter Page of “colluding with the Russians.” He also called Page a “scumbag” and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders a “big fat slob.”—AP/VICE News

Paul Ryan Denounces Trump's Tariff Plan
A spokeswoman for the House Speaker said he is “urging the White House to not advance with this plan,” warning that a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum would hurt the US economy. President Trump insisted he was “not backing down” on the issue, but suggested his tariffs would not apply to Canada and Mexico if the countries negotiated a new deal on NAFTA.—The New York Times

Congressional Investigators to Question Reddit and Tumblr
The Senate Intelligence Committee was slated to ask officials from both companies to explain recent allegations that their websites hosted Russian propaganda. Reddit’s chief executive Steve Huffman noted Monday that “a few hundred” accounts were closed in 2015 and 2016, but conceded “indirect propaganda” had continued.—The Washington Post

Kansas Secretary of State to Defend Voting Fraud Nonsense
GOP politician and Trump lackey Kris Kobach was squaring off against the American Civil Liberties Union Tuesday in a landmark federal court case over Kansas voting laws. The ACLU maintained the state's requirement for proof of citizenship defied the National Voter Registration Act, while Kobach claimed, without evidence, that illegal voting was endemic in his state. He co-chaired Trump’s voter fraud commission before it was disbanded in disgrace.—NBC News

International News

North Korea Willing to Consider ‘Denuclearization’
The head of a South Korean diplomatic delegation said North Korea had agreed to discuss the “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” Chung Eui-Yong also said Pyongyang had agreed to suspend missile tests if direct talks with the US were take place. Kim Jong Un sat down to dinner with South Korean officials Monday, saying he wanted to “vigorously advance” stronger ties between the two nations.—Reuters

Rohingya Suffering from ‘Forced Starvation,’ UN Says
Andrew Gilmour, the UN’s assistant secretary-general for human rights, said Myanmar is still perpetrating the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority. After speaking to fleeing Rohingya who have just arrived in Bangladesh, Gilmour said: “The nature of the violence has changed from the frenzied blood-letting and mass rape of last year to a lower intensity campaign of terror and forced starvation.”—BBC News

Former Russian Spy Critically Ill in the UK
The 66-year-old Sergei Skripal and a 33-year-old woman, perhaps his daughter Yulya, were in critical condition after being discovered unconscious in Salisbury. Skripal was released from prison in 2010, having been jailed in Russia in 2006 for working with British intelligence. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Russia would cooperate with British authorities looking into Skripal's condition, which may have stemmed from exposure to a "hazardous substance." —VICE News

Sri Lanka Enters State of Emergency
The national government imposed the extreme measure after several days of violence between Buddhists and Muslims, with reports that Muslim-owned businesses have been torched and at least one Buddhist murdered. The government had already put the city of Kandy under curfew on Monday, vowing to take “stern action” against perpetrators of violence.—Al Jazeera

Everything Else

Academy Awards Gets Lowest Ratings Ever
Nielsen figures show just 26.5 million Americans watched the Oscars Sunday night, down almost 20 percent from last year’s live show. It was also lower than the previous smallest audience for the Oscars: 32 million in 2008.—Los Angeles Times

Rae Sremmurd to Tour with Childish Gambino
Donald Glover revealed 13 dates in the US and Canada for September, and announced the “Black Beatles” hip-hop duo would support him. Glover had previously said he was working on a new, final Childish Gambino LP.—Billboard

‘Antifa’ and ‘Cryptocurrency’ Enter the Dictionary
Merriam-Webster has added the popular terms—along with “dumpster fire” and “blockchain”—to its official lexicon. It defines “antifa” to be “a person or group actively opposing fascism or an anti-fascist movement.”—TIME

Martin Shkreli Loses Grip on Wu-Tang Clan Album
A federal judge ordered the convicted fraudster to hand over $7.36 million, and approved a plan to, if necessary, force the sale of Shkreli’s most valuable possessions, including Wu-Tang's one-off LP Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which he bought for $2 million in 2015.—VICE

FKA Twigs Stars in Spike Jonze Short Film
Apple dropped a new short by the acclaimed director (and VICELAND honcho) for its HomePod device. In the film, Twigs dances to a brand new track by Anderson .Paak called “Til It’s Over.”—Noisey

Bank Says It Reported $130,000 Stormy Daniels Payment
A wire transfer Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen reportedly made to porn star Stephanie Clifford 12 days before the election was flagged as suspicious by First Republic bank. Officials at the institution alerted the US Treasury to the payment.—VICE News

Make sure to check out the latest episode of VICE's daily podcast. Today we’re taking a close look at the Trump administration’s most recent attempt to restrict access to quality, affordable reproductive healthcare.

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