Russia: the never-ending story

Thursday, March 2, 2017 View this email in your browser Trump's Russia problem is not going away. Here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. By Faith Karimi. 1. CNN town hall Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham may be friendship goals -- tearfully singing each other's praises Wednesday night during a CNN town hall. But the two top Republican foreign policy hawks are all business when it comes to alleged Russian ties to their party. During the town hall, they lambasted President Trump over his approach to Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. "When it comes to Russia, he has a blind spot," Graham said. 2. Russian ties? Speaking of Russia, yet another administration official is raising eyebrows. Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice last year with Russia's top diplomat in DC, according to Justice Department officials. Sessions did not mention this during his confirmation hearings in January. Turns out Sessions took the meetings in his capacity as a senator, not a Trump surrogate. Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador he reportedly met, is the same man who met Trump's former national security adviser Mike Flynn. Well, we know how that turned out. 3. Syria civil war A UN commission has issued a damning report on human rights violations in Aleppo. Its conclusion: both sides are guilty of war crimes. The commission said Syrian and Russian forces deliberately destroyed hospitals with repeated airstrikes -- and rebels used civilians as human shields.  This is how widespread the Jewish center bomb threats are We mapped 101 bomb threats at 81 different Jewish institutions in 33 states. And that's just this year. 4. Aaron Hernandez trial Former NFL player Aaron Hernandez taunted the two men that he allegedly shot and killed in July 2012 and later bragged about his aim. That's what prosecutors said Wednesday in opening statements of his double murder trial. This is Hernandez's second high-profile murder trial. He was found guilty in the first. 5. Oldest fossils Scientists claim to have discovered the remains of microorganisms in Canada that are at least 3.7 billion years old. If they are proven to have a biological origin, they would be the oldest microfossils ever found. The discovery supports the idea that life emerged from hot, seafloor vents shortly after the Earth formed, the scientists said. Tweet Forward Breakfast Browse People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. They won't be back The two accountants responsible for Envelopegate have worked their last Oscars ceremony. This Just in New-found photos of a young Justin Trudeau are making the Internet wax poetic. The luscious hair! The chiseled look! The aversion to shirts! O yeah! Oprah Winfrey is now signaling she may be open to a presidential bid. I'll have that 'to go' please Pressed for time on Ash Wednesday? There's a drive-thru church for that. Making a list, checking it twice Common bucket list items: see the Eiffel Tower, run a marathon. Not so common: Get arrested. No one told 99-year-old Annie that. What's for lunch Here's something for later. Our team of reporters spent 10 days in the Philippines tracking how President Duterte's war on drugs has destroyed a neighborhood. Set aside a half hour and immerse yourself in this piece. 21,000  What the Dow closed above -- for the first time ever. That's Wall Street giving the President's speech to Congress a standing ovation. And finally ... Puppy love Ilona, a Siberian husky puppy, and N'usha, a snowy owl, are unlikely BFFs. Because dogs are always teaching us a thing or two about getting along. (Click to view) View all of CNN's newsletters » CNN Five Things shows up in your inbox every weekday at 6 a.m. ET. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let us know. We're all about self improvement. Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign yourself up! Copyright © 2017 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to CNN newsletters. Our mailing address is: Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences