Trump's White House has leaks — literally
A billionaire charged with sex trafficking, a flooded White House (!!) and a brawl at the "Happiest Place on Earth." It's Monday (welcome back), I'm Ashley and here's the news you need to know.
But first, shocking video: Watch this insane clip of a sailboat lit ablaze by lightning.
The White House is all wet
Torrential rains in the Washington, D.C., area on Monday created floods all around the White House – and in the White House, including large puddles of water in the basement of the press room. "It’s official: The White House basement is flooding," tweeted CNBC correspondent Eamon Javers. But to be fair, this situation isn’t totally unique: The press basement is below ground level, and it frequently absorbs water after heavy rains. This particular storm included an explosion of 0.69 inches in 11 minutes, according to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
A billionaire accused of paying victims to find victims
Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier, philanthropist and registered sex offender, pleaded not guilty after being charged with sex-trafficking girls as young as 14 in a federal indictment unsealed Monday. He is accused of paying dozens of minors for massages and molesting them at his homes in Florida and New York. The indictment says Epstein "incentivized his victims" by paying them hundreds of dollars for each additional girl they recruited.
Who is this guy? Epstein, 66, a wealthy hedge fund manager, is best known for his past ties to President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
The new charges came from an investigation conducted 11 years after Epstein dodged major jail time when he pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.
So what now? The convictions could result in up to 45 years in jail.
What people are talking about
Trump often attacks journalists, but he just struck an unusual target: Fox News.
A Disneyland brawl caught on video stunned a crowd in family-friendly Toontown.
A bright-orange, exotic-looking bird was really just a seagull drenched in curry.
An IVF mom gave birth to someone else's babies.
Sarah Jessica Parker spoke out about a "very big movie star" acting inappropriately on set.
'Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened'
A Florida principal is under fire for refusing to say the Holocaust happened because "not everyone believes" it. "I can't say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee," William Latson, principal of Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, Florida, wrote in an email to a mother of a student. Latson has since been reassigned to another district. The email was sent in 2018 after a parent reached out to the principal for information about how the historical event was taught.
Kevin Spacey and the missing cellphone
The criminal groping case against Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey was thrown into confusion Monday when the accuser suddenly pleaded his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, leading the judge to immediately strike his testimony. The accuser, William Little, 21, had been ordered to testify about what happened to his cellphone – believed to be critical to both sides of the case – which has been missing for months. After Little's testimony was struck, Spacey's legal team demanded the case against Spacey be dismissed. Spacey faces a felony indecent assault charge that he groped Little, then an 18-year-old busboy, in 2016.
Real quick
Eric Swalwell is the first Dem to drop out of the 2020 presidential race.
An Indiana family is 'in shock' after a toddler died from an 11-story fall from a cruise ship.
Cori "Coco" Gauff's magical Wimbledon run ended with a loss to Simona Halep.
A tropical depression forecast for the Gulf of Mexico this week could grow into a hurricane.
A jet ski rented by N.J. couple who went missing in Barbados in June was found.
Blame it on the juice? ⚾💨
Major League Baseball is on pace for 6,657 home runs for the season this year. That’s nearly 1,100 more than a year ago, and 600 more than the record 6,105 in 2017. The overriding theory is that the baseballs themselves are juiced, or, as Commissioner Rob Manfred has said, there is less drag on the ball, which causes it to go farther. But what if there’s more to it, and doping is back in a big way? "You can’t help but wonder," said Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black. "You don’t want to, but I think we all have our suspicions.’’ USA TODAY's MLB columnist Bob Nightengale looks into why we're wondering about steroids in baseball – again.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's White House has leaks — literally
