Vox Sentences: The Stormy saga continues

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The Stormy Daniels story isn’t going away; a helicopter crash in Iraq kills seven US service members.

The Stormy Daniels story is just getting started

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

• The news surrounding Donald Trump’s alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels (birth name Stephanie Clifford) has become increasingly disturbing as more details have unfolded. [Vox / Dylan Matthews]
• On Friday, Daniels’s lawyer told MSNBC and CNN that his client had been physically threatened on top of verbal warnings to keep quiet. [CBS]
• Attorney Michael Avenatti would not provide details about the threats, but said Daniels would elaborate during a CBS 60 Minutes interview broadcast on March 25. [Reuters]
• Daniels signed a nondisclosure agreement with Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, saying she would not discuss her alleged relationship with Trump. The agreement was signed shortly before the 2016 presidential election, and Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 from his own pocket. [USA Today / Doug Stanglin]
• Avenatti told CNN’s New Day Friday morning that six additional women have come to him alleging sexual relationships with Trump — including some who also claim to have nondisclosure agreements. [CNN]
• The president and his top aides have said nothing publicly about the controversy this week despite the escalating drama. [Politico / Andrew Restuccia]
• Although the Stormy scandal might seem like the kind of drama intended to distract us from what’s really going on in the White House, it’s a lot more than that. As Vox’s Matthew Yglesias writes, “At its core, the Daniels story isn’t about tawdry details of infidelity. It’s about the corruptibility of Donald Trump — a president whose personal life and finances are shrouded in unprecedented opacity.” [Vox / Matthew Yglesias]

A deadly crash in Iraq

• Seven US service members are dead Thursday following a helicopter crash in western Iraq, according to the Pentagon. [CNN]
• The HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed after hitting a power line, US officials said Friday, killing all on board. [ABC / Luis Martinez and Elizabeth McLaughlin]
• “This tragedy reminds us of the risks our men and women face every day in service of our nations,” Brig. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga, director of operations in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said in a statement. [Washington Post / Missy Ryan]
• The investigation is ongoing, but there are no signs of hostile fire. This is believed to be the first fatal helicopter crash in Iraq since the US began fighting ISIS in the country in 2014. [NPR / David Welna and Scott Neuman]
• The incident occurs as American forces and Iraqi partners wind down their operations against the Islamic State and the US shifts resources to the war in Afghanistan. [NYT / Eileen Sullivan]

Miscellaneous

• The nation’s largest radio station operator, iHeartRadio, has filed for bankruptcy protection to deal with $10 billion in debt. [USA Today / Mike Snider]
• Who are the Denisovans? Just ask some early humans, who apparently mated with the mysterious species in two separate waves. [Atlantic / Ed Yong]
• ”Race science” (or “scientific racism”) is experiencing something of a resurgence. Although the claim that there’s a link between race and intelligence has been thoroughly debunked, the perception continues to be spread by various media outlets. [Guardian / Gavin Evans]
• Don’t cry over spilled milk ... unless your truck was the one that tipped an entire shipment of it onto a major roundabout. [BBC]

Verbatim

“Kelly is not going anywhere.” [White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, indicating that President Trump and Chief of Staff John Kelly have reached a truce / WSJ]

Watch this: Why you shouldn’t drive slowly in the left lane

Can we all agree that the left lane is for passing, please? [YouTube / Christophe Haubursin and Joseph Stromberg]

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