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President Trump finally pulls out of the Iran nuclear deal; New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigns after assault allegations from former romantic partners.
Trump (I)ran so far away
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- After months of speculation, President Donald Trump finally announced he is walking away from the Iran nuclear deal. [NPR / Brian Naylor and Ayesha Rascoe]
- In a speech this afternoon, Trump said he did not believe the “decaying and rotten structure” of the current deal would prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons (which is its current aim). [CNN / Kevin Liptak]
- Just because the US is pulling out of the deal doesn’t automatically mean the deal is dead. Iran is still in the deal with Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he will negotiate with those countries to keep his country in the agreement. [Washington Post / Erin Cunningham]
- Trump has often expressed his disgust with the deal, saying it wasn’t working. But there’s no evidence to back that up — from what we know, Iran was complying with its side of the bargain, dismantling its nuclear weapons programs and letting international inspectors watch its movements. [Vox / Zack Beauchamp]
- For more on what exactly was in the agreement and what Iran was being tested on complying with, check out this handy Vox infographic. [Vox / Zack Beauchamp and Javier Zarracina]
- By pulling the US out of the agreement, Trump is basically pissing off a lot of other countries (except maybe Israel). Obviously, Iran is not happy that the US is reinstating financial sanctions. [USA Today / Oren Dorell]
- Iran will now lose a valuable financial lifeline as the country deals with a failing economy. [NYT / Thomas Erdbrink]
- Second, Trump is angering Europe, which entered into the deal along with the US and Iran during the Obama administration. By doing this, he’s essentially showing that the US does not keep its word, and that’s not good for relationships with US allies in the West. [NYT / Mark Landler]
- Trump’s decision has also caused regional uncertainty, opening up the possibility that Iran could launch an attack on Israel to get back for the US’s decision. (The two countries are already in a shadow war.) [Vox / Alex Ward]
Bye-bye, Schneiderman
- Eric Schneiderman, the Democratic attorney general of New York, has resigned after numerous allegations from former romantic partners that he assaulted them without their consent. [NYT / Danny Hakim and Vivian Wang]
- Last night, the New Yorker dropped a disturbing report in which two of Schneiderman’s longtime ex-girlfriends said on the record that he had slapped them, choked them, and screamed at them when he was drunk. The two women said he had slapped them across the face so hard that it left a mark, and produced blood and ringing in their ears. Other unnamed women who had been involved with Schneiderman corroborated their accounts. [New Yorker / Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow]
- Even as he denied the allegations, Schneiderman announced his resignation just a few hours after the story broke. He’s known as an aggressive, progressive AG who has taken a stand against the Trump administration. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has already suggested criminal charges for Schneiderman. [NY Daily News / Kenneth Lovett, Graham Rayman, and Larry McShane]
- In recent months, Schneiderman had positioned himself as a champion of the #MeToo movement and had passed legislation to protect battered women as a New York state senator. These new allegations cast those past actions in an especially chilling light. [Vox / Anna North]
Miscellaneous
- Why are there a bunch of ti plants in front of the advancing volcano in Hawaii? Something about appeasing the goddess Pele, who is boss of all things fire and lava. [Atlas Obscura / Sarah Laskow]
- The Met Gala and its incredible costumes dominated the conversation last night, but there was another big awards night: the restaurant industry’s James Beard Awards. And a number of awards this year were historic. [Eater / Hillary Dixler Canavan]
- The British fashion giant Burberry is very mad at Target for, it says, ripping off its famous, very British-looking check pattern. So mad it’s suing. [Racked / Chavie Lieber]
- Want to take a flying taxi? Uber’s got you, fam. (Well, maybe in a few years.) [BuzzFeed / Charlie Warzel]
Verbatim
“I always felt like the body politic is kind of like the human body. The liberal faction represents the heart, the conservative faction represents the mind, and the body needs both to stay alive.” [Texas cattle rancher Bill Martin on why he’s voting for Democrat Beto O’Rourke for US Senate, to Time magazine / Nash Jenkins]
Watch this: Why Atlantic fish are invading the Arctic
Southern species are flooding into the far north. [YouTube / Eli Kintisch and Mallory Brangan]
Read more
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Why Rihanna is the Met Gala’s reigning red-carpet MVP
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How Fox News has been ignoring the Stormy Daniels story, in 3 charts
