News from the note…

A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.

This is an OPEN THREAD,  folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.

Trump threatens China with tariffs on $267 billion in goods

President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to hit Beijing with tariffs on $267 billion in goods, a move that would expand the growing trade war to cover virtually everything the United States currently imports from China.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said his administration has the latest round of tariffs ready and that he’s prepared to impose them “on short notice.”

Those penalties, if imposed, would come on top of tariffs the administration has already implemented on roughly $53 billion in Chinese imports and on $200 billion that are expected in the coming days.

Politico

Trump says he is expecting new letter from Kim Jong Un

President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that he is expecting a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“I know that a letter is being delivered to me, a personal letter from Kim Jong Un to me, that was handed at the border, I don’t know if you know that, it was handed at the border yesterday,” Trump told reporters. “I think it’s going to be a positive letter.” 

Trump continued, touting recent developments in relations between the two countries.

“We have our hostages back, I say it a hundred times, no missiles, no rockets, no nuclear testing. There’s been some rhetoric, let’s see what happens,” Trump said.

The Hill

American Who’d Been Living in Moscow Surrenders to Feds in Largest Financial Hack in U.S. History

A man who authorities say was the face of the largest theft of financial data in U.S. history surrendered Wednesday in New York, officials said.
Joshua Samuel Aaron, who had been living in Moscow, is charged in connection with the 2014 hack that exposed the records of more than 83 million JPMorgan Chase customers.

The FBI, the Secret Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission all sought the 32-year-old Aaron’s capture on 16 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, computer hacking, identity theft and several related conspiracy charges, federal prosecutors said.

Authorities have called the scheme “securities fraud on cyber-steroids.”

NBC

Trump would meet Mueller ‘under certain circumstances’

President Donald Trump said he’s still open to sitting down “under certain circumstances” with Robert Mueller despite venting about the number of witnesses that the special counsel has nailed for lying.

“Everybody that looked at anybody over there, they get ’em on some kind of a lie,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during a 25-minute gaggle.

The remarks were the latest in a months-long tussle between Trump’s legal team and Mueller — who is investigating potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia. Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer, said Thursday night that the two sides were “pretty close to an agreement” on Trump offering written responses to questions about those links.

Politico

Bernstein: Congress should hold hearings on Trump’s fitness for office

Veteran journalist Carl Bernstein on Thursday called for Congress to hold hearings on President Trump‘s fitness for office.

“What we need here are, finally, I think, some hearings in which an executive session or open session, those around the president of the United States are questioned about the fitness of Trump to be the president of the United States,” Bernstein, a CNN political analyst, said on the network.

Bernstein justified his call by citing excerpts from former reporting partner Bob Woodward’s new book and an op-ed from an anonymous senior Trump administration official who argued that the president’s actions are “detrimental” to the health of the nation.

Both the book and the op-ed have painted a portrait of an administration that is increasingly at odds with the president’s impulses. 

The Hill

‘Cosby’ star accepts Tyler Perry’s job offer

Actor Geoffrey Owens has gone from being job-shamed to landing a major Hollywood gig.

A representative for Owens told CNN that he has accepted a job offer from Tyler Perry, who tweeted earlier this week that he wanted Owens to appear on his OWN television show, “The Haves and The Have Nots.”

Owen’s exact role on the show is unknown, but he’ll appear on multiple episodes.

CNN