TOP STORIES
RUSSIAN HACKERS HAVE A MEDIA FIELD DAY DCLeaks.com, which has reported Russian ties, obtained copies of former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s personal emails. Powell calls GOP nominee Donald Trump a “national disgrace,” takes issue with being dragged into Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, calls Benghazi a “witch-hunt,” and criticizes Donald Rumsfeld with Condoleezza Rice. Russian hackers also claimed responsibility for hacking and releasing the information of top U.S. athletesfrom the World Anti-Doping Agency. [Ryan Grenoble, HuffPost]
THE MIDDLE CLASS IS FINALLY FEELING AN ECONOMIC BOOST “According to the report, median household income rose by 5.2 percent, from $53,700 to $56,500. This is the largest increase the Census Bureau has ever recorded.” [Jonathan Cohn, HuffPost]
COMPOUNDING THE EPIPEN PRICING SCANDAL New Wall Street Journal analysis shows Mylan had the “second-highest executive compensation among all U.S. drug and biotech firms over the past five years.” [WSJ | Paywall]
BREAKING DOWN TRUMP’S CHILD CARE POLICY PROPOSAL “Donald Trump, in softer tones than he normally uses, on Tuesday unveiled several policy proposals for lowering child-care costs that were crafted in part by his eldest daughter, Ivanka, including a plan to guarantee six weeks of paid maternity leave that marks a striking departure from GOP orthodoxy.” [WaPo]
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO WELCOME 25,000 MORE REFUGEES NEXT YEAR Bringing the total goal to 110,000. [Elise Foley, HuffPost]
GETTING IN THE ROOM What it takes to be a female staffer at the White House. [WaPo]
LIL WAYNE SAYS HE BELIEVES RACISM IS DEAD Yeah, we’ll just let that headline sink in for a second. [Zeba Blay, HuffPost]
WHAT’S BREWING
IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERRE FOR NELLY The STL rapper apparently owes the IRS over $2 million, but you can help out by streaming his music like the rest of Twitter. Who can resist “Air Force Ones” after all? [HuffPost]
‘YOUR PHONE IS A TICKING TIME BOMB’ “This is probably going to terrify you, but you’ve got a ticking time bomb in your lap, or your purse, or nestled into your back pocket. If you have a consumer electronic device powered by a rechargeable battery there is a very good chance it is a lithium-based battery. Which means when you toss your kid your phone, you’re tossing them a firebomb too.” [Gizmodo]
WE HAVE THE PLOT FOR THE NEXT HORROR MOVIE A pack of polar bears has trapped a team of Russian scientists on a remote Arctic island. [HuffPust]
LOOKS LIKE TIDAL IS IN TROUBLE The music streaming service’s losses doubled to $28 million in 2015. [Vulture]
TURNS OUT ADBLOCK SELLS ADS Yes, that is confusing, we agree. [The Verge]
ALL THE BLOG POSTS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT ABOUT THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS From the director of Greenpeace to an Eisenhower fellow. [HuffPost]
WHAT’S WORKING
~ Newsweek teases Trump takedown piece that discusses foreign entanglements.
~ How far are we from airplanes not needing pilots?
~ We’ll admit to loving this Vanity Fair interview with Princess Diana’s niece, Lady Kitty Spencer.
~ Turns out this Disney movie looked a bit different before 9/11.
~ Okay, Ding Dong, Booger Hole: We can’t get over these weird town names.
~ There was mass revolt after some Apple 10 updates bricked people’s iPhones.
~ How can you resist Michelle Obama dancing on ‘Ellen?’
~ We can hardly bear the hipster-ness inherent in Burning Man missed connections.
~ Budweiser and Lyft are teaming up to get drinkers a safe ride home.
~ Ranking all of Bruce Springsteen’s songs (yes, you can pick favorites).
~ And congrats to Carla Hayden, who will become the first woman and African American to serve as the Librarian of Congress.
Send tips/quips/quotes/stories/photos/events/scoops to Lauren Weber lauren.weber@huffingtonpost.com.
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