Donald Trump

Happening Today: Michael Cohen, Prostate Screening, Jay-Z, ‘Bill and Ted'

What to Know

  • Stormy Daniels' attorney said Trump's personal lawyer received $500,000 from a company controlled by a Russian oligarch used to pay her off
  • Whether to get screened for prostate cancer is a question men should decide themselves with their doctors, according to finalized guidance
  • A judge said Jay-Z must answer questions in a financial probe of a company he sold his apparel business to over a decade ago

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Cohen Got $500K From Russian Oligarch, Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Says

Stormy Daniels' attorney claimed President Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen received $500,000 from a company controlled by a Russian oligarch, deposited into an account for a company also used to pay off the adult film actress, NBC News reported. Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, also detailed other transactions he said were suspicious, including deposits from drug giant Novartis, the state-run Korea Aerospace Industries, and AT&T — which confirmed it paid Cohen's company for "insights" into the Trump administration. If true, Avenatti's claims, made in a dossier posted to Twitter, could add a new dimension to the federal investigation into Cohen. NBC News has reviewed financial documents that appear to support Avenatti’s account of the transactions.

Trump Taking Opposite Approaches to Iran, N. Korea: Analysis

Just as Donald Trump reached one hand out to North Korea, he yanked the other back from Iran. The president's dramatic withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal was the most vivid illustration to date of how his impulses and capricious instincts tend to pull him in paradoxical directions. Presidents before have pursued conflicting approaches to tough issues, but rarely so overtly, and rarely in the course of a single speech. He called Iran's government a "regime of great terror" as he revealed that the U.S. would abandon the deal that it pushed for only three years ago. Then he announced that he'd sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang to lay the groundwork for Trump's historic summit with the dictatorial Kim Jong Un,recently described by Trump as "very honorable." "Plans are being made, relationships are building, hopefully a deal will happen," Trump said of his delicate rapprochement with North Korea. Speaking in the Diplomatic Room of the White House, he waxed optimistic that the U.S. could team up with allies and world powers so that "a future of great prosperity and security can be achieved for everyone."

U.S. Panel Leaves Prostate Screening Up to Men, Their Doctors

Whether to get screened for prostate cancer is a question that men aged 55 to 69 should decide themselves in consultation with their doctors, according to finalized guidance issued by an influential panel of health care experts. New evidence suggests that PSA blood tests can slightly reduce the chances of dying from the disease for some men, so those decisions may be a little easier. Though screening can sometimes lead to drastic, needless treatment, the panel says that can sometimes be avoided with close monitoring when cancer is detected. The government-appointed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force had earlier opposed routine screening. The new guidance says it's important to weigh the potential benefits and harms of screening. The test looks for elevated levels of a protein in the blood that may signal cancer but can also be caused by less serious prostate problems.

Bogus Medical Treatments Dupe Patients on Crowdfunding Sites, Study Shows

They're the tech-age version of donor jars at the diner: crowdfunding websites that aim to link ailing people with strangers willing to help pay for medical treatment. But new research suggests duped patients sometimes crowdfund to pay for bogus stem cell treatments. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association focused on for-profit clinics that use direct-to-consumer advertising for costly unproven stem-cell treatments for conditions including chronic lung disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and arthritis. Treatments are often marketed as cures or with a promise for vastly improved health. Patients who believe the hype sometimes turn to crowdfunding websites when their health insurance won't pay. The study looked at GoFundMe, one of the most popular online sites for personal fundraising, and YouCaring, a similar site that GoFundMe acquired last month. Over four months last year, the researchers found 408 pleas involving stem cell treatment that got pledges for nearly $1.5 million from 13,050 donors. Most of the campaigns echoed the companies' claims, inadvertently spreading potentially misleading messages, the researchers said.

Judge Orders Jay-Z to Face SEC Questions in Financial Probe

Jay-Z's busy schedule as he prepares for global tour got a little busier when a New York judge said he must spend a day answering questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission in a financial probe of a company he sold his apparel business to over a decade ago. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe didn't let lawyers do more than introduce their names into the record before ruling that the singer whose birth name is Shawn Carter must answer the SEC's questions for a full day and maybe more. Lawyers for the SEC and Jay-Z settled on May 15 for a deposition that will take place at an undisclosed location at Jay-Z's request. Jay-Z did not show up for the court hearing, disappointing some spectators who entered a Manhattan courtroom hoping to see him.

Most Excellent News: “Bill and Ted” Reuniting for Sequel

Party on dudes: Almost three decades later, "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" is getting a new sequel. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will reprise their roles as Ted "Theodore" Logan and Bill S. Preston Esq. in a third "Bill & Ted" adventure and the first in 27 years. The project was announced at the Cannes Film Festival, with MGM's Orion Pictures set to release the film, titled "Bill & Ted Face the Music," in the U.S. The script is by original creators Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. Dean Parisot will direct. It will be the third installment in the franchise that began with 1989's "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and followed up with 1991's "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey."

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