Here’s what you might have missed on CNN today
Scarammuci out at White House
Anthony Scaramucci is out as White House communications director, two sources tell CNN. “Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. We wish him all the best,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
Earth will heat up by end of this century, studies say
Extinctions and super droughts are on the horizon for planet Earth, according to two new studies that show temperature is likely to rise more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, by the end of this century. Scientists estimate that increases in average temperature past 2 degress will change life on the planet as we know it. “Even if we would stop burning fossil fuels today, then the Earth would continue to warm slowly,” said Thorsten Mauritsen, author of the second study.
United States grapples with North Korea policy
“We will handle North Korea. We are gonna be able to handle them. It will be handled. We handle everything,” President Trump told reporters at his second full Cabinet meeting as President. North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday, the second such test the country has conducted this month. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley says Washington will not seek UN Security Council action following the latest test. She says “the time for talk is over.”
Sanctions on Venezuelan president
The US Treasury Department on Monday slapped sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, sending a clear signal of the Trump administration’s opposition to his regime.
The move comes a day after Maduro declared a sweeping victory in a vote that will allow him to further consolidate his power over the crisis-torn nation.
Sam Shepard dies
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Oscar-nominated actor Sam Shepard died Thursday at his home in Kentucky. Shepard authored more than 40 plays, winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1979 for his play “Buried Child,” which explored the breakdown of the traditional American family. The Broadway production of the drama was nominated for five Tony Awards in 1996. He was 73.