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Week In The News: Manafort Trial, Trade War With China, Fake Facebook Accounts

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China's President Xi Jinping takes his seat for the first closed session of the BRICS summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, July 26, 2018. The five leaders of the BRICS emerging economies have gathered in South Africa for an annual summit where the United States is being criticized for escalating tariffs on foreign goods. (Mike Hutchings/Pool Photo via AP)
China's President Xi Jinping takes his seat for the first closed session of the BRICS summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, July 26, 2018. The five leaders of the BRICS emerging economies have gathered in South Africa for an annual summit where the United States is being criticized for escalating tariffs on foreign goods. (Mike Hutchings/Pool Photo via AP)

With Jane Clayson

Manafort on trial. Escalating trade war with China. Facebook and fake accounts. The news roundtable dives in.

Guests

Eliana Johnson, White House reporter for Politico. (@elianayjohnson)

Sahil Kapur, National political reporter for Bloomberg News. (@sahilkapur)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

From The Reading List

New York Times: "The Russian Threat ‘Is Real,’ Trump Officials Say, Vowing to Protect U.S. Elections" — "Trump administration officials on Thursday vowed to defend the United States’ elections against threats from Russia and other countries, describing influence campaigns by America’s adversaries in blunt terms rarely used by President Trump. The heads of the nation’s national security agencies said Russia was still trying to influence and disrupt the midterm elections, and they pledged to help local and state governments counter those efforts in the weeks ahead."

Wall Street Journal: "Thousands of North Korean Workers Enter Russia Despite U.N. Ban" — "Russia is letting thousands of new North Korean laborers enter the country and issuing fresh work permits—actions U.S. officials say potentially violate United Nations sanctions aimed at cutting cash flows to Pyongyang and pressing it to give up nuclear weapons."

CNBC: "China trade relations get nastier, but US officials hold out hope for NAFTA deal" — "The U.S. trade fight is getting nastier and it's more likely to escalate, but administration officials are hoping to make real progress on NAFTA, a development that could give some comfort to a troubled stock market. President Donald Trump Wednesday told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider bumping the proposed 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent. The administration extended the comment period on this latest round of tariffs by a week to Sept. 5."

NPR: "Manafort Trial: Prosecutors Detail Spending On Luxuries Purchased With Offshore Funds" — "Thursday is Day 3 of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's federal trial on bank and tax fraud charges in Alexandria, Va. Prosecutors are zipping right along in their case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye told the court Wednesday the government expects to close its case by the end of next week. That was good news to Judge T.S. Ellis III, who has frequently cajoled both sides to keep things moving. Ellis wrapped up Day 2 by saying he's 'hoping we can finish this case much sooner than anyone expected.' "

Wall Street Journal: "Fake Facebook Accounts Latched On to Real U.S. Protest Groups" — "Organizers behind the newly revealed batch of fake Facebook accounts often sought to work alongside legitimate groups organizing rallies and protests in the U.S., marking a new strategy in efforts to sow discord through social media ahead of the midterm elections, a review of archived event listings shows. The fake Facebook pages and accounts helped promote more than three dozen events in the last 15 months, most of them protesting the policies of President Donald Trump or promoting left-leaning causes, according to a Wall Street Journal review of 40 now-deleted listings promoted by three groups in particular: 'Resisters,' 'Black Elevation' and 'Aztlan Warriors.' The archived events provide a deeper understanding of the activity beyond what Facebook Inc. disclosed on Tuesday."

It’s been a week of seemingly endless breaking news alerts. Top intelligence officials warned of “pervasive” Russian efforts to disrupt future U.S. elections. A former Trump campaign manager is on trial. President Trump threatened to shut down the government over funding a border wall, and raise tariffs on China. More #MeToo accusations for CBS. Ohio State’s football coach sidelined. California burns.

This hour, On Point: making sense of all the week’s breaking stories.

— Jane Clayson

This program aired on August 3, 2018.

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