10 things you need to know today: june 24, 2017

1. REPORT DETAILS OBAMA'S INACTION ON RUSSIA HACKING _The Washington Post_ on Friday published a comprehensive report of the Obama administration's inaction in the face of mounting

evidence that Russia severely affected the U.S. presidential election last year. "It is the hardest thing about my entire time in government to defend," one senior Obama

administration official confessed. "I feel like we sort of choked." The administration's response is depicted as frustratingly hesitant, even as the severity of Russia's

actions became impossible to ignore, and "the assumption that [Hillary] Clinton would win contributed to the lack of urgency." The Washington Post The Week 2. 5 REPUBLICAN SENATORS

OPPOSE GOP HEALTH-CARE BILL The tally of Republicans opposing the Senate's version of the GOP health-care bill reached five on Friday as Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said he would

"not support" the Senate plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare "in this form." Four other Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas), and Ron

Johnson (Wis.) — already announced their opposition to the bill, which proposes Medicaid cuts, eliminates ObamaCare's individual mandate, and allows states to waive some previously

required benefits. The GOP can't pass the bill with more than two Senate defections. SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from

multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered

directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. The Washington Post The Week 3. TRUMP

BLASTS MUELLER, CLAIMS CONSISTENCY IN NEW INTERVIEW _Fox & Friends_ on Friday aired the first televised, in-person interview President Trump has given in six weeks. The president boasted

of progress on health care and blamed the Obama administration's "unmasking and surveillance" for his Twitter threat to former FBI Director James Comey about releasing tapes

of their private conversations. "My story didn't change," said Trump, who confessed Thursday he had no tapes. Trump also blasted Special Counsel Robert Mueller, head of the

investigation into possible Trump team collusion in Russia's election meddling, for being "very, very good friends with Comey, which is very bothersome." Fox & Friends

Politico 4. TRUMP, DEMOCRATS CRITICIZE OBAMA RUSSIA RESPONSE President Trump and congressional Democrats alike leveled criticism at former President Obama following _The Washington

Post_'s Friday report detailing his response to Russian election interference in 2016. "Just out," Trump tweeted Friday night. "The Obama Administration knew far in

advance of November 8th about election meddling by Russia. Did nothing about it. WHY?" Obama's response "was inadequate," said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). "I

think [the administration] could have done a better job informing the American people of the extent of the attack." Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said the penalties Obama imposed on Russia

were "barely a slap on the wrist." Newsweek The Hill 5. WHITE HOUSE MOVES TOWARD LIMITED, OFF-CAMERA PRESS BRIEFINGS White House press briefings are increasingly few and far

between, and those which do happen often take place off-camera. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer banned cameras again at Friday's daily briefing, a move to which CNN responded by

sending a courtroom sketch artist to provide a visual of the scene. "We believe strongly that Americans should be able to watch and listen to senior government officials face questions

from an independent news media," said the White House Correspondents' Association president, Reuters' Jeff Mason, in a Friday statement promising negotiations to change the

situation. The New York Times The Hill 6. REPORT DESCRIBES U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN EXTREME TORTURE IN YEMEN Senior U.S. defense officials admitted American troops have been involved in the

interrogation of suspected al Qaeda militants in more than a dozen secret prisons in Yemen where horrific, extreme torture reportedly takes place, _The_ _Associated Press_ reported Friday.

No one interviewed by _AP_ said Americans were directly involved, but they interrogated detainees subject to tortures like "the 'grill,' in which the victim is tied to a spit

like a roast and spun in a circle of fire." Defense officials "denied any participation in or knowledge of human rights abuses," but several senators have demanded a full

review of the allegations. The Associated Press The Week 7. MORE THAN 140 LIKELY BURIED IN CHINESE LANDSLIDE A devastating landslide is believed to have buried more than 140 people in

southwest China on Saturday, local officials reported. The landslide occurred in a mountainous region of Sichuan province, with tons of rocks pouring down on top of 46 homes in Xinmo village

around 6 a.m. local time. "Initial accounts from villagers nearby said ... there was no sign of an impending landslide," NPR reported. A team of 500 rescue workers is scouring the

area with sniffer dogs to locate bodies and possible survivors. The Associated Press NPR 8. SAUDI POLICE FOIL WOULD-BE MECCA BOMBER Police in Saudi Arabia on Saturday foiled an attack by a

would-be suicide bomber on Mecca's Grand Mosque, a major pilgrimage destination in the Islamic holy city. The bomber was trapped in an apartment, where he blew himself up after a

standoff with security forces. The blast killed the bomber, collapsed the building, and injured several other people. The Saudi interior ministry said the terrorist group responsible

"obeyed their evil and corrupt self-serving schemes managed from abroad whose aim is to destabilize the security and stability of this blessed country," but did not name the group.

Reuters The Associated Press 9. LONDON FIRE AGGRAVATED BY MISUSED, COMBUSTIBLE CLADDING Builders misused a combustible cladding to cover the sides of London's Grenfell Tower, the

apartment building where 79 people were killed in a massive fire last week, _Reuters_ reported Saturday. The material was intended for buildings a maximum of 10 meters tall, about the height

of firefighters' ladders; Grenfell was more than six times that height. Email correspondence reveals the cladding manufacturer sold the siding knowing it would be used inappropriately.

British authorities are now reviewing other high-rises for combustible cladding, and at least four buildings have been evacuated. BBC News Reuters 10. SPACEX PLANS ROCKET LAUNCH

'DOUBLEHEADER' OVER THE WEEKEND Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully launched a refurbished Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center's launch pad Friday

afternoon, marking its first of two planned rocket launches over just three days. On Sunday, SpaceX plans to launch a new Falcon 9 rocket, this one from California's Vandenberg Air

Force Base. The rocket launched Friday delivered a communications satellite into orbit for Bulgarian TV service provider Bulsatcom; the rocket Sunday will carry 10 satellites for the

American company Iridium Communications Inc. If successful, this would be the company's first "weekend doubleheader." Bloomberg The Verge Explore More Daily briefing