Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by VICE.
US News
Senate Still Debating How to Reopen the Government
Senators were set to vote on a short-term government funding bill around midday after a late Sunday vote was pushed. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to introduce legislation to “address” Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—a key sticking point for Democrats—by February 8 if legislators can’t compromise on immigration to reach a deal on the budget. GOP senators Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake said they would back the latest incarnation of the funding bill.—NBC News
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Lindsey Graham Condemns Stephen Miller
The GOP senator attacked President Trump’s senior policy adviser Sunday, blaming him for preventing an agreement between the White House and Congress over immigration. “As long as Stephen Miller is in charge of negotiating immigration we are going nowhere,” Graham said. The senator claimed Trump’s “heart is right” for a compromise, but he has been “yanked back by staff members.”—CBS News
Congress Sees More Texts from Ousted FBI Agent
The Department of Justice has presented lawmakers with unreleased text messages involving Peter Strzok, the FBI agent removed from Robert Mueller’s team for making disparaging remarks about President Trump. Some texts, covering a five-month period in 2016, could not be provided after being lost, however.—AP
Improvised Explosive Devices Detonated at Florida Mall
The Eagle Ridge Mall in Florida’s Lake Wales was evacuated Sunday after two improvised explosive devices blew up in a service corridor. Police were searching for a middle-aged white man wearing a gray shirt. The deputy police chief, Troy Schulze, said there was nothing yet “to indicate this act was terrorism,” adding: “We don’t know what the person was trying to achieve.”—CNN
International News
Turkish Military Pushes into Northern Syria
Military forces from Turkey moved into northern Syria’s Afrin region and seized territory from the Kurdish militia group YPG, according to state media. The YPG, however, appeared to have retaken two of the besieged villages. The UN Security Council was set to hold a session at least partly focused on the matter Monday. “We’ll work this out,” US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said.—BBC News
Bombing in Southern Thailand Kills Three
Three people were killed and at least 22 more injured when a bomb on a motorcycle exploded in a busy market in Yala Province early Monday. No group had yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the region has seen repeated attacks by ethnic Malay Islamist militants. The bomb was apparently left next to a stand selling pork.—Reuters
French Prison Workers Ramp Up Strike
Two major guards’ unions have called for a “total blockage” of prisons in France, where a dispute over safety measures just entered its second week. Strikes began last week following a series of attacks on prison workers by inmates. President Emmanuel Macron has promised a plan to reform his country’s jails by the end of next month.—AFP
Duterte Says He Should Be Shot if He Holds Power Too Long
The president of the Philippines insisted he has no intention of becoming a dictator, despite speculation lawmakers want to change the Constitution to allow him to stay in office beyond 2022. “If I overstay and wanted to become a dictator, shoot me, I am not joking,” Duterte told troops during a speech at an army base.—Reuters
Everything Else
Halsey Shares Experience of Sexual Assault at Women’s March
In a poem she read at the 2018 Women’s March rally in New York City, the singer revealed she was sexually abused as a child. Entitled “A Story Like Mine,” the poem also detailed Halsey’s more recent experiences of assault and harassment.—Noisey
‘Three Billboards’ Triumphs at SAG Awards
Martin McDonagh’s film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won best ensemble movie cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Frances McDormand was chosen as best actress and Sam Rockwell as best supporting actor.—Los Angeles Times
Camila Cabello Album Goes Straight to No.1
The former Fifth Harmony member’s first LP Camila debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, doing 119,000 in equivalent album sales. Cabello is the first female solo artist to achieve the feat since Meghan Trainor in January 2015.—Billboard
‘Transformers’ Up for a Slew of Raspberry Awards
The latest movie in the Michael Bay series, Transformers: The Last Knight, has been nominated for nine prizes at the Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst films of the year. It edged out Fifty Shades Darker, which earned eight nominations.—USA Today
Fredo Santana Dead at 27
The death of the Chicago rapper was confirmed by his family and the Los Angeles County coroner over the weekend. Santana, who reportedly suffered a seizure at home Friday night, had been in the hospital with liver and kidney failure in October.—Noisey
The National Get Political in New Video
The indie rockers released visuals for their new single “Walk It Back.” Director Casey Reas said the clip, featuring CSPAN footage of Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, aims to capture the “spectacle of governance.”—Noisey
Make sure to check out the latest episode of VICE’s daily podcast. Today we’re looking at an initiative to put some of the country’s most progressive female candidates on the 2018 ballot.
