America braces for Comey

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Show Caption Hide Caption Comey says Trump asked for 'loyalty' In his opening statement, former FBI director James Comey said Trump requested 'loyalty' and urged him to drop the FBI's Michael Flynn investigation.

A hearing that may go down in history

Did Trump obstruct justice? That's what the country wants to know, and it's why America was counting down to former FBI director James Comey's appearance Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee on whether Trump urged Comey to drop the investigation into collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian officials during last year's election. But on Wednesday, a bombshell: Comey's opening statement was released, and in it he writes that Trump pressed him to shut down the Michael Flynn investigation, saying at a January dinner: "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty." The panel had a lower-profile hearing Wednesday where top intelligence officials were grilled on whether Trump had asked them to deny collusion, but they wouldn't answer. Here's how to watch Thursday's hearing. Here are three things to look for in Comey's testimony. And here are four other times the ex-FBI director starred in unusual public dramas.

Another victim in #LondonTerrorAttacks

The death toll from the London terror attack over the weekend rose to eight after a body was found in the River Thames. It's not official yet, but police believe it's Xavier Thomas, 45, a Frenchman missing since the attack Saturday night. Updates on the investigation: 1. Police said a 30-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the investigation. 2. Italian authorities said they had warned British intelligence that one of the three attackers wanted "to be a terrorist," but Britain still allowed him into the country, according to media reports.

That time we found out humanity was actually born 100,000 years earlier

Thanks hilltop in the Sahara Desert! That's where scientists were digging when they found the most ancient known member of our species and apparently learned we've had our birthday wrong. The newfound Homo sapiens fossils — three young adults, one adolescent and a child of 7 or 8 — date back roughly 300,000 years, says a study in this week’s Nature. The next-oldest fossils of Homo sapiens, the scientific name for humans, are about 200,000 years old.

What Putin has to say about women's 'cycles'

Now we know what Vladimir Putin really thinks of strong women leaders like Angela Merkel. The Russian president said he doesn't have bad days because he's “not a woman." But wait, “I am not trying to insult anyone,” he told director Oliver Stone in newly released footage from Stone's upcoming documentary. “That’s just the nature of things. There are certain natural cycles.” And on men: “There are certain natural cycles which men probably have as well, just less manifested. We are all human beings. It’s normal. But you should never lose control.” Noted.

Shutting down shamers

Jazzy shows us how it's done. The Instagram user (@a_body_positive_jazzy) and aspiring plus-size model slammed body-shamers' hateful comments after she shared an Instagram post of her and her fit husband on the beach (it's below and it's glorious). Her post celebrated the fact that even though she and her husband have different body types, he’s helped her love herself — stretch marks and all. Cue the trolls. She responded to people calling her unhealthy in a separate post: "Just because I'm a big girl doesn't mean I'm unhealthy and promoting being unhealthy! I'm simply promoting loving yourself the way you are!" Preach, Jazzy.



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