The VICE Morning Bulletin
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The VICE Morning Bulletin

The VICE Morning Bulletin

FBI eyeing Kushner in Russia investigation, body-slamming candidate wins Montana election, Russia investigates alleged torture of gay men in Chechnya, and more.

Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by VICE.

US News

FBI Eyeing Kushner in Russia Investigation
Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner is reportedly a person of interest in the FBI probe into Russian interference in the US election. FBI investigators think Kushner has "significant" information, according to anonymous officials, which does not mean he is suspected of criminal activity or the subject of investigation. Kushner's lawyer Jamie Gorelick said her client was happy to share details of meetings with the Russian ambassador to the US and the Russian banker Sergey Gorkov. —NBC News

Police Find Opium Plants Worth $500 Million in North Carolina
Police investigators in North Carolina have discovered a poppy field worth around $500 million on property owned by a man who has been charged with drug trafficking and manufacturing. Officers were visiting his home for an unrelated "knock and talk," but the man reportedly said: "I guess you are here for the opium." —The Washington Post

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Alabama Executes Contract Killer
The state of Alabama executed 75-year-old prisoner Tommy Arthur in the early hours of Friday morning after the Supreme Court rejected the chance his eighth stay of execution. Arthur, convicted of a contract killing in 1982, was pronounced dead at 12:15 AM following lethal injection. —AP

International News

Gunmen Kill at Least 28 in Egypt
At least 28 people, many of them children, were killed and another 25 injured when gunmen attacked two buses taking a group of Coptic Christians to a monastery in Egypt's Minya Province Friday, according to the provincial governor and reports on state television. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. —Reuters/Al Jazeera

Airstrikes in Syria Kill 35 Civilians
Airstrikes on the ISIS-held Syrian town of Al-Mayadin have left 35 civilians dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The US-led coalition strikes killed 26 relatives of ISIS fighters and another nine civilians, including five children, said the monitoring group. —Al Jazeera

UK Police Put Eighth Man in Custody Following Attack
Police in Manchester have arrested another man in connection with the suicide attack at an arena that killed 22 people as they continue to investigate a possible network aiding bomber Salman Abedi. Eight men are now in custody. UK counterterrorism officials have also begun sharing intelligence with the US again, having been reassured about leaks from American officials to the media. —BBC News

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Russia Investigates Alleged Torture of Gay Men in Chechnya
Russian officials are reportedly investigating claims that dozens of gay men were tortured in Chechnya. Russia's human rights ombudsman has told President Vladimir Putin about evidence of abuse in the Russian-controlled region. A new report by Human Rights Watch includes claims by three gay men that "high-level" Chechen officials were present during torture. —The Guardian

Everything Else

LeBron James Surpasses Michael Jordan's Playoff Record
LeBron James has become the all-time leading scorer in the NBA playoffs after scoring 35 points in Thursday night's Cleveland Cavaliers win over the Boston Celtics. James now has 5,989 playoff points, just inching over Michael Jordan's 5,987 points. —ESPN

Katy Perry Pays Tribute to Manchester During UK Show
Katy Perry paid tribute to the victims of the attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester at her own show at the Water Rats venue in London Thursday night. "It was hard for me because we all love music," she said. "We're all listening to the same music." —NME

J.K. Rowling Calls Trump a 'Tiny, Tiny, Tiny Man'
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling called President Trump a "tiny, tiny, tiny man" on Twitter, sharing footage of Trump appearing to shove aside Montenegro's prime minister Dusko Markovic at a NATO summit in Brussels. —The Huffington Post

Austin Cinema Holds Female-Only Screening of 'Wonder Woman'
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas, has decided to host an all-female screening of Wonder Woman. Predictably, some men reacted angrily on Facebook, accusing the cinema of being "disgustingly sexist" and "pretty sad." —i-D

T.J. Miller Leaves Silicon Valley
Actor and comedian T.J. Miller is leaving HBO's Silicon Valley in advance of its fifth season. Miller, who played Erlich Bachman, has his own comedy special Meticulously Ridiculous coming to HBO next month. —VICE

Playboy Model Sentenced to Clean Graffiti
A judge in Los Angeles has sentenced 2015 "Playmate of the Year" Dani Mathers to a month of graffiti removal after she snapchatted an image of a nude, elderly woman showering at the gym. Mathers had used the caption: "If I can't unsee this then you can't either." —Broadly