The Butina Identity

Election meddling turns into a spy thriller

More stories fueled the firestorm that continues to rage since President Donald Trump's Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. First, Trump was open to Putin's "incredible offer" of allowing Russian investigators to grill American citizens in exchange for U.S. investigators being permitted to sit in on the questioning of 12 Russians indicted on charges related to the 2016 election. But then the White House said Trump "disagrees" with the proposal just before the Senate voted 98-0 in favor of a nonbinding measure condemning the idea. And as the latest Time magazine cover eerily combines Trump and Putin's faces, Maria Butina – a 29-year-old Russian national who loves guns and Trump – sits without bond in a Washington jail for allegedly spying for the Kremlin. Despite the turmoil, Trump can't wait for a second meeting with Putin – this time in Washington – and blames all the bipartisan backlash over Russia on the "real enemy of the people": the American news media.

The job market is so strong, people are blowing off interviews

Many people on the dating scene are familiar with "ghosting," a term used to explain someone who just stops communicating with you with no explanation. It's now expanding to the job market, where people skip interviews, fail to show for their first day on the job and even leave current positions without notice. The reason? We're in the midst of the hottest job market in decades.

At least 70 infants summoned to court for deportation hearings

The Trump administration has summoned at least 70 children under age 1 year to immigration court for their own deportation proceedings since Oct. 1, according to new Justice Department data obtained by Kaiser Health News. The children, some of whom are of breastfeeding age, need frequent touching and bonding with a parent as well as naps every few hours, medical experts say. The number of infants under age 1 involved has been rising – up threefold from 24 infants in the fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30 and 46 infants the year before.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is in trouble again

This has been a rough year for the social media giant, between the scandal surrounding the security of user data to the rise of fake news on its platform. Now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is walking back comments where he seemed to defend Holocaust deniers. Zuckerberg said when people spread false information, Facebook should limit its reach instead of deleting it. He used the example of "deeply offensive" claims that the Holocaust never happened. "I don't believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong. I don't think that they're intentionally getting it wrong," he said. Zuckerberg released a statement saying he did not intend to defend people who deny the Holocaust, amid the resulting backlash.

The 147th British Open gets underway

The first round in the 147th Open Championship kicked off Thursday at the demanding Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. The conditions were ideal, and the players took advantage. American Kevin Kisner shot a 66 to take the top spot on the leaderboard after the first 18 holes. Tiger Woods finished the day at even as he fights for his first major championship victory since the 2008 U.S. Open.

Mollusk misfortune mounts in Florida

Two people in Florida recently had unexpected, and in one case deadly, encounters with aquatic invertebrates. A 71-year-old man died on July 10 from a bacterial infection after eating a tainted oyster at a restaurant in Sarasota, according to the Florida Department of Health. And a Texas tourist who collected 40 queen conch seashells from Key West is going to jail for 15 days. She said did not plan to sell the seashells, by the seashore or elsewhere, but was going to give them away as gifts.

The Short List is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.

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