Morning Update: Here Are The Trump Tower Moscow Plans

Trump's transgender military ban allowed to be enforced, Oscar nominees 2019, the drug killing gay men in the UK. Your BuzzFeed News newsletter, Jan. 23.

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Trump’s lawyer said there were “no plans” for Trump Tower Moscow. Here are the plans.

This week, Rudy Giuliani said of Trump Tower Moscow that “the proposal was in the earliest stages.” He told the New Yorker that “no plans were ever made. There were no drafts. Nothing in the file.”

However, hundreds of pages of business documents, emails, text messages, and architectural plans, obtained by BuzzFeed News over a year of reporting, tell a very different story.

The plan, very much real, was dazzling: a glass skyscraper that would stretch higher than any other building in all of Europe. It was meant to offer ultra-luxury residences and hotel rooms.

We have the details of the plan, including the proposed development site. It gets pretty specific. For instance, the Trump team would have the option to “brand all or any portion of the spa or fitness facilities” as “The Spa By Ivanka Trump.”

Read the Trump Tower Moscow plans here.

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The Supreme Court is allowing Trump to implement his transgender ban military ban

While cases challenging the policy proceed, the Supreme Court issued a stay of lower courts' injunctions against the transgender ban. This will allow the policy to be enforced until the challenges to it are resolved.

The 5–4 vote to grant the stay was opposed by all of the court's more liberal justices.

Transgender soldiers told us they are terrified, disappointed, and anxious after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

SNAPSHOTS

We finally have the Oscar nominees for 2019. Yes, Lady Gaga is one of them. But Bradley Cooper didn’t get a nomination for Best Director for A Star Is Born. Here are the biggest surprises. Also, Black Panther is the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture. Netflix is up for more awards than ever before. And here is the full list of nominees.

The Trump administration’s point man on Europe resigned two weeks ago, but no one told the Europeans. Wess Mitchell was responsible for guiding US policy toward central Europe. He resigned from his position Jan. 4 — but diplomats from the countries under his purview only learned about it yesterday.

These famous YouTuber twins had to tell their fans not to come to their dad’s funeral. Ethan and Grayson Dolan, 19-year-old brothers who have built up millions of followers on YouTube, are pleading with their fans after trolls started a campaign urging people to attend.

A British family have somehow found themselves public enemy number one in New Zealand. Auckland’s mayor called them “assholes,” “pigs,” and “trash.” There is no way I can summarize this one — here are the details.

Chris Brown was arrested in Paris on suspicion of rape. Two other men, identified in French media as the singer’s bodyguard and his friend, were also reportedly arrested. The three were released but the investigation remains ongoing.

Cardi B clapped back against accusations that her “Twerk” video doesn’t empower women in the #MeToo era. After a conservative pundit criticized her latest video, the rapper said women should be able to dress and dance however they want without being assaulted.

The drug GHB is killing gay men. This survey will help uncover the scale of the problem.

While much of the media refers to GHB as a “date-rape” drug, within the UK’s LGBT community it’s known as one of the three key drugs used in chemsex, the drug-fueled sex scene particularly popular among gay men.

Evidence suggests there could be more hazards associated with the drug than previously thought. So we’re partnering with the UK’s Channel 4 to make a documentary about what GHB is doing to this community.

This project follows our incredible reporting on this story — if you’re not familiar with it, I recommend you start here. And after that, read how the drug tears families apart.

Our anonymous survey about GHB can be found here. No one's name, details, or identity will be known or used for any purposes.

A total stranger helped this woman braid her hair when she was stuck in the hospital

Jaci Selby is no stranger to hospitals. She lives with endometriosis and has undergone multiple surgeries to treat her condition.

Last week, Selby was in the hospital to get some scar tissue removed. But all she wanted was someone to do her hair. She told us, “Chronic pain and illness can be so isolating… You sometimes can’t do the smallest thing for yourself.”

She posted in a Facebook beauty group to ask if anyone could help. Jaclyn Medrano responded to the call of duty.

Medrano made the 40-minute drive and was there by 7 a.m., before Selby’s surgeon made his rounds. And those braids got done. People found this story so moving.


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