- And he's out. Billy Bush has officially left The Today Show after facing backlash for his role in the notorious Donald Trump tapes [1]. No word on a settlement or the terms of his exit, but at least one person blames him for the entire conversation. Melania Trump appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 [2] Monday night and suggested Bush encouraged Trump to make the comments because he knew the mics were secretly on.
- They don't call him the father of rock for nothing. Chuck Berry, who turns 90 today, announced that he will release his first album in 38 years [3]. The album, self-titled Chuck, is adorably dedicated to his wife of 68 years and will be released some time in 2017.
- More leaked emails are raising questions about Hillary Clinton's time as Secretary of State. Correspondence between a senior state department official, Patrick Kennedy, and the FBI show that Kennedy wanted one of Clinton's emails about the Benghazi attacks to be considered unclassified rather than classified, as the FBI suggested [4]. In exchange, Kennedy reportedly said he'd allow more FBI agents in countries where they are forbidden. There is no indication that Clinton was aware of this discussion, according to the New York Times.
- The Obamas are throwing one of their final farewells tonight. The president and first lady will host their last state dinner, catered by acclaimed chef Mario Batali [5]. The guests of honor? Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife Mrs. Agnesse Landini [6]. Gwen Stefani [7] will also perform at the dinner.
- The push to retake the ISIS-held city of Mosul is on pause to allow civilians to exit safely [8]. Iraqi and Kurdish forces, along with American air support, launched an effort to recapture the city earlier this week. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city, and the United Nations fears another humanitarian crisis in the Middle East since another million people are expected to be displaced by the fighting.
- Stranger things [9] have happened. You might not be surprised to learn Netflix added 3.2 million new users this quarter, The Guardian reports [10]. Netflix attributes the spike in users to their wildly popular new series, Stranger Things [11] and Luke Cage. The company also recently expanded into 130 new countries.