Good morning, NBC News readers.
North Korea is at it again. Paul Manafort will soon find out how long he'll spend behind bars. And an Ohio teen's compelling Senate testimony puts a spotlight on the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media.
Here's what we're watching today.
North Korea is pursuing the ‘rapid rebuilding’ of long-range rocket site
President Donald Trump praised the "great historic progress" he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made toward denuclearization at their Hanoi summit.
But photos taken just two days after the talks collapsed show that North Korea is pursuing the "rapid rebuilding" of a long-range rocket site at the country’s only operational space launch facility.
"The activity they are undertaking now is consistent with preparations for a test, though the imagery thus far does not show a missile being moved to the launch pad," said Victor Cha, former President George W. Bush's top adviser on North Korea and one of the authors of a report on the new commercial imagery.
Paul Manafort will soon learn his fate
President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman could face more than a decade in prison when he is sentenced in two separate court hearings this week and next.
It's a sobering turnabout for the longtime Republican political consultant.
Manafort, who turns 70 on April 1, would have been eligible for a lighter sentence if he had adhered to a deal he made with special counsel Robert Mueller after pleading guilty in one of the two cases filed against him.
Instead, the deal is off and he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Teen who defied anti-vaccine mom points to Facebook, Twitter as sources of misinformation
Ethan Lindenberger, an 18-year-old from Ohio who went against his mother's wishes to get vaccinated, testified before a Senate hearing Tuesday and gave an indication of how misinformation from social media is at the root of the anti-vaccine movement.
“For my mother, her love and affection and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress," Lindenberger said at the hearing.
“My mother would turn to social media groups and not to factual sources like the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. It is with love and respect that I disagree with my mom.”
Plus
- "I didn't do this stuff": R.Kelly denied allegations of sexual abuse in defiant interview.
- Add another investigation to the list: New York regulators are now probing the Trump Organization's insurance practices.
- The FDA has approved a drug related to the 'club drug' ketamine as a new treatment for severe depression.
- With Trump silent, there is no "sheriff" in town on the Pakistan-India crisis, ex-diplomats say.
- No jacket required: Goldman Sachs new CEO, who moonlights as an electronic music producer named DJ D-Sol, is introducing a new millennial-friendly dress code.
THINK about it
Millions of Americans have taken at-home DNA tests from companies like Ancestry, 23andMe, and MyHeritage. But is your privacy at risk of a data breach?
Science + Tech = MACH
Here's how rabbit genes could turn ordinary houseplants into pollution-eating machines.
Live BETTER
Beyond "sparking joy": A checklist to help you declutter your messy closet.
One fun thing
Today is Ash Wednesday. But check out how Rio rocked its Carnival celebration in the Sambadrome ahead of Lent, the 40-day period for penance.
Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.
If you would like to receive the Morning Rundown in your inbox Monday to Friday, please sign-up here.
Thanks, Petra
