'Start Here': Venezuela, Trump's admission and Chicago shootings. What you need to know to start your day
Venezuela's Maduro claims he was targeted in an alleged assassination attempt.
It's Monday, Aug. 6, 2018. Here are some of the stories we're talking about on ABC News' new daily podcast, "Start Here."
1. Venezuela's Maduro survives alleged assassination attempt
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was speaking at a military parade broadcast live on national TV Saturday when he was interrupted by a series of blasts. The camera cut away as Maduro's security detail quickly shielded the president and soldiers were seen breaking rank and scattering.
Maduro later claimed it was an assassination attempt by drone and the Venezuelan government blamed the attack on far-right factions that collaborated with outside countries, including Colombia and the U.S.
ABC News' Matt Gutman, who has reported extensively from the region, breaks down what Venezuela says happened and what effect this could have on Maduro and his government.
"Start Here" is a daily ABC News podcast hosted by Brad Mielke featuring original reporting on stories that are driving the national conversation. Listen for FREE on the ABC News app, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio -- or ask Alexa: "Play 'Start Here.'"
Follow @StartHereABC on social for exclusive content, show updates and more: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
2. Trump admits tower meeting was to get info on Clinton
President Donald Trump came to the defense of his son, Donald Trump Jr., this weekend over the infamous Trump Tower meeting in 2016. When reports first surfaced last year that Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign, he originally claimed the meeting centered on adoptions, but later changed his story to say Natalia Veselnitskaya promised him dirt on Hillary Clinton.
The president admitted on Twitter on Sunday that the purpose of the Trump Tower meeting was to "get information on an opponent," but it was "totally legal and done all the time in politics."
ABC News' Jordyn Phelps checks in from Bedminster, New Jersey, where the president is spending the week at his golf club. She tells us what Trump's admission and his legal team's explanation could mean for the Russia investigation.
3. Will Julian Assange be extradited to the US?
Amid recent reports that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could soon be evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, ABC News Senior Investigative Producer James Gordon Meek spoke to Jennifer Robinson, one of Assange's lawyers, about what's next for her client.
"Our concern is and has always been the risk of extradition to the United States," she said. "So an assurance about protecting him from U.S. extradition and facing prosecution for WikiLeaks publications in the U.S. is our priority."
4. Chicago shootings spike in one day
Police in Chicago said at least 60 people have been shot since Friday at 5 p.m., including nine fatally, and more than 40 of those shootings happened on Sunday.
"Most of it is fueled by gang activity and these retribution shootings that police just can't seem to get in the middle of," ABC News' Ryan Burrow, who's based in Chicago, tells us.
