What's happening in the political world:
Trump and Putin finally meet
-- President Trump and Russian President Putin met in person for the first time, greeting each other with a handshake and exchanging pleasantries at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
Trump and Putin greet each other during a gathering of leaders ahead of the official start to the G20 summit https://t.co/LKy8teE8mE pic.twitter.com/oSQ5ONXTML
— CNN (@CNN) July 7, 2017
Prior to their private meeting, which was expected to include Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the two presidents briefly spoke to reporters.
"President Putin and I have been discussing various things and I think it is going very well," Trump said. "We have had some very, very good talks."
"We are going to have a talk now and obviously that is going to continue," Trump added. "We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, and for the United States and for everybody concerned. And it's an honor to be with you."
Putin, in a CNN translation, told Trump he was "delighted" to meet face-to-face.
"We have spoken on the phone with you several times on very important bilateral and international issues. But phone conversation are never enough," Putin said.
"If we want to resolve bilateral and acute international issues, we definitely need personal meetings. I'm delighted to be able to meet you in person Mr. President, and I hope -- as you have said -- that our meeting will yield positive results," Putin added.
Russia has stepped up spying efforts in since election
-- Russian spies are ramping up their intelligence-gathering efforts in the U.S., according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials who say they have noticed an increase since the election.
The officials say they believe one of the biggest US adversaries feels emboldened by the lack of a significant retaliatory response from both the Trump and Obama administrations.
"Russians have maintained an aggressive collection posture in the US, and their success in election meddling has not deterred them," said a former senior intelligence official familiar with Trump administration efforts.
Russians could also be seeking more information on Trump's administration, which is new and still unpredictable to Moscow, according to Steve Hall, retired CIA chief of operations.
DeVos sued for pausing predatory student loan relief
-- Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education are being sued for postponing a change to rules that protect students from predatory student loans.
President Obama's administration updated an existing law with the "borrower defense rule." It cancels out some federal loans for students who borrowed money to attend a school with deceptive or illegal practices.
But just before the rule went into effect, DeVos postponed it without hearing from people affected by the change. Now, 18 states and Washington, D.C., are suing to end the delay.
The lawsuit says the Department of Education broke federal rules by pausing the change too quickly and not taking public input or giving enough justification for the pause.
DeVos said the ruling was postponed so the Department of Education could focus on a lawsuit from for-profit colleges pushing back against the rule, but she also has issues with the borrower defense rule herself.
CNN and Newsy contributed to this report
