Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday.

1. Tinder's founders have filed a bombshell $2 billion lawsuit claiming the former CEO 'groped and sexually harassed' an executive at a company party. The lawsuit alleges that the former Tinder CEO and IAC Chairman Greg Blatt harassed Rosette Pambakian, Tinder's vice president of marketing.

2. Tesla has been hit with a third securities fraud lawsuit in the wake of CEO Elon Musk's 'funding secured' tweet. A complaint filed alleges that some investors purchased Tesla stock "at artificially inflated prices and suffered significant losses and damages once the truth emerged" that Musk had not secured the funding necessary to convert Tesla into a private company.

3. The world's biggest tech companies are at serious risk of losing out on the $32 billion market Indian ecommerce market. India's government is drawing up new policies that would favour domestic ecommerce startups over foreign competitors such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google.

4. Some members of Tesla's board are hiring lawyers to protect themselves in the ongoing fallout from CEO Elon Musk's public declarations about taking the company private. Fellow board members are also urging Musk to cool it with the social media posts about a go-private deal.

5. MoviePass has less than three months left before it runs out of cash. The company burned through more than $219 million in the first six months of the year, and said it now has $26 million in cash on hand, and another $25.4 million on deposit at its merchant bank.

6. Apple could launch smart glasses in 2020 and an Apple Car in 2023, according to an analyst with strong track record. Respected TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested the new services could take Apple's valuation to $2 trillion.

7. Tinder and Match Group were a poor match from the beginning, according to the lawsuit filed by the dating app's founders. As well as harassment, the lawsuit alleges that the management of Match Group and its corporate parent IAC repeatedly reneged on formal agreements and shorted the founders of money and ownership.

8. Apple is reportedly arguing that buildings at its headquarters are worth just $200 so that it can reduce its tax bill. In a 2015 appeal, Apple claimed that a "cluster of properties" around Apple Park was worth $200, rather than the $1 billion figure alighted on by Santa Clara County's tax assessor.

9. A Twitter engineer has said he's deleting the app from his own phone in a protest of CEO Jack Dorsey's policies. Jared Gaut criticised leadership's attempts to remain neutral — an apparent reference to Twitter's decision not to ban conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

10. Twitter has suspended Alex Jones' ability to tweet, but not from the platform altogether. Jones can read his posts but can't interact with any other users or post.

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Hello! Here's what's happening on Wednesday.

1. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says she "can't guarantee" that we'll never hear a recording of Trump saying the N-word. Former White House senior adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman wrote about the tape in her new explosive memoir "Unhinged."

2. UK Prime Minister Theresa May may be considering a plan to register 3 million EU citizens "alphabetically." Alternative plans to register applicants sector by sector, or by geographical region, are considered politically sensitive.

3. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said plans to build a railway across the Korean peninsula will kick off this year. A third summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Moon is planned for September.

4. Beijing furiously protested after the US targeted China in a new defense act. The act targets Chinese activities in the South China Sea and Chinese investments in the US and aims to bolster Taiwan's defenses.

5. Members of Tesla's board of directors are lawyering up to protect themselves from CEO Elon Musk's latest public statements. Musk tweeted that he planned to take the company private, and Tesla is now facing multiple lawsuits.

6. A US grand jury released a report that found more than 300 "predator priests" sexually abused more than 1,000 children. Investigators described "a playbook for concealing the truth" about abuse over 70 years.

7. Japan activated an elite marine unit for the first time since World War II to counter China. The new unit – tasked with defending Japan’s remote islands – carried out its first training exercise in early April.

8. The founders of the dating app Tinder are suing its parent company IAC in a $2 billion lawsuit. The suit features allegations of sexual misconduct by former Tinder CEO and IAC Chairman Greg Blatt.

9. At least 26 people are dead after a huge highway bridge collapse in Italy. It is unclear what caused the bridge to collapse in Genoa. 

10. Australia will soon build the tallest skyscraper in the Southern Hemisphere. The $2 billion project, called the "Green Spine," will reach over 1,168 feet (356.20 meters) in height.

And finally ...

Omarosa taping Trump's Situation Room may be one of the worst White House security breaches ever

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• A Swedish startup that sells spare food from cafes and supermarkets at a discount has raised $12 million.
• Karma's Series A round includes US investor, Bessemer, in an ongoing trend of American capital flowing into Nordic startups after the success of Spotify and Supercell.
• Karma could provide a cheaper alternative to takeaway startups like Deliveroo.

A European startup that sells off spare food from local cafes and supermarkets at a discount has raised $12 million (£9.4 million) from investors, including US firm Bessemer Venture Partners.

Karma is headquartered in Sweden and expanded to the UK earlier this year. It partners up with supermarkets, restaurants, and even food delivery services to sell off leftover food direct to consumers, who then go and pick up their discounted items directly.

The startup wants to help reduce food waste, but it has the bonus side effect of providing consumers with a cheap alternative to takeaway services like Deliveroo.

The Series A round was led by Swedish firm Kinnevik, appliance manufacturer Electrolux, e.ventures with Bessemer also taking part. US startup investments in Europe are slowly ticking up, and American backers are particularly interested in the Nordics after the success of companies such as Spotify, Supercell, and Zendesk.

Karma's restaurant partners include Mayfair restaurant Aubaine, Italian chain Polpo, and Caravan. While it has supermarket partners in its home market of Sweden, it doesn't have any British supermarkets on board yet.

Hjalmar Ståhlberg Nordegren, CEO and cofounder of Karma, said in a statement: "We are delighted to announce this investment which will accelerate our mission to reduce food waste globally."

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• The collapse of the Turkish lira and the strong dollar have hit emerging market currencies globally.
• If the trend continues, countries may start to have trouble paying back dollar-denominated debts.
• Analysts say Argentina, Pakistan, South Africa, and Colombia are among those most at risk.

LONDON — The collapse of the Turkish lira against the dollar is the focus of global markets but emerging market currencies are getting hammered across the board and there are concerns that the issue could spiral from a currency crisis into a debt crisis.

The Indian rupee hit an all-time low against the dollar overnight, the South African rand has been diving, Argentina's central bank hiked rates by 5% on Monday to arrest the peso's decline, and Indonesia's government is meeting to discuss emergency measures to defend the sinking rupiah.

"EM [emerging market] currencies (judged by the Bloomberg EM currency basket) are now at their lowest nominal value in the past three years – below the level reached in early 2016 at the time of the commodity price fall and period of US$ strength," analysts Stuart Culverhouse and Hasnain Malik from emerging market specialist bank Exotix said in a note on Tuesday.

UBS and Credit Suisse have both flagged the danger that Turkey's currency crisis could spiral into a debt crisis. If this does happen, we could see similar issues in other emerging markets.

Many emerging markets loaded up on dollar-denominated debts when interest rates were low. But a combination of falling local currencies and a soaring US dollar mean those debts are getting more expensive to pay off.

Turkey's foreign currency debts across businesses, banks, and the government are at 55% of GDP, according to the Telegraph. The newspaper reports that The Institute of International Finance "thinks events in Turkey are just the start of a long and painful hangover for those emerging markets that drank deepest from this cup." The report warns that South Africa, Indonesia, and Columbia are most at risk.

David Jones, chief market strategist at Capital.com, said in an email: "Given that the memories of the far-reaching effects of the Greek crisis have not been forgotten, do not be surprised if we see cautious trading and further US dollar strength in the days ahead as investors decide that it is better to be safe and late to any recovery - rather than be too early and very wrong."

Exotix's Culverhouse and Malik say that emerging markets are currently suffering mainly from the "risk off" sentiment rather than a belief among investors that they share similar characteristics with Turkey. But the pair refers to a ranking they made in May showing which countries could be most at risk if sentiment does shift.

Here's the ranking:

The Exotix pair writes: "Most of the others in our sample (except India) are too small to pose wider systemic risks. But difficulties could lead to localised, country-specific problems, especially for those with pre-existing weaknesses."

Lale Akoner, a market strategist in BNY Mellon’s global investment strategy group, said on Tuesday: "In our view, Turkey is mostly the exception and not the rule, and not necessarily demonstrative of the larger EM complex.

"Nevertheless, what is largely an idiosyncratic risk for Turkey did feed into the negative sentiment towards EMs in general."

SEE ALSO: UBS: Turkey could be heading into a balance-of-payments crisis

DON'T MISS: India's rupee hits an all-time low as the Turkish lira crisis spills over to other currencies

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• White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told a reporter that her husband's anti-Trump tweets were "disrespectful" and "a violation of basic decency," but she only wanted to be quoted on background.
• The reporter refused.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway recently shared some strong words about her husband's viral anti-Trump tweets with a reporter, but only wanted to be quoted as "a person familiar with their relationship."

Washington Post reporter Ben Terris published an extensive profile of the dynamic between Conway and her husband, conservative lawyer George Conway, on Tuesday. It was the first story in which the two opened up about how President Donald Trump has complicated their relationship. 

For more than a year, George has been publicly critical of the president on Twitter, while Kellyanne is often on TV defending him. In the Post profile, George, who introduced Kellyanne to Trump, said he now wishes he never did. 

Kellyanne, meanwhile, said she believes there is a part of George "that thinks I chose Donald Trump over him," which she said "is ridiculous."

But asked about her husband's anti-Trump tweets, Conway said they are "disrespectful."

"I think it disrespects his wife," she said.

A few days later, Terris circled back on the remark. And Kellyanne expanded on her thoughts.

"It is disrespectful, it's a violation of basic decency, certainly, if not marital vows," she said, then asking to have that quote attributed to "a person familiar with their relationship."

Terris refused, saying they were on the record during this portion of the discussion.

"You can't say after the fact 'as someone familiar,'" Terris said.

"I told you everything about his tweets was off the record," Kellyanne responded.

"No, that's not true," Terris said. "That never happened."

Kellyanne pivoted to framing her original comment not as her own thoughts, but of how other people view her husband's tweets.

"Well, people do see it this way," she said. "People do see it that way, I don't say I do, but people see it that way."

"I've never actually said what I think about it and I won't say what I think about it, which tells you what I think about it," she added.

For his part, George disagreed with her assessment, saying Kellyanne's "problem is with her boss, not me."

"If my wife were the counselor to the CEO of Pepsi and I had a problem with her boss, I would simply drink my Coke and keep my mouth shut," he said. "If the president were simply mediocre or even bad, I'd have nothing to say. This is much different."

SEE ALSO: Omarosa and Michael Cohen made secret recordings of Trump — and fellow officials are reportedly wondering if anyone else did too

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• Democratic politicians and national security experts were up in arms over the news that President Donald Trump was revoking the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan.
• The highly unprecedented move was perceived by many to be a thinly-veiled attempt to intimidate a prominent critic of Trump.
• Here is a sampling of some of the reactions from top Democrats, lawyers, and national security experts.

Wednesday's announcement that President Donald Trump was revoking the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan caused an outpouring of shocked, confused, and dismayed reactions from Democratic members of congress, as well as several prominent national security and intelligence experts.

Citing "erratic conduct and behavior" as the reason for Brennan's clearance being revoked, the White House statement also accused Brennan, who has frequently criticized Trump since leaving the CIA in 2017, of using his clearance to "make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on the internet and television, about this administration."

While making the announcement in the Wednesday afternoon press briefing, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White House was also reviewing the statuses of security clearances for several other former national security officials for potential revocation. Those officials have also publicly criticized Trump.

Democratic politicians and national security experts immediately began expressing their confusion and disappointment for what they view as a politically motivated and even despotic use of political power to punish a dissenter.

Here are the reactions of some of the powerful people who spoke out:

SEE ALSO: Trump revokes former CIA director and frequent Trump critic John Brennan's security clearance

DON'T MISS: The White House waited 3 weeks to announce Trump was revoking Brennan's security clearance, and some are speculating it was to get people to stop talking about Omarosa and Manafort

Brennan first responded to the revocation of his clearance in a tweet, in which he referred to the action as "part of a broader effort to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics."

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1029830514230865920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent. https://t.co/TNzOxhP9ux

Brennan then discussed the matter further with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Vice Chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said the move sets "a dangerous precedent."

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1029809988695470082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This might be a convenient way to distract attention, say from a damaging news story or two. But politicizing the way we guard our nation’s secrets just to punish the President’s critics is a dangerous precedent. https://t.co/cXzgrLIwa3

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii slammed Trump as "vindictive" and "petty".

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1029804279211716608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
How vindictive and petty can he get? https://t.co/9t1zzS3Fnj

• The Los Angeles Lakers built a puzzling, seemingly odd-fitting team around LeBron James this summer.
• The former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin argued on a recent podcast that the Lakers wouldn't have the luxury of figuring out how to play together in a competitive Western Conference and that they could miss the playoffs.
• Griffin also argued that while the Lakers' roster could succeed in the regular season, he's worried the pieces around James won't allow James to excel if they do make the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Lakers baffled the NBA world this offseason by following up their signing of LeBron James by building a team of seemingly ill-fitting pieces around him.

In signing players like Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee, the Lakers said they wanted to add ball-handling, length, athleticism, and toughness. They also said James might spend more time in the post. In essence, they didn't want to build the Cleveland Cavaliers 2.0 and surround James with shooters.

David Griffin, the former Cavs general manager who helped build those Cavs teams around James, sees a problem with this Lakers team (as does much of the basketball world). He told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck on a recent episode of the podcast "The Full 48" how, in his view, there would be two major factors working against James and the Lakers this season.

First, Griffin said, the Lakers won't have time to figure out their team as the Cavs did in 2014-2015, when James returned to Cleveland from Miami. That's because the Western Conference is just too good.

"We started our first year together — with LeBron back and Kevin Love and Kyrie — we started 19-20 that year," Griffin said. "And when you go through that kind of upheaval early on, in the East, you're able to not have a great deal of stress around, 'We have to make the playoffs.' And obviously with that roster, at the time we put it together, we felt really strongly that, if we just get in the playoffs, we're gonna wreak havoc.

"In the West, you don't have that. You don't get the advantage of, figure it out on the fly and let it take a great deal of time and start out 19-20 because your pieces are terrible fits."

The West looks like a slaughterhouse this year

Last year, the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves had to play a play-in game to make the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets missed the postseason with a 46-36 record.

This year, the West looks equally as stacked, as none of last year's playoff teams have had any significant setbacks in the offseason. The Nuggets actually look improved, as do the Memphis Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks. The Los Angeles Clippers were just five games out of the playoffs last year. And now the Lakers added James. It stands to reason that two to three good teams will miss the playoffs in the West this year, just because there are only eight playoff spots.

Griffin noted that for as good as James is, his teams have still hit rough patches at times. In the East, the Cavs could afford to go through those. In the West, that could cost the Lakers a playoff spot.

There is a concern with the roster built around LeBron

But even if the Lakers do make the playoffs, Griffin is concerned with the roster they built around James. Griffin said that it might be a good idea to ease the burden on James by putting playmakers around him during the regular season but that in the playoffs, James should have the ball.

"I buy that they probably sold him to a huge degree on the notion that: 'Look, we won't ask as much of you in the regular season, so you have more in the tank in the playoffs. We're going to put more play creation around you so that you don't have to be asked to carry such a huge burden,'" Griffin said. "Which is great if they're elite playmakers. Which is great if they're super high-end ball-dominant, efficient guys."

He added: "What I think happens in the playoffs — he's the single most efficient play creator in the playoffs in all of the NBA. So because of that, you want him making decisions. You want him creating those opportunities. And you're not going to create them for a Rondo jump shot. You're not going to create them for a Lance Stephenson jump shot."

Griffin said the Lakers would need players who could finish plays in the playoffs, and he's not sure they have enough of that around James.

The debate over the Lakers' long-term plan

There's been a debate in the NBA about what James and the Lakers' plans are. James signed a four-year contract with the Lakers, a longer commitment than he ever made with the Cavs in his second stint in Cleveland. Some think James and the Lakers realized they did not have a realistic shot at competing this year when the Lakers balked at the asking price for Kawhi Leonard and did not land Paul George. Perhaps the Lakers only found players willing to take one-year deals to keep them competitive this year, while preserving cap space for next summer.

If that is the case, that James and the Lakers are willing to spend a year growing, it would be surprising, particularly with James in the back half of his prime.

James and the Lakers have plenty of skeptics heading into the year, but they'll be one of the more fascinating teams in the NBA. Luckily, we'll get to see plenty of them.

SEE ALSO: There is growing buzz that Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler could form the NBA's next superstar pairing — and the Knicks and the Nets are involved

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• White House adviser Kellyanne Conway and her husband, attorney George Conway, disclosed intimate details of their marriage in an interview with The Washington Post.
• Kellyanne, who once criticized Trump, is now one of his most ardent defenders.
• George, on the other hand, has not been shy about taking swings at the president.
• George says he now regrets having introduced his wife to Trump.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway and her husband, attorney George Conway, disclosed intimate details of their marriage in an interview with The Washington Post.

On the surface, the two Conways appear to be at odds. Kellyanne, who worked on Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign during the 2016 US presidential election and who criticized Trump, is now one of Trump's most ardent defenders, frequently giving glowing endorsements of the presidency.

George, on the other hand, considered joining the Justice Department under the Trump administration but ultimately passed on the idea. George reportedly made the decision after Trump fired FBI director James Comey and the special counsel's investigation of Russia's interference in US elections gained traction. According to his friends, he did not want to be a part of a Justice Department that found itself targeted by the president.

Since then, George has been fueling a movement of disenfranchised Republicans and lit up Twitter with his criticism of Trump. In a now-deleted tweet, George described Trump's string of hirings and firings at the White House as "absurd;" and in another tweet, described Trump's statements as "false and misleading."

George suggested that if Trump and Kellyanne were ever to be forced out of office — a notion he reportedly had no qualms with — it would be the fault of the president.

"If there's an issue," George told The Post, "it's because she's in that job, for that man."

"If my wife were the counselor to the CEO of Pepsi and I had a problem with her boss, I would simply drink my Coke and keep my mouth shut," George reportedly said. "If the president were simply mediocre or even bad, I'd have nothing to say. This is much different."

"I'm just saddened by how things turned out," he added.

Kellyanne said she found her husband's disparaging comments about Trump to be "disrespectful."

"I feel there's a part of him that thinks I chose Donald Trump over him," Kellyanne said to The Post. "Which is ridiculous. One is my work and one is my marriage."

"It is disrespectful, it's a violation of basic decency, certainly, if not marital vows," she said.

Kellyanne is proud of her own independence, according to the report — so much so that she did not hesitate to challenge her husband's influence.

"Nobody knows who I am because of my husband," Kellyanne said. "People know of my husband because of me."

George introduced Kellyanne to Trump shortly after the Conways married in 2001. The two moved into an apartment at the Trump World Tower where, during a condominium board meeting, George argued against removing the Trump name from the building. George's speech reportedly stood out to Trump, and he soon received an offer to join the board.

George passed on the offer and told his wife.

"Knowing what I know now," George said, "I would have said no, and never mentioned it when I got home."

For now, Trump has not publicly weighed in on George's criticisms. And despite some embarrassing media appearances by Conway in recent days, Trump has yet to indicate any dissatisfaction with Kellyanne.

But as multiple news reports have shown, even Trump's top advisers can attract his ire based on how they perform in TV interviews or, in other cases, based on their spouse's political affiliation.

SEE ALSO: People are freaking out over a photo of Kellyanne Conway in the Oval Office

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• Tesla whistleblower Martin Tripp took to Twitter on Wednesday night, tweeting photos he alleges came from inside the company.
• He told Business Insider he feels they are central to his ongoing legal battle with the company.
• They include images he says are of battery scrap, trailers containing battery waste, and documentation of punctured battery parts in Model 3 vehicles. Tesla denies that any punctured battery parts made it into vehicles.
• Tesla also told Business Insider that Tripp's claims are false and that he "does not even have personal knowledge about the safety claims that he is making."

"Are you ready," Martin Tripp tweeted on Wednesday evening, before sending out dozens of photos that he alleges came from inside of Tesla. 

Tripp told Business Insider he feels the photos are central to the legal battle between he, a former process technician at the company's Nevada Gigafactory, and the electric carmaker. He claims they support allegations that he has made about the safety and quality of Tesla's parts, specifically the batteries that go into all of Tesla's vehicles.

"I decided to send this info out because I have been humiliated by Tesla and Elon Musk," Tripp told Business Insider. 

In June Tesla sued Tripp for alleging that he hacked the company and transferred secret information to third parties.

Earlier this month, Tripp filed a countersuit. He denies Tesla's claim that he's a hacker, and says the company intimidated and harassed him after he was fired.

"As we’ve said before, these claims are false and Mr. Tripp does not even have personal knowledge about the safety claims that he is making. No punctured cells have ever been used in any Model 3 vehicles in any way, and all VINs that have been identified have safe batteries. Notably, there have been zero battery safety issues in any Model 3," Tesla said in a statement to Business Insider. 

Tripp tweeted screenshots of dozens of Tesla VIN numbers. He claims that these cars contain damaged battery modules, and he further claimed an errant robot puncturing cells and affecting battery modules. He told Business Insider that this was related to a robot that malfunctioned in February. Tesla previously confirmed to Business Insider that an incident with a malfunctioning robot occurred in February, but said it had affected fewer parts than Tripp claimed and denied that any batteries were then reworked and put into cars as Tripp claims.

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1029837413265231872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Are any of these VIN's YOUR car? If so, you have a module(s) that IS punctured/dented/damaged. #TSLA#TSLAQ@elonmusk (Subsidy Fraud-Boy) pic.twitter.com/pOZWDeeXcO

He then tweeted screenshots of Tesla's "containment," alleging that one of the damaged batteries made it into a Model 3.

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1029838485081845760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here's what this AR622 Containment looks like #TSLA#TSLAQpic.twitter.com/VxygBBXJ7J

In Tripp's suit, he alleges that Tesla kept battery waste in trailers on the Gigafactory property. He tweeted out photos of what he claims are in these trailers, as well.

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1029838917850165248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Hmmm.. #TSLA commented several times that all their scrap/waste is being stored in climate controlled warehouses...could this be true?! Let these pics speak for themselves: HUNDREDS of trailers at the new parking lot at GF1... pic.twitter.com/4Agz80j5Ow

• Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. had hit three straight leadoff home runs off of the Miami Marlins.
• To prevent him from getting a fourth, Marlins starter Jose Urena beaned Acuna with the first pitch of their game on Wednesday, prompting the benches to clear and Urena's ejection from the game.
• Acuna would attempt to return to the game but was removed soon after the incident.

The Miami Marlins were fed up with Ronald Acuna Jr.

Through the first three games of the Marlins four-game series against the Atlanta Braves, Acuna had cemented himself as the hottest slugger in baseball, hitting a leadoff home run in all three games to lead the Braves to victory.

On Wednesday night, Marlins starting pitcher Jose Urena made certain that Acuna wouldn't hit a fourth straight leadoff home run against his team — beaning him with the first pitch he threw.

The pitch hit Acuna in the elbow, sending him to nurse himself on the third base line as the benches cleared and tempers flared over the apparent cheap shot.

Urena was promptly ejected, finishing his night having thrown just a single pitch. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Urena made the most of his brief appearance — the pitch he hit Acuna with was one of the fastest he's thrown all year.

Acuna would attempt to stay in the game but would leave briefly after being hit by the pitch.

SEE ALSO: The Nationals' bullpen is a disaster and they are in serious danger of missing the playoffs

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• President Donald Trump appears to have created an ideological rift between White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and her husband, attorney George Conway, according to a Washington Post report published Wednesday.
• George gained notoriety for railing against the president on Twitter.
• Kellyanne said she's not a fan of George's critical views about her boss.
• "I think it's disrespectful," Kellyanne said. "I think it disrespects his wife."

President Donald Trump appears to have created an ideological rift between White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and her husband, attorney George Conway, according to a Washington Post report published Wednesday.

George, who once considered joining the Justice Department after Trump took office, gained notoriety after railing against the president on Twitter. In a now-deleted tweet, he described Trump's string of hirings and firings at the White House as "absurd;" and in another tweet, described Trump's statements as "false and misleading."

Kellyanne, on the other hand, could be seen cheerleading many of Trump's policies or extinguishing the White House's fiery critics. This week, Conway attempted to mitigate the unflattering details from former communications director Omarosa Manigault's new book, "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House."

This political divide in the Conway household appears to have affected at least some parts of their marriage. Kellyanne said she viewed George's critical views on her boss with disdain, and also appeared to downplay his importance in political spheres.

"I think it's disrespectful," Kellyanne told The Post. "I think it disrespects his wife."

"Nobody knows who I am because of my husband," Kellyanne added. "People know of my husband because of me."

Ann Coulter, the provocative conservative speaker, reportedly introduced George to Kellyanne. The Conways married in 2001 and moved into the Trump World Tower in New York. Trump took notice of George during a condominium board meeting and offered him to join the board.

But George passed on the offer and told his wife. He now says he regrets making the introduction.

"Knowing what I know now," George said in The Post, "I would have said no, and never mentioned it when I got home."

"I'm just saddened by how things turned out," George added.

SEE ALSO: 'There's a part of him that thinks I chose Donald Trump over him': Kellyanne Conway opens up about how the president is affecting her marriage

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• In the season finale of "Dr. Pimple Popper," Dr. Sandra Lee treated a woman with a lipoma on her butt — but it's no ordinary lipoma.
• Tests reveal that the patient, Taylor, has a fat deposit that's inside her spinal cord. 
• It's apparently linked to the bump on her backside, meaning that any removal procedure could be risky.
• Eventually, Lee successfully removes some of the bump to give Taylor a more "normal" appearance.
• Warning: This post contains graphic images. 

Fans of Dr. Sandra Lee's TLC show "Dr. Pimple Popper" will have to wait patiently for more pops. While the series has officially been renewed for a second season starting in January 2019, the first season came to a close on Wednesday night. 

The show's first five episodes diverged from the types of pops that made Lee famous on YouTube. Yes, there were still a few bursting cysts and satisfying lipoma removals, but many patients came to Lee for help with complex, mysterious, totally un-poppable skin conditions.

But the finale showcased Lee's most fascinating case yet: A bump on the butt that seemed like a lipoma but actually signaled a serious health issue.

Here's a closer look at the episode. 

The episode starts with Taylor, a 22-year-old with a lump on her backside

In an interview filmed at her home, Taylor explains that she's had the lump since she was born, though it grew bigger in her teenage years. It sits almost directly in Taylor's gluteal cleft — the body part more popularly known as the butt crack. 

Taylor says a previous doctor told her the lump was a lipoma, or a benign fatty tumor. She had removed it in 2016, but then it grew back. She estimates it's roughly the size of a baseball and has dubbed it "Lizzie the Lipoma."

"I can't hide it all the time. And every once in a while I'll be in a fitting room and I'll try something on and get so angry," Taylor says in the interview. "I can honestly say I feel defeated."

Lee notices "warning bells" when she examines the bump

In an exam room at Lee's office, Taylor says that, despite having surgery to remove it, her lipoma has grown back even larger than it used to be. She also tells Lee that she's had the lump since birth — her mother noticed it when she was a toddler. 

Both revelations strike Lee as strange. 

"There's two warning bells," Lee tells Taylor. "One is, why did this doctor remove this ... and then it came right back? And then the other big thing for me is, a regular lipoma does not appear at birth. You get that over time. There could be something else going on."

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Given the bump's location near the spine, Lee asks whether or not Taylor has had any nervous system issues with the lower half of her body. Taylor says no.

"It's never affected anything like that other than my confidence," she says. "I've never had any problems."

Finally, Lee decides to order an MRI for Taylor and collect some medical records from her previous doctors. She holds off on any type of procedure, however.

"There is no way I can do this procedure today," Lee says. "In fact, I think it would be dangerous if I did this procedure today. You're not born with a lipoma unless there's something else going on."

Tests reveal that Taylor has fat inside her spinal cord

Taylor returns to Lee's office for her MRI results and gets shocking news. 

Lee explains that there is a deposit of fat inside Taylor's spinal cord — the bundle of nerves that connects the brain to the rest of the body.

"This is not supposed to be there normally," Lee says. "It's like a lipoma stuck in your spinal cord."

Lee adds that this a potential sign of a rare condition called spinal dysraphism. It's a phenomenon that happens during an embryo's development when the spine doesn't develop normally, according to the Spine Hospital at the Neurological Institute of New York. 

The fatty deposit has caused Taylor's spinal cord to become "tethered," restricting its movement. In some cases, Lee says, a tethered spinal cord can be stretched and pulled as the body grows, resulting various nervous system issues. 

"When you have spinal dysraphism, you have part of your spinal cord sort of stuck to the edge of your spinal column. When you grow and things stretch, that's usually when problems arise," Lee says. "Taylor is extremely lucky in my mind. This issue that she has within her spinal cord has not caused her to lose sensation or lose movement in her legs or her bowel movements or her bladder."

There is a recognized condition known as spinal cord lipoma, when an abnormal fat growth "attaches to the spinal cord, its membranes, and the space outside the spinal canal," according to the Spine Hospital's website. In the episode, it's not made totally clear whether fat deposit inside Taylor's spinal cord is actually connected to the bump on her butt — but that seems to be the implication. 

When Lee offers to remove some of the tissue on the bump to make it more aesthetically pleasing, she warns that the procedure could disrupt Taylor's spinal cord. 

"Remember now we know what this [bump] is connected to, and anything that causes trauma in this area could potentially damage your nerves that come out of your spinal cord of that area," Lee says. 

Though it's a risky procedure, Lee removes some of the bump.

After speaking with her father on the phone, Taylor decides to move ahead with the procedure. Lee removes some excess skin and superficial fat with extreme caution.

"Even tugging on this lipoma in any way could potentially disrupt the growth within the spinal cord, and I don't want to do that in any way," Lee says. "By staying as superficial as possible I'm able to shape this well and make sure it looks good without really disrupting it."

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When the removal is complete, Lee sews Taylor up with "two to three times" the normal amount of stitches to make sure the incision heals correctly. 

And even though the growth isn't totally removed, the difference is noticeable:

Taylor is "ecstatic" with her post-op results

In a follow-up interview, Taylor says she and her parents have decided to see a neurosurgeon to see if it's possible for her lipoma to be completely removed.

But even shrinking its size has impacted her life.

"I'm ecstatic about my results," Taylor says in the interview. "Since my surgery with Dr. Lee I feel more confident. When I lost a part of Lizzie, there was a lot lifted off my shoulders."

While you wait for the show's second season, you can all past episodes on TLC's website or through the TLCGo app. And check out a clip from the episode below:

For more great stories, head to INSIDER's homepage.

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• The US sanctioned Chinese and a Russian entities on Wednesday for helping service the illegal cigarette and alcohol trade in North Korea. 
• According to the US Treasury, North Korea's cigarette smuggling has reportedly netted the Kim regime over $1 billion per year.
• Profits from the cigarette trade and other smuggling schemes are said to help fund the country's missile and nuclear weapons program.

The US sanctioned Chinese and a Russian entities on Thursday for helping service the illegal cigarette and alcohol trade in North Korea that has reportedly netted the Kim regime more than $1 billion per year. 

The US Treasury stated on Thursday that it was targeting individuals and entities involved in facilitating shipments of banned substances to North Korea.  

According to the statement, China-based Dalian Sun Moon Star International Logistics Trading and its Singaporean affiliate SINSMS Pte. Ltd. were said to have worked together to clear the path for illicit shipments of alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes to North Korea, using forged shipping documents.

Russian port service agency Profinet and its director general were also slapped with sanctions for providing services, including the supplying of fuel to North Korean vessels, on at least six occasions. 

"Treasury will continue to implement existing sanctions on North Korea, and will take action to block and designate companies, ports, and vessels that facilitate illicit shipments and provide revenue streams to the DPRK," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

It added that the $1 billion per year North Korea is raking in from these activities comes from its massive tobacco racket. 

Illegal cigarette sales could help fund the country's weapons program

Sources told Radio Free Asia in November that there are about 20 joint ventures run by Chinese and North Korean tobacco firms that manufacture tobacco products for sale domestically and across the world through smuggling networks.

Recent studies have shown North Korea has established "sophisticated transnational smuggling networks," to distribute illicit goods, which provide the regime with the revenue it needs to fund military and weapons programs.

US officials and a high-level North Korean defector who spent years working for what has been described as a regime-connected "slush fund" have said that profits from smuggling go directly into the pockets of the North Korean elite.

Washington has continued to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, and has said that sanctions against North Korea will remain in place until denuclearization has been achieved, much to North Korea's frustration.

SEE ALSO: Experts are questioning how North Korea paid for its swanky ski resorts

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In an increasingly digitized world, brick-and-mortar retailers are facing immense pressure to understand and accommodate their customers’ changing needs, including at the point of sale (POS). 

More than two years after the EMV liability shift in October 2015, most large merchants globally have upgraded their payment systems. And beyond upgrading to meet new standards, many major retailers are adopting full-feature, “smart” devices — and supplementing them with valuable tools and services — to help them better engage customers and build loyalty.

But POS solutions aren’t “one size fits all.” Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don't usually have the same capabilities as larger merchants, which often have the resources and funds to adopt robust solutions or develop them in-house. That's where app marketplaces come in: POS app marketplaces are platforms, typically deployed by POS providers, where developers can host third-party business apps that offer back-office services, like accounting and inventory, and customer-retention tools, like loyalty programs and coupons.

SMBs' growing needs present a huge opportunity for POS terminal providers, software providers, and resellers. The US counts roughly 8 million SMBs, or 99.7% of all businesses. Until now, constraints such as time and budget have made it difficult for SMBs to implement value-added services that meet their unique needs. But app marketplaces enable providers to cater to SMBs with specialized solutions. 

App marketplaces also alleviate some of the issues associated with the overcrowded payments space. Relatively new players that have effectively leveraged the rise of the digital economy, like mPOS firm Square, are increasingly encroaching on the payments industry, putting pricing pressure on payment hardware and service giants. This has diminished client loyalty as merchants seek out the most affordable solution, and it's resulted in lost revenue for providers. However, app marketplaces can be used as tools not only to build client loyalty, but also as a revenue booster — Verifone, for instance, charges developers 30% of net revenue for each installed app and a distribution fee for each free app.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence looks at the drivers of POS app marketplaces and the legacy and challenger firms that are supplying them. The report also highlights the strategies these providers are employing, and the ways that they can capitalize on the emergence of this new market. Finally, it looks to the future of POS app marketplaces, and how they may evolve moving forward.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• SMBs are a massive force in the US, which makes understanding their needs a necessity for POS terminal providers, software providers, and resellers — the US counts roughly 8 million SMBs, or 99.7% of all businesses.
• The entrance of new challengers into the payment space has put pricing pressure on the entire industry, forcing all of the players in the industry to find new solutions to keep customers loyal while also gaining a new revenue source.
• Major firms in the industry, like Verifone and Ingenico, have turned to value-added services, specifically app marketplaces, to not only build loyalty but also giving them a new revenue source — Verifone charges developers 30% of net revenue for each installed app and a distribution fee for each free app.
• According to a recent survey by Intuit, 68% of SMBs stated that they use an average of four apps to run their businesses. As developers flock to the space to grab a piece of the pie, it's likely that increased competition will lead to robust, revenue-generating marketplaces.
• And there are plenty of opportunities to build out app marketplace capabilities, such as in-person training, to further engage with users — 66% of app users would hire someone to train and educate them on which apps are right for their businesses. 

In full, the report:

• Identifies the factors that have changed how SMBs are choosing payment providers.  
• Discusses why firms in the payments industry have started to introduce app marketplaces over the last four years.
• Analyzes some of the most popular app marketplaces in the industry and identifies the strengths of each.
• Breaks down the concerns merchants have relating to app marketplaces, and discusses how providers can solve these issues.
• Explores what app marketplace providers will have to do going forward in order to avoid being outperformed in an industry that's becoming increasingly saturated. 

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Hello! Here's what's happening on Thursday.

1. US President Donald Trump revoked former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance. Brennan said Trump's decision was "part of a broader effort ... to suppress freedom of speech & punish his critics."

2. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway disclosed that President Trump has affected her marriage. Conway's husband George has not been shy about his public criticism of the president.

3. The US slapped sanctions on Chinese and Russian entities for helping North Korea earn billions from smuggling banned substances. The US Treasury said North Korea's illegal cigarette trade netted over $1 billion per year.

4. Puerto Rico finally restored power to the entire island — nearly a year after Hurricane Maria hit. The hurricane killed over a thousand people and plunged 1.5 million homes and businesses in the dark for months.

5. China plans to launch satellites for daily monitoring over the South China Sea. Tensions have heightened over China's construction of artificial islands equipped with military facilities in the region.

6. The two women charged with murdering North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half brother will remain in custody. The court ruled that the prosecution had enough evidence to mount a case against them.

7. New Zealand is banning foreigners from buying property on its islands. Many overseas investors have been snapping up real estate in the secluded country in preparation for "doomsday."

8. Italy's deputy prime minister blamed the EU for the deadly bridge collapse that killed at least 39 people. Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the Tuesday morning disaster. 

9. Facebook admitted it was "too slow" to fight hate speech in Myanmar. The public statement followed a Reuters investigation on how the company failed to prevent abusive posts against the minority Rohingya.

10. China says it will launch two robots to the far side of the moon in an unprecedented lunar  mission. The robots will study the geology and chemistry of the moon’s most ancient and mysterious rocks.

And finally ...

Dramatic satellite images of Europe show how this summer's heatwave scorched entire countries

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• President Donald Trump said he was motivated to revoke former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance in part because of the ongoing Russia investigation.
• In its announcement about Brennan's security clearance earlier on Wednesday, the White House claimed it was Brennan's "erratic conduct and behavior" and "frenzied commentary" that prompted the action.
• In a Wall Street Journal interview published Wednesday night, Trump said it was because of the Russia investigation. "I call it the rigged witch hunt, [it] is a sham. And these people led it," the president said, adding that Brennan's security clearance revocation was "something that had to be done."

President Donald Trump made clear he was motivated to revoke former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance in part because of the ongoing Russia investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night.

"I call it the rigged witch hunt, [it] was a sham. And these people led it," Trump told The Journal, referring to Brennan and a handful of other US intelligence veterans who played a role in the early aughts of the Russia probe — and whose security clearances the White House said it was reviewing.

Trump said, because of the Russia investigation, revoking Brennan's security clearance was "something that had to be done."

The president's remarks seemed to contradict the announcement the White House made hours earlier, when press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Brennan's frequent criticism of Trump — which she described as "erratic conduct and behavior" and "frenzied commentary"— is what prompted the revocation. Sanders also cited unrelated transgressions involving Brennan, stretching back to 2014.

The action prompted bipartisan rebukes and worries that Trump was willfully infringing on his critics' First Amendment rights.

But Trump's assertion to The Wall Street Journal's Peter Nicholas and Michael C. Bender on Wednesday night resembles a similar admission Trump made to NBC News' Lester Holt in May 2017, days after he fired FBI director James Comey.

"In fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said 'you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story — it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won,'" Trump said at the time, and many more times since that interview.

Contrary to Trump's remarks during that NBC News interview, documents from the Department of Justice submitted with Comey's dismissal letter only cited his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as the reason for his firing, and said nothing of the Russia probe.

While Trump has never been shy about his disdain for the Russia matter, his escalating attacks on that investigation have triggered worries that he may try to shut it down completely.

SEE ALSO: Trump revokes former CIA director and frequent Trump critic John Brennan's security clearance

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• Former Brexit minister Steve Baker has shares worth £70,000 in a company that encourages people to invest in gold to avoid the financial hit of a no-deal Brexit.
• The former Brexit minister is set to make the case for a no-deal Brexit in the coming weeks.
• However, he has also promoted and invested in Glint Pay Ltd, which tells potential customers to "buy, save & spend physical gold" to insure against the negative impact of a hard Brexit.
• Posts on Glint Pay's website cite uncertainty over Brexit as a reason for the fall of the pound as well as warnings that a no-deal Brexit will be particularly damaging to the UK economy.
• The company warns that Brexit could hit pension funds and advises customers to buy gold as "insurance" against the UK leaving without a deal.
• Glint Pay tells BI: "Steve Baker is a minority investor in Glint. He is not part of the company’s management team or involved in the strategic direction of the business."

LONDON — A prominent pro-Leave Conservative MP and former Brexit minister has promoted and invested £70,000 in a financial services company that encourages the public to buy gold in order to avoid the negative impact of a no deal Brexit.

Steve Baker, who belongs to the Jacob Rees Mogg-led European Research Group of pro-Brexit Conservatives, is reportedly working on an "alternative" to Theresa May's Chequers plan, which will outline the "advantages" of leaving the European Union without a deal.

However, Baker, who resigned as a minister in the Brexit department earlier this year, is also a shareholder in the company Glint Pay Ltd, which has encouraged people to "buy, save & spend physical gold," as"financial insurance" against the potential economic impact of a hard Brexit.

Baker attended Glint Pay's launch earlier this year — two days after quitting the Department for Exiting the EU in protest against Prime Minister May's Brexit plan — and has repeatedly endorsed the company on his public Twitter account. He has shares in the company worth £70,000, according to an entry in his register of interests disclosed on June 22, 2017.

The London-based company, promoted by Baker, encourages potential customers to invest in gold in order to insure against the growing likelihood of a no deal Brexit, which it suggests could cause the pound to crash and economic growth to slow.

In a blog post published on August 9, Glint Pay states that International Trade Secretary Liam Fox's recent claim that a no deal Brexit was increasingly likely "was leading to a drop in the value of the pound," adding that the recent fall of the pound had "been blamed squarely on the inability of the EU and the British government to agree a deal on Brexit."

The company also cites warnings that a no deal Brexit, which is currently being pushed by leading Brexiteers, will hurt the economy, individual pension funds and "be damaging for all parties, particularly the UK that could see growth shrink by up 8%."

On Wednesday, the pound fell for an 11th consecutive day against the dollar, its worst losing streak since the financial crisis. It traded at $1.27, it's lowest level in over a year.

Baker, the Conservative MP for Wycombe, is yet to respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Barney Scholes, a spokesman for the People's Vote campaign, said it was "simply disgraceful for a former Brexit Minister to privately invest in a company taking advantage of the market turmoil created by Brexit, while at the same time advocating a disastrous 'no deal' approach."

He added: "Steve Baker seems to treat Brexit as a game to line his own pockets, whilst leaving millions of people across the country to pick up the bill. As more and more Brexit promises are broken, calls for a People’s Vote on the final deal with the EU are getting louder every day."

A spokesperson for Glint Pay Ltd said "Steve Baker is a minority investor in Glint. He is not part of the company’s management team or involved in the strategic direction of the business."

They added: Glint’s business model is to reintroduce gold as a global currency, and to allow people to spend and save in gold as the most reliable form of money: independent, incorruptible and fairer, without the long-term depreciation of paper currencies. 

"Glint’s success as a business is not predicated on the short-term direction of political and economic events, or any Brexit outcome.

"Glint for the first time is offering everyone the ability to spend and save in gold as a proven long term store of value, particularly at a time of rising inflation."

SEE ALSO: Exc: Theresa May considers plan to register 3 million EU citizens 'alphabetically' to cope with flood of applications

DON'T MISS: Exc: Conservative MPs plan to avoid their party conference 'like the plague' amid fears of a Brexit 'bloodbath'

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Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.

1. A former Tesla engineer says the company silenced her entire team after they brought up safety issues. Cristina Balan raised concerns about the quality and safety of some of Tesla's parts, but was later pushed out of the company.

2. Goldman Sachs is advising Elon Musk on his plans to take Tesla private. The bank confirmed on Wednesday that it is suspending research coverage of Tesla because it is "acting as a financial advisor" to the car company.

3. The billionaire cofounder of WhatsApp, Jan Koum, is "resting and vesting." A report in The Wall Street Journal said he is showing up to Facebook and barely working to collect a $450 million payday.

4. Uber is cruising toward $10 billion in revenue this year. The company's second-quarter earnings reveal that it's on course to hit the milestone despite a slump in growth.

5. The founding CTO of a $3 billion company explains why it's vital he still gets his hands dirty coding. MongoDB's Eliot Horowitz says CTOs who are scaling up should stay close to their product so they can have intelligent conversations with their engineers.

6. Amazon is reportedly offering popular YouTubers multimillion-dollar contracts to switch to Twitch. Twitch is said to be offering exclusive deals, sometimes with huge salaries, to popular internet personalities, according to Bloomberg.

7. Apple could launch glasses in 2020 and an Apple Car in 2023. The prediction was made by Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with a strong record on Apple.

8. The UK's advertising authority banned an Amazon ad for being "misleading." The advert promoted the free one-day shipping that comes with Prime membership, but customers complained that their packages did not arrive in the timeframe promised.

9. A Silicon Valley startup with Chelsea Clinton on its board is launching the first at-home test for an HIV prevention drug. It's a big move for Nurx, which recently raised $36 million in funding. 

10. A weird Instagram hack is locking users out of their accounts and people are furious. Users are finding that they can't access their accounts, that their profile pictures have been changed to an animated film still, or even that the accounts have been deleted.

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.

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• The pound ended Wednesday in negative territory, and in doing so, officially entered its longest losing streak since the financial crisis.
• It has now dropped for 11 consecutive days against the dollar.
• Factors hitting sterling include the rising risk of a no deal Brexit and the currency crisis in Turkey.
• The bad news for investors and Brits going on holiday is that things don't look likely to get better any time soon.
• You can track the pound on Markets Insider.

LONDON — The pound is on its longest losing streak against the dollar since the depths of the financial crisis as a perfect storm "unravels" the UK's currency.

After a strong start to 2018, the pound has slumped in recent months and is traded below $1.27 for the first time in 14 months on Wednesday. Sterling hit a low of $1.2669 during mid-morning trade.

By losing ground on Wednesday, the pound marked 11 consecutive days of losses against the dollar. That is a losing run not seen since 2008 during the depths of the global financial crisis.

"The pound seems to be unraveling against the US dollar due to a confluence of factors," ING currency strategist Viraj Patel told Business Insider on Wednesday.

Patel identified three separate drivers of recent weakness: first, the continued uncertainty around whether or not Britain will secure a Brexit deal; second, the fact that August is generally a weak month for the pound; and third, geopolitical concerns, particularly around trade wars and the growing crisis in Turkey.

On the first point, a 'no deal' Brexit is seen almost universally as a substantial negative for the UK economy and, by extension, the pound. If Britain can't secure an agreement with the EU on post-Brexit trading arrangements by next March, the UK will crash out of the EU and trade between the two could slow or stop.

The likelihood of a no deal Brexit appears to be rising, with UK Trade Secretary Liam Fox recently saying there is a 60% chance of it happening.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said this morning there would be a sharp fall in the pound in the case of a no deal outcome. In late July, Thu Lan Nguyen, a currency strategist at Germany's Commerzbank warned that the pound would likely suffer losses similar to the night Britain voted to leave the European Union.

"I would anticipate at least a reaction to the extent we saw after the referendum," she said.

Until there is at least a little clarity on a post-Brexit trade deal, the pound is unlikely to rally much.

But that story is not particularly new and Patel believes global uncertainty has played as much — if not more — of a role in the renewed slump of the pound over the last few days.

"While there's the obvious Brexit story, the recent move lower has been a global move," he told Business Insider, adding: "Broad emerging market turmoil is spilling over into a strong US dollar — especially against European currencies."

Emerging market currencies have seen a big downward spike in recent days, spurred by the crisis in Turkey where the lira lost 25% of its value in just a week.

The lira's initial slide came amid rising tensions between the US and Erdogan over trade. US President Donald Trump authorized increased tariffs against Turkey on Friday in response to Turkey's unwillingness to release an American evangelical pastor, Andrew Brunson.

"The pound, therefore, has two sources of risk premia," Patel added. "Domestic Brexit and global political uncertainty. Both are at the highest they've been for a while now — making the pound particularly vulnerable.

"We don't see either fading anytime soon," Patel said. "The momentum in pound weakness is too hard to fight."

SEE ALSO: Here's what a no deal Brexit would mean for the British economy

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• European Union officials reportedly believe the British secret service could have infiltrated secret Brexit talks to obtain sensitive information.
• The fears were raised after British negotiators obtained the contents of a "politically explosive" document "within hours" of them being shared among EU officials, a source told the Telegraph.
• The news comes as British negotiators head to Brussels to resume two days of Brexit talks.

LONDON — EU officials fear they are being "bugged" by the British secret service after the UK obtained sensitive documents within hours of them being presented at a meeting, according to a report.

The fears were raised at a European Council meeting on July 13 by Sabine Weyand, the deputy of chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, a "highly placed" EU source told the Telegraph.

She reportedly told officials attending the meeting of the European Council's Article 50 Working Party that "it could not be excluded" that British intelligence had infiltrated their meetings.

Their fears were prompted after British negotiators obtained the contents of a "politically explosive" slide presentation almost immediately after they were shared among EU officials on July 5, one day before May assembled her Cabinet for crunch talks at Chequers, the report said.

The slides are said to contain "highly negative" economic assessments of British plans to remain in the EU's single market for goods.

The UK had within hours lobbied at the "highest level" to block the European Commission from publishing the slides, which would have been interpreted as a pre-emptive strike against May's Chequers proposals, the source told the Telegraph.

The slides have not been published but are said to raise serious questions about the viability of Theresa May's Brexit blueprint, which proposes that the UK remain within the single market for physical goods but diverges in other areas.

The news comes as British negotiators head to Brussels on Thursday to resume two days of technical Brexit talks, although little progress is expected to be made on substantive issues until Autumn.

SEE ALSO: Theresa May considers plan to register 3 million EU citizens 'alphabetically' to cope with flood of applications

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