Problem: Feinstein: China ‘clearly had a role’ in Snowden’s departure from Hong Kong

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Sunday that she believes China played a role in allowing Edward Snowden to leave Hong Kong, wasting what she called an opportunity to “improve relations” with the United States.

“China clearly had a role in this, in my view. I don’t think this was just Hong Kong without Chinese acquiescence,” Feinstein said on CBS’s “Face The Nation.”

Snowden, the man who revealed information about the U.S.’s sweeping surveillance efforts, reportedly traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday. His final destination is unknown, though reports suggested he is headed to Venezuela by way of Cuba.

“I had actually thought that China would see this as an opportunity to improve relations and — extradite him to the United States,” Feinstein said. She added that Moscow now faces scrutiny over what they decide to do with Snowden.

“I think it’ll be very interesting to see what Moscow does with him,” Feinstein said.

Feinstein said Snowden should have stayed in the United States and faced consequences for his actions.

“I don’t think this man is a whistleblower,” Feinstein. “Whatever his motives are, and I take him at face value, he could’ve stayed and faced the music. I don’t think running is a noble thought.”

Write a one or two sentence summary.

Summary: The Senate Intelligence Committee chair says China played a role in the departure of the man the U.S. had sought to extradite.


Problem: Retail sales: you can't blame it all on China

Read More Value retailers to post better earnings: Analyst

The other retailer to report, Fossil Group, has a relatively small exposure to China:

Fossil revenues by country (source: Factset):

Still, Fossil reported second-quarter sales fell short of expectations and earnings for the full year were reduced to $4.80 to $5.60 a share, well below the prior outlook of $5.25 to $6.05 a share.

1) A significant slowdown in sales in Europe, notably in the U.K. and Italy. Even Germany was flat. This was a surprise and will add to speculation that the European "recovery" has been weak.

2) The impact of the Apple Watch.

Read MoreRetail trends: Denim is hot, 'bro tanks' are not

Reports that Apple Watch sales have been below expectations may be true, but even with lower-than-expected sales it appears to be enough to be disrupting the "traditional" watch market, at least for Fossil.

An equal problem has been the strong dollar, the bane of multinational companies this reporting season. Second quarter revenues for Fossil were down 4 percent, but taking out the effect of the strong dollar revenues were actually up 2 percent.

Think about that. A six percentage point swing on revenues, just on currency. That is huge.

Given shifting tastes in consumer demand, uncertain growth in Europe and China, and the strength of the dollar, it's little wonder that forecasting earnings for global retailers has become a very difficult proposition.

Write a one or two sentence summary.

Summary: Macy's and Fossil can't blame disappointing earnings and guidance on China or Brazil. But they tried.


Problem: Chris Brown on 'Today' -- I Finally Learned That Beating Women Is Wrong

Chris Brown I Finally Learned That Beating Women Is Wrong

23 years but he's finally done it -- he's learned that hitting women is a bad thing!

CB sat down with Matt Lauer on "Today" this morning and actually opened up about his relationship with Rihanna, rather than

"As far as me and her are concerned," Brown said ... "She knows my heart and I know her heart. I'm not really focused on the negative, everything about it is positive for me. I did my 52 weeks of counseling and learned that it was absolutely wrong."

So that's a 23-year-old man ... having to learn that beating the living crap out of a woman ... is wrong.

Gold star for you, Chris.

Write a one or two sentence summary.

Summary:
It took Chris Brown 23 years but he's finally done it -- he's learned that hitting women is a bad thing!CB sat down with Matt Lauer on "Today" this…