The Morning Brief: Rex Tillerson in Russia, Sean Spicer and J. Geils

Good morning. These are today’s top stories:

Rex Tillerson arrives in Russia amid tensions

Growing global tensions surrounded Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s arrival in Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a new interview today that “the level of trust” between Russia and the U.S. under President Donald Trump “has not improved, but rather has deteriorated,” Reuters reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also called Trump’s air strike on Syria “unlawful,” while Trump stood by his stance that “it’s very bad for Russia” if Putin keeps supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Trump called “an animal,” according to the Associated Press.

Sean Spicer apologizes for Hitler comments

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer apologized for remarks he made yesterday at a press briefing in which he attempted to compare the evils of Assad to Adolf Hitler and incorrectly suggested Hitler “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons” against his own people during World War II. “I was obviously trying to make a point about the heinous acts that Assad had made against his own people last week using chemical weapons and gas, and frankly I mistakenly used an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust for which frankly there is no comparison,” Spicer told CNN. “For that I apologize, it was a mistake to do that.”

United Airlines CEO says he felt ‘shame’

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said in a new interview today that he felt “shame” over a recent and widely condemned incident in which a passenger was dragged off a flight to make room for crew members. “This will never happen again,” Munoz told ABC News’ Good Morning America. A United Airlines spokesman said yesterday that the plane was not overbooked, contradicting what the company previously said.

Also:

“Centerfold” guitarist J. Geils has been found dead in his Massachusetts home.

China is urging Trump to seek a “peaceful” resolution to tensions with North Korea.

German police are investigating after three blasts went off near Borussia Dortmund’s team bus.

The San Bernardino elementary school shooter reportedly threatened his wife after she moved out, police said.

Test results confirm sarin gas was used in the deadly chemical attack in Syria, Turkey’s health minister said.

40-ounce bottles of rosé will soon be sold in some states.

The Morning Brief is published Mondays through Fridays. Email Morning Brief writer Melissa Chan at melissa.chan@time.com.