While Donald Trump has taken center stage within many news circles, the recent Brexit is actually just as important. The Brexit is simply the plan for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (BRitish EXIT). While more political than physical in nature, this movement will impact areas such as travel, trade, financial transactions and even the residency statuses of Britons living abroad.
Although the entire process will take approximately two years to complete, many are wondering how the Brexit will impact the global foreign exchange (Forex) markets. No one is entirely certain and yet, there are a few solid predictions which seem to be the most likely to occur in the near future. Let’s take a closer look.
The Questionable Value of the Pound
This is the most obvious concern, so it should be mentioned first. There are two major reasons why the pound is likely to be hurt from a medium-term perspective. First, investors are concerned about how the UK will renegotiate its current trade relationship with the European Union. This might very well hurt some domestic businesses and as a result, the value of the pound may fall.
The second issue is arguably more psychological in nature. Uncertainty always affects the markets and this situation is no different. The fact of the matter is that while the Brexit has been formally triggered, very few (if any) analysts are exactly sure of how negotiations will take place. This is entirely new territory and therefore, there is much more of a bearish stance.
Americans and their European counterparts are therefore somewhat concerned. Until concrete steps are laid out, it is likely that we will continue to see a weak pound. However, is the pound the only currency to watch?
The Dollar-Pound Relationship
Many Forex traders regularly monitor the USD/GBP relationship. In the past, the pound was normally stronger than the dollar. This was rather predictable and while small fluctuations did indeed occur, it was a worthwhile bet that the British currency would remain relatively stable. This has now all changed thanks to the Brexit (as well as the emerging economic policies of the Trump administration). Many currency traders are looking towards the dollar with a much more favorable attitude when compared to two or three years ago.
The major question is whether or not this American currency will represent a safe haven when compared to its counterparts across the Atlantic. Although the verdict is still out, the fact of the matter is that we will likely see a much stronger dollar in relation to the British pound.
The Euro Question
Forex investors are also keeping a close eye on the value of the euro when compared to the pound. Will a falling pound benefit UK exports and if so, could this harm the value of the euro? Or, might the geopolitical instability within the European Union cause a continued parity with the pound?
These are two very important questions which currency analysts are attempting to answer. Others question whether or not the Brexit will trigger similar moves in countries leaning to the far right such as France. Such a concern could negatively impact the value of the euro in the future.
The Markets as a Whole
Up until this point, we have examined potential currency changes and how these might evolve. However, what about the Forex markets as a whole? Can we make an broad predictions about how they will continue to react?
The first viable observation is that this sector will see an increased amount of volatility due to the amount of speculation taking place. Rumors can cause massive rises or falls within a very short period of time. As a result, it is likely that individual investors will embrace a much more conservative stance. On the other side of the proverbial coin, speculators could very well look to take advantage of any short-term swings. Either way, the Forex markets look to be in for a rough ride ahead.
Trading Strategies
We should also mention that investors will be looking to adopt more risk-averse trading strategies as opposed to standard open-market positions. One example of this can be seen in the rising popularity of spread betting. Spread betting is better than conventional trading due to the fact that investors can enjoy benefits such as a tax-free income, the ability to “short” a position and the potential to employ margins. The main takeaway point here is that many traders will be forced to rethink their traditional approaches in order to accommodate a rather unclear future.
Of course, the Brexit will not happen overnight and a significant amount of negotiations still need to take place. It is nonetheless an undeniable fact that this move will have a massive impact upon the world of financial trading for years to come.
Former FBI Director James Comey told Congress that the Trump administration’s comments about him and the agency were “lies plain and simple”.
James Comey told a Senate committee they were wrong to denigrate the FBI and its leadership.
The ex-FBI chief was also “confused” by the “shifting explanations” for his sacking, which came as he led a probe into any links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
President Trump later said he never sought to impede the inquiry.
Donald Trump’s attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said in a statement James Comey’s testimony “finally confirmed publicly” that the president was not under investigation as part of any probe in Russian political meddling.
In the statement, President Trump also denied asking James Comey for his loyalty or to drop an investigation into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn during private meetings.
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In his testimony, James Comey said President Trump had repeatedly told him he was doing a “great” job.
The former FBI chief also suggested he was fired to “change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted”.
He remained largely composed throughout almost three hours of testimony but became impassioned when delivering his opening remarks.
James Comey told the panel that the White House “chose to defame me, and more importantly the FBI” by claiming the agency was “poorly led”.
“Those were lies, plain and simple. And I’m so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them,” James Comey continued.
“The FBI is honest. The FBI is strong. And the FBI is and always will be independent,” he said in his opening remarks.
James Comey was leading one of several Russia investigations before President Trump fired him.
US intelligence agencies believe Moscow interfered in the US election and they are investigating alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
However, there is no known evidence of collusion and President Donald Trump has dismissed the story as “fake news”.
On June 8, Donald Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Sanders hit back at James Comey, saying: “I can definitively say the president is not a liar.”
During today’s testimony, James Comey emphasized that Russia’s political meddling was “not a close call”, adding: “There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever.”
When asked by the Senate Intelligence Committee whether the president tried to stop the Russia investigation, James Comey said: “Not to my understanding, no.”
He said he it was not for him to say whether Donald Trump’s actions were an obstruction of justice.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the committee’s vice chairman, pressed James Comey on why he decided to keep a record of his conversations with President Trump.
“I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting” he said.
James Comey, who published his prepared remarks a day before the hearing, detailed one meeting with Donald Trump in which the president asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House aide Jared Kushner to leave the Oval Office.
“I knew something was about to happen that I needed to pay very close attention to,” James Comey said.
“I remember thinking that that was a very disturbing development.”
During another meeting with Donald Trump, James Comey said the president appealed to him to “let go” an investigation into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn and his ties to the Kremlin.
After media reported the conversation, the president warned James Comey in a tweet, saying he “better hope there are no <<tapes>> of our conversations”.
James Comey told the committee he hoped there were tapes, calling on President Trump to release them.
“The president surely knows whether he taped me, and if he did my feelings aren’t hurt. Release all the tapes, I’m good with it,” he said.
The White House has refused to say whether any such tapes exist.
After President Trump’s tweet about potential tapes, James Comey said he realized it was important to release his own account of the story.
James Comey revealed that he asked a “good friend of mine” who is a professor at Columbia Law School to share contents of the memo with a reporter, in order to build pressure for a special counsel.
As a result of this episode, former FBI chief Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel to lead an independent investigation into the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia.
James Comey said he was “sure” Robert Mueller was also looking at whether President Trump obstructed justice.
Donald Trump attacked James Comey for leaking the documents, saying it showed that members of the US government are “actively attempting to undermine this administration”.
Former FBI chief James Comey will testify before Congress on June 8.
James Comey is expected to say that President Donald Trump wanted a “patronage relationship” and asked for his “loyalty”.
According to his opening statement, James Comey will also testify the president asked him to drop an inquiry into fired National Security Adviser Mike Flynn.
The former FBI chief says President Trump called the Russian probe “a cloud” over him.
James Comey also says he had told Donald Trump three times he was not under scrutiny, confirming the president’s account.
Reacting to the prepared testimony on June 7, President Trump’s private legal counsel on the Russia inquiry, Marc Kasowitz, said the president was “pleased” James Comey had confirmed he was not in investigators’ crosshairs.
“The president feels completely and totally vindicated,” Donald Trump’s lawyer said.
Two national security officials, NSA Director Mike Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, earlier testified to senators that they never felt pressured by the White House to do anything illegal.
However in today’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, James Comey will detail how President Trump made him uncomfortable during a series of encounters leading up to the FBI director’s firing on May 9.
It is one of several congressional panels that, along with the Justice Department, is investigating US intelligence assessments that Russian hackers meddled in last November’s presidential election in an effort to help Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.
The inquiries are also investigating whether any Trump campaign officials colluded with the alleged Kremlin plot, which Moscow has repeatedly denied.
According to seven pages of prepared testimony, James Comey will say his first meeting with President Trump occurred on January 6 in a conference room at Trump Tower, where Comey briefed him alone on “salacious and unverified” allegations about him.
Image source Wikipedia
A dossier compiled by a former British intelligence official had claimed the Russian security services possessed compromising material on Donald Trump, including that he had been recorded consorting with prostitutes at a Moscow hotel.
James Comey’s says the president “expressed his disgust for the allegations and strongly denied them” during a subsequent meeting.
That denial came in a one-to-one dinner on January 27 at the White House, James Comey will say, adding that he had a “very awkward conversation” with the president that evening.
Donald Trump asked the FBI director during the discussion in the Green Room whether he wanted to stay in his job, James Comey will testify.
He will say he found this “strange” because President Trump had already told him twice in earlier conversations that he hoped he would not step down.
James Comey will testify the question “concerned me greatly” because he felt the dinner was an effort to “create some sort of patronage relationship”.
The former FBI director will say: “A few moments later, the president said, <<I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.>>
“I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence.”
In testimony, James Comey will detail his next encounter with President Trump, during a meeting attended by intelligence chiefs at the White House on February 14.
President Trump accepted Michael Flynn’s resignation as national security adviser just 24 days into the job after he misled the White House about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
James Comey will say President Trump told him: “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy.”
The former FBI director will testify that he offered no such assurance.
James Comey will also say the president phoned him on March 30 and said the Russia investigation was “a cloud that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country”.
He will testify that President Trump “said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia”.
James Comey will say he assured Donald Trump during their discussions on January 6, January 27 and March 30 that the president himself was not under investigation.
He will testify that President Trump told him during the March 30 phone call: “We need to get that fact out.”
James Comey will say President Trump phoned him again on April 11 to press him on this matter. It was the last time they spoke.
He will say he told the president the White House should contact the Department of Justice.
The former FBI director notes that he spoke with President Barack Obama only twice during the more than three years that their time in office overlapped.
However, James Comey can recall nine one-on-one conversations with Donald Trump in four months, three in person and six on the phone.
President Donald Trump has claimed credit for the isolation of Qatar by its Gulf neighbors who accuse it of supporting terrorism in the region.
The president said his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was “already paying off” and the development might mark the “beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism”.
President Trump’s recent speech in Riyadh, in which he blamed Iran for instability in the Middle East and urged Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalization, is seen as likely to have emboldened Gulf allies to act against Qatar.
Image source Wikimedia
He tweeted on June 6: “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”
The president later added: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding… extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!”
Qatar is home to the biggest US military air base in the Middle East, with about 8,000 personnel based at al-Udeid.
The official statement from White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the US was in communication with all parties “to resolve issues and restore co-operation”.
In the same week as Donald Trump’s Riyadh speech, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE blocked Qatari news sites, including Al Jazeera.
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on June 6 that the economic measures should persuade Qatar to change its policies and behave “like a normal country”.
Speaking in Paris, he called on Qatar’s rulers to end their support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian militant group Hamas and what he called “hostile media”.
“We believe that common sense and logic and will convince Qatar to take the right steps,” Adel al-Jubeir said.
The emir of Kuwait – one of the Gulf countries not involved in the dispute – traveled to Saudi Arabia on June 6 in an attempt to mediate. He later left after a “brotherly visit” but there was no word on the outcome of the talks.
World’s leaders reacted to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
UN chief Antonio Guterres’ spokesman called President Trump’s announcement “a major disappointment” while the EU said it was “a sad day for the world”.
However, senior Republicans and the US coal industry backed the move.
President Trump said the accord “punished” the US and would cost millions of American jobs.
In an address at the White House, the presdient said he was prepared to negotiate a new agreement or re-enter the accord on improved terms.
“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Donald Trump said.
The Paris agreement commits the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and “endeavor to limit” them even more, to 1.5C.
Only Syria and Nicaragua did not sign up to the deal.
Donald Trump characterized the Paris agreement as a deal that aimed to hobble, disadvantage and impoverish the US.
He claimed the agreement would cost the US $3 trillion in lost GDP and 6.5 million jobs – while rival economies like China and India were treated more favorably.
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President Trump said he was fulfilling his “solemn duty to protect America and its citizens”.
He added: “We don’t want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore – and they won’t be.”
Donald Trump did not give a timescale. However, under the agreement, a nation seeking to leave the pact can only give notice three years after the date it entered into force – November 16, 2016.
The process of leaving then takes another year, meaning it would not be complete until just weeks after the US presidential election in 2020.
US payments to the UN Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries cope with the effects of climate change, will stop.
Former President Barack Obama, who agreed to the Paris deal, immediately criticized Donald Trump’s move, accusing the Trump administration of “rejecting the future”.
Disney CEO Robert Iger and the entrepreneur Elon Musk both resigned from White House advisory councils.
Elon Musk said: “Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”
However, Republican congressional leaders and the US coal industry backed the move, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell supporting President Trump “for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs”.
The US biggest coal mining company, Peabody Energy, said the agreement would have badly affected the US economy.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the decision “one of the worst policy moves made in the 21st Century because of the huge damage to our economy, our environment and our geopolitical standing”.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said he was “deeply disappointed” by President Trump’s decision.
UK’s PM Theresa May, who expressed her disappointment and told President Trump in a phone call that the deal protects the “prosperity and security of future generations”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he respected Donald Trump’s decision but believed it was a “mistake both for the US and for our planet”.
Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso said: “I’m not just disappointed, but also feel anger.”
President Trump indicated he was open to another climate deal, saying he would “begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States”.
However, Donald Trump’s words suggested this was not a priority.
“We will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great. And if we can’t, that’s fine,” he said.
During Donald Trump’s election campaign he dismissed climate change as a “hoax”.
French, German and Italian leaders quickly issued a joint statement rejecting a renegotiation of the agreement.
The statement said: “We deem the momentum generated in Paris in December 2015 irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris agreement cannot be renegotiated, since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies.”
President Emmanuel Macron reflected the defiance among the remaining signatories, saying “we are fully committed”.
Reworking one of Donald Trump’s own phrases, President Macron added: “Wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility: make our planet great again.”
The Chinese foreign ministry said the parties to the Paris accord “should cherish this hard-won outcome”.
Meanwhile, the Democratic governors of New York, California and Washington all quickly vowed to respect the terms of the Paris deal.
President Donald Trump has arrived in Brussels for what his team is describing as “tough” talks with other members of the NATO military alliance.
President Trump is now meeting EU leaders. He has been critical of both blocs.
NATO has agreed to Donald Trump’s request to join the US-led coalition against ISIS. The president may also press members to pay their full financial share.
European leaders will seek assurances of President Trump’s commitment to US allies.
European Council President Donald Tusk wrote on Twitter: “I’ll aim to convince POTUS [President of the US] that euro-atlanticism means the free world co-operating to prevent post-West world order.”
After landing in Brussels on May 24, President Trump met the Belgian king and queen while thousands demonstrated against his presence in the center of the city.
The NATO summit will see the alliance agree to a US plan for the military alliance to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamist militants, particularly jihadist group ISIS – but France and Germany insist the move is symbolic.
Image source Flickr
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “Today we will decide to expand our support to the coalition with more AWACS [Airborne Warning and Control System] flight time, more information sharing and air-to-air refueling.
“This will send a strong political message of NATO’s commitment to the fight against terrorism and also improve our coordination within the coalition but it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations.”
Ahead of May 25 meetings, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that President Trump “really wants to persuade NATO members to step up and fully meet their obligations”.
He added: “I think you can expect the president to be very tough on them and say… <<We are doing a lot. The American people are doing a lot for your security, for joint security. You need to make sure you’re doing your share for your own security as well>>.
“That’s going to be the core of his message to NATO.”
Rex Tillerson also said President Trump had yet to make a final decision on whether the US would remain in the Paris climate agreement.
Before going to NATO HQ, where he will deliver a short speech, Donald Trump is due to have a private lunch with new French President Emmanuel Macron after meeting the leaders of the European Commission and European Council.
Emmanuel Macron is expected to try to persuade Donald Trump not to renege on the Paris climate accord.
According to recent reports, President Donald Trump has appointed lawyer Marc Kasowitz to represent him in an inquiry into Russia’s alleged meddling in the presidential election and any links to the Trump campaign.
President Trump has used services of the New York lawyer – known as a tenacious litigator – for more than a decade.
Donald Trump denies any collusion between his campaign and Russia.
Image source kasowitz.com
However, US intelligence agencies believe Russia tried to tip the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump.
Marc Kasowitz and the White House have so far made no public comments on the reported appointment.
He is well known to Donald Trump, and it was he who – during the presidential campaign – threatened to sue the New York Times if it didn’t retract a story about Donald Trump touching women inappropriately.
The New York Times stood by its story and a retraction was never published.
President Donald Trump’s fired national security adviser Michael Flynn has refused to hand over files to a Senate panel probing alleged Russian political meddling into US election.
He invoked his legal right against self-incrimination, his lawyers told the committee.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Michael Flynn stood down in February after it emerged he lied about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
Two other former top Trump aides – Paul Manafort and Roger Stone – have complied with the committee’s request for information, it was reported on May 22.
The panel, another congressional committee and the FBI are investigating claims that Russian hackers tried to help Donald Trump win last November’s presidential election, and whether members of his campaign colluded with the alleged Russian conspiracy.
Michael Flynn’s name has cropped up repeatedly in the matter, but his letter to the Senate panel emphasizes his refusal to comply is not an admission of wrongdoing.
The former Army lieutenant general is invoking the 5th amendment to the US constitution, which protects Americans from being legally compelled to testify against themselves in a criminal case.
Image source Wikimedia
The letter said Michael Flynn’s decision was a response to the current political climate and an “escalating public frenzy against him”.
His attorneys argued that “any testimony he provides could be used against him”.
Republican Senator James Lankford, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, tweeted: “It is Mike Flynn’s right to plead the 5th.
“We will get to the truth one way or another.”
If Michael Flynn continues to refuse to comply, it is thought Senate investigators could vote to hold him in contempt of Congress, or even refer his case for possible criminal charges.
Michael Flynn’s legal representative has previously demanded immunity from “unfair prosecution” before his client testifies.
Last week the committee’s chairman, Senator Richard Burr, told reporters that Mike Flynn was “not co-operating” with the investigation.
Shortly after Michael Flynn left the White House, the Department of Defense also launched an inquiry into payments he received for a speech in Russia and for lobbying on Turkey’s behalf.
Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified to senators earlier this month that she had warned the White House 18 days before Michael Flynn was fired that he was vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
Michael Flynn misled the White House about discussing US sanctions against Russia with Moscow’s envoy, Sergei Kislyak, before DonaldTrump took office.
President Trump injected a fresh impetus into the Senate investigation after he himself met the Russian ambassador and foreign minister in the White House earlier this month.
Donald Trump said in that encounter that he had just fired the FBI director because he was a “real nut job” and his dismissal eased “a great pressure because of Russia”, the New York Times reported.
During the Oval Office chat, which media were not invited to cover, Donald Trump also reportedly divulged secret information on the military campaign against ISIS.
Israel was reportedly the source of that sensitive intelligence.
However, while in Jerusalem on May 22, President Trump told reporters repeatedly that he “never mentioned the word Israel” in his meeting with Russian officials.
Former FBI director Robert Mueller was appointed last week as special counsel to lead the FBI investigation following President Trump’s firing of the law enforcement agency’s director, James Comey.
According to recent reports, President Donald Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to drop an inquiry into links between his ex-national security adviser, General Michael Flynn, and Russia.
“I hope you can let this go,” President Trump reportedly told James Comey after a White House meeting in February, according to a memo written by ex-FBI Director James Comey.
The memo was written immediately after the meeting, a day after Michael Flynn resigned, according to media reports.
The White House has denied the allegation in a statement.
The statement said: “The president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn.”
Jason Chafettz, an influential Republican congressman who chairs the House Oversight Committee has called for the FBI to hand over all relevant documents within a week.
He demanded all correspondence relating to communications between James Comey and President Trump be presented by May 24.
Michael Flynn was forced out in February after he misled the vice-president about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador before President Trump took office.
The latest Russian twist, first reported by the New York Times, comes a week after Donald Trump fired James Comey over his handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while at the state department.
Image source Wikipedia
James Comey’s dismissal sent shockwaves through Washington, with critics accusing the president of trying to thwart the FBI investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the US election and any Moscow ties to Trump associates.
The FBI director reportedly wrote a memo following a meeting with the president on February 14 that revealed Donald Trump had asked him to close an investigation into Michael Flynn’s actions.
James Comey reportedly shared the memo with top FBI associates.
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” President Trump told James Comey, according to the memo.
“He is a good guy.”
James Comey did not respond to his request, according to the memo, but replied: “I agree he is a good guy.”
In response to the report, a White House official pointed out that acting FBI director Andrew McCabe had testified last week that there had been “no effort to impede our investigation to date”.
He resigned as White House national security adviser after just 23 days on the job over revelations that he had discussed lifting sanctions on Moscow with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak, before Donald Trump was sworn in.
It is illegal for private citizens to conduct US diplomacy.
Since Michael Flynn stepped down, the Pentagon has launched an investigation into whether he failed to disclose payments from Russian and Turkish lobbyists for speeches and consulting work.
Michael Flynn’s Russian ties are under investigation by the FBI and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, as part of wider inquiries into claims Moscow sought to tip the election in favor of Donald Trump.
Adam Schiff, the highest ranked Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said this intervention by President Trump, if correct, amounted to “interference or obstruction of the investigation”.
Senator John McCain reportedly said at a dinner that the Trump scandals had now reached “Watergate size”.
The key legal statute is 18 US Code Section 1512, which contains a broad definition allowing charges to be brought against someone who “obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so”.
Section 1512 requires a person not only to attempt to obstruct justice but to do it with “corrupt” intent, and legal experts have told the Washington Post that is not clear in this case.
President Donald Trump is urged by senior lawmakers to hand over any recordings of conversations with fired FBI director James Comey.
Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer warned that destroying any tapes would break the law.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the White House needed to “clear the air” about whether tapes existed.
The move comes after President Trump tweeted what appeared to be a thinly veiled threat to the former FBI chief.
Donald Trump warned James Comey last week against talking to the media, saying he had “better hope there are no tapes” of their conversations.
The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of any tapes.
Charles Schumer also warned that Senate Democrats might refuse to vote on a new FBI director until a special prosecutor is named to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the US election.
Image source Getty Images
The FBI is investigating the allegations and possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Donald Trump denies any such links and says James Comey had assured him he was not being investigated. The president says he fired James Comey because he was not doing a good job.
Charles Schumer told CNN that if any tapes existed “the president should turn them over immediately. To destroy them would be a violation of law”.
“If there are no tapes, he should apologize to both Jim Comey and the American people for misleading them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senator Graham told NBC that Donald Trump’s tweet was “inappropriate” and called on the president to “back off and let the investigation go forward”.
“You can’t be cute about tapes,” he said.
“If there are any tapes of this conversation, they need to be turned over.”
President Trump has said he could announce a replacement for James Comey later this week.
Eleven people are reportedly being considered for the position, which requires confirmation in the Senate, and interviews began on May 13.
Those under consideration include acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, New York Appeals Court Judge Michael Garcia, Republican Senator John Cornyn and senior lawyer Alice Fisher.
North Korea has carried out another ballistic missile test, just few days after Moon Jae-in took office in South Korea.
According to Japanese officials, the missile was launched from north-western Kusong.
South Korea’s newly elected President Moon Jae-in, who campaigned on a platform of better engagement with North Korea, said it was a provocation.
President Donald Trump has called for “stronger sanctions” against North Korea, while China is urging restraint.
A series of North Korean missile tests this year – which are banned by the UN – has sparked international alarm and raised tensions with the US.
Two missile launches last month both failed, with the rockets exploding just minutes into flight.
The nature of the launch is still being determined, but analysts have said the test could suggest a longer range than previously tested devices.
According to the Japanese defense minister, the missile flew for about 30 minutes before falling in the Sea of Japan and could be a new type of missile, Reuters reported.
Tomomi Inada said it covered a distance of 435 miles, reaching an altitude of more than 1,245 miles – higher than that reached by an intermediate-range missile North Korea fired in February.
The US Pacific Command said in a statement the type was being assessed but that its flight was not consistent with that of an intercontinental ballistic missile [ICBM], which would have the range to reach the US mainland.
After hosting an emergency meeting of his security council, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in condemned the latest launch as a “provocation”.
“The president said while South Korea remains open to the possibility of dialogue with North Korea, it is only possible when the North shows a change in attitude,” his spokesman said.
The White House said President Donald Trump “cannot imagine Russia is pleased” because the missile did not land far from Russian territory.
It added that the new launch should serve as a call for stronger sanctions against North Korea.
A Kremlin spokesperson later said Russian President Vladimir Putin was concerned by the test.
China, North Korea’s only major ally, called for restraint by “all relevant parties” in the wake of the latest test.
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests despite UN sanctions and is also developing long-range missiles.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has launched a fierce defense of the healthy eating initiatives she championed.
At a public health summit in Washington, Michelle Obama hit back after the Trump administration loosened nutritional standards aimed at making US school lunches healthier.
“Think about why someone is OK with your kids eating crap,” she said.
According to government figures, one in five American children is obese.
In thinly-veiled criticism of the policies of the new administration, Michelle Obama told the audience: “This is where you really have to look at motives, you know.
“You have to stop and think, why don’t you want our kids to have good food at school? What is wrong with you? And why is that a partisan issue? Why would that be political? What is going on?”
The former first lady added: “Take me out of the equation – like me or don’t like me. But think about why someone is OK with your kids eating crap.
“Why would you celebrate that? Why would you sit idly and be okay with that? Because here’s the secret: If someone is doing that, they don’t care about your kid.”
While in the White House, Michelle Obama championed the “Let’s Move” campaign, which encourages exercise and healthy eating among young people.
The 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act made federal grants for school meals conditional on reductions in calories, sodium and trans fat content and increases in fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
However, earlier this month, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue postponed reductions in sodium, relaxed requirements for whole grains and allowed sweetened flavored milk back.
Sonny Perdue said some aspects of the standards had “gone too far”.
The agriculture department said the change would give schools “greater flexibility”.
The FBI probe and parallel congressional investigations into alleged Russian political meddling, and whether any Trump campaign officials colluded with the Kremlin, have dogged his young presidency.
The search for a new FBI director is beginning on May 13, with four possible candidates being interviewed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Image source Flickr
In yesterday’s daily briefing, Sean Spicer refused to comment on questions about whether President Trump had been making surreptitious recordings in the White House.
Donald Trump tweeted hours earlier that James Comey had “better hope there are no tapes” of their conversations.
Sean Spicer denied the tweet was a threat.
“The president has nothing further to add on that,” he told reporters repeatedly when pressed about the post.
“The tweet speaks for itself.”
However, James Comey believes “if there is a tape, there is nothing he is worried about”, a source told CNN.
Donald Trump’s comments provoked fresh comparisons between his administration and that of disgraced President Richard Nixon, who famously recorded conversations, speeding his downfall during the Watergate scandal.
The top Democrats on the House judiciary and oversight committees wrote to the White House on May 12 demanding copies of any recordings.
John Conyers and Elijah Cummings’ letter noted “it is a crime to intimidate or threaten any potential witness with the intent to influence, delay or prevent their official testimony”.
James Comey has declined an invitation to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee on May 16.
President Trump told NBC News that James Comey requested the one-on-one dinner, but the former FBI director reportedly maintains it was the president who invited him.
James Comey had said he was “uneasy” before the dinner, according to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
James Clapper told MSNBC on May 12 that he had spoken to James Comey before the White House meal.
The FBI chief had confided he was concerned it might compromise his Trump-Russia inquiry, said James Clapper.
President Trump has said James Comey told him three times he was not a target of the FBI inquiry, fuelling accusations the president was interfering in the investigation.
Still chafing at media coverage of the firing, President Trump tweeted on May 12: “Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future <<press briefings>> and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???”
Sean Spicer said the president was a “little dismayed” that his press team’s attempts to give out information were being turned into a “game of gotcha” by the media.
President Trump doubled down in an interview with Fox News by threatening to hold the press briefings only once a fortnight, with himself at the podium.
“Unless I have them every two weeks and I do them myself, we don’t have them,” he said.
“I think it’s a good idea. First of all, you have a level of hostility that’s incredible and it’s very unfair.”
In a recent interview, President Donald Trump has insisted he is not under investigation, while dismissing FBI Director James Comey he fired as a “showboat” and “grandstander”.
James Comey was leading an inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the last year’s election and possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.
Donald Trump has dismissed the probe as a “charade”, a claim directly contradicted by James Comey’s successor.
In his first interview since firing the FBI director, President Trump told NBC News on May 11 he had asked James Comey whether he was under investigation.
“I said, if it’s possible would you let me know, <<Am I under investigation?>>. He said: <<You are not under investigation>>.”
“I know I’m not under investigation,” President Trump told the interviewer, repeating a claim he made in May 9 letter of dismissal to James Comey.
Donald Trump said James Comey first told him this at a dinner at the White House, which the FBI chief had requested because “he wanted to stay on” in his post under the new administration.
However, NBC later quoted an unnamed former senior FBI official close to James Comey as saying it was the White House that had requested the dinner, and that Comey would not have told the president he was not under investigation.
“He would say, <<Look sir, I really can’t get into it, and you don’t want me to>>,” the former official was quoted as saying.
Image source Wikipedia
The White House has rejected concerns raised by legal experts that the conversation, as described by President Trump, may have been improper.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she “did not see it as a conflict of interest”.
According to the New York Times, two people who had heard James Comey’s account – apparently of the same dinner – said the former FBI director declined a request to pledge loyalty to President Trump, but said he would be honest with him.
Donald Trump also appeared to undercut the initial White House explanation that he had fired James Comey on the recommendation of top justice officials.
“He’s a showboat. He’s a grandstander. The FBI has been in turmoil. I was going to fire Comey. My decision,” President Trump said.
White House officials had previously pinned the decision on a memo written by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, which President Trump refers to in the opening paragraph of his termination letter to James Comey, saying: “I have accepted their recommendation.”
However, the president told NBC: “I was going to fire him regardless of the recommendation.”
Donald Trump also denied that he wanted the FBI inquiry on Russia dropped, saying he, instead, wanted it “speeded up”.
“I want to find out if there was a problem with the election having to do with Russia… or any other country, I want that to be so strong and so good, and I want it to happen.”
This is despite what he tweeted on May 8: “The Russia-Trump collusion story is a total hoax, when will this taxpayer funded charade end?”
“There’s no collusion between me and my campaign and the Russians,” the president told NBC.
Donald Trump said he had just sent a letter via a law firm to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stating that he has no stake in Russia.
“I have nothing to do with Russia,” he said.
“I have no investments in Russia. I don’t have property in Russia. I’m not involved with Russia.”
The White House has depicted the Russia inquiry as “probably one of the smallest things” that the FBI has “got going on their plate”.
However, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe said on May 11 that it was “a highly significant investigation”.
In testimony to the Senate intelligence committee, Andrew McCabe also cast doubt on White House claims that James Comey had lost the confidence of his staff.
“I can confidently tell you that the vast majority of employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey,” he said.
Andrew McCabe vowed not to update the White House on the status of the investigation and to notify the Senate panel of any attempt to interfere with the inquiry.
Republican committee chairman Richard Burr asked Andrew McCabe if he had ever heard James Comey tell Donald Trump the president was not the subject of investigation.
Andrew McCabe said he could not comment on an ongoing inquiry.
The acting FBI director did not confirm reports that Director Comey had asked for more resources for the agency’s Russia inquiry.
Andrew McCabe said he believed the FBI had sufficient funding to conduct the probe.
Kushner Companies, owned by Jared Kushner’s sister, has pulled out of presentations planned for China this weekend.
The company was scheduled to pitch real estate opportunities to investors in the southern cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou at the weekend.
Last week, Nicole Meyer Kushner came under fire for using her brother’s name in a pitch. Jared Kushner is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Ivanka Trump’s husband.
Image source Flickr
Critics accused Nicole Meyer Kushner’s company of playing up the family’s White House links. Kushner Companies was courting investors for a New Jersey development called 1 Journal Square. Ethics watchdogs said Meyer appeared to be leveraging family ties to the White House to enrich the family business.
Kushner Companies said the comments were misconstrued but has apologized.
Nicole Meyer Kushner and Kushner Companies president Laurent Morali had been included in promotional material for the upcoming events.
However, on May 11, James Yolles, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement: “No one from Kushner Companies will be in China this weekend.”
President Donald Trump has decided to fire FBI Director James Comey over his handling of the inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails, the administration says.
The White House shocked Washington by announcing that James Comey “has been terminated and removed from office”.
However, Democrats said James Comey was fired because the FBI was investigating alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The move came as it emerged James Comey gave inaccurate information about Hillary Clinton’s emails to Congress last week.
James Comey, 56, was addressing FBI agents in Los Angeles when, according to media, he learned he had just been fired when he saw the news on TV.
He reportedly laughed, thinking it was a prank.
James Comey was three-and-a-half years into his 10-year term as FBI director.
Image source Wikipedia
The White House said the search for a successor would begin immediately. It is only the second time the head of the FBI has been fired.
President Trump wrote in a letter to James Comey that he agreed with US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recommendation that “you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau”.
Jeff Sessions said the department of justice was “committed to a high level of discipline, integrity, and the rule of law”, and “a fresh start is needed”.
Many have expressed surprise that James Comey should be fired for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for sensitive government business, given that Donald Trump once praised the FBI director’s conduct in the matter.
In the final days of the presidential campaign, Donald Trump told a rally it “took guts” for James Comey to reopen the inquiry.
“What he did brought back his reputation,” Donald Trump said.
However, on May 9, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said he “cannot defend the director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgement that he was mistaken”.
“Almost everyone agrees the director made serious mistakes; it is one of the few issues that unites people of diverse perspectives.”
Democrats swiftly suggested that President Trump had fired James Comey to influence the FBI inquiry into whether members of the Trump election campaign colluded with Russia.
The House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees are looking into the same allegations.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference on May 9: “Were these investigations getting too close to home for the president?
“This does not seem to be a coincidence.”
President Trump responded on Twitter that Chuck Schumer had recently expressed his lack of confidence in the FBI chief.
Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted the Russia allegations are “fake news”.
Stephen Colbert is to be investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over a joke about President Donald Trump.
The FCC chairman Ajit Pai said the commission received several complaints about the monologue, which some viewers branded homophobic.
It concerned references involving Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
On Twitter, angry users set hashtag #FireColbert trending worldwide.
Ajit Pai told radio host Rich Zeoli he had now had a chance to watch the controversial clip, which aired on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Showon May 1.
“We have received a number of complaints,” he said.
Image source Wikimedia
“We’ll follow the standard operating procedures, as we always do, and make sure we evaluate what the facts are and apply the law fairly and fully.”
CBS could be fined if the FCC decides that Stephen Colbert’s joke was indecent.
The FCC definition includes remarks that appeal to “an average person’s prurient interest and, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value”.
Despite demands for him to be fired over the alleged slur, Stephen Colbert said on May 3 that he would change “some of the words” in the monologue but did not regret it.
Stephen Colbert then offered an olive branch to the LGBT community, saying: “Anyone who expresses their love for another person in their own way is, to me, an American hero.”
One Trump supporter who took part in the movement #GaysForTrump, tweeted on May 3 that Stephen Colbert’s original rant was “homophobic” and “disgusting”, while others repeated calls for his sacking.
However, many defended the comedian.
Others noted that Donald Trump had himself been recorded using inappropriate language.
Former Republican Governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee argued that Stephen Colbert should be protected by the First Amendment, which enshrines the right to free speech in the US.
Democrats say the American Health Care Act will leave millions uninsured.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have indicated they will cast it aside and write a new law.
Protesters shouted “Shame on you!” as lawmakers left Capitol Hill after the knife-edge vote.
However, there were celebrations moments later on the White House lawn, where President Trump laid on a reception for Republicans in the House of Representatives.
However, that bill has undergone several revisions to satisfy both the conservative and moderate wings of the GOP.
“Make no mistake, this is a repeal,” said a triumphant Donald Trump in the Rose Garden. ObamaCare, he added, was “essentially dead”.
“Premiums will be coming down, deductibles will be coming down, but very importantly it’s a great plan.”
The Democrats think the effect of this bill would be the opposite, stripping insurance from the poor, giving tax breaks to the wealthy and casting doubt on health provisions for the chronically sick.
Senator Bernie Sanders said: “Thousands of Americans would die because they would no longer have access to care.”
Groups representing hospitals and doctors have also expressed concerns about the Republican plan, which they say has yet to be properly assessed.
The ill-fated Republican bill in March would result in 24 million more Americans losing insurance within a decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said at the time.
One amendment added since then to placate conservatives means states can opt out of providing essential benefits such as cancer treatment and emergency room visits.
When $8 billion over five years was thrown in towards coverage for sick people who otherwise might face higher costs, several moderate Republicans changed course and backed it.
About 20 million Americans gained healthcare coverage under President Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, but Republicans viewed it as an overreach of the federal government and said patients had less choice and higher premiums.
The New York attorney general said on May 4 that he would challenge the bill in court if it became law, on the basis that it would deny people access to care.
The bill, if it becomes law, would mark a major overhaul in the US health system.
However, key elements could be ditched by Republican senators, who have said they will start fresh.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said she would like “a clean slate”, while Senator Bob Corker said the current bill has “zero” chance in the Senate.
However, several key Republicans this week reversed course, partly due to an amendment by Congressman Fred Upton to provide $8 billion over five years towards coverage for sick people.
Image source Wikimedia
But Democrats said the amount was woefully inadequate.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said: “The Upton amendment is like administering cough medicine to someone with stage four cancer.”
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of ultraconservative lawmakers, indicated the Upton amendment would not be a deal-breaker for them.
In March, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said 24 million people would lose health insurance under the bill, which is called the American Health Care Act.
Conservatives want to see a complete rollback of ObamaCare, while moderates are concerned about losing voters who like the existing law.
President Barack Obama’s overhaul of healthcare extended insurance coverage to millions of Americans, but some have experienced rising premiums in recent years.
One of ObamaCare’s popular elements is that it bans insurers from denying coverage to patients who are ill with “pre-existing conditions”.
President Donald Trump has insisted the revised bill will keep that, although it is thought that states will be able to opt out of making that an absolute provision.
He recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised him for “trying very hard” on North Korea.
The test came just hours after the UN Security Council had discussed North Korea’s missile program.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane after a visit to Egypt, Pope Francis said: “There are so many facilitators in the world, there are mediators who offer themselves, such as Norway for example.”
In 2003 six-party talks – involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia – were launched to address concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program. However, Pyongyang withdrew from the negotiations in 2009.
Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises.
North Korea is believed to be continuing efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads and fit them on long-range missiles capable of reaching the US.
It is not known what kind of missile was unsuccessfully launched on April 29. However, US officials told Reuters that it was probably a medium-range missile known as a KN-17.
According to South Korean and US military officials, North Korea has test-fired another ballistic missile.
The missile exploded shortly after take-off, they said – the second failed launch in the past fortnight.
President Donald Trump accused North Korea of showing “disrespect” towards China and its president.
The missile was fired in the early hours on April 29 from a site in South Pyeongan province, north of Pyongyang, South Korea said.
President Trump wrote on Twitter: “North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!”
He recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised his Chinese counterpart for “trying very hard” on North Korea.
The failed launch came just hours after the United Nations Security Council discussed North Korea’s missile programme.
Donald Trump‘s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for a tougher international approach to the isolated communist state – but also signaled that the US might be prepared to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises.
North Korea is believed to be continuing efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads and fit them on long-range missiles capable of reaching the US.
After April 29 failed launch, the Japanese government condemned the test and said it had lodged a strong protest with North Korea through its diplomatic channels.
“North Korea fired an unidentified missile from a site in the vicinity of Bukchang in Pyeongannam-do (South Pyeongan Province) early this morning,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) said in a statement, Yonhap reports.
The statement added that the missile apparently exploded, just seconds after the launch.
Meanwhile, Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, also said the launch occurred near the Bukchang airfield.
Dave Benham added that the missile did not leave North Korean territory.
US officials told Reuters that they believed the missile was a medium-range type known as KN-17.
Rex Tillerson warned of “catastrophic consequences” if the Council did not act, saying it was “likely only a matter of time before North Korea develops the capability to strike the US mainland”.
Rex Tillerson accused Council members of not fully enforcing existing sanctions against North Korea, and called on China in particular to leverage its trade links as influence.
However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the key to solving the problem did not lie with his country.
UN sanctions include a ban on selling arms and fuel to North Korea, as well as a host of items that could be used for weapons-making.
Also on the list are luxury goods including pearl jewellery and snowmobiles worth $2,000 or more.
Since 2016, all cargo entering or leaving North Korea must also be inspected.
However, a recent UN study found that fragments from a North Korean missile test included electronics that had been obtained either from or via Chinese enterprises.
The US has separate, stricter sanctions including a blanket ban on trade and a blacklist of anyone dealing with North Korea.
President Donald Trump’s strategy on North Korea is to tighten sanctions on the secretive country and step up diplomatic moves aimed at pressuring it to end its nuclear and missile programs.
The strategy was announced after a special briefing for all 100 US senators.
A joint statement issued by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said: “The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
“We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies.
“The president’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our allies and regional partners.”
The US already has extensive sanctions in place on North Korea, including a blanket ban on trade and a blacklist of anyone dealing with North Korea.
It is not clear what further sanctions the US could impose.
Democratic Senator Christopher Coons told reporters that military options were discussed at the special presidential briefing for senators.
“It was a sobering briefing in which it was clear just how much thought and planning was going into preparing military options if called for – and a diplomatic strategy that strikes me as clear-eyed and well-proportioned to the threat,” he said.
President Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, imposed sanctions over a year ago following a nuclear test and satellite launch by North Korea.
North Korean government property in America was frozen and US exports to, or investment in, North Korea was banned.
The order also greatly expanded powers to blacklist anyone, including non-Americans, dealing with North Korea.
The senators received a highly unusual briefing by the Trump administration on the seriousness of the threat from North Korea and Donald Trump’s strategy for dealing with it on April 26.
Earlier Admiral Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command, said the US would be ready “with the best technology” to defeat any missile threat.
The deployment of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea was aimed, he argued, at bringing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “to his senses, not to his knees”.
Admiral Harry Harris said he believed that North Korea would try to attack the US as soon as it had the military capabilities.
China says the deployment of THAAD will destabilize security and there have been protests in South Korea itself, where three people were injured in clashes with police as the system was being delivered to a former golf course on April 26.
A ruling that blocks President Donald Trump’s order barring funding for cities that shelter illegal immigrants has been labeled as “bananas” by the White House.
A San Francisco judge has placed January’s executive order in limbo, but the White House is vowing to appeal.
San Francisco and Santa Clara County sued in February.
The Trump administration has warned so-called sanctuary cities they could lose federal funds if they do not co-operate with federal immigration officials.
On April 25, Judge William Orrick issued a temporary injunction against the presidential order as the case continues in the courts.
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said, in reference to the San Francisco-based appeals court, which conservatives often accuse of liberalism: “It’s the 9th Circuit going bananas.”
Image source Wikipedia
President Trump’s measure cast doubt on the transfer of some $1.2 billion for San Francisco and $1.7 billion to Santa Clara County, home to many Silicon Valley communities.
Lawyers for the federal government had argued in the sanctuary cities case that only funding related to law enforcement would be withheld.
However, Judge William Orrick said any doubt about the scope of the “vague” order was erased by public comments made by President Trump, such as those calling the measure a “weapon” to use against jurisdictions that disagree with his immigration policies.
Judge William Orrick accused the Trump administration of a “schizophrenic approach” to the order.
The 49-page court ruling added that the plaintiffs challenging President Trump’s order are likely to succeed in proving the order unconstitutional.
The judge wrote: “Federal funding… cannot be threatened merely because a jurisdiction chooses an immigration enforcement strategy of which the President disapproves.”
However, Judge William Orrick’s ruling allowed the justice department to follow through with threats made to nine cities last week to cut specific program grants if they do not adequately co-operate with federal immigration officers.
In a press release last week, the department accused sanctuary cities of “crumbling under the weight of illegal immigration and violent crime”.
There are several sanctuary cities across the US, including Donald Trump’s home of New York.
New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio praised April 25 ruling, saying President Trump went beyond his authority to cut funding to cities that “don’t share his illogical and unconstitutional desire to scapegoat immigrants”.
Experts fear North Korea could be planning more tests – it has marked some key anniversaries in the past with nuclear tests or missile launches.
However, South Korea’s defense ministry said “no unusual development had been detected”.
Image source Wikimedia
Instead, Pyongyang conducted a large live-fire drill around the city of Wonsan, South Korea said.
“Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military’s movement,” the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
North Korea conducted a failed ballistic missile test on April 16, prompting VP Mike Pence to warn it not to “test” President Donald Trump.
In an unusual move, the entire Senate has been asked to attend a briefing on North Korea on April 26 at the White House.
The USS Michigan docked at South Korea’s Busan port on April 25, in what it called a routine visit. It is a nuclear-powered submarine carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 60 special operations troops and mini-subs, reported the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.
The submarine is expected to take part in military exercises with the Carl Vinson warship group, which the US said it was dispatching to North Korea earlier this month to “maintain readiness” in the region.
At the time, President Trump said that he was sending an “armada” to the region and that the US had submarines which were “very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier”.
North Korea reacted angrily to the aircraft carrier deployment, threatening to sink it and launch a “super-mighty pre-emptive strike” against what it called US aggression.
However, the US warships caused some confusion and attracted mockery when it emerged that they actually sailed in the opposite direction, away from North Korea, after the announcement. However, US Navy officials said they are now proceeding to the region as ordered.
China is North Korea’s only ally and main trading partner – and the US has been urging Beijing to help put pressure on Pyongyang.
China’s President Xi Jinping spoke to President Donald Trump on April 24, urging all sides to “maintain restraint and avoid actions that would increase tensions”.
President Donald Trump has launched an investigation into countries that export steel to the United States, raising the prospect of new tariffs on imports.
The investigation is designed to stop countries from flooding the US with artificially cheap steel and undercutting local suppliers.
China is most often associated with the practice but President Trump said it had “nothing to do” with Beijing. The president said it was about protecting US security.
The news caused shares in US steelmakers to rise sharply.
However, Asian steelmakers also climbed as investors appeared to shrug off the news.
The US government has previously attempted to shield national steelmakers from cheap foreign steel through the World Trade Organization, but the Trump administration says this has had little impact.
Image source Wikimedia
Instead, the investigation will fall under the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which lets the president impose restrictions on imports for reasons of national security.
“Steel is critical to both our economy and our military,” President Trump said.
“This is not an area where we can afford to become dependent on foreign countries.”
China is the largest national producer and makes far more steel than it consumes, selling the excess output overseas, often at subsidized prices.
However, Japan and South Korea have also been accused of dumping in the past.
Commenting on the probe, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Chinese exports now accounted for 26% of the US steel market.
Wilbur Ross said exports had risen “despite repeated Chinese claims that they were going to reduce their steel capacity”.
“The artificially low prices caused by excess capacity and unfairly-traded imports suppress profits in the American steel industry,” the administration said in a statement.
Wilbur Ross said that if the investigation found the US steel industry was suffering from excess steel imports, he would recommend retaliatory steps that could include tariffs.
President Trump has been highly critical of China’s trade practices in the past but has softened his tone of late as he seeks greater cooperation over North Korea.
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