Donald Trump fuels immigration fears in TV address on ‘border crisis’

President offers no new solutions to government shutdown in first Oval Office address of his presidency

Donald Trump has used the first Oval Office address of his presidency to stoke fears of illegal immigration, repeat dubious claims about his border wall and offer no new solutions to the partial government shutdown.

In the type of made-for-TV-moment he relishes, the US president blamed criminal gangs and “vast quantities of illegal drugs” for “thousands of deaths” and faulted Democrats for failing to end the shutdown, now in its 18th day. Democrats accused him of fear-mongering.

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Pelosi and Schumer to deliver rebuttal to Trump’s address – live

Democratic leaders to speak from US Capitol in response to president’s televised speech on border security after calling for equal airtime

2020 Watch: Kamala Harris, the senator from California, released her memoir on Tuesday titled The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.

The book chronicles Harris’ upbringing as the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, her unexpected rise in US politics and current policy vision for the country.

“There were a lot of ways Secretary Kelly could have shown responsiveness, a lot of information he could have provided,” Harris writes. “Indeed the American people had a right to this information, and, given my oversight role on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, I intended to get it. Instead, he said gruffly, “Why are you calling me at home with this?” That was his chief concern. By the time we got off the phone, it was clear that he didn’t understand the depth of what was going on. He said he’d get back to me, but he never did.”

Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who attended the infamous June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower during the presidential campaign, has been charged by US authorities with obstruction of justice.

The indictment, which was unsealed on Tuesday by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, is separate from the special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the US election and potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Natalia Veselnitskaya is accused of fabricating evidence in a US money-laundering case she was working on when she visited Trump Tower in June 2016 to meet senior Trump advisers including his son Donald Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Federal prosecutors in New York said on Tuesday that Veselnitskaya and a senior Russian official drafted a bogus investigation report that she presented in court as supposed evidence that exonerated her client, Prevezon.

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Trump says he may declare national emergency over US-Mexico border wall – video

Donald Trump has threatened a national emergency in the 'next few days' to allow him to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. By doing this, he could unlock money from other sources, thereby avoiding the need for approval from Democrats

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Trump threatens national emergency in ‘next few days’ over wall and shutdown

Donald Trump said on Sunday he may declare a national emergency over immigration, to allow him to build a wall on America’s southern border.

Related: Is Mitt Romney the man to lead a Republican rebellion against Trump?

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Trump tweets ‘not much headway’ on shutdown as key services threatened

Saturday was day 15 of a partial government shutdown that Donald Trump said could go on for months or years, if he is not given funding for a wall on the Mexican border. As new talks were held without result, potentially devastating effects of the shutdown were coming into focus.

Related: Shutdown over border wall is crucial test for Trump's presidency

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Trump confirms he said government shutdown could last months or years

President threatens to declare national emergency and build wall without congressional approval: ‘I can do it if I want’

As a partial US government shutdown hit the two-week mark, Donald Trump told congressional leaders at the White House he was prepared for the standoff to last months or even years.

“Absolutely I said that,” said Trump during a Rose Garden press conference, when asked if Senator Chuck Schumer was correct in his claim that the White House was prepared to continue the shutdown indefinitely.

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Trump is staking his presidency on the shutdown and his wall

As the shutdown’s toll becomes clearer, the president aims to keep his pledge – but Democrats have reason to resist

There are two chants that everyone remembers from Donald Trump’s campaign rallies. One is “Lock her up!”, aimed at Hillary Clinton, a demand not likely to be met unless America becomes a banana republic. The other is “build that wall!”

It is now crunch time for this central, defining promise of the Trump candidacy and “make America great again” movement. The US president says he will not support a bill to fully fund the government until he secures $5.6bn for a wall on the US-Mexico border.

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Government shutdown could last for years, says Trump – video

The partial government shutdown, which hit the two-week mark on Friday, could continue indefinitely after a meeting between Donald Trump and top Democrats failed to resolve their dispute. The president went on to say he could declare a national emergency and build a wall without congressional approval: ‘I can do it if I want’

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Trump threatens to declare national emergency to get wall funding – live

President says ‘we can call it a national emergency’ to bypass Congress and build wall ‘quickly’ at press conference

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Asked if he would turn down the automatic raise coming his way during the government shutdown, ⁦@VP⁩ Pence says “yes.” pic.twitter.com/Z6vPc14Cuf

Trump also said he would consider asking his Cabinet officials not to accept the $10,000 raise due to take effect for them tomorrow.

Donald Trump seems to confirm ABC News reporting that his administration is considering building a wall without the consent or appropriation of Congress by declaring a national emergency.

“I can do it if I want,” Trump said. “We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly.”

"I can do it if I want," Trump now saying he is "allowed" to build the wall himself without congressional approval or appropriation. "We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly."

President Trump just said he could declare a national emergency to build the wall unilaterally without Congress. So this whole shutdown is... what, then?

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‘Immoral’: Nancy Pelosi on Trump’s border wall – video

Nancy Pelosi, the newly elected House speaker, insisted Trump's border wall would not receive funding as the partial US government shutdown hit the two-week mark on Friday. Pelosi described the wall as 'an old way of thinking, it isn't cost effective'

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Trump blames shutdown on 2020 election despite claiming he would take responsibility – live

Donald Trump tweeted an image mocking Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for president.

It features the slogan “Warren: 1/2020th,” an apparent reference to the much-derided DNA test the Massachusetts Democrat took finding she had a small fraction of Native American heritage.

pic.twitter.com/JzfXMAPwKP

Sen. Dianne Feinstein says former Vice President Joe Biden is her top pick for a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

“I’ve watched him as vice president, I’ve seen him operate, I’ve seen him perform,” the California Democrat told Politico. “He brings a level of experience and seniority which I think is really important.”

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Saudi prosecutors seek death penalty for Khashoggi suspects

Eleven suspects attend first court hearing following killing of journalist

A Saudi prosecutor has asked for the death penalty for five of 11 suspects held over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the country’s consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, the state news agency SPA reported on Thursday.

The call came during the first court hearing in the Khashoggi case, which has shredded the kingdom’s international reputation and strained its relations with Turkey, the US and many other western governments.

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Donald Trump ‘ready’ to negotiate on government shutdown – video

Donald Trump tells Fox News he is ready to negotiate an end to the partial government shutdown. In an interview broadcast on Monday night, Trump adds: ‘We have to have border security and the wall is a big part of border security’

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The top Democrats set to make Trump’s life miserable in 2019

With Democrats now in the majority in the House, five committee chairs will wield considerable power to investigate the president

The midterm elections brought an end to a period of one-party rule in Washington. In January, Donald Trump will face a newly empowered House Democratic majority eager to take him on.

The incoming Democratic committee chairs have vowed rigorous oversight of Trump and his administration. Armed with committee gavels, they will now have the power and resources to pursue investigations, issue subpoenas and compel testimony.

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