New York state passes bill to allow Congress to access Trump’s tax returns – live

Arguments have begun in Donald Trump’s lawsuit to block Congressional subpoenas of his financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One.

Patrick Strawbridge, one of Trump’s lawyers, reiterated in court his argument that Congress is overstepping its role by issuing such broad subpoenas.

Related: Trump lawyers to appear in court over subpoenas for financial records

Donald Trump Jr is set to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming an author.

The first son, who earlier today was described as “a good young man” by his father – has signed a deal with Center Street Books, and the tome will be published later this year.

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‘I don’t do cover-ups’: Trump lashes out over Pelosi accusation – video

Donald Trump rejected a charge by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, that he was engaged in a cover-up, saying he was the "most transparent president" the country had ever had. In a last-minute press conference in the Rose Garden, outside the Oval office, Trump condemned the Democats, and said "the crime was committed on the other side". Trump added he would refuse to work with them unless they dropped their investigations into his administration and finances

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Trump refuses to work with Democrats unless they stop investigating him

President halted infrastructure meeting and condemned Pelosi in a snap press conference after she said he was ‘engaging in a cover-up’

Donald Trump on Wednesday terminated a meeting with Democratic leaders after just a few minutes, saying he refuses to work with them on an infrastructure plan unless they stop investigating him and lift the threat of impeachment.

Democrats quickly fired back, claiming that the US president had planned the stunt in advance and what happened at the White House would “make your jaw drop”.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she’d be ‘hard pressed’ to back Biden in primary

Bernie Sanders appears to be the favorite to secure Ocasio-Cortez’s prized endorsement in the Democratic presidential primary

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive US congresswoman and social media sensation, has said she would be “hard pressed” to endorse the frontrunner, Joe Biden, in the Democratic presidential primary.

The statement is the latest sign of the left’s apathy towards the former vice-president, who has surged ahead of the Senator Bernie Sanders and other rivals in recent polls.

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Congresswoman teaches housing secretary Ben Carson his own job – video

Democratic congresswoman Katie Porter grills the housing and urban development secretary, Ben Carson, on a series of mortgage-related policy questions that he is unable to answer. In an uncomfortable exchange, Porter asks Carson about 'REOs', a basic term related to foreclosure, to which he replies: 'An Oreo ...'

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‘Our subpoenas are not optional’: Democrats stonewalled again by Donald Trump

The US president blocked former White House counsel Donald McGahn from testifying before Congress about the special counsel’s report on Russian election interference, prompting fresh threats of impeachment. The House judiciary committee held a brief hearing on Tuesday morning in McGahn’s absence, with an empty chair where he was supposed to sit. The committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, said subpoenas were 'not optional' and the committee would hear McGahn's testimony even if it had to go to court to secure it

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Don McGahn expected to be held in contempt over refusal to testify – live

The former White House counsel had been subpoenaed to appear before the House judiciary committee but Trump blocked his testimony

Organizations around the country are holding “Stop the Bans” day of action Tuesday to protest bans and restrictions on abortion in a growing number of states.

There will be a main event in Washington, D.C. outside the U.S. Supreme Court at noon, as well as rallies in all 50 states.

Kris Kobach demanded access to a government jet 24 hours a day and a chance to become homeland security secretary if he takes a job as Donald Trump’s immigration czar, the New York Times reported Monday evening.

The former Kansas secretary of state has given the White House a list of ten conditions. The full list, obtained by the Times:

1. Office in the West Wing.

2. Walk-in privileges with the president.

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Don McGahn defies subpoena as Trump clash with Congress intensifies

  • White House had blocked former counsel from testifying
  • House Democrats push leadership to impeach

Democrats faced another brazen attempt by Donald Trump to stonewall their investigations on Tuesday, this time with former White House counsel Donald McGahn defying a subpoena to appear before Congress on orders from the White House.

The House judiciary committee held a brief hearing on Tuesday morning in McGahn’s absence, with an empty chair where he was supposed to sit.

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Joe Biden says most important thing is to beat Donald Trump – video

Formally launching his third presidential campaign, Joe Biden appealed for party and national unity while accusing Donald Trump of leading the US with ‘a clenched fist, a closed hand and a hard heart’. But, he said, ‘we are the United States of America and there is not a single thing we cannot do if we are together’. Biden was a senator representing Delaware for 36 years and vice-president to Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. He was a relatively late entrant to the sprawling field seeking the Democratic nomination in 2020, with 23 candidates now in the running

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Biden rejects Trump’s ‘clenched fist’ in appeal for Democratic and US unity

Formally launching his third presidential campaign, Joe Biden appealed for party and national unity while accusing Donald Trump of leading America with “a clenched fist, a closed hand and a hard heart”.

Related: Could climate change submerge Joe Biden's presidential bid?

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Missouri House passes extreme eight-week abortion ban – live

State’s Republican-led House joins states such as Alabama by passing sweeping bill, which does not include exceptions for rape or incest

The bill just passed in Missouri is designed not to go into effect – but to go to court. It is unconstitutional.

We published this analysis of near total abortion bans from Prof. B Jessie Hill this week. Hill is a professor at Case Western Reserve school of law and an expert in reproductive rights law.

Related: Could abortion become illegal in America? All signs point to yes | B Jessie Hill

Rather than pursuing the sort of incremental strategy that anti-abortion activists have favored in the past – such as banning abortions late in pregnancy, or attempting to gradually regulate abortion clinics out of existence with increasingly burdensome regulations – these newer laws are written to prohibit virtually all abortions in the state.

Fetal cardiac activity can be detected beginning at about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant. By banning all abortions after that point, “heartbeat” bans, if they take effect, would stop all but a very small percentage of abortions.

In addition to everything happening in Missouri today, the House debated the Equality Act, to expand protections for LGBT people.

The House just approved the Equality Act, a bill that would expand gay rights, extending to areas like employment, housing, loan applications, education and public accommodations.@SarahEMcBride of @HRC broke down the Equality Act for us ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ctY0DPxjqu

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Bill de Blasio announces 2020 presidential bid

New York mayor has traveled to early primary states such as Iowa and Nevada with a message centered on economic inequality

New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has jumped into the 2020 presidential race, joining at least 21 other declared Democratic candidates for the party’s nomination.

The mayor announced his run with a video released by his campaign.

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White House refuses to sign on to Christchurch call to combat online extremism – live

White House said in response to an international agreement to to curb hate speech that ‘productive speech’ is the best tool to defeat it

The White House has criticized House Democrats’ investigation into obstruction of justice by the president as serving “political theater.” In turn, the lawmaker in charge of those investigations called the White House position “preposterous” in an interview.

The letter was sent by White House council Pat Cipollone, in response to a March request by Congressional investigators for documents. In a 12-page letter, Cipollone asked the committee to narrow its “sweeping” request and provide a legislative reason why the documents should be released, according to Reuters.

The White House will not participate in the committee’s ‘investigation’ that brushes aside the conclusions of the Department of Justice after a two-year-long effort in favor of political theater pre-ordained to reach a preconceived and false result,” Cipollone’s 12-page letter said.

The documents requested relate to everything from the contents of Trump’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin to his communications with former White House counsel Donald McGahn, the firing of former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn and former FBI director James Comey, and possible pardons for Trump associates who pleaded guilty to crimes stemming from the probe.

The committee also seeks documents aimed at probing whether Trump has used the White House to enrich himself in violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause.

Jameela Jamil, formerly a presenter on BBC Radio 1 and now one of the stars of the sitcom The Good Place, opened up about an abortion she had when she was young.

Jamila called it the “best decision I have ever made.”

I had an abortion when I was young, and it was the best decision I have ever made. Both for me, and for the baby I didn’t want, and wasn’t ready for, emotionally, psychologically and financially. So many children will end up in foster homes. So many lives ruined. So very cruel.

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Barr assigns attorney to find how Trump-Russia investigation began – live updates

Attorney general’s new investigation follows years of Trump and supporters claiming justice department and FBI spied on his campaign

On the subject of markets – the Dow Jones Industrial Average has opened up slightly, a half a point in the green on the day so far. It fell a bit more than three points on Monday.

Donald Trump spent at least an hour and some 1,400 characters on Tuesday morning tweeting a defense of his tariffs on Chinese goods, which China has responded to with retaliatory tariffs, precipitating a dive on Monday in the US markets. Asian markets fell less sharply and European markets opened Tuesday slightly up.

Trump said on Tuesday that “Tariffs have rebuilt our Steel Industry - it is booming!”, “we are in a fantastic position”, “We are in a much better position now than any deal we could have made” and “Other countries are already negotiating with us because they don’t want this to happen to them.”

Related: Trump defends China tariffs as trade war leaves allies and opponents in bind

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Montana governor Steve Bullock enters 2020 presidential race

  • Democrat has pushed progressive policies in conservative state
  • Bullock stresses campaign finance reform in launch video

Steve Bullock, the Democratic governor of Montana, announced on Tuesday that he is entering the presidential race after pushing a progressive agenda in a conservative state.

Among a crowded field of more than 20 Democratic candidates, Bullock attempted to distinguish himself in his campaign launch video by touting his ability to work with Republicans and his record of fighting corporate spending in elections.

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Could climate change submerge Joe Biden’s presidential bid?

The former vice-president has yet to put forward a plan to address global warming, which polls suggest is the single most important issue for Democrats

Climate change is transforming life by redrawing coastlines, turning vast areas of forest into infernos, stirring enormous storms and spreading exotic diseases. An indirect casualty of this upheaval could be Joe Biden’s hopes of becoming US president.

Biden, frontrunner in the polls to secure the Democratic nomination, has not laid out a plan to address the crisis.

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House Democrat subpoenas six years of Trump tax returns

Committee chair Richard Neal says treasury secretary and IRS commissioner must provide documents by 17 May

A top House Democrat on Friday issued subpoenas for six years of Donald Trump’s tax returns, giving the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and the IRS commissioner, Charles Rettig, a deadline of next Friday to deliver them.

Richard Neal, the chairman of the House ways and means committee, , issued the subpoenas days after Mnuchin refused to comply with demands to turn over Trump’s returns. Mnuchin told the panel he wouldn’t provide Trump’s tax records because the panel’s request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose”, as supreme court precedent requires.

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#ConstitutionalCrisis? Trump’s battle with Congress comes to a head

The president’s claims of executive privilege over the Mueller report have set new alarm bells ringing for the fate of democracy

Police this week arrested an alleged arsonist who started a fire outside the National Archives building in Washington, claiming that voices told him to “burn buildings down”. The archives display a four-page handwritten document to countless tourists and schoolchildren: the US constitution.

While the physical object remains fragile but secure, the political framework it represents is facing one of the severest threats in its 232-year history. The arsonist is Donald Trump and he is getting ever closer with his tiki torch.

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House Democrats vote to hold attorney general Barr in contempt of Congress

Panel takes action after Barr refused to provide unredacted Mueller report, as Schiff subpoenas attorney general

House Democrats voted on Wednesday to hold the US attorney general, William Barr, in contempt of Congress, citing his failure to hand over the full, unredacted version of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The decision came on a day of escalating tensions between Congress and the White House.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House invoked executive privilege to block the House judiciary committee’s request for the full Mueller report and underlying evidence.

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