Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
It is a place where worlds converge, a vast melting pot of different peoples, all in search of a better life. Yet the US-Mexico border is also, increasingly, a focal point for human suffering
Milson, from Honduras, sits with his 14-year-old daughter, Loany, on the reedy riverbank beside the bridge connecting Matamoros, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, with downtown Brownsville, Texas, across the Rio Grande.
On the far reach – a few yards but another world away – is a vast tent (officially a “soft-sided facility”) erected to cope with the sheer numbers seeking asylum in the US. In a few weeks’ time, on the date stipulated on their “notice to appear” document, the people staying here will have their “credible fear interview” by video link.
President ‘berated’ intelligence chief over briefing – New York Times
Roger Stone asks for Trump pardon after 40-month sentence
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It was another evening of late-breaking news. Here’s a summary as our live politics coverage ends for the night:
Elizabeth Warren is not done with her demans that Michael Bloomberg, billionaire former New York mayor and late entrant into the 2020 Democratic primary, release former employees who have brought lawsuits against Bloomberg and his company from their nondisclosure agreements.
The goal, Warren has said: allowing women to talk candidly about the behavior that prompted the lawsuits, and ensuring transparency in the primary.
Elizabeth Warren opens her CNN town hall by saying she brought something with her -- a contract she wrote up that she says would release former Bloomberg employees from NDAs.
"I used to teach contract law... All he has to do is sign it. I’ll text it."
Briefing to members of Congress is said to have led to abrupt removal of acting director of national intelligence
US intelligence officials are reported to have warned members of Congress last week that Russia was trying to interfere in the 2020 election campaign in favour of Donald Trump, in a briefing that led to the abrupt removal of the acting director of national intelligence.
When Trump heard about the briefing, he railed at the acting DNI, Joseph Maguire, in the Oval Office, over what the president saw as disloyalty, the Washington Post reported. Until then, Maguire had been a leading candidate to become permanent DNI and is understood to have told colleagues he expected to stay on in the position.
Donald Trump said his longtime ally Roger Stone had a ‘very good chance of exoneration’, addressing the case for the first time since his former associate was sentenced at a Las Vegas event on Thursday 20 February. Trump also said the jury foreman in Stone’s case was ‘totally tainted’ and an an ‘anti-Trump activist’. After he issued a series of commutations and pardons earlier this week, speculation that Trump will pardon Stone has intensified
Ex-national security adviser criticized by Obama official
‘I would feel like I was shamefully violating the oath I took’
Former national security adviser John Bolton faced a roasting from one of his predecessors on Wednesday night, in his second public appearance since the conclusion of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
Trump ally guilty on seven counts, including lying to Congress
President claims conviction ‘should be thrown out’
Roger Stone, a longtime ally of Donald Trump and a self-described political dirty trickster, is set to be sentenced on Thursday for his attempts to sabotage a congressional investigation that posed a political threat to the president.
The sentencing will go ahead despite an 11th-hour request by Stone’s defense team for a new trial following Trump’s claim that the conviction “should be thrown out”.
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The White House said that Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone yesterday.
“The two leaders discussed the importance of NATO, French and United States counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, and other bilateral issues,” the readout says.
Bernie Sanders may also be asked about this during tonight’s debate: the Atlantic is reporting that the Vermont senator considered challenging Barack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination.
Bernie Sanders got so close to running a primary challenge to President Barack Obama that Senator Harry Reid had to intervene to stop him.
It took Reid two conversations over the summer of 2011 to get Sanders to scrap the idea, according to multiple people who remember the incident, which has not been previously reported.
WikiLeaks published emails damaging to Hillary Clinton in 2016
Offer claim made at WikiLeaks founder’s extradition hearing
Donald Trump offered Julian Assange a pardon if he would say Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic party emails, a court in London has been told.
The extraordinary claim was made at Westminster magistrates court before the opening next week of Assange’s legal battle to block attempts to extradite him to the US.
The former Democratic Illinois governor called himself a ‘Trumpocrat’ as he thanked Donald Trump for commuting his prison sentence, praising Trump’s ‘kind heart’. Blagojevich had been recorded trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he became president, but Trump has claimed it did not happen
Revelation comes days after Barr took swipe at president over apparent intervention in Roger Stone case
The attorney general, William Barr, has told people close to him he is considering quitting his post, after Donald Trump failed to heed his warning to stop tweeting about justice department cases, administration officials told the Washington Post and Associated Press.
The revelation came days after Barr took a public swipe at the president, saying in a television interview that Trump’s tweets about justice department cases and staffers made it “impossible” for him to do his job. The next day, Trump ignored Barr’s request and insisted that he had the “legal right” to intervene in criminal cases and sidestep the department’s historical independence.
President condemns ‘fraudulent investigation’ and falsely claims that he is the country’s chief law enforcement officer
Donald Trump has called for his longtime ally Roger Stone’s recent conviction for witness tampering and lying to Congress to be thrown out.
Trump’s barrage of Tuesday morning tweets comes days after his own attorney general, William Barr, sparked a furore over his apparent intervention in the case.
Billionaire Bloomberg will face opponents on debate stage in Las Vegas
Democratic rules were changed, opening door to former NY mayor’s participation
Bloomberg facing criticism over past policies and alleged comments
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The good polling news for Michael Bloomberg just keeps on coming this morning.
A new poll from Oklahoma, which will also hold its primary on Super Tuesday, shows Bloomberg leading the field with 20%.
In addition to qualifying for the next Democratic debate, Michael Bloomberg also got some good news from a Virginia poll out this morning.
According to the Monmouth University survey, Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders are tied among likely voters in Virginia, which will hold its primary on Super Tuesday.
President reasserts his right to tweet on judicial issues following William Barr’s warning the posts ‘make it impossible for me to do my job’
Donald Trump has ignored a plea from his attorney general, William Barr, to not tweet about ongoing legal cases, by using his Twitter account to say he has a “legal right” to do so.
Barr delivered a remarkable public rebuke of the president just hours earlier, saying that Trump’s tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job” and that he would not be “bullied or influenced” over justice department decisions.
Attorney general makes unexpected intervention into controversy over Stone case
Trump criticised for interfering in friend’s sentencing
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Two leading Republican voices came out in favour of Barr in the dispute yesterday, with Senator Mitch McConnell, the party’s leader in the Senate, saying: “If the attorney general says it’s getting in the way of doing his job, maybe the president should listen.”
Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally who was scathing about the impeachment trial against the president, said Barr was “the right man at the right time to reform the department and stand up for the rule of law”.
To hear this attorney general complain about this president, who is fighting every one of those damn people to do the right thing and get this country straightened out and it’s mission to do so and not to carp about his boss.
And, by the way, I don’t want to hear any crap about an independent Justice Department. This Justice Department, as does everyone, works for the president. It’s part of the executive branch.
Good morning.
US attorney general William Barr made an unexpected intervention into the ballooning controversy over Donald Trump’s interference in the trial of his friend Roger Stone.
When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut,.
The attorney general had been contemplating how to respond since he became aware of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the department, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Speaking up could have put Mr. Barr at risk of losing the backing of the president, but remaining silent would have permitted Mr. Trump to continue attacking law enforcement and all but invited open revolt among the some 115,000 employees of the Justice Department.
Ultimately, Mr. Barr concluded that he had to speak out to preserve his ability to do his job effectively, the person said … The attorney general had let the president know some of what he planned to say and is remaining in his job, a person familiar with the events said.
Daily Beast reporters say Reince Priebus was repeatedly asked about the rotund, hairy omnivores during briefings on healthcare and foreign policy
Of all the topics to occupy the mind of the most powerful person in the United States, one would not expect badgers to make a frequent appearance.
But the rotund, hairy omnivores were apparently an alarmingly regular topic of conversation in the White House during the early months of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to Daily Beast reporters Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng.
Attorney general says he will not be ‘bullied’ over decisions but some observers question his motives
The US attorney general, William Barr, publicly rebuked Donald Trump on Thursday, saying that the president’s tweets about the case of Roger Stone “make it impossible for me to do my job” and that he would not be “bullied or influenced” over justice department decisions.
In an interview with ABC News, the attorney general acknowledged his comments could leave him open to backlash from the president, who is notoriously intolerant of criticism from his aides. But Barr said he was determined to lead the justice department without being influence by outside forces, including the president.
Democratic resolution to limit Trump’s power will likely not become law
Pelosi says Trump comments on Stone case are ‘abuse of power’
Hope Hicks reportedly returning to the White House
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A judge has temporarily blocked Microsoft’s cloud-computing work with the Pentagon after Amazon complained that it lost the contract partly because of Trump’s bias against the company.
Trump has repeatedly lashed out against Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and owner of the Washington Post.
A judge ordered Thursday a temporary block on the JEDI cloud contract, which was awarded to Microsoft, in response to a suit filed by Amazon. Shares of Microsoft fell on the news, while Amazon’s stock rose slightly. A court notice announcing the injunction was filed on Thursday, but wasn’t public. It’s unclear why the documents were sealed.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is instructed to earmark $42 million for any ‘costs and damages’ that could be incurred in the event that the ‘injunction was issued wrongfully,’ the filing states. Amazon must file a notice with the courts indicating it has obtained the $42 million by Feb. 20. Microsoft and Amazon must respond to the filing by Feb. 27.
The eight Republicans who supported the Iran War Powers resolution in the Senate were: Todd Young, Mike Lee, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Rand Paul, Bill Cassidy, Jerry Moran and Lamar Alexander.
The resolution, aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to launch military operations in Iran, was expected to attract some Republican support, but the number of defections was surprising.
Ex-DoJ officials and watchdogs warn of ‘five-alarm fire in our democracy’
Trump congratulates Barr for ‘taking charge’ in case
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Trump: congratulations William Barr on following the order I tweeted to 72m people.
Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought. Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress!
GOP Sen. John Kennedy said Trump’s tweets about Stone were “problematic” but he also told us he’s seen “no evidence” that Trump improperly interfered and thought it was simply lack of coordination on sentencing. He wouldn’t comment directly when I asked if Barr should testify
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday asked the inspector general of the justice department to investigate the Stone sentencing recommendation reversal.
This morning on the Senate floor, Schumer called on the chair of the judiciary committee, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, to convene hearings on the matter. Graham, a staunch ally of the president who has lately been focused on the need to investigate Hunter Biden’s conduct in Ukraine, is not likely to do that.
The president ran against the swamp in Washington, a place that is rigged by the powerful to benefit them personally. I ask my fellow Americans, what is more swampy, what is more fetid, what is more stinking than the most powerful person in the country literally changing the rules to benefit a crony guilty of breaking the law?”
NEW: Chuck Schumer calls on Lindsey Graham "to convene an emergency hearing...to conduct oversight and hold hearings" following DOJ reversal on Stone sentencing recommendation.
Donald Trump has expressed disapproval at the sentencing recommendation for his longtime associate Roger Stone. Four lawyers who prosecuted the political operative quit in protest after their recommendation was overruled by the justice department. The president denied speaking to the justice department about the case but said he would have 'the absolute right' to have done so. Stone, 67, was found guilty last November of seven crimes including obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering