Ap Fact Check: Trump on border stats – and a Merkel mystery

Illegal border crossings, as President Donald Trump measures them, have gone up since he took office, even as he speaks to audiences about a drop of more than 40 percent. That disconnect was among several that stood out over the past week as Trump opened up on the Russia investigation via Twitter, forsaking accuracy in the process, and made the false claim that he's delivering the first big military pay increase in a decade.

House passes defense bill authorizing pay raise for troops, new jets…

The National Defense Authorization Act, which passed 351-66, is a blueprint that merely authorizes spending on various programs and policies and doesn't actually provide any money for the military. The Senate is working on its own version of the defense authorization bill.

How did EU-founding member Italy go Eurosceptic?

The Lega party's leader Matteo Salvini , accompanied by party colleagues Gian Marco Centinaio and Giancarlo Giorgetti , addresses the media after a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace, Rome, Italy, 21 May 2018. [ EPA-EFE ] All eyes are on Italy as the far-right League and rebellious Five Star Movement close in on power, ringing alarm bells in Brussels as the country inches towards becoming the first EU founding member to have a Eurosceptic government.

EU to Trump: stop threatening us with tariffs

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a dinner with EU and Western Balkan heads of state at the Sofia Tech Park in Sofia, Bulgaria, Wednesday, May 16, 2018. . French President Emmanuel Macron, left, is greeted by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov as he arrives for a dinner with EU and Western Balkan heads of state at the Sofia Tech Park in Sofia, Bulgaria, Wednesday, ... .

In U.K., Old Money Makes Way for Wealthy Refugees

A survey conducted in the United Kingdom found that residents are seven times more willing to admit they've contracted a sexually transmitted disease than answer questions about their salary or reveal their household income. That the subject of money is taboo for the British does nothing to diminish their interest in who among them has it.

Italy’s Populists in Marathon Talks as President Takes a Stand

Italy's populist leaders Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini forged ahead with a government plan in marathon talks, while President Sergio Mattarella indicated that he doesn't intend to rubber stamp whatever they decide. Di Maio of the anti-establishment Five Star, and Salvini, who heads the anti-immigrant League and a broader center-right alliance, were set to hold further discussions in Milan Sunday after Salvini said the pair had reached "substantial agreement on the key points" of a political program on Saturday.

Growing chatter over Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize prospects

Now, President Donald Trump's supporters are pushing for him to be the next U.S. leader to win the Nobel Peace Prize - a move that's being met by smirks and eye rolls in Europe, where Trump remains deeply unpopular. But that's not stopping a growing list of champions from pushing the Nobel committee to consider Trump for the world's most coveted diplomatic prize.

Macron Hailed as European Unifier, but Reality Remains Elusive

After failing to coax Washington to stick with the Iran nuclear deal, and facing protests at home over his labor and pension reforms, French President Emmanuel Macron may find solace Thursday in Germany, where he will be given a prestigious European award for another key ambition: far-reaching goals to reform and revamp the European Union. The Charlemagne Prize, which he will receive in the German spa town of Aachen, remains more of an aspirational nod to Macron's European ambitions than his ability to actually unify the region.

With tax pieces in play, it’s Capitol deal-making season

In this Nov. 10, 2016 file photo, Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, center, is joined by Senate Republicans at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. Republican lawmakers who control the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton have put forward markedly different plans to square Minnesota's tax code with the federal government.

Germany vows to take tougher stance on migrant deportations

Hundreds of German police officers raided a refugee shelter in the southern town of Ellwangen on Thursday, days after an angry mob of migrants prevented authorities from deporting a 23-year-old man from Togo. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer vowed he would do everything he could to clamp down on illegal immigration, speed up asylum procedures and deport rejected asylum-seekers as quickly as possible.

Administration puts off decision on tariffs for EU, others

The White House is postponing a decision on imposing tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico for 30 days, avoiding the potential for a trade battle with Europe as the U.S. prepares for tense trade talks in China this week. The Trump administration said Monday it had reached an agreement with South Korea on steel imports following discussions on a revised trade agreement, the outlines of which were previously announced by U.S. and South Korean officials.

Britain’s May names new minister to try to end immigration scandal

British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a former banker of South Asian origin as interior minister on Monday, trying to draw a line under an immigration scandal threatening her authority as she negotiates Brexit. Sajid Javid, the son of immigrants from Pakistan, replaces Amber Rudd, who quit as Home Secretary after acknowledging she had "inadvertently misled" parliament by denying the government had targets for the number of illegal migrants Britain deports.

How the EU will fight Trump trade tariffs

President Donald Trump will decide by midnight Monday if the U.S. will slap permanent aluminum and steel tariffs on the European Union, inflaming trans-Atlantic tensions and raising the chances of a global trade conflict. Washington imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum products on March 23, saying the imports threatened national security.

Pompeo takes aim at Iranian missiles ahead of talks with Netanyahu

New US secretary of state lands in Riyadh before heading for Israel, where discussions are expected to focus on Trump's plans for the nuclear deal US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gives a press conference during a NATO Foreign ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 27, 2018 Mike Pompeo, Washington's newly appointed secretary of state, is set to fly to Israel Sunday, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in talks likely to focus on US President Donald Trump's plans for the Iran nuclear deal.

Congress Takes a Back Seat on Iran Deal

French President Emmanuel Macron took his fight to save the 2015 Iran nuclear accord to Washington this week, saying in an address to a joint meeting of Congress that he hoped the United States could agree to a "more comprehensive deal" ahead of a critical mid-May deadline rather than scrap it all together. After reluctantly extending waivers on sanctions against Tehran in January, Trump warned that he would pull the U.S. out of the agreement unless Congress and European allies could "fix" it.

Senate confirms ambassador to Germany

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Germany on Thursday, just before Chancellor Angela Merkel was due in Washington for talks on Berlin's desire that Trump preserve the international nuclear agreement with Iran. The Senate voted 56-42 to confirm Richard Grenell, largely along party lines, filling a position that had been vacant since January 2017.