 | | | Politics | | Can Trump use executive privilege to block congressional probes? Like numerous U.S. presidents before him, Donald Trump could cite the legal doctrine of “executive privilege” to try to block congressional investigators from getting access to certain documents and witnesses they are seeking. Here is how executive privilege works and how useful it might be to Trump as the investigations close in on him. | | | | Exclusive: Foreign government leases at Trump World Tower stir more emoluments concerns. The 90-story Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must pass muster with federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent. | | | | | | | | Joe Biden's rise in 2020 race catches Trump's eye and unnerves his allies. Biden soared from “will-he-or-won’t-he-run?” status to the head of the crowded Democratic field just days after announcing his candidacy last week, pulling away from Senator Bernie Sanders and a host of other rivals in opinion polls. Some Trump advisers see the former vice president, with his mainstream blue-collar appeal, as a tough opponent in the three states that carried Trump to his improbable victory in 2016 - Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. | | | | Florida’s legislature passed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in the classroom, expanding a program launched after the deadly high school shooting in Parkland with the aim of preventing another such massacre. Florida’s House of Representatives voted 65 to 47 to pass the bill after hours of debate over two days in which the Republican majority thwarted Democratic efforts to amend, stall or kill the measure. Florida’s Senate approved it 22 to 17 last week. | | | | | Top News | | | | | | The British government’s inquiry into the disclosure of secret information relating to Chinese telecoms company Huawei was needed to ensure the integrity of national security discussions, cabinet office minister David Lidington said. Prime Minister Theresa May fired her defence minister Gavin Williamson on Wednesday over a leak from a meeting of the National Security Council which discusses intelligence coordination and defence strategy. | | | | Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a London court he did not want to be extradited to the United States to face trial for one of the largest compromises of classified information in history. The United States has requested the extradition of Assange, who was dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London on April 11, and has charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which carries a maximum penalty of five years. | | | | Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn will pay homage to his ancestors as part of preparations for his elaborate coronation ceremonies this weekend. The coronation, which takes place from Saturday to Monday, will be the first the country has seen in 69 years, since his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was crowned in 1950. In a tradition dating to the 18th century, the Chakri kings have held the formal title Rama, after an avatar of Hindu god Vishnu in the ancient Indian epic the Ramayana. Here are details of the nine previous kings in the dynasty. | | | | | | Myanmar reporters remain among ‘10 most urgent’ cases of press freedom violations: https://reut.rs/2ZPnQmn Follow updates on the case: https://reut.rs/2GQSHGx 4:36 PM - May 1, 2019 | | | |
