Pres. Trump's ex-lawyer Cohen disbarred
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer is now an ex-lawyer.Michael Cohen was officially disbarred on Tuesday while he was in Washington giving closed-door testimony to the Senate intelligence committee.A New York court ruled that Cohen's guilty plea last November automatically stripped him of his eligibility to practice law.A spokeswoman for Cohen did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to the House and Senate intelligence committees and to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to a former Playboy model and porn actress who allege they had affairs with President Trump.
Big welcome in Hanoi for President Trump, Kim and new nuclear talks
HANOI, Vietnam — With nervous world capitals looking on, President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un are beginning their second nuclear summit with a one-on-one discussion and an intimate dinner as hard questions swirl about what the American president will demand and Pyongyang might be willing to give up.The two leaders and their aides encamped in Hanoi after long journeys by plane, train and automobile — President Trump on Air Force One, Kim in an armored railcar and limousine — for two days of talks addressing perhaps the world's biggest security challenge: Kim's nuclear program that stands on the verge of realistically threatening targets around the planet.Although many experts are skeptical Kim will give up the nuclear weapons he likely sees as his best guarantee of continued rule, there was a palpable, carnival-like excitement among many in Hanoi as final preparations were made for Wednesday's summit opening.
House to vote on measure revoking President Trump's emergency order
WASHINGTON — Democrats are moving quickly to try to roll back President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to siphon billions of dollars from the military to fund construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.Tuesday's vote in the Democratic-controlled House comes on legislation to revoke President Trump's executive order from earlier this month and would send it to the Republican-held Senate, where it would take only a handful of GOP defections to pass it.President Trump is likely to prevail in the end since he could use his first-ever veto to kill the measure if it passes Congress, but the White House is seeking to minimize defections among the president's GOP allies to avoid embarrassment.The vote could be challenging for GOP lawmakers who view themselves as conservative protectors of the Constitution and the powers of the federal purse that are reserved for Congress.
Pres. Trump extends China tariff deadline, cites progress in talks
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday he will extend a deadline to escalate tariffs on Chinese imports, citing "substantial progress" in weekend talks between the two countries.President Trump tweeted that there had been "productive talks" on some of the difficult issues dividing the U.S. and China, adding that "I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1."President Trump said that if negotiations progress, he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida resort to finalize an agreement.U.S. and Chinese negotiators met through the weekend as they seek to resolve a trade war that's rattled financial markets.President Trump had warned he would escalate the tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports, from 10 to 25 percent, if the two sides failed to reach a deal.
President Trump projects optimism before second North Korea summit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is projecting optimism before a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as he seeks to manage expectations for the meeting.President Trump tweeted on Sunday that he expected the meeting this coming week in Hanoi, Vietnam, to be a "continuation of the progress made at first Summit in Singapore." He added: "Denuclearization?"President Trump added that Kim knows that "without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World."At their first meeting, President Trump reached a vaguely worded commitment from North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
President Trump creates abortion obstacles, preventing clinic referrals
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday set up new obstacles for women seeking abortions, barring taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from making abortion referrals.
Pres. Trump's border wall prototypes to come down
SAN DIEGO — Customs and Border Protection says President Trump's eight border-wall prototypes will be torn down to make way for a secondary barrier separating California from Mexico.The agency says crews have replaced most of one layer of fencing along a 14-mile stretch of the border and have already started work on the secondary fence.Border Patrol Agent Theron Francisco said Friday it isn't clear when the prototypes will come down.
President Trump vows veto as Democrats try to block emergency order
WASHINGTON — Democrats controlling the House have teed up a vote next week to block President Donald Trump from using a national emergency declaration to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, accelerating a showdown in Congress that could divide Republicans and lead to President Trump's first veto.The Democrats introduced a resolution Friday to block President Trump's declaration, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House would vote on the measure Tuesday.
7-year-old hosts hot chocolate stand fundraiser for Pres. Trump's proposed border wall
AUSTIN -- A 7-year-old boy hosted a fundraiser for President Donald Trump's proposed wall on the southern border.Shane Stevens, motivated after President Trump's State of the Union address, raised close to $5,000 between his hot chocolate stand sales, Venmo receipts and matching donors.
After surgery, Michael Cohen's prison date postponed to May
NEW YORK — A judge has agreed to postpone the start of ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's prison sentence by two months to May 6.New York Judge William Pauley approved the delay Wednesday after Cohen's lawyers said he needed more time to recover from shoulder surgery and prepare for Congressional testimony.
President Trump says he had an 'absolute right' to declare a national emergency to pay for border wall
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared Tuesday, Feb. 19 that he would prevail over a multistate lawsuit challenging his emergency declaration to pay for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump said he expected to do "very well," against the suit, adding that he had an "absolute right" to make the declaration."I think in the end we're going to be very successful with the lawsuit," President Trump said, arguing that the opposition was political.A group of 16 states, including California, New York and Colorado, filed a lawsuit Monday against President Trump's emergency declaration.
President Trump moving closer to goal of creating a Space Force
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is moving closer toward his goal of creating a Space Force, just not as the separate military department he envisioned.The Space Force instead will begin as part of the Air Force - similar to how the Marine Corps is part of the Navy - but could become its own separate department in the future.
AG Josh Kaul rips wall declaration, stops short of joining lawsuit
MADISON — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is condemning President Donald Trump's emergency declaration to pay for a U.S.-Mexico border wall but isn't saying whether he'll join a multistate lawsuit challenging it.California and 15 other states are parties to a federal lawsuit filed Monday alleging the declaration is unconstitutional.Kaul, a Democrat, issued a three-sentence statement Tuesday calling the declaration a blatant attempt to circumvent constitutional checks and balances.
16 states sue President Trump over emergency wall declaration
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California and 15 other states filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump's emergency declaration to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.California Attorney General Xavier Becerra released a statement Monday saying the suit alleges President Trump's administration's action violates the Constitution."President Trump treats the rule of law with utter contempt," Becerra said. "He knows there is no border crisis, he knows his emergency declaration is unwarranted, and he admits that he will likely lose this case in court."Joining California in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Virginia.President Trump declared a national emergency to fulfill his promise of completing the wall.The move allows the president to bypass Congress to use money from the Pentagon and other budgets.California has repeatedly challenged President Trump in court."President Trump is manufacturing a crisis and declaring a made-up 'national emergency' in order to seize power and undermine the Constitution," said California Gov.
Rep. Grothman says 'compromise' funding bill has provision that puts children in harm's way
WASHINGTON -- After President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on the southern border to pay for a wall, congressional Democrats prepared a resolution disapproving the declaration expected to pass both chambers.
White House indicates President Trump will veto disapproval of emergency
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is prepared to issue the first veto of his term if Congress votes to disapprove his declaration of a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, a top White House adviser said on Sunday.White House senior adviser Stephen Miller told "Fox News Sunday" that "the president is going to protect his national emergency declaration." Asked if that meant President Trump was ready to veto a resolution of disapproval, Miller added, "He's going to protect his national emergency declaration, guaranteed."The West Wing is digging in for fights on multiple fronts as the president's effort to go around Congress to fund his long-promised border wall faces bipartisan criticism and multiple legal challenges.
California may sue President Trump over emergency wall declaration
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is likely to sue President Donald Trump over his emergency declaration to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, the state attorney general said Friday.Attorney General Xavier Becerra at a joint news conference with Gov.
President Trump says he's declaring emergency to build border wall
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will declare a national emergency to fulfill his pledge to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.President Trump said he will use executive powers to bypass Congress, which approved far less money for his proposed wall than he had sought.