Trump brushes off GOP critics on eve of meeting with Ryan
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump declared Wednesday he doesn’t need support from House Speaker Paul Ryan or other leery Republican leaders, brushing off his Capitol Hill critics even as he prepared to sit down with them. His defiant message came amid new signs that he might be right, with GOP voters becoming more willing to embrace the New York billionaire.
Their public differences are overshadowing the GOP rank and file’s movement toward Trump and his own efforts to broaden his appeal as general election campaign takes shape.
“If we make a deal, that will be great,” Trump told Fox News Channel when asked about Thursday’s meeting with Ryan, who has so far refused to endorse him. “And if we don’t, we will trudge forward like I’ve been doing and winning all the time.”
Trump’s allies echoed his contention that he can claim the White House with or without leading congressional Republicans, who continue to express reservations about his tone and inconsistent policy prescriptions. Their public differences are overshadowing prospective voters’ movement toward Trump and his own efforts to broaden his appeal as the general election campaign takes shape.
His likely November opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, still has Sen. Bernie Sanders opposing her for her party’s nomination. But she all but ignored him Wednesday as she campaigned in Blackwood, New Jersey.
Bombings by IS kill 93 in Baghdad’s bloodiest day this year
BAGHDAD (AP) — In the deadliest violence in Baghdad this year, three car bombs claimed by the Islamic State group killed 93 people across the Iraqi capital Wednesday, demonstrating the extremists’ ability to mount significant attacks despite major battlefield losses.
The separate bombings, which also wounded 165 people, came at a time of turmoil and deadlock in Iraq’s government and parliament. The Interior Ministry blamed the attacks on “political bickering” that is increasingly threatening the security of the civilian population.
The largest car bomb ripped through a crowded outdoor market selling food, clothing and household goods in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City during the morning, killing at least 63 people and wounding 85.
Streets were stained with blood, building facades were heavily damaged and smoke billowed from stores gutted by the blast. Dozens of people walked through mangled wreckage of cars and other debris as ambulances ferried away the injured.
The bomb was in a pickup truck loaded with fruit and vegetables. It was parked by a man who had quickly disappeared into the crowd, said Karim Salih, a 45-year-old grocer who escaped injury.
Evacuees from Alberta fire start receiving money
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — More than 80,000 wildfire evacuees will start receiving direct financial assistance Wednesday from the Alberta government and the Canadian Red Cross as officials asked for patience in getting residents home following the devastating wildfire in Canada’s oil sands town of Fort McMurray.
Canadian Red Cross chief executive Conrad Sauve said in a news conference that each adult will receive $600 Canadian (US$467) and each child will get $300 Canadian (US$234) in what he called the most important and fastest direct cash transfer in the organization’s history. It totals $50 million Canadian. (US$39 million).
That’s in addition to $1,250 Canadian (US$973) per adult and $500 Canadian (US$390) per dependent that Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said will be available starting Wednesday. Notley asked those who don’t need emergency funding to let those who do line up first for debit cards. The newly announced Red Cross payments will also start Wednesday and will be via electronic transfers.
“We already know that the damage resulting from the wildfires will be in the billions and it will take years to recover, but also know that the needs of those affected are immediate,” Sauve said.
Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen said the wildfire is outside of the city, and moving south. He said residents can’t come back until it is safe and workers have checked power and water supplies. The fire burned about 2,400 homes and buildings but 90 percent of the city was saved.
North Carolina’s transgender law creates tangle of lawsuits
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The dueling lawsuits over North Carolina’s law on bathroom use by transgender people have landed in the hands of three federal judges appointed by Republican presidents, with both sides trying to maneuver into the most favorable courtroom possible.
Legal experts expect some or all of the five cases to be combined. But it remains to be seen whether they will be decided in the court picked by the law’s opponents for its moderate reputation, or in the more conservative court chosen by the measure’s GOP supporters.
“This is definitely a strategic decision by the plaintiffs to file in the district they like best,” said Tom Metzloff, a Duke University law professor and expert on civil procedure.
Either way, the dispute could ultimately be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court for a ruling once and for all on whether federal laws including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protect transgender people from discrimination.
At issue is a state law that says transgender people must use public bathrooms, showers and changing rooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. Supporters say the law is needed to safeguard people’s privacy and protect women and children from molesters. Opponents, including the Obama administration, say the danger is imaginary and the law discriminatory.
