Nation and World briefs for May 23

Letter: Flynn cites ‘public frenzy,’ invokes 5th Amendment

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination on Monday and declined to hand over documents sought under subpoena by a Senate panel investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

In a letter to the Senate intelligence committee , Flynn’s attorneys justified the decision by citing an “escalating public frenzy against him” and saying the Justice Department’s recent appointment of a special counsel has created a legally dangerous environment for him to cooperate with the panel’s investigation.

“The context in which the committee has called for General Flynn’s testimonial production of documents makes clear that he has more than a reasonable apprehension that any testimony he provides could be used against him,” the attorneys wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the AP.

Flynn’s decision not to cooperate with the Senate committee represents a new legal complication for the expanding government and congressional inquiries into Russian interference in the presidential campaign and contacts between Trump advisers and Russian officials and representatives. Flynn is a key figure in both the FBI investigation headed by special counsel Robert Mueller and in separate Senate and House inquiries.

Trump appointed Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and top military intelligence chief, as his top national security aide in January, only to fire him less than a month later. Trump said that Flynn had misled top U.S. officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian officials, including Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.

Iran’s president criticizes US after Trump’s sharp words

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani took barbed swipes at the U.S. and its ally Saudi Arabia on Monday, hitting back at both a day after President Donald Trump used his first foreign trip to the kingdom to call for further isolation of Iran.

The 68-year-old cleric, a political moderate within Iran who secured a resounding victory over a hard-line opponent, called relations with the United States “a curvy road” even as he touted the 2015 nuclear accord Iran secured with the Obama administration and other world powers as a “win-win” agreement.

He was less flattering in his assessment of the Trump administration so far. Rouhani said that Iranians are “waiting for this government to become stable intellectually” and that “hopefully, things will settle down … so we could pass more accurate judgments.”

“The Americans do not know our region, that’s what the catch is,” Rouhani said in response to a question from The Associated Press. “Unfortunately, Americans have always made mistakes in our region,” he continued. “When they attacked Afghanistan (and) Iraq, when they made sanctions against Iran. In Syria, they made mistakes, and also in Yemen.”

Rouhani also criticized Saudi Arabia, Tehran’s main regional rival, just hours after Trump departed the country bound for Israel, where he arrived Monday. He said the Sunni-ruled kingdom “has never seen a ballot box,” a pointed dig in the wake of Iran’s presidential election Friday that drew long lines as over 40 million people voted.

Rouhani further criticized the Saudi summit that Trump attended on Sunday, describing it as a “show-off” that “will not have any political and practical values.”

Mississippi lawmaker apologizes for calling for lynching

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi lawmaker has apologized for saying Louisiana leaders should be lynched for removing Confederate monuments, only after his comment sparked broad condemnation in both states.

“The destruction of these monuments, erected in the loving memory of our family and fellow Southern Americans, is both heinous and horrific,” Republican state Rep. Karl Oliver of Winona said in a post Saturday night, which was removed from his page Monday. “If the, and I use this term extremely loosely, ‘leadership’ of Louisiana wishes to, in a Nazi-ish fashion, burn books or destroy historical monuments of OUR HISTORY, they should be LYNCHED! Let it be known, I will do all in my power to prevent this from happening in our State.”

The post was made after three Confederate monuments and a monument to white supremacy were removed in New Orleans.

Oliver issued a statement Monday apologizing.

“I, first and foremost, wish to extend this apology for any embarrassment I have caused to both my colleagues and fellow Mississippians,” Oliver said. “In an effort to express my passion for preserving all historical monuments, I acknowledge the word ‘lynched’ was wrong. I am very sorry. It is in no way, ever, an appropriate term. I deeply regret that I chose this word, and I do not condone the actions I referenced, nor do I believe them in my heart. I freely admit my choice of words was horribly wrong, and I humbly ask your forgiveness.”

North Korea says ready to deploy, mass-produce new missile

TOKYO (AP) — North Korea said Monday it is ready to start mass-producing a new medium-range missile after a weekend test-launch confirmed its combat readiness.

It called the missile, capable of reaching Japan and major U.S. military bases there, an “answer” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.

The solid-fuel Pukguksong-2 missile flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) and reached a height of 560 kilometers (350 miles) on Sunday before plunging into the Pacific Ocean. North Korea’s media said more missiles will be launched in the future.

Trump, traveling in Saudi Arabia and Israel, had no immediate public comment.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the launch and watched from an observation post, state media reported Monday. The Korea Central News Agency said the test verified technical aspects of the weapon system and examined its “adaptability under various battle conditions” before it is deployed to military units.

Kim reportedly said the launch was a success, “approved the deployment of this weapon system for action” and said that it should “be rapidly mass-produced.”

Trump budget promises balance in decade, relies on deep cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is proposing to balance the federal budget within a decade by making sharp cuts to social safety-net programs like food stamps and Medicaid and offering optimistic estimates of economic growth and tax revenues to fulfill the promise of a government back in the black.

Tuesday’s budget blueprint faces a skeptical reception from Congress, where Republicans and Democrats oppose Trump proposals to cut domestic agencies and foreign aid by 10 percent and are recoiling from a $1.7 trillion cut over the coming decade from mandatory government benefit programs. Cuts to Medicaid go beyond the $800 billion-plus contained in a House-passed health care rewrite. A 10-year, $193 billion reduction in food stamps — almost 30 percent — promises to drive millions of people off the program.

Trump would keep campaign pledges to leave core Medicare and Social Security benefits for the elderly alone and his cuts to domestic spending would be redirected to the Pentagon. He promises a new parental leave program championed by his daughter, Ivanka, but will fall short on his promises for a “massive tax cut.”

The budget is getting a low-key unveiling with the president traveling overseas. Trump’s plan, drawn up by White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, lands as Trump’s GOP allies in Congress are grappling with repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama’s health care law and looking ahead to a difficult rewrite of the loophole-clogged U.S. tax code. Trying to balance the budget isn’t in the plan on Capitol Hill, but conservative Republicans are pushing for some action this year on spending cuts.

Because Trump largely leaves alone Social Security or Medicare, he’s proposing deep cuts to other so-called mandatory programs such as Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poorest and many disabled Americans. Trump’s budget, people familiar with the document say, would impose tighter limits on Medicaid’s growth rate than the House GOP’s health bill.

Supreme Court strikes down 2 NC congressional districts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struck down two congressional districts in North Carolina Monday because race played too large a role in their creation, a decision voting rights advocates said would boost challenges in other states.

The justices ruled that Republicans who controlled the state legislature and governor’s office in 2011 placed too many African-Americans in the two districts. The result was to weaken African-American voting strength elsewhere in North Carolina.

In recent years, the Supreme Court has ruled for civil rights groups and black voters in challenges to political districts in Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia.

A Democratic group led by former Attorney General Eric Holder is focusing on redistricting challenges to counter political gains Republicans have made since the 2010 census and the redrawing of electoral districts that followed. Marc Elias, who argued the North Carolina case and is a senior adviser to Holder’s group, said the ruling “will serve as a warning to Republicans not just in North Carolina but throughout the country that their cynical efforts to use race will not go unchallenged.”

In North Carolina, both districts have since been redrawn and the state conducted elections under the new congressional map in 2016. Even with the new districts, Republicans maintained their 10-3 edge in congressional seats.

3 white men, 2 white woman picked for Bill Cosby jury so far

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The panel that will decide Bill Cosby’s fate in his sex assault trial began to take shape Monday with the selection of five jurors, three white men and two white women.

The search for 12 jurors and six alternates got off to a brisk start. Experts believe lawyers on both sides will be considering race, sex, age, occupation and interests of potential jurors.

The actor-comedian once known as America’s Dad for his portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” is charged with drugging and molesting a Temple University women’s basketball team manager at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. He calls their encounter consensual.

Dozens of other women have made similar accusations against Cosby, and the judge is allowing only one of them to testify at the June 5 trial in suburban Philadelphia. The jury from Pittsburgh will be sequestered nearly 300 miles from home.

Cosby has said he thinks race “could be” a motivating factor in the accusations lodged against him.