No Russia collusion, Trump son-in-law Kushner tells Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner denied Monday that he colluded with Russians in the course of President Donald Trump’s White House bid and declared he has “nothing to hide.”
Behind closed doors, Kushner spoke to staff members of the Senate intelligence committee for nearly three hours at the Capitol, then made a brief public statement back at the White House.
“Let me be very clear,” he said. “I did not collude with Russia nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so.”
Kushner left without taking questions. In an 11-page statement, released hours before the Capitol session, he detailed four contacts with Russians during Trump’s campaign and transition. It aimed to explain inconsistencies and omissions in a security clearance form that have invited public scrutiny.
In the statement, Kushner said that none of his contacts, which included meetings at Trump Tower with the Russian ambassador and a Russian lawyer, was improper.
Promising ‘A Better Deal,’ Democrats try to rebrand party
BERRYVILLE, Va. (AP) — Promising “A Better Deal” for American workers, Democratic Party leaders rolled out a new agenda with a populist pitch on Monday aimed at winning back the working-class voters they lost to President Donald Trump in November.
Democratic congressional leaders left the Beltway for small-town Berryville, Virginia, to stake a claim to competing in rural and Republican-leaning areas. Acknowledging they failed to offer a compelling economic message during the 2016 election cycle, Democrats unveiled proposals on jobs, prescription drug prices and more that they hope will resonate in the 2018 midterm elections and beyond.
“Too many Americans don’t know what we stand for,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “Not after today.”
Yet the challenges confronting the Democrats’ rebranding effort were immediately apparent.
As Schumer spoke alongside other House and Senate Democrats, TV news stations were instead showing Trump adviser Jared Kushner denying collusion with Russia, as Trump administration turmoil swamped Democrats’ attempt to get their message out.
Iowa firm tied to truck deaths has history of legal problems
SCHALLER, Iowa (AP) — The small, family-owned Iowa trucking company linked to the deadly case of immigrant smuggling in Texas has a history of safety and tax violations and financial problems, public records show.
Pyle Transportation Inc. failed to pay federal employment and trucking taxes for years, faced lawsuits from Iowa labor regulators over unpaid wages owed to drivers and has been ordered to pay major penalties for violations of federal safety rules, records show. The IRS and others who say the company owes them money have often found no assets available to garnish.
The company and its driver insist they know nothing about how dozens of immigrants became packed inside the trailer of its 18-wheeler, which was found parked in the searing heat outside a San Antonio Walmart over the weekend. Ten of those passengers died and more than 15 others were hospitalized with extreme dehydration, with one passenger telling investigators people were taking turns breathing from a hole inside the trailer.
Pyle Transportation owner Brian Pyle denied knowledge of any human smuggling and expressed shock and bewilderment over how so many people could have been crammed into a trailer that had his name on it.
“I’m absolutely sorry it happened. I really am. It’s shocking,” Pyle said outside the company’s ramshackle office near the tiny downtown of Schaller, Iowa, a village of 750 in the rural northwestern part of the state.
Charlie Gard parents drop legal fight, agree to let him die
LONDON (AP) — The parents of Charlie Gard, whose battle to get their critically ill baby experimental treatment stirred international sympathy and controversy, dropped their legal effort Monday, saying tearfully that it was time to let their son die.
At an emotional court hearing, a lawyer for the baby’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, said the couple was withdrawing a bid to have Charlie sent to the United States, where a doctor had offered to try to treat his rare genetic condition. The decision came after new medical tests showed the 11-month-old, who has brain damage and cannot breathe unaided, had irreversible muscular damage.
Both parents wept in the packed courtroom at the High Court in London as lawyer Grant Armstrong made the announcement, his voice breaking.
“This case is now about time,” Armstrong said. “Sadly, time has run out.”
Outside court, Chris Gard said that Charlie “won’t make his first birthday in just under two weeks’ time.”
Trump intensifies criticism of his own attorney general
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a remarkable new swipe at his own attorney general on Monday.
He’s referring to Jeff Sessions in a tweet as “beleaguered” while privately musing about whether he should fire his longtime ally.
Trump again directed his displeasure at Sessions while fuming about the ongoing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible campaign collusion with foreign officials
He has speculated aloud to allies in recent days about the potential consequences of firing Sessions. That’s according to three people who have recently spoken to the president and demanded anonymity to discuss private conversations.
But Trump often talks about making staff changes without following through. Those who have spoken with the president caution that a change may not be imminent or happen at all.
