By JONATHAN LEMIRE and CATHERINE LUCEY , Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Monday that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself, but added he had done nothing wrong, asserting his presidential power as the White House is sharpening its political and legal defenses against the special counsel Russia probe. Trump’s…
By DEB RIECHMANN , Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Whistleblower or traitor, leaker or public hero? National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the lid off U.S. government surveillance methods five years ago, but intelligence chiefs complain that revelations from the trove of classified documents he disclosed are still trickling out. That includes recent reporting…
By KRISTEN DE GROOT , Associated Press The final phase of the Flight 93 National Memorial is underway and on track to open on the 17th anniversary of plane’s crash into a Pennsylvania field during 9/11. United Airlines Flight 93 was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco on Sept. 11, 2001, when…
FLORRISANT, Mo. (AP) — A woman and baby have been found dead inside an apartment north county.. St. Louis County Police say the 24-year-old woman and a boy believed to be about 1 year old were found dead by officers around 8 p.m. Friday. Police had not released the identities of the victims by Saturday…
By JONATHAN LEMIRE , Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s lawyers composed a secret 20-page letter to special counsel Robert Mueller to assert that he cannot be forced to testify while arguing that he could not have committed obstruction because he has absolute authority over all federal investigations. The existence of the letter,…
SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — In the sweltering twilight on their school’s football field, 328 seniors at a Southeast Texas high school received their diplomas Friday with memories of a deadly mass shooting fresh in their minds. The Santa Fe High School seniors gathered in the 83-degree heat and 76 percent humidity on the artificial-turf…
By ZEKE MILLER, JOSH LEDERMAN and JONATHAN LEMIRE , Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S.-North Korea summit is back on, President Donald Trump announced Friday, ending weeks of uncertainty about a historic meeting with Kim Jong Un, to discuss ending the North Korean leader’s nuclear program. Trump made the announcement, just a week after…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he is considering commuting the sentence of ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and pardoning Martha Stewart. The comments came aboard Air Force One on Thursday after he announced on Twitter that he planned to pardon conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza. Trump tells reporters that Blagojevich said something dumb but that…
By MATTHEW LEE and JOSH LEDERMAN , Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A top aide to Kim Jong Un will make a rare visit to Washington Friday to hand a letter from the North Korean leader to President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after reporting “good progress” in talks between the…
By KEN THOMAS and ANGELA CHARLTON , Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports after failing to win concessions from the European Union, a move that could provoke retaliatory tariffs and inflame trans-Atlantic trade tensions. U.S. and European officials held last-ditch talks…