WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s eldest son and a former business associate of the president are due to testify to the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, as it continues its investigation of possible Russian involvement in the 2016 election, sources familiar with the schedule said. FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump Jr. stands onstage with his father then Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump after Trump's debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, U.S. on September 26, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoDonald Trump Jr. will appear before the committee on Wednesday and Felix Sater, a Russian-American who was a former Trump business associate who claimed deep ties to Moscow, as soon as Thursday, the sources said. Neither session will be public. Donald Trump Jr.’s attorney declined a request for comment on his Wednesday appearance, which was first reported by CNN. An attorney for Sater, Robert Wolf, did not respond to a request for comment. Another source said his session with the panel had been set for Thursday but might be rescheduled. Committee aides declined to comment. It is the Intelligence Committee’s policy not to comment on the schedule for closed meetings. The panel is one of the three main congressional committees, as well as Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller, investigating Russia and the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and the possibility of collusion between Trump associates and Moscow. Separately, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Monday she had made requests to three more people for information related to the Russia investigation. Feinstein, who has made public similar requests, said she wrote to Rick Dearborn, a deputy White House chief of staff; Maria Butina, a former assistant to Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of the Russian central bank; and Rick Clay, an advocate for conservative Christian causes. She asked all three for interviews and for documents related to what she described as efforts by Torshin to arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump when he was a presidential candidate. The Russian government has denied any effort to affect the election and Trump has dismissed talk of collusion. A range of Trump associates has been called to testify during the investigation. Last week, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke to the House panel behind closed doors, as did Erik Prince, who founded the military contractor Blackwater and was a supporter of Trump’s campaign. A transcript of Prince’s testimony could be released as soon as Monday. There are no plans to release Sessions’ testimony. Among other people with ties to Trump who are expected to appear in Congress are Jared Kushner, the president’s close adviser and son-in-law, who had testified to the House committee behind closed doors in July. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House panel, said last week that it would “very likely” be necessary for Kushner to testify again. Led by Trump’s fellow Republicans, congressional committees have also called to testify some aides to former Democratic President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 opponent. On Monday, Clinton’s former campaign manager John Podesta testified before the committee, The Hill reported, citing Republican Representative Mike Conaway, the Republican leading the investigation. A Conaway spokeswoman did not response to a request for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Mary MillikenOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In his explosive new book, A Higher Loyalty, fired FBI director James Comey denounces President Trump as “untethered to the truth” and likens him to a “mob boss,” but he also touches on other topics during his decades-long career in law enforcement–including his strong objection to the tech industry’s encryption efforts.When Apple and Google announced in 2014 that they would be moving their mobile devices to default encryption, by emphasizing that making them immune to judicial orders was good for society, “it drove me crazy,” he writes. He goes on to lament the lack of “true listening” between tech and law enforcement, saying that “the leaders of the tech companies don’t see the darkness the FBI sees,” such as terrorism and organized crime. I found it appalling that the tech types couldn’t see this. I would frequently joke with the FBI “Going Dark” team assigned to seek solutions, “Of course the Silicon Valley types don’t see the darkness–they live where it’s sunny all the time and everybody is rich and smart.”But Comey understood it was an unbelievably difficult issue and that public safety had to be balanced with privacy concerns. Toward the end of the Obama era, the administration developed a technical plan to show it was possible to build secure mobile devices and still allow access to law enforcement in certain cases. During one Situation Room discussion on the issue, Obama acknowledged, “You know, this is really hard.” Comey’s first reaction was “No kidding,” but he also appreciated the former president’s humility.President Trump’s views on the issue remain unclear. During the FBI/Apple’s standoff over the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, Trump denounced the company and called for a boycott. But while other top cabinet officials, like Attorney General Jeff Sessions, have been outspoken about the need to “overcome encryption,” the president hasn’t said much on the subject.

On human rights violations in China, a subject that preoccupies French media but not official discourse or French business, Mr. Macron made only a hurried reference. Mr. Xi is visiting at a time when Galeries Lafayette, the emblematic French department store, is projecting a rapid expansion in China, which represents a third of the world market for luxury goods.Jet-lagged Chinese tourists are bussed directly from the airport to the Galeries Lafayette store in central Paris, and the Rue Saint Honoré, a thoroughfare studded with luxury shops, routinely decks itself out for Chinese New Year.The Chinese have invested in a wide scattering of French sectors, including wine, hotels, and industrial food production, including milk. France was the recipient of 9 percent of Chinese investments in the European Union in 2018; the Chinese have bought more than 150 wineries in Bordeaux, and China is the top export market for Bordeaux wine. The Chinese push into that culturally symbolic sector has created some backlash, but not enough to stop French owners from selling their properties.With Mr. Xi silently listening Monday Mr. Macron said that Europe had never considered individual rights as “culturally specific,” and that its preoccupation remained for “the respect of fundamental and individual rights.” He said that the two had “had frank exchanges” on the subject.But French analysts of relations with China said Monday that commercial relations were the real subject of preoccupation. “It’s the question of reciprocity,” said Jean-Philippe Béja of Sciences-Po, the research university. “We’ve been open towards trade and investment, and the Chinese have never let us enter their state procurements process.”Europeans, he suggested, had also become more aware, and wary, of technology transfers and investments that “help the Chinese government develop its potential, and in the case of artificial intelligence it’s about control, and exporting control,” said Mr. Béja, referring to advances in Chinese government surveillance of its own citizenry.“We’re more fearful than the other” members of the European Union about Chinese power and hegemony, said François Godement, an expert at the Institut Montaigne research center in Paris. “China is pushing its own pawns,” he said, particularly in parts of Africa where for decades French dominance has been undisputed.Mr. Macron insisted Monday that France and China were “not strategic rivals” in Africa, though he said the two nations could be “much more important partners,” appearing to reflect a worry about Chinese investment on the continent.

A view of the U.S. District Courthouse as closing arguments are expected in former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial on bank and tax fraud charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., August 15, 2018. REUTERS/Chris WattieALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - The jury in the bank and tax fraud trial of President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort on Thursday asked the judge to clarify the meaning of “reasonable doubt” and the legal requirements to disclose foreign bank accounts as it wrapped up its first day of deliberations. In a note to the judge that said it wanted to go home at 5:30 p.m. (2130 GMT), the jury asked for a definition of “reasonable doubt.” In the U.S. legal system, juries are required to find a defendant guilty of a crime “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Reporting by Lisa LambertOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Donald Trump is under fire for saying the FBI's reputation is "in tatters" over its probe into alleged collusion between Russia and his campaign.Ex-FBI head James Comey and ex-attorney general Sally Yates, who were both fired by Mr Trump, led the criticism. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said his comments and tweets on ongoing investigations were at his "own peril". Meanwhile, the US president's critics suggested he could have admitted obstructing justice in a tweet.Mr Trump posted a barrage of criticism on Sunday morning, saying the FBI's reputation was "in tatters" and was the "worst in history", while again accusing it of failure in its treatment of his former opponent for the presidency, Hillary Clinton.Mrs Clinton was investigated by the FBI ahead of the election after it emerged she had used a private email server to conduct state department business, but no charges were brought against her or her team.The president seized on news that an FBI officer had been dismissed from the investigation after he was discovered to have made anti-Trump remarks in text messages, tweeting: "Report: 'ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT LED CLINTON EMAIL PROBE' Now it all starts to make sense!"Mr Trump denies that his team colluded with Russia to get him elected, but four members of his inner circle have now been charged as part of the FBI inquiry lead by Robert Mueller.Former acting attorney general Sally Yates hit back at Mr Trump, tweeting that "the dedicated men and women of the FBI deserve better" and that the "only thing in tatters is the president's respect for the rule of law". Six big takeaways from the Flynn deal Russia-Trump: Who's who in the drama to end all dramas? The Trump-Russia saga in 200 words The former director of the FBI, James Comey, who was fired by President Trump and has testified in the investigation, posted a strong rebuttal of the president's criticism of the organisation. He posted online a quote from himself in June that said: "I want the American people to know this truth: The FBI is honest. The FBI is strong. And the FBI is, and always will be, independent."Last week Mr Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI.On Saturday a post on Mr Trump's Twitter account appeared to suggest that he had known Mr Flynn had lied, contradicting his own account from the time.A White House lawyer later said he had written the tweet and that the controversial line had actually been an error.On Monday Mr Trump said that he felt badly for Mr Flynn.Speaking to reporters, he said: "Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI, nothing happened to her. Flynn lied and they destroyed his life, I think it's a shame."The president fired Mr Flynn in February for misrepresenting the nature of his contacts with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak to Vice-President Mike Pence.Then-FBI director James Comey alleges that in a private meeting the day after Mr Flynn was fired, the president asked him to show leniency to the dismissed aide, saying, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go." Tweeting on Sunday, Mr Trump issued a fresh denial that he had pushed Mr Comey to drop the investigation into Mr Flynn.Senior Democrats and legal experts said that if Mr Trump had known Mr Flynn had lied, then tried to get Mr Comey not to investigate him, that could be tantamount to obstruction of justice. The row soured what should have been a celebratory weekend for the president, after his sweeping tax reform bill scraped through the Senate early on Saturday morning.Read more Could Trump be guilty of obstruction of justice? How Comey testimony damaged Trump

Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, William Barr, criticized an aspect of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation in an unsolicited memo he sent to the justice department. The document was sent in June and expresses concern with Mueller’s investigation into whether the president obstructed justice, which Trump denies. It could factor into Barr’s Senate confirmation hearings and prompt questions about whether he can be unbiased in overseeing the investigation. Barr’s memo argues there would be disastrous consequences for the justice department and the presidency if Mueller were to conclude that acts that a president is legally permitted to take could constitute obstruction just because someone concluded there was corrupt intent. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the memo.On Thursday the top Democrat in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, called on Trump to find a new nominee for attorney general, saying the White House’s current pick cannot be put in charge of the special investigation into alleged election meddling by Russia, which comes under the Department of Justice umbrella. “Since Mr Barr hasn’t been formally nominated yet, the president must immediately reconsider and find another nominee who is free of conflicts and will carry out the duties of the office impartially,” Schumer said.Trump announced that Barr would be his pick for attorney general after he fired the previous incumbent, Jeff Sessions, immediately after the midterm elections in November, after months of heaping opprobrium on Sessions’s head for recusing himself in 2017 from overseeing the Russia investigation.If confirmed by the Senate, Barr – who held the same role under the late George HW Bush from 1991 to 1993 – will take over from Matthew Whitaker, who has served in an acting capacity since Sessions was forced out a month ago.Barr would lead the justice department and oversee Mueller’s investigation.Barr also defended Trump’s decision to fire the FBI director, James Comey, in May 2017, which led to Mueller’s appointment. “Comey’s removal simply has no relevance to the integrity of the Russian investigation as it moves ahead,” Barr wrote in the Washington Post. Topics Trump administration Trump-Russia investigation Robert Mueller Donald Trump US politics news

LONDON (Reuters) - The head of Britain’s cyber center said governments in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance had not always been aligned over Huawei, downplaying any threat of a rift as the UK prepares to give the Chinese company access to 5G networks. A security source has told Reuters that Britain will allow Huawei access to non-core parts of the 5G network, but block it from all core parts of the system. The United States had told allies not to use Huawei’s technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spy operations. “It’s objectively the case that in the past decade there have been different approaches across the Five Eyes and across the allied wider Western alliance towards Huawei and towards other issues as well,” Ciaran Martin, the head of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Center, told BBC radio. He declined to confirm or deny the reports regarding Huawei, but said the government would make a decision soon. “The review that the secretary of state will announce in due course is about much more than just Huawei, much more than about China, its about the fundamentals of how to keep these networks safe from any attacker,” he said. He said the NCSC assessed security requirements objectively and it set standards according to the vulnerability of different parts of the telecoms networks. Currently, Huawei’s equipment is either not present or being removed from existing core networks, but it is widely used in lower risk parts like radio masts. “There are parts of that network that move from hardware to software which are extremely sophisticated, they are the controlling brain, there are parts that simply transport data through fiber over land that don’t know what they are carrying and there are parts in between,” he said. Telecom operators like Vodafone have said a complete ban on Huawei would seriously handicap Britain in the race to role out the vital technological upgrade. “Some of the 5G infrastructure is built over existing networks so it’s not as if we are completely reinventing the wheel here,” Martin said. He added that the National Cyber Security Center had set out both publicly and to the government its objective, independent technical assessment of what was needed to protect future networks. Reporting by Kate Holton and Paul Sandle; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has banned Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network citing national security risks, a move the Chinese telecoms gear maker criticized as being “politically motivated”. The ban, announced on Thursday, signals a hardening of Australia’s stance toward its biggest trading partner at a time when relations between the two have soured over Canberra’s allegations of Chinese meddling in its politics. This is also in line with measures taken by the United States to restrict Huawei and compatriot ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) from its lucrative market for similar reasons. Australia said in an emailed statement on Thursday that national security regulations typically applied to telecom carriers would now be extended to equipment suppliers. Firms “who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government” would leave the nation’s network vulnerable to unauthorized access or interference, and presented a security risk, the statement said. The statement did not identify the Chinese firm, but an Australian government official said the order was aimed at Huawei and precluded its involvement in the network. Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications network gear, shot back on Friday saying the 5G ban was “politically motivated” and that it had never been asked to engage in intelligence work on behalf of any government. “Chinese law does not grant government the authority to compel telecommunications firms to install backdoors, listening devices, or engage in any behavior that might compromise the telecommunications equipment of other nations,” it added. Huawei, already a supplier of 4G network in Australia, also pointed out that there was no fundamental difference between 4G and 5G architecture and that the latter provides stronger guarantees around privacy and security. Western intelligence agencies, however, have for years raised concerns about Huawei’s ties to China’s government and the possibility its equipment could be used for espionage. While there is no evidence to back this suspicion, Chinese law does require organizations and citizens to support, assist and cooperate with intelligence work. “That’s what you get when you have the aligned strategy of a Chinese company with the Chinese government,” said John Watters, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer of cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc (FEYE.O). “(Australia) basically made a decision to spend more money to have more control over their national communication system, because they’re up against a competitor that will sacrifice near-term margin for long-term intelligence advantage.” China expressed concern over Australia’s Huawei 5G ban and said Canberra should not use the excuse of national security to erect barriers and conduct discriminatory practices. “We urge the Australian government to abandon ideological prejudices and provide a fair competitive environment for Chinese companies’ operations in Australia,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing on Thursday. The commerce ministry said Australia had made a wrong decision that would negatively impact companies in both nations. Australia had previously banned Huawei from providing equipment for its fiber-optic network and moved to block it from laying submarine cables in the Pacific. But Huawei’s exclusion from the mobile network comes at a time of particularly strained relations between Australia and China, which outgoing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had two weeks ago sought to reset with a conciliatory speech. A Huawei shop is pictured in Singapore August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su“It is ... out of step with this attempt to reset the relationship,” said James Leibold, Associate Professor of Politics and Asian Studies at La Trobe University. “They’re not going to forget Turnbull’s earlier strident language anytime soon,” he said. Turnbull will be replaced as prime minister by Treasurer Scott Morrison who won a Liberal party leadership vote on Friday. Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG, Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Darren Schuettler, Alexandra Hudson and Himani SarkarOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

It’s Christmas at a suburban mall, and Santa (Kenan Thompson) and his helper elf (Kate McKinnon) are taking requests from a queue of kids.“Can you tell me,” says little Tyler, “what Al Franken did?”Santa demurs: Franken is on … the naughty list.“It’s not really a list, it’s more of a registry,” McKinnon snaps.“I wanted to follow up on Tyler’s question,” says a little girl. “Is President Trump on the naughty list?”“Our president may have done a few naughty things …” says Santa.“Nineteen accusers, Google it,” the elf replies. Live from New York: it’s Saturday night. James Franco is back, his fourth time as host, “which is the most you can do without it being special”. Fourth time around, he says, they don’t write you a monologue. He takes questions from the audience.“Do you feel like your career has an overarching theme?” asks a woman while Seth Rogen tries to hide behind her.“Seth, what’s going on man?” Franco says. “You’re just here in the audience to see me host the show?”“No,” says Rogen, “I’m just here in general … luckily I’m a huge SZA fan and it just worked out.”Jonah Hill and Steve Martin are there, too. Surprise! Rogen and Hill join Franco on stage, which I presume is a show of bro-hood but makes it seem like he’s too shy to be there on his own.First sketch: in an American office, the staff have assembled to say goodbye to Doug and Charlie, both being fired for sexual harassment. Doug is a suit played by Franco; Charlie is a security guard played by Thompson. The joke: everyone thinks Doug is a creep and Charlie is hilarious, because “he’s a charming old black man”. It runs out of steam before it lands its point.Next: Franco and McKinnon are gift wrappers at Bloomingdales but then Franco cuts his finger and starts bleeding over everything. There’s such an abundance of fake blood I can only watch through one eye at a time as Leslie Jones, playing a customer, retches. She may not be acting. I feel her!A new digital short: Scrudge is a millennial Scrooge at a Christmas party. He calls the apartment inexpensive, makes fun of the Wes Anderson DVD collection, steals the cocaine – “I literally just gave it back to you” – and takes Franco’s last cigarette. “Scrudge,” says Franco, “you’re kind of an asshole …” He shows Scrudge what everyone in the party really thinks of him.“He’s just my roommate … he’s not really my friend. I don’t know how much longer I wanna live with him,” Kyle Mooney says. “I shouldn’t be here,” says Scrudge, apologizing to the party, “I’m truly sorry.” Then he moons them. An Iowa City spelling bee goes awry with Franco as a sadistic host in wire-rimmed glasses and a sweater vest. “At least the kids had fun,” says Alex Moffat to his co-host, Kate McKinnon. “They did not,” she replies. Neither did I.SZA sings The Weekend next. Did you know how to pronounce SZA? It’s “SIZZ—uh”. Now we both know. She’s great and has a super cool backing crew of lady singers and wind instrument players. Millions of women watching wish they hadn’t quit clarinet in sixth grade.Weekend Update! The anchors cover Jerusalem, “our sexual harrassment-themed advent calendar”, Roy Moore, the president’s health and his Hanukkah party. Cecily Strong pops in as Michael Che’s drug-addicted neighbor Kathy Anne, to discuss Franken’s resignation and lack of apology.“Why are you gonna resign if you ain’t gonna apologize? … I didn’t resign from Waffle House because I wasn’t stealing syrup.”And then, the best thing in this episode: Che is “A White Woman Named Gretchen”. He goes deep undercover: “I’m talking … crochet hat, several scarves at time.” He also wears a long blond wig. The camera follows Che as he tries activities beloved of liberal white women: Sunday brunch, dinner with friends – “your masculinity is mad toxic right now” – conquering manspreaders on the subway.“I was only a liberal white woman for a day,” he says, “But in that time, I learned a lot … I learned that sometimes women can be really mean to each other. And sometimes they just get random money in the mail from their dads.”Franco is back in the next sketch, as a lawyer who doesn’t know that “sza” is slang for pizza, in addition to the name of a top recording artist. It fills some time.Sentimental music plays as Strong is a hard-hitting businesswoman softened by the holiday season, handing a coffee and a Danish to Franco, a homeless man in a yellow bucket hat. She takes him shopping for a flannel shirt and a lovely coat. “Hey,” she says, “you wanna keep going?” They go for a ride in a pedicab, she takes him home to her sun-drenched apartment and helps him wash mustard out of his hair. But then when she tries to get him to shave his beard, he stops her: “It’s for a part,” he says. “I’m James Franco.” He’s been method acting the whole time. So much for charity.SZA comes back for her second song, Love Galore, which is super groovy. She’s wearing amazing flame boots.And finally, Franco is at home for a family reunion, where he comes across “Pretty Mandy” – Heidi Strong as a drug addicted-cousin. Dave Franco makes a cameo appearance, but should two of the biggest parts for women in one episode be making fun of addicts? It’s something to chew on during the closing credits, when Franco and his bros take a bow alongside SZA. Merry Christmas! Topics Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live recap US television TV comedy James Franco Comedy Television Al Franken reviews

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman who has accused President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of sexual assault decades ago wants her allegations to be investigated by the FBI before she appears at a U.S. Senate hearing, her lawyers said on Tuesday. The development further roiled a confirmation process that once seemed smooth for Kavanaugh, whose confirmation to the lifetime post could consolidate the conservative grip on the top U.S. court. Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in California, has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her and trying to remove her clothing while he was drunk at a suburban Maryland party in 1982 when they were both high school students, allegations Kavanaugh has called “completely false.” The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the nomination, had called a hearing for Monday to examine the matter, and the White House had said Kavanaugh was ready to testify. In a letter to the committee’s chairman, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, Ford’s attorneys said an FBI investigation needed to come first. "A full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions," the lawyers wrote. A copy of the letter was posted on the committee's website. (bit.ly/2OAJWD0) Grassley said there is no reason to delay Ford’s testimony and an invitation for her to appear before the committee on Monday stands. “Dr Ford’s testimony would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events. Nothing the FBI or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what Dr Ford tells the committee, so there is no reason for any further delay,” Grassley said in a statement. Democrats, already fiercely opposed to the nominee, have also been seeking an FBI investigation, a request that Republicans have rebuffed. Trump and other Republicans said they did not think the FBI needed to be involved. A hearing would represent a potential make-or-break moment for the conservative federal appeals court judge’s confirmation chances, as Trump pursues his goal of moving the federal judiciary to the right. “The Supreme Court is one of the main reasons I got elected President. I hope Republican Voters, and others, are watching, and studying, the Democrats Playbook,” Trump tweeted late on Tuesday. Republicans control the Senate by only a narrow margin, meaning any defections within the party could sink the nomination and deal a major setback to Trump. Earlier on Tuesday, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the committee’s Republicans, said the panel would vote on the nomination next week whether or not Ford testified. A vote in committee would be a precursor to action in the full Senate. “If she does not want to come Monday, publicly or privately, we’re going to move on and vote Wednesday,” he told Fox News Channel. In a statement on Monday, a representative for the Justice Department said the FBI had followed protocol forwarding information about the allegation to the White House. “The FBI’s role in such matters is to provide information for the use of the decision makers,” the statement said. Trump earlier on Tuesday stepped up his defense of Kavanaugh and expressed sympathy toward his nominee, who met with officials at the White House for a second straight day, although not with the president. “I feel so badly for him that he’s going through this, to be honest with you,” Trump told a news conference. “This is not a man that deserves this.” “Hopefully the woman will come forward, state her case. He will state his case before representatives of the United States Senate. And then they will vote,” Trump added. Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, appeared to cast doubt on Ford’s allegations. “We just don’t know what happened 36 years ago and there are gaps in her memory. She doesn’t know how she got there, when it was, and so that would logically be something where she would get questions,” Cornyn told reporters. Cornyn’s fellow Republicans have generally avoided criticizing Ford, instead castigating Democrats for not revealing her allegations earlier. The confirmation fight comes just weeks before the Nov. 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress from Trump’s fellow Republicans, which would be a major blow to the president’s agenda. Ford detailed her allegation in a letter sent in July to Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s top Democrat. The letter’s contents leaked last week and Ford identified herself in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday that included details about the alleged assault. In a statement, Feinstein, said the committee should accede to Ford’s wishes and postpone Monday’s hearing. “A proper investigation must be completed, witnesses interviewed, evidence reviewed and all sides spoken to. Only then should the chairman set a hearing date,” she said in a statement. Lisa Banks, an attorney for Ford, told CNN her client was dealing with “hate mail, harassment, death threats” and that her immediate focus was protecting herself and her family. Democrats have objected to the proposed hearing format, with Feinstein arguing there should be more than just two witnesses, possibly to include people in whom Ford previously confided. The committee’s Democrats said witnesses should include Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge, who Ford has said witnessed the alleged incident. A lawyer representing Judge sent a letter to Grassley saying Judge did not want to speak publicly about the matter. “In fact, I have no memory of this alleged incident. Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Dr Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr Ford describes,” the letter quoted Judge as saying. Judge is the author of a 1997 memoir titled “Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk,” which recounts his experiences as a teenage alcoholic. One Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, said Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination. FILE PHOTO: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the third day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski/File Photo“I believe Dr Ford. I believe the survivor here,” Blumenthal said. “She has come forward courageously and bravely, knowing she would face a nightmare of possible and vicious scrutiny.” The showdown has echoes of current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ contentious confirmation hearings in 1991 involving sexual harassment allegations lodged against him by a law professor named Anita Hill. Thomas, the court’s second black justice, was ultimately confirmed, but only after a nasty televised hearing in which Hill faced pointed questions from Republican senators and the nominee said he was the victim of “a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks.” Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Roberta Rampton, Steve Holland, Andrew Chung, Amanda Becker and Mohammad Zargham; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter CooneyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Wednesday that he will not meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia this weekend, contradicting the Kremlin, which said earlier in the day that the two would have a discussion while in Paris for an unrelated gathering of world leaders.The on-again, off-again meeting has been the subject of confusion and conflicting reports in recent weeks. At one point last month, the two sides indicated that the presidents would meet in Paris, then Mr. Trump said earlier this week that they would probably not, then the Kremlin said Wednesday that they would at least meet briefly during lunch on Sunday.At a news conference at the White House later Wednesday, Mr. Trump said that was not the case. They would both attend a lunch for world leaders scheduled on Sunday, he said, but were not set to have a conversation.“I don’t think we have anything scheduled in Paris and I’m coming back very quickly,” the president said. “I don’t think we have time set aside for that meeting.”Instead, Mr. Trump said he expects to sit down with Mr. Putin later in the month in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Group of 20, or G20. “That’s where we’re actually looking forward to meet,” Mr. Trump said.Whenever it takes place, it would be the first meeting between the American and Russian presidents since they got together in Helsinki in July — when Mr. Trump, with Mr. Putin at his side, publicly challenged the conclusion of his own intelligence agencies that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election. After bipartisan condemnation back home, Mr. Trump said he misspoke and did not mean to undercut the agencies’ conclusion.Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin are both scheduled to travel to Paris for a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. But French officials had asked the Americans and Russians not to hold the meeting between the presidents for fear that it would overshadow their event.“The French partners actively brought their concerns to the Russian and U.S. sides and, with these considerations in mind, Washington and Moscow decided against holding a full-scale meeting of the presidents,” Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s foreign policy adviser, told reporters in Moscow.But Mr. Ushakov said Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump will meet during a lunch on Sunday and then have “a more detailed conversation” in Buenos Aires.The two nations are at odds over a number of issues, including Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, its support for Syria’s government, the poisoning of a former Russian spy on British soil and the fate of a 1980s arms control treaty that Mr. Trump has threatened to pull out of.Just this week, the Trump administration said it was preparing to impose new sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of the former spy, Sergei V. Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, after Moscow failed to meet a 90-day deadline to comply with an American law on preventing the use of chemical weapons.For all the tension between the two countries, Mr. Trump has made it a priority to establish friendly personal relations with Mr. Putin. Russian officials have said they want direct conversations between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump to circumvent what they see as a deep-state cabal surrounding the American president that is trying to sabotage his efforts to foster closer ties between the two countries.

(Reuters) - A special counsel investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump has already secured more than 30 indictments and guilty pleas and has spawned at least four federal probes. U.S. President Donald Trump walks out from the White House in Washington before his departure for the annual Army-Navy college football game in Philadelphia, U.S., December 8, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File PhotoBut that is not all that Trump needs to worry about. With less than three weeks to go before they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats are jockeying to lead overlapping investigations into the president. Trump denies any collusion and has long denounced the investigation being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a “witch hunt.” Moscow has denied it interfered in the election. Here are the various agencies or groups whose investigations pose a risk for Trump or are offshoots of Mueller’s probe. Mueller was given a mandate to investigate any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign and “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” Since his start in May 2017, Mueller has secured indictments against or guilty pleas from 32 people and three Russian companies, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a troll farm in St. Petersburg, Russia that spread disinformation on social media ahead of the 2016 election. While Trump is unlikely to be charged by Mueller due to Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president, a report from Mueller expected sometime in 2019 could prove damaging politically. The report is expected to focus on any collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. On a referral from Mueller, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) secured search warrants to raid the office and residence of Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, in April. Cohen pleaded guilty in August to crimes including campaign finance violations, which he said he carried out at the direction of Trump to silence two women about alleged sexual affairs. Cohen separately pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about a planned Trump skyscraper in Moscow in a case handled by Mueller. He has been cooperating with Mueller and in a more limited capacity with the SDNY. He says he is willing to cooperate more, which could lead SDNY prosecutors into the finances of the Trump Organization, legal experts say. Prosecutors have already granted immunity to Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime CFO. The SDNY is also in the early stages of an investigation into whether Trump’s inaugural committee misspent some of the $107 million it raised, according to the Wall Street Journal. The New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the Trump’s personal charity alleging he unlawfully used it to help his campaign and benefit his business. The suit, which is ongoing, seeks to recover $2.8 million in funds. Incoming attorney general Letitia James told NBC News in an interview this month that she planned to launch sweeping investigations into Trump and “anyone” in his inner circle who may have broken the law. James could get help from Cohen, who met voluntarily with the Attorney General’s office concerning the lawsuit and also provided the office “documents concerning a separate open inquiry,” according to a sentencing memo in his case. Federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia are handling two cases spawned out of the Mueller probe: the indictment of an accountant for a Russian troll farm who allegedly meddled in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections and the indictment of Flynn’s former business partner and a Turkish businessman for unregistered lobbying aimed at extraditing a Muslim cleric to Turkey. Mueller and Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) prosecutors are jointly prosecuting a case involving Russian oligarch Evgeny Prigozhin and two of his companies, which stand accused of spreading misinformation ahead of the 2016 election. [L1N1TH140] EDVA is also the jurisdiction where an indictment against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was mistakenly unsealed last month. It was unclear what any possible charges against Assange could be, though in 2016 Wikileaks published Democratic emails that U.S. intelligence agencies say were hacked by Russia. Sam Patten pleaded guilty in August to unregistered lobbying for a pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine and admitted to arranging for a U.S. citizen to act as a straw purchaser to buy tickets to Trump’s inauguration for a Ukrainian oligarch. The case against Patten was brought by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division, which started investigating him after a referral from Mueller. Patten, the business partner of a Russian national indicted by Mueller for conspiring to obstruct justice in the Manafort case, is cooperating with Mueller and could be providing information related to the inaugural committee probe. The House of Representatives is expected to engage in a wide range of investigations into Trump’s businesses and conduct. The probes will cut across six committees with some under the jurisdiction of two or more, sources told Reuters. The main areas of investigation include Trump’s tax returns and business properties; any collusion with Russia; any violations of a constitutional clause that forbids the accepting of gifts from foreign governments; and allegations that he broke campaign finance laws as detailed in the Cohen case. The Intelligence Committee’s incoming chairman, Adam Schiff, has pointed to the need to look into accusations Russians may have laundered funds through the Trump Organization. The Senate Intelligence Committee, contrary to its House counterpart, has maintained a bipartisan stance to its probe into Russia’s interference into the 2016 election, including any connection to the Trump campaign. That probe is ongoing. This month the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia formally demanded financial records from Trump’s businesses, marking progress in their lawsuit alleging that Trump’s dealings with governments violate the Constitution’s so-called emoluments clauses. Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; editing by Darren SchuettlerOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Wall Street ended its worst week in two years on Friday with another sharp fall as markets in Europe also continued to tumble from the record-high levels reached less than a month ago. Investors headed for the exits amid growing fears over a bond market rout, triggered by early signs of inflation in the US as economic growth accelerates and wages appear to finally be rising after years of stagnation. US government bond yields, which rise as prices fall, hit the highest level since January 2014.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 665 points to end the day down more than 2.5% and falling below 26,000, the record level it hit on 17 January.The sell-off came after the US labor department released a better than expected monthly jobs report, sparking fears of a sharper rise in interest rates. It was the first time since June 2016 that the Dow had fallen more than 500 points.

Microsoft racks up more cloud customers Microsoft on Wednesday reported fiscal first-quarter profit of $10.68 billion, buoyed by another round of business customers signing up for its cloud...

Well shucks, if China is communist then the DPRK (North Korea) is democratic! After all, it's what the "D" in DPRK stands for! What's that? The DPRK is no democratic? But...but....it's in the name of the country! Could it possibly be that China isn't really communist as well?! But the ruling party calls itself communist therefore they must be communists! In reality the Chinese government is socialist at best. Do yourself a favor and get educated on other ideologies besides capitalism and forms of representative democracy lest you continue looking like an uninformed dumbass :DCommunism, 100% of the time, always has the same things in common:- Communists tell a group of fanatics about how awesome the world will be if only people listen and kill capitalists- A guerrilla group consisting of "the people" overthrows a government, including democratically elected ones. Karl Marx himself stated this is necessary, by the way, because he says communism is inevitable anyways based on his own assumptions about primal human nature, and that following the democratic process just takes too long.- Communists say we're not communist yet, but we will be, we just have to instate socialism first- As prescribed by Marx, communists first forcibly remove the means of production from its owners, bringing the economy to a grinding halt in the process, so everybody becomes poor- Worry not they say, for everything will work out in the end, but meanwhile you're only allowed to vote for people who agree with us because if this doesn't go exactly according to plan then it won't work, so there is now only one legal political party- Because we're not yet communists and we need to get you thinking like a future communist, you'll do whatever labor we say you'll do, and truancy is punishable by death, but this is so much better than others capitalizing on your labor.- The GDP never really recovers and even decreases slowly over time- Famine becomes commonplace, people grow discontentFrom here, there are two paths:1. People get tired of it, and overthrow the communist party, and the nightmare is over.-or-2. - Eventually the communist party realizes the only way to end famine is to allow capitalism and privatization to return in limited form. But don't worry, we're still the same good ol communist party that has kept you alive, and we will have communism soon. - Meanwhile there's still a single party rule, power is highly concentrated, and the country is ruled by tyrants. - Communists around the world criticize them and reassure the rest of the world that this failed because this isn't real communism, and post to slashdot and reddit that we still need to keep trying so that eventually we'll get it right, therefore, overthrow your democracies please.Because this is the same thing that always happens, every single fucking time, and time again, and again, and again, I don't see how it can't be called real communism. It's about as real as communism gets.

closeVideoLam: Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act is totally unjustified and unwarrantedHong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam expresses frustration, economic concerns with the ongoing Hong Kong protests.The murder suspect whose case sparked Hong Kong’s ongoing protest movement now wants to surrender to authorities, Hong Kong’s leader said Saturday.Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam told reporters her government would “actively follow up” on a letter she received from Chan Tong-Kai looking to turn himself in.Chan is wanted by Taiwan authorities for allegedly killing his pregnant girlfriend during a trip to the island in February of last year. After returning to Hong Kong, he was not sent back to Taiwan to face charges because Hong Kong does not have an extradition agreement. This prompted Beijing-friendly Lam to propose an extradition bill, which would allow prisoners to also be sent back to mainland China to face prosecution.What followed were months of violent protests ravaging the financial hub. Lam eventually withdrew the controversial bill in September, yet protests pressed on by angry residents who believe mainland China is encroaching upon Hong Kong’s Western-style democratic freedoms.Taiwan itself said in May that it would not agree to Chan’s transfer if the extradition bill would put Taiwanese citizens at risk of being sent to the mainland.Chan was, however, jailed in Hong Kong on money laundering charges and is due to be released on Wednesday.Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming, a top Anglican priest who has been visiting Chan weekly in jail, said the 20-year-old Hong Kong student hoped his surrender would ease the chaos in his home city, according to the South China Morning Post.“I have been visiting him for more than half a year now. At first he was worried about turning himself in, but after talking to lawyers from Taiwan and with his family, he made the decision last month,” said the Anglican church official. “I told him that he’s still young. How many more years can he hide from this? Even if he’s jailed for more than 10 years, he can still have a new start, rather than living in guilt.”INDIA POLICE SAY 'CUNNING SERIAL KILLER' ARRESTED IN DEATHS OF 6 FAMILY MEMBERS Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice urged Hong Kong on Thursday to keep Chan in prison and investigate him for the killing. Lam and other Hong Kong officials have ruled that prospect out.A source close to the government told the South China Morning Post it was “ridiculous” for Taipei to urge Hong Kong to detain Chan beyond his jail sentence.“It would be unlawful for the Hong Kong government to continue to detain Chan after he walks free,” the source said. “It was Taipei authorities which issued an order for Chan’s arrest but now they don’t want him.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Apple has poached Google’s AI chief, John Giannandrea, to run its machine learning and AI operations, in the clearest sign yet that the iPhone creator is attempting to fix the problems that saw its early lead in the field crumble.Scottish-born Giannandrea, who joined Google in 2010 after his startup, Metaweb, was acquired, has led the search firm’s push to become market leader in AI and machine learning. Under his command, Google Brain, the company’s main AI research team, has rebuilt the technology that underpins some of Google’s landmark products, including search, translation and voice recognition.He also led Google into its position today, where it battles with Amazon for technological supremacy in the field of voice controlled assistants. That role was once held by Apple, whose Siri technology introduced the feature to many, but which failed to capitalise on the lead.In March, technology site The Information detailed seven years of infighting within the Siri team at Apple, with multiple attempts to reorganise the basic technology that underpins the feature falling prey to internal politics which limited attempts to improve the overall product.Siri’s problems came to a head in February, when the HomePod – Apple’s attempt to compete with Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home smart speakers – received reviews which praised it for its audio quality even as they damned it for its poor AI. In recent weeks, however, Apple has accelerated hiring for Siri, peaking with 161 openings posted in one day in March – and now Giannandrea’s hiring, first reported by the New York Times.Beyond talent, though, the company has another issue to overcome: persuading customers that it can build an acceptable set of services without taking the same data-heavy approach favoured by Amazon and Google. Where major technology firms have increased their acquisition of customer data in recent years, arguing that large datasets are crucial for training effective personalised AI, Apple has moved in the opposite direction, altering its technologies to gather less personal data about users than it used to.It believes its users understand the value of privacy, and will accept a certain amount of friction in exchange for keeping their secrets secret. And the differing approach has offered chief executive Tim Cook the chance to hit out at competitors. Speaking last week, he said: “We could make a ton of money if we monetised our customers, if our customers were our product … We’ve elected not to do that. We’re not going to traffic in your personal life. Privacy to us is a human right, a civil liberty.” Topics Apple Google Artificial intelligence (AI) Consciousness Alphabet Computing Smart speakers news

In the span of about four minutes, President Donald Trump made at least six false statements on the unfolding crisis in Syria triggered by his decision last week to withdraw US troops.Sitting alongside Italian President Sergio Mattarella in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the president spoke about issues ranging from the safety of US troops in Syria to Russia’s position on ISIS. The string of nonsense comments was either intentionally designed to mislead or, worse, a reflection of Trump’s own deep confusion over his Syria policy.And as if that weren’t enough, in a press conference with the Italian president shortly after, Trump continued his factually challenged Syria rant with yet another false statement. In the 10 days since the White House announced the troop withdrawal, nearly a thousand prisoners with suspected ISIS ties escaped from a camp in the area. Syrian Kurdish fighters — who allied with the US to defeat ISIS — struck a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government to fend off the invading Turkish forces. Russia has already started to fill the vacuum America left. And Trump has now sanctioned Turkey for its actions, pitting the US firmly against its own NATO ally. TRUMP: "I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria to be, for the United States, strategically brilliant. Our soldiers are out of there, they're totally safe. They've got to work it out. Maybe they can do it without fighting." pic.twitter.com/4GvGjfeapR— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 16, 2019 It’s hard to imagine a worse decision on Syria than Trump’s. But to hear Trump tell it, everything’s going just fine. So it’s worth taking each of his comments one by one, in order, to see just how untrue and dangerous they are.Okay, there’s a lot wrong here. Let’s start with “our soldiers are not in harm’s way.” Despite Trump’s insistence that the 1,000 US troops in Syria are out of the country, most are still there. The administration has announced a “deliberate” withdrawal, and it looks like some progress has been made, but for now, those that remain are still in danger.Just a day earlier, American F-15 fighter jets and Apache helicopters were deployed in a “show of force” as Turkish-backed militias in Syria came close to US troops in the town of Ain Issa near the Syrian-Turkish border.“The Turkish forces violated a standing agreement with the US to not get close enough to threaten US troops on the ground,” an American official told NPR Tuesday. “US forces responded with a show of force using aircraft to demonstrate the forces were prepared to defend themselves, as well as communication with the Turkish military through formal channels to protest the risk to US forces.”So, no, US troops aren’t out of harm’s way, Mr. President. Just ask your own officials.Trump goes on to say that “as two countries fight over land” — Turkey and Syria — it “has nothing to do with us.” That’s not true: That fight wouldn’t have happened if the US hadn’t suddenly withdrawn its troops from Syria’s northeastern region. Experts say they served as a buffer and tripwire that kept Turkish forces out of the country, even though President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long wanted to kill Kurds along Turkey’s southern border.With that American buffer now gone, Turkey has come in — which means the Turkey-Syria war has everything “to do with us.”Finally, if this situation has absolutely nothing to do with America, then why did Trump’s administration sanction Turkey over its invasion? It’s a question even staunch Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has. More GRAHAM on Trump: “If you’re not concerned about Turkey going into Syria why did you sanction Turkey?”— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) October 16, 2019 You’ve got to be kidding.We know that at least 130,000 people have already been displaced from northern Syria, hundreds have been killed or wounded since Turkey’s invasion last week (though it’s unclear exactly how many), and Turkish forces have attacked hundreds of targets. Syrian Kurdish fighters were so concerned for their safety that they joined up with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — a brutal dictator — just because his forces would confront Turkey.There is just no way the Kurds are safer now. They are literally fighting for their lives.Now, Trump’s point that the Syrian Kurds aren’t “angels” is somewhat fair, as some of them clearly have ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has long violently fought for autonomy inside Turkey.But it’s a careless thing to say. After all, Syrian Kurds were America’s most dependable and capable allies in the ground fight against ISIS. Without them, the Trump administration would’ve been unable to relieve ISIS of 100 percent of its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria.While Trump also notes that “they did well when they fought with us,” he added one more dig by saying, “They didn’t do so well when they didn’t fight with us.”So what Trump has effectively done here is lambast a key American ally for no real reason, other than perhaps to make himself feel better for abandoning them last week. This is wrong, for all the reasons laid out above. But let’s be even more clear about why Trump’s rosy depiction isn’t accurate: The US abandoned a staunch anti-ISIS ally, making it harder to keep the terror group at bay. ISIS-affiliated prisoners are escaping detainment, meaning ISIS’s numbers are growing as we speak. Russia and Iran, two American adversaries, now have a greater foothold in Syria. Assad has regained territory he lost in the Syrian civil war. Trump has allowed a NATO ally, Turkey, to fight against Syria, which is backed by Russia and Iran. The US has sanctioned Turkey for its incursion, which pits two NATO allies against each other. If that is strategic genius, then I’m George Clooney.There’s some truth in this statement, but it’s still wildly misleading. No one, including Russia and the Assad government in Syria, wanted ISIS to gain permanent control in Syria and Iraq, and the group had few, if any, real allies in the world. Plus, ISIS did promote and carry out attacks in Syria and Russia.But the Assad regime also bears significant responsibility for the rise of ISIS in the first place. And the main fighting forces against ISIS were clearly the US, the Syrian Kurds, and other members of the US-led coalition. Russia and Syria weren’t a part of that coalition, and instead focused most of their time fighting off rebels that wanted to overthrow Assad. In fact, Russia spent a lot of time bombing hospitals that mainly treated civilians more than it did destroying the caliphate.To believe that Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin would team up to fight ISIS and win without America’s military ability isn’t actually believable. And even if they did, they would do so with much less regard for civilian casualties than the US. Trump, however, is unswayed.In a press conference alongside the Italian leader shortly after his White House tirade, Trump suggested several times — without any evidence — that the Syrian Kurds purposely let the escaped ISIS-affiliated prisoners out “to make a little political impact,” perhaps to make Trump look bad or to convince him not to withdraw US forces. It’s a line Trump has been repeating for days. But, of course, it’s not true, as a senior defense official told CNN two days ago.President Trump “falsely claiming that the SDF Kurds are letting ISIS prisoners out of prison is wrong because they are the people that defeated ISIS, wrong because they are currently risking their lives to defend our forces and wrong because they are fighting a force that intends to eliminate their people because we green lighted their operation,” the official said.In fact, Kurds withstood bombardment to continue guarding the posts in the first days of the Turkish incursion into Syria. But now that Ankara’s campaign has gotten more deadly, Kurdish fighters have said they can’t focus as much on keeping prisoners detained.Since Trump’s decision allowed Turkey to invade and cause such chaos, one could make the case that the president is more responsible for escaped ISIS detainees than the Kurds are.The Trump administration just imposed sanctions on Turkey for invading northern Syria. But it may be too late for America’s Kurdish allies.Looking for a quick way to keep up with the never-ending news cycle? Host Sean Rameswaram will guide you through the most important stories at the end of each day.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge fiercely criticized President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Tuesday for lying to FBI agents in a probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and delayed sentencing him until Flynn has finished helping prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan told Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, that he had arguably betrayed his country. Sullivan also noted that Flynn had operated as an undeclared lobbyist for Turkey even as he worked on Trump’s campaign team and prepared to be his White House national security adviser. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his December 2016 conversations with Sergei Kislyak, then Russia’s ambassador in Washington, about U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow by the administration of Trump’s Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. The conversations took place between Trump’s November election victory and his inauguration in January 2017. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, leading the investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia ahead of the election, had asked the judge not to sentence Flynn to prison because he had already provided “substantial” cooperation over the course of many interviews. Lying to the FBI carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Flynn’s plea agreement stated that he was eligible for a sentence of between zero and six months. Sullivan sternly told Flynn his actions were abhorrent, noting that Flynn had also lied to senior White House officials, who in turn misled the public. The judge said he had read additional facts about Flynn’s behavior that have not been made public. At one point, Sullivan asked prosecutors if Flynn could have been charged with treason, although the judge later said he had not been suggesting such a charge was warranted. “Arguably, you sold your country out,” Sullivan told Flynn. “I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain for this criminal offense.” Flynn, dressed in a suit and tie, showed little emotion throughout the hearing, and spoke calmly when he confirmed his guilty plea and answered questions from the judge. Sullivan appeared ready to sentence Flynn to prison but then gave him the option of a delay in his sentencing so he could fully cooperate with any pending investigations and bolster his case for leniency. The judge told Flynn he could not promise that he would not eventually sentence him to serve prison time. Flynn accepted that offer. Sullivan did not set a new date for sentencing but asked Mueller’s team and Flynn’s attorney to give him a status report by March 13. Sullivan later imposed travel restrictions on Flynn, ordering him to surrender his passport and to obtain court permission before traveling outside the Washington area. The curbs are typical for people released on their own recognizance, the judge said. Prosecutors said Flynn already had provided most of the cooperation he could, but it was possible he might be able to help investigators further. Flynn’s attorney said his client is cooperating with federal prosecutors in a case against Bijan Rafiekian, his former business partner who has been charged with unregistered lobbying for Turkey. Rafiekian pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to those charges in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 11. Flynn is expected to testify. Prosecutors have said Rafiekian and Flynn lobbied to have Washington extradite a Muslim cleric who lives in the United States and is accused by Turkey’s government of backing a 2016 coup attempt. Flynn has not been charged in that case. Former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn departs after his sentencing was delayed at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua RobertsFlynn was a high-profile adviser to Trump’s campaign team. At the Republican Party’s national convention in 2016, Flynn led Trump’s supporters in cries of “Lock her up!” directed against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. A group of protesters, including some who chanted “Lock him up,” gathered outside the courthouse on Tuesday, along with a large inflatable rat fashioned to look like Trump. Several Flynn supporters also were there, cheering as he entered and exited. One held a sign that read, “Michael Flynn is a hero.” Flynn became national security adviser when Trump took office in January 2017, but lasted only 24 days before being fired. He told FBI investigators on Jan. 24, 2017, that he had not discussed the U.S. sanctions with Kislyak when in fact he had, according to his plea agreement. Trump has said he fired Flynn because he also lied to Vice President Mike Pence about the contacts with Kislyak. Trump has said Flynn did not break the law and has voiced support for him, raising speculation the Republican president might pardon him. “Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign. There was no Collusion!” Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning. After the hearing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters the FBI had “ambushed” Flynn in the way agents questioned him, but said his “activities” at the center of the case “don’t have anything to do with the president” and disputed that Flynn had committed treason. “We wish General Flynn well,” Sanders said. In contrast, Trump has called his former long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to separate charges, a “rat.” Slideshow (8 Images)Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election and whether Trump has unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe has cast a shadow over his presidency. Several former Trump aides have pleaded guilty in Mueller’s probe, but Flynn was the first former Trump White House official to do so. Mueller also has charged a series of Russian individuals and entities. Trump has called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt” and has denied collusion with Moscow. Russia has denied meddling in the election, contrary to the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that have said Moscow used hacking and propaganda to try to sow discord in the United States and boost Trump’s chances against Clinton. Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Ginger Gibson; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Kieran Murray and Will Dunham, Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

As bitcoin’s price cools, so has interest in gigs related to the original crypto asset. However, job seekers’ attraction to blockchain—the distributed, digital ledger that tracks bitcoin transactions—has remained fairly stable, according to job site Indeed. The trend mirrors a widely held view that crypto assets have been in a speculative mania, but the underlying technology is a promising innovation that could transform industries.Job seeker interest in “bitcoin” peaked at 39 searches per million during the week of Dec. 14, as did searches for “cryptocurrency” at 46 searches per million, according to Indeed. Bitcoin’s price also reached a record that month, climbing to nearly $20,000, before falling by more than half since then to about $7,800. Job seeker enthusiasm also waned in that time: Searches for “bitcoin” declined by 76% and “cryptocurrency” by 41%.Interest in blockchain appears to be less fickle. Searches referencing the digital ledger are down slightly from the late-February peak of 47 searches per million, but has been essentially unchanged during the three-month period to March 15. ”Blockchain is seen by job seekers as a viable innovation whether or not bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are,” Indeed said.This view has a lot of company. Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, chief investment officer of the private wealth management group at Goldman Sachs, told Business Insider that while blockchain technology will evolve into a useful tool for companies, the current incarnation of crypto assets is a bubble. “Blockchain not bitcoin” was an informal theme at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year, as though all the high-flying execs had received the same memo of talking points.Of course, the elite consensus isn’t always right, and some even see it as a contrary indicator. If that’s the case, then maybe it’s time to brush up on bitcoin maximalism.