Top Stories Today – June 28, 2019
Top Stories Today – June 28, 2019
Trump jokes to Putin: Don’t meddle in US election
US President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a light-hearted warning not to interfere again in American elections. Appearing before reporters during his bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump was asked whether he would tell the Russian leader to not meddle in the US electoral process.
“Yes, of course I will,” replied Trump who then, with a smile on his face, turned to the Russian president to say: “Don’t meddle in the election, president.” He then repeated “don’t meddle in the election,” while pointing a finger at Putin. The exchange is likely to reinforce a perception among many that Trump does not take the issue seriously. The Voice of America
Democrats spar on health care, racial issues in second debate
The remaining 10 Democratic presidential candidates took the stage in Miami for the first round of debates in the Democratic primaries. Frontrunners like former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) debated health insurance systems and climate change, and Harris criticized Biden’s civil rights record and comments regarding his past work with segregationists.
Several candidates slammed President Trump and sparred over whether age should be a factor in the primaries. Their debate followed Wednesday night’s debate featuring candidates like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Cory Booker (N.J.) CNN via The Week
US House passes $4.6b border bill
The House passed a $4.6 billion emergency spending bill for the humanitarian crisis on the US-Mexico border Thursday, after Democratic leaders retreated from efforts to amend the legislation to add more restrictions on the Trump administration. The 305-to-102 vote sends the legislation, passed by the Senate earlier in the week, to President Trump, who is expected to sign it. The measure will pump billions of dollars into the budgets of agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, that have been overwhelmed by the influx of Central American migrants at the Southern border.
The decision by House Democratic leaders to bring the legislation up for a vote came after hours of frantic maneuvering during which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sought support for a new version of the bill containing additional protections for unaccompanied minors and restrictions on the administration’s use of funds. The Washington Post
Trump prepares for ‘productive’ talks with Xi
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he hoped for productive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a trade war that is casting a shadow on global growth, but said he had not made any promises about a reprieve from escalating tariffs. The trade feud and signs of a global slowdown have loomed over a two-day Group of 20 (G20) summit in the Japanese city of Osaka, where Trump and Xi met in passing and prepared for one-on-one talks on Saturday.
To lay the groundwork, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met Trump’s treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the hotel where the US delegation was staying, a source familiar with the talks said. Expectations have dimmed that the world’s two biggest economies can ease tension when Trump and Xi meet. Reuters
US High Court blocks citizenship question on census
US President Donald Trump responded Thursday to the Supreme Court’s decision to block his administration’s effort to add a citizenship question to the upcoming US census by saying he’d asked his lawyers whether there was a way to delay the nationwide head count. In a tweet hours after the court announced its decision, Trump said it “seems totally ridiculous” that the government could not question people about their citizenship on the census, which takes place once every 10 years.
The Supreme Court ruled the administration’s explanation — that the citizenship question was meant to better enforce the Voting Rights Act — was “more of a distraction” from the issue than an explanation. Opponents of the citizenship question say it would intimidate noncitizens into not answering the census, ultimately leaving them underrepresented in Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberal justices in the 5-4 ruling. The Voice of America
Apple design chief Jony Ive, to leave
Jony Ive, a close creative collaborator with Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs whose iPhone and other designs fueled Apple’s rise to a $1 trillion company, will leave later this year to form an independent design company. Apple said Ive will continue work on its products at his new venture, but shares fell as much as 1.5% to $197.44 in after-market trading, wiping about $9 billion from the firm’s value.
Ive spent nearly three decades at Apple, leading the design of the candy-colored iMacs that helped Apple re-emerge from near death in the 1990s to the iPhone, regarded by some experts as one of the most successful consumer products of all time. Reuters
US women’s captain stands by WH comments
Megan Rapinoe, the co-captain of the US women’s national soccer team, doubled down on comments that drew criticism from President Trump earlier this week. Rapinoe previously said “I’m not going to the f—ing White House” if the US wins the ongoing Women’s World Cup, and Trump tweeted on Wednesday that she “should WIN first before she talks!” Asked about her comments on Thursday, Rapinoe said “I stand by the comments … with the exception of the expletive.
My mom would be very upset about that.” Teammates and fellow stars Alex Morgan and Ali Krieger said they’d also sit out a White House visit. Rapinoe said the Trump administration “doesn’t fight for the same things that we fight for.” CNN via The Week