AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EDT
Special counsel's Trump investigation includes Manafort case
WASHINGTON (AP) - The special counsel investigating possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia's government has taken over a separate criminal probe involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and may expand his inquiry to investigate the roles of the attorney general and deputy attorney general in the firing of FBI Director James Comey, The Associated Press has learned.
The Justice Department's criminal investigation into Manafort, who was forced to resign as Trump campaign chairman in August amid questions over his business dealings years ago in Ukraine, predated the 2016 election and the counterintelligence probe that in July began investigating possible collusion between Moscow and associates of Trump.
The move to consolidate the matters, involving allegations of misuse of Ukrainian government funds, indicates that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is assuming a broad mandate in his new role running the sensational investigation. The expansiveness of Mueller's investigation was described to the AP. No one familiar with the matter has been willing to discuss the scope of his investigation on the record because it is just getting underway and because revealing details could complicate its progress.
In an interview separately Friday with the AP, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein acknowledged that Mueller could expand his inquiry to include Attorney General Jeff Sessions' and Rosenstein's own roles in the decision to fire Comey, who was investigating the Trump campaign. Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller as special counsel to take over the investigation, wrote the memorandum intended to justify Trump's decision to fire Comey. Sessions met with Trump and Rosenstein to discuss Trump's decision to fire him despite Sessions' pledge not to become involved in the Russia case.
The AP asked Rosenstein specifically whether Mueller's investigation could expand to include examining Sessions' role.
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Leaders pledge to boost climate efforts after Trump decision
PARIS (AP) - A Malian cattle herder, German environmental activists, leaders from Mexico to China - they're among millions on Friday denouncing President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord. Many nations pledged to ramp up their efforts to curb global warming instead.
Some allies pointedly refrained from criticism, however, and Russian President Vladimir Putin even joked that Trump's move made him a convenient scapegoat for any bad weather.
While Trump argued the landmark 2015 accord hurts U.S. jobs and business, others took a more global view. The French president's call to #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain went viral online, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it's time to look ahead.
"This decision can't and won't stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet," she said. "On the contrary. We in Germany, Europe and the world will combine our forces more resolutely than ever to address and successfully tackle challenges for humanity such as climate change."
Merkel, whose country hosts this year's international climate summit, called Trump's decision "extremely regrettable, and that's putting it very mildly."
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Does Trump believe in climate change or not? Aides won't say
WASHINGTON (AP) - Does he or doesn't he? Believe in climate change, that is.
You'd think that would be an easy enough question the day after President Donald Trump announced he was pulling the U.S. out of the landmark global accord aimed at combatting global warming.
But don't bother asking at the White House.
"I have not had an opportunity to have that discussion" with the president, responded Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Friday.
"You should ask him that," offered White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway.
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Griffin not 'laying down' for Trump, fears career is over
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Embattled comedian Kathy Griffin says she's not afraid of Donald Trump and plans to keep making fun of him but maintained that she's sorry for a video that depicted her holding a likeness of the president's severed, bloody head.
At a rambling press conference Friday, Griffin tearfully predicted her career is over and said Trump "broke me." Since the video was posted Tuesday, she has lost her job co-hosting CNN's New Year's Eve special and had all her upcoming comedy shows cancelled. Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have publicly criticized the video.
Griffin, who asserted that she has been contacted by the Secret Service, said the Trumps are "trying to ruin my life forever."
The Secret Service declined comment Friday.
"The president, the first lady and the Secret Service have all made very clear their view on those thoughts,"
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3 ex-Penn State officials sent to jail in Sandusky scandal
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Penn State's former president and two other ex-administrators were sentenced Friday to at least two months in jail for failing to report a child sexual abuse allegation against Jerry Sandusky a decade before his arrest engulfed the university in scandal and brought down football coach Joe Paterno.
"They ignored the opportunity to put an end to his crimes when they had a chance to do so," Judge John Boccabella said as he lambasted the three defendants and the Hall of Fame coach over a delay that prosecutors say enabled Sandusky to molest four more boys.
Boccabella said he was "appalled that the common sense to make a phone call did not occur," a transgression that "sort of robs my faith of who we are as adults and where we are going."
Former President Graham Spanier, 68, was sentenced to four to 12 months, with the first two in jail and the rest under house arrest. He was convicted of child endangerment.
Former athletic director Tim Curley, 63, received a sentence of seven to 23 months, with three in jail. Former vice president Gary Schultz, 67, was given six to 23 months, with two months behind bars. They pleaded guilty to child endangerment.
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Q&A: Could executive privilege block Comey testimony?
WASHINGTON (AP) - Could President Donald Trump keep former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to lawmakers about their private conversations?
The White House appears to be considering raising the issue of executive privilege, but Trump may have a weak case for claiming that his conversations with Comey should be considered private - especially since the president himself has commented publicly about the circumstances surrounding Comey's May 9 firing.
Comey is set to testify Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee. He'll likely be asked to recount conversations with Trump about Russian meddling during last year's election and the FBI's investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
"The president will make that decision," White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday when asked if Trump would try to block Comey's testimony.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer would not rule it out. He said the committee hearing was just set and "it has to be reviewed." He said he has not discussed the matter with White House counsel, adding, "I don't know how they're going to respond."
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Jobs data could signal shortage of qualified workers to hire
WASHINGTON (AP) - Are employers starting to run out of workers to hire?
A hiring pullback reported in Friday's U.S. jobs data for May raises that prospect. The economy added just 138,000 jobs, which was still high enough to help cut the unemployment rate to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent. With the recovery from the Great Recession having reached its eighth year, hiring is gradually weakening.
"It's definitely becoming an increasing problem for businesses - finding qualified workers," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities. "The pool has diminished considerably."
Not only did employers slow their hiring during May. The government also revised downward its estimate of job growth in March and April by a combined 66,000. Monthly gains have averaged 121,000 the past three months, compared with 181,000 over the past 12 months. As recently as 2015, job growth averaged 226,000 a month.
Companies are now choosing from among a smaller pool of applicants, especially for those who have the education or skills they need.
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NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. AP checked these out; here are the real facts:
NOT REAL: Trump's Top Scientist Pick: "Scientists Are Just Dumb Regular People That Think Dinosaurs Existed And The Earth Is Getting Warmer"
THE FACTS: A story on the satirical U.S Political News website hijacks an actual news story about Sam Clovis, widely reported to be President Donald Trump's pick for a U.S. Department of Agriculture research job, infusing it with made-up quotes expressing skepticism about scientists who believe in evolution and climate change. The fabricated quotes are attributed to KYXL, a non-existent radio station. The original story, by ProPublica, pointed out that Clovis had none of the research, education and economics qualifications specified for the position.
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NOT REAL: ICELAND PAYING IMMIGRANTS $5,000 PER MONTH TO MARRY THEIR WOMEN
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Autopsy: Drugs taken by Chris Cornell didn't cause death
DETROIT (AP) - Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell had drugs in his body, including an anti-anxiety medication, but they didn't contribute to his death by hanging in a Detroit hotel room, according to autopsy reports released Friday.
The reports confirm that Cornell, 52, killed himself after a May 17 concert. A resistance band was around his neck, and the other end was attached to a clip over the top of the bathroom door, said Dr. Theodore Brown, assistant Wayne County medical examiner.
Toxicology tests showed the presence of barbiturates, caffeine and lorazepam, also known as Ativan, for relief of anxiety. The report also lists naloxone, an anti-opioid drug, and a decongestant.
"These drugs did not contribute to the cause of death," Brown said.
Cornell was found by a security guard who kicked in two locked doors at his hotel room on May 18.
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MoMA expanding its Manhattan space, view of NYC outdoors
NEW YORK (AP) - New York's Museum of Modern Art is boldly expanding its midtown Manhattan home that draws more than 3 million visitors annually from around the world - including those who came Friday to see the first completed phase of the $450 million project.
Spread over three floors of the art mecca off Fifth Avenue are 15,000 square-feet (about 1,400 square-meters) of reconfigured galleries, a new, second gift shop, a redesigned cafe and espresso bar and, facing the sculpture garden, two lounges graced with black marble quarried in France.
Still under construction are 50,000 square-feet (about 4,600 square-meters) of new galleries opening in 2019, bringing MoMA's total art-filled space to 175,000 square-feet (about 16,000 square-meters) on six floors. The expansion will allow more of the museum's collection of nearly 200,000 works to be displayed.
The project also will provide 25 percent more space for visitors to relax or have a sit-down meal.
The museum building, which opened in 1939, now nearly fills an entire city block and showcases works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo, to name just a few from the permanent collection. The complex fuses original architecture by Philip Goodwin and Edward Stone with Philip Johnson-designed additions in 1951 and 1964 and a new section by Argentine native Cesar Pelli in 1984, topped in 2004 by Yoshio Taniguchi's $425 million expansion and renovation.
