AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EST
Ex-Trump aide plans to defy Mueller, says 'arrest me'
WASHINGTON (AP) - A former Trump campaign aide promised to defy a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller and unloaded on President Donald Trump and his campaign, throwing down the challenge, "Arrest me."
"Why do I have to do it?" Sam Nunberg told CNN of Mueller's request to have him appear in front of a grand jury and turn over thousands of emails and other communications with other ex-officials, among them his mentor Roger Stone.
"I'm not cooperating," Nunberg said later as he challenged officials to charge him.
Nunberg said he thinks Mueller may already have incriminating evidence on Trump directly, although he would not say what that evidence might be.
"I think he may have done something during the election," Nunberg told MSNBC of the president, "but I don't know that for sure." He later told CNN that Mueller "thinks Trump is the Manchurian candidate." A reference drawn from a Cold War novel and film, a "Manchurian candidate" is an American brainwashed or otherwise compromised to work on behalf of an adversarial government.
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Trump, Ryan face off in rare public GOP clash over tariffs
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a remarkably public confrontation, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican allies of President Donald Trump pleaded with him Monday to back away from his threatened international tariffs, which they fear could spark a dangerous trade war. Trump retorted: "We're not backing down."
The president said U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico would not be spared from his plans for special import taxes on steel and aluminum, but he held out the possibility of later exempting the longstanding friends if they agree to better terms for the U.S. in talks aimed at revising the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"We've had a very bad deal with Mexico; we've had a very bad deal with Canada. It's called NAFTA," he declared.
Trump spoke shortly after a spokeswoman for Ryan, a Trump ally, said the GOP leader was "extremely worried" that the proposed tariffs would set off a trade war and urged the White House "to not advance with this plan."
Likewise, Republican leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee circulated a letter opposing Trump's plan, and GOP congressional leaders suggested they may attempt to prevent the tariffs if the president moves forward.
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10 Things to Know for Tuesday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday:
1. TRUMP'S TARIFF VOW ROILS GOP
The president insists "we're not backing down" on his pledge to slap stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum, despite strong opposition from congressional Republicans.
2. KOREANS HOLD 'OPENHEARTED' TALKS
Kim Jong Un meets with envoys for South Korea's president, the North says. It's the first time officials from Seoul have met with the young North Korean leader since he took power in 2011.
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Freed Russian spy reportedly sickened after mystery exposure
SALISBURY, England (AP) - A former Russian spy was critically ill after exposure to an "unknown substance," British media reported in a case that immediately drew parallels to the poisoning of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko.
National and local authorities said only that a man and a woman were found unconscious Sunday afternoon on a bench in a shopping mall in Salisbury, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of London.
British media identified him as Sergei Skripal, 66, who was convicted in Russia on charges of spying for Britain and sentenced in 2006 to 13 years in prison. Skripal was freed in 2010 as part of a U.S.-Russian spy swap.
Wiltshire Police, which is responsible for the Salisbury area, said the man and woman appeared to know one another and had no visible injuries. "They are currently being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance. Both are currently in a critical condition in intensive care," the police department said in a statement.
The discovery led to a dramatic decontamination effort. Crews in billowing yellow moon suits worked into the night spraying down the street, and the Salisbury hospital's emergency room was closed.
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West Virginia teacher strike headed for a 9th day
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Striking teachers in West Virginia delivered yet another message to lawmakers Monday by packing the state Capitol to capacity, the eighth school day of the walkout.
The show of support by thousands didn't immediately sway the lawmakers, who failed to agree on a 5 percent pay raise that would end the strike, forcing districts to cancel school again Tuesday. The governor, union leaders and the House of Delegates agreed to the pay raise for the teachers, among the lowest paid in the nation, but the Senate offered only a 4 percent increase.
A conference committee of House and Senate members met for more than an hour Monday but adjourned without an agreement, drawing the ire of teachers. Another meeting was planned later Monday night.
Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and Senate Majority Leader Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, said they remained skeptical that revised, higher revenue figures from Gov. Jim Justice to support the higher pay raises were legitimate. Blair suggested that schools reopen while the Legislature tries to work on the bills, prompting groans from the audience.
Ghent Elementary second grade teacher April Smith attended the meeting and was disheartened.
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AP NewsBreak: Miss. Sen. Thad Cochran resigning April 1
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi said Monday he will resign because of health problems - triggering what could be a chaotic special election to fill the seat he has held for a generation.
Cochran, who turned 80 in December and has been in poor health, has been a sporadic presence on Capitol Hill in recent months. He stayed home for a month last fall, returning to Washington in October to give Republicans the majority they needed to pass a budget plan. He has since kept a low profile and an aide ever present at his side.
"I regret my health has become an ongoing challenge," Cochran said in a statement. "It has been a great honor to serve the people of Mississippi and our country. I've done my best to make decisions in the best interests of our nation, and my beloved state. ... My hope is by making this announcement now, a smooth transition can be ensured so their voice will continue to be heard in Washington, D.C."
Cochran said his resignation is effective April 1, allowing Republican Gov. Phil Bryant to appoint a temporary replacement to fill the seat until a special election Nov. 6. The winner would serve until the end of Cochran's term in January 2021.
Cochran's departure sets off a scramble within a state Republican Party already struggling to manage a disaffected conservative faction. The special election is expected to attract several candidates, including the outspoken, tea party-backed state senator who came close to defeating Cochran in a bitter 2014 Republican primary. Republican Chris McDaniel, who said last week he would challenge Mississippi's other GOP senator, Roger Wicker, said Monday it is "premature" to say whether he will run for the newly open seat.
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N. Korean dictator, Seoul envoys have 'openhearted talk'
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has held an "openhearted talk" in Pyongyang with envoys for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the North said Tuesday.
It's the first time South Korean officials have met with the young North Korean leader in person since he took power after his dictator father's death in late 2011 - and the latest sign that the Koreas are trying to mend ties after a year of repeated North Korean weapons tests and threats of nuclear war.
North Korea's state media said Kim expressed his desire to "write a new history of national reunification" during a dinner Monday night that Seoul said lasted about four hours.
Given the robust history of bloodshed, threats and animosity on the Korean Peninsula, there is considerable skepticism over whether the Koreas' apparent warming relations will lead to lasting peace.
North Korea, some believe, is trying to use improved ties with the South to weaken U.S.-led international sanctions and pressure, and to provide domestic propaganda fodder for Kim Jong Un.
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Trump dangles Israel trip for new embassy; mum on peace plan
WASHINGTON (AP) - Under twin clouds of legal investigation, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a united front on Monday, Trump announcing he might travel to Jerusalem to preside over the opening of the new U.S. Embassy Netanyahu had wanted, and the Israeli lavishing praise on the American leader.
In a show of strong support for Netanyahu, who faces corruption allegations at home, Trump dangled the possibility of his second visit to Israel as president. However, he said nothing about whether he would use the trip to unveil his much-vaunted but still mysterious peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.
The president said his controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city had improved chances for ending the conflict, despite Palestinians' insistence otherwise. The two steps enraged the Palestinians, who claim part of Jerusalem for the capital of an eventual state and accuse Trump of abandoning the U.S. role of honest broker.
Trump and his wife, Melania, welcomed Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, to the White House just hours after Israeli police announced that a third confidant of the prime minister had agreed to turn state's witness in the burgeoning corruption case. Netanyahu and his wife were questioned separately by police for hours on Friday before their departure for Washington.
Monday's meeting also came amid the continuing U.S. investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, a probe that may have implications for the president's Mideast peace point man, son-in-law Jared Kushner, who recently lost his top secret security clearance. And, it took place as profound turmoil in the Middle East threatens hopes of a resumption in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and attempts to restore stability in the volatile region more broadly.
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Italy's populist parties rule the day, but will they rule?
ROME (AP) - Italy's voters have spoken, and the populists ruled the day. But whether these euroskeptics can put aside their distrust and rivalries to rule together was the big question Monday as the nation embarked on a new era following a quarter-century of largely predictable coalition-formula politics.
More than half the ballots cast Sunday went to two populist forces that knew how to read the angry mood in a country where the brightest youths must go abroad to find decent careers and where hundreds of thousands of migrants were essentially marooned when many European Union partners slammed the door on these asylum-seekers rescued at sea.
The math added up to big dilemma, though. Because no party or coalition captured enough seats to rule alone, and because the populists went into the election as sharp rivals despite their similar "Italy, first," stances, it was unclear if a government with the potential to last could be forged to tackle Italy's pressing economic and social problems.
No one seemed to have the answer Monday.
"The (next) government is an enigma," read the front-page headline of the daily Corriere della Sera.
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Roles reduced, Kushner and Ivanka Trump's fate uncertain
WASHINGTON (AP) - They spent their first year in Washington as an untouchable White House power couple, commanding expansive portfolios, outlasting rivals and enjoying unmatched access to the president. But Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have undergone a swift and stunning reckoning of late, their powers restricted, their enemies emboldened and their future in the West Wing uncertain.
Kushner, long the second-most powerful man in the West Wing, is under siege. President Donald Trump's son-in-law has lost influential White House allies. He remains under the shadow of the Russia probe and has seen his business dealings come under renewed scrutiny. He has been stripped of his top security clearance, raising questions how he can successfully advance his ambitious agenda - including achieving Mideast peace, a goal that has eluded presidents for generations.
Kushner's most powerful patron, the president himself, has wavered recently on whether his daughter and son-in-law belong in the White House anymore.
A frustrated Trump has griped about the wave of bad headlines generated by probes into Kushner's business dealings and the status of his security clearance, according to two people familiar with the president's thinking but not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations. The president also has wondered aloud if the couple would be better off returning home to New York.
At the same time, though, Trump has said he believes many of the attacks against Kushner are unfair and has lamented that the couple is going through such a turbulent time, according to the two people close to the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about Trump's private comments.
