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Kamala Harris courts unions, minorities with call to raise teacher pay

WASHINGTON/SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Kamala Harris on Tuesday released a plan that would use federal money to raise teachers' salaries, in a nod to several constituencies whose help she will need to win next year's Democratic presidential nomination – teachers unions, women and black voters. The proposal – Harris' first major policy rollout as a 2020 White House candidate – would invest $315 billion over 10 years to give the average teacher a $13,500 raise, or about a 23 percent salary increase, according to a Harris campaign aide. The National Education Association (NEA), which has 3 million members, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which has 1.7 million members, are likely months away from endorsing in the 2020 Democratic primary, if they do so at all.

Ex-Trump campaign aide Papadopoulos disavows Mueller plea deal

Papadopoulos, who was plucked out of obscurity to work as a foreign policy adviser for Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign, has become an increasingly vocal critic of Mueller's Russia probe since completing a 12-day prison term in December. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty in October 2017 to lying to FBI agents about the timing and nature of his communications with a Maltese professor with ties to Russian government officials while working on the Trump campaign. Papadopoulos says Mueller's team threatened that if he did not agree to the plea deal he would be charged for not registering as a foreign agent in relation to his dealings with an Israeli businessman who gave him $10,000 in cash.

U.S. high court to hear historic electoral map manipulation cases

The justices last year failed to deliver a definitive ruling on the legality of the practice, called partisan gerrymandering. Critics have said gerrymandering has become increasingly effective and insidious by using precise voter data and powerful computer software. Gerrymandering also tends to foster the election of candidates with more extreme views at the expense of moderates, according to critics, adding to U.S. political polarization.

Flooding woes add to trade war stress in 'Trump country' farm belt

COLUMBUS, Neb./CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nebraska grain farmer Ryan Ueberrhein was barely breaking even after the U.S.-China trade war pushed prices for his soybean crop to a decade low. The trade war "keeps damaging us," said Ueberrhein, 34, of Valley, Nebraska, who voted for Trump. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to arrive in China this week for another round of trade talks with their Chinese counterparts.

Republicans block U.S. Senate Democrats' move on making Mueller report public

U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Monday blocked a second attempt by Democrats to pass a measure aimed at prodding the Justice Department to release to the public Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted 420-0 in favor of making the report public, with no Republican opposition. On Sunday, Attorney General William Barr informed Congress that Mueller had concluded that President Donald Trump's campaign did not collude with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

U.S. Senate Republican wants a special counsel to investigate Trump probe

A day after the attorney general said the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller found Trump's campaign did not conspire with Russia, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said: "We will begin to unpack the other side of the story." He said it was time to look at the origins of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant for former Trump adviser Carter Page, which was based in part on information in a dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer who co-founded a private intelligence firm. Graham told reporters he planned to ask Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the FISA matter, which is already being probed by the Justice Department's internal watchdog, Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

Republicans block U.S. Senate Democrats' move on making Mueller report public

U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Monday blocked a second attempt by Democrats to pass a measure aimed at prodding the Justice Department to release to the public Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted 420-0 in favor of making the report public, with no Republican opposition. On Sunday, Attorney General William Barr informed Congress that Mueller had concluded that President Donald Trump's campaign did not collude with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

Trump, allies attack president's critics after he is cleared of Russia collusion

U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Sunday released a four-page summary of the findings of the investigation that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 election. "There are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, very bad things, I would say treasonous things against our country," Trump told reporters at the White House, without mentioning anyone by name or citing specific actions. Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican Senate Judiciary Committee chairman and a Trump ally, told reporters he would ask Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the origins of the Russia probe.

Oklahoma top court clears way for Purdue, J&J, Teva to face opioid trial

The Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision was a win for the state's attorney general, whose case is set to be the first to face trial of roughly 2,000 lawsuits nationally seeking to hold opioid manufacturers responsible for contributing to the epidemic. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter's 2017 lawsuit accuses Purdue, Johnson & Johnson & Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of engaging in deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of addiction associated with opioid pain drugs while overstating their benefits. The trial delay bid came as Purdue, owned by members of the wealthy Sackler family, was exploring filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to address potential liabilities stemming from the lawsuits, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

U.S. top court rebuffs mystery company in Mueller subpoena fight

A federal judge imposed a $50,000-per-day fine against the company, which had asked the justices to hear its appeal of a December appeals court ruling that upheld a judge's decision to hold it in contempt for refusing to fulfill a document request made in the subpoena. The company already could owe more than $3 million. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal in a brief order with no noted dissents from any of the nine justices.

Ex-coaches among 12 to plead not guilty in U.S. college admission scandal

By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Former coaches from the University of Southern California and Georgetown University were among a dozen people who pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that they participated in the largest college admissions fraud scheme uncovered in U.S. history. The 12 people appeared in Boston federal court to face charges that they took part in a $25 million racketeering conspiracy in which wealthy parents paid for help cheating on admissions exams and to bribe coaches who secured spots for their children in elite universities as fake athletic prospects. ...

Texas refineries cut output as petrochemical spill curbs shipping

A petrochemical disaster outside Houston that has disrupted ship traffic for days at a major U.S. oil port led two major refineries on Monday to reduce fuel production, according to people familiar with the matter. A fire and fuel leak at Mitsui & Co Inc's Intercontinental Terminals Co storage facility in Deer Park, Texas, last week sent gasoline, water and fire suppressant foam into the Houston Ship Channel, a waterway that connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and LyondellBasell Industries cut production at their oil refineries on the waterway, according to people familiar with their operations.

Trump: U.S. Special Counsel Mueller acted honorably

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller acted honorably, President Donald Trump said on Monday, days after the fellow Republican wrapped up his Russia probe with no evidence of criminal collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow.

Mueller said three weeks ago he wouldn't reach decision on obstruction: Justice official

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller informed top U.S. Justice Department officials three weeks ago that he would not be reaching a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump had obstructed justice during the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a U.S. Justice official said Monday. The decision by Mueller not to reach a determination was "unexpected," the person added, speaking anonymously in order to discuss private conversations involving U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who received the news. ...

White House says pardons for Trump associates not discussed

There have been no conversations about President Donald Trump issuing pardons for any of his associates who have been charged or pleaded guilty as part of the U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the White House said on Monday. There has been "no discussion that I'm aware of" regarding pardons, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters. Fellow White House spokesman Hogan Gidley also told MSNBC in an interview that the White House has not had any conversations about such pardons.

Explainer: Why Trump's legal woes go beyond the Mueller report

Other continuing investigations and litigation are focusing on issues including his businesses and financial dealings, personal conduct, charitable foundation and inaugural committee. The special counsel on Friday submitted his confidential report on the investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who must decide on how much of it to make public. On Sunday Barr released a summary of Mueller's findings that said the investigation did not find that President Donald Trump committed a crime but also does not exonerate him.

Mueller finds no Trump-Russia conspiracy but some questions left unresolved

It marked a political victory for Trump. The Kremlin said following the release of Barr's summary that President Vladimir Putin was ready to improve ties with the United States but was up to Washington to make the first move. It was given to Trump in Helsinki," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters on Monday, referring to a summit between Putin and Trump in the Finnish capital in July 2018.

More floods loom as high river waters recede in Midwest

Record floods that submerged parts of three Midwestern states bringing death and destruction were retreating in Kansas City on Monday but icy tributaries in Montana and the Dakotas threatened more floods for weeks to come, the National Weather Service said. High flood waters have already returned in the western Dakotas, northwest Nebraska and central and eastern Montana, along smaller rivers that feed into the Missouri, David Roth, a meteorologist with the NWS's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said on Monday.

Caravan of migrants in Mexico starts moving towards U.S.

A caravan of some 1,200 migrants from Central America and Cuba began moving towards the U.S. border from southern Mexico this weekend, migration authorities said on Sunday. The National Migration Institute said the migrants were already inside Mexico when they opted to form a caravan in the southern city of Tapachula on the border with Guatemala. Caravans of migrants bound for the United States have sparked friction with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has accused Mexico of failing to contain illegal immigration and wants a border wall built to stop people crossing.

Mueller report finds no evidence that Trump campaign colluded with Russia: Justice Department

In a major political victory for Trump, who quickly hailed the announcement as "complete and total exoneration," Mueller's nearly two years of investigation ended with a finding that no one in Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated with the Russian government," according to a summary of Mueller's findings. The long-awaited report into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to help the Republican defeat his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, marked a major milestone of his presidency as he prepares for his 2020 re-election battle. Mueller himself did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump broke the law by interfering with the various probes into the 2016 election that have cast a pall over his presidency, but presented his evidence to Barr to make a determination.

Record river flooding begins to recede in Kansas City area

Record flooding along the Missouri River that left death and destruction in three Midwestern states appeared to have crested on Sunday in the Kansas City area without causing major damage and continued to move downstream, local officials said. Although the surge had begun to recede in Kansas City, Missouri's largest city, a number of riverfront roads remained flooded and city residents were urged to conserve water to help utility crews cope with the deluge. Officials of two small, Missouri waterfront communities just outside Kansas City, Riverside and Parkville, which had been bracing for flooding, said early on Sunday that the worst appeared to be over.

Trump lawyer Giuliani says Mueller report 'better than I expected'

President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether the Trump campaign colluded, and whether Trump obstructed justice was more positive than he had anticipated, based on the summary of the report released on Sunday. "It's better than I expected," said Giuliani, who, echoing Trump, relentlessly attacked Mueller and his work when he began to represent the president last year. Mueller's report, according to the summary by U.S. Attorney General William Barr, found no evidence President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Russia in the 2016 election.

'Apparent suicide' of Parkland student days after massacre survivor took her life

A student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida has died in "an apparent suicide," police said on Sunday, less than a week after a 19-year-old survivor of the 2018 massacre at the school took her own life. “We’re calling it an apparent suicide because we don’t have the exact results back from the medical examiner’s office,” Reik said by phone. The Miami Herald reported that the suicide victim was a male sophomore who attend the Parkland, Florida, school when 14 other students and three staff members were killed on Feb. 14, 2018, in the deadliest-ever U.S. high school shooting.

Explainer: Why Trump's legal woes go beyond the Mueller report

Other continuing investigations and litigation are focusing on issues including his businesses and financial dealings, personal conduct, charitable foundation and inaugural committee. The special counsel on Friday submitted his confidential report on the investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who must decide on how much of it to make public. On Sunday Barr released a summary of Mueller's findings that said the investigation did not find that President Donald Trump committed a crime but also does not exonerate him.

Petrochemical leak keeps stretch of Houston port closed a third day

Ship traffic was halted for a third day on Sunday along a key stretch of the United State's busiest oil port as emergency workers siphoned fuels from the Houston Ship Channel that leaked from a massive fire at a nearby petrochemical storage facility. Before the wall was repaired on Saturday, the breach sent fuels, water and fire suppressant foam to a waterway that connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico. The spill and cleanup has halted ship traffic since Friday on a 5-mile stretch of the channel serving petrochemical import and export terminals.