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U.S. Senate judiciary panel head wants special counsel to investigate Trump probe

A day after the attorney general said the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller found that nobody from Trump's campaign conspired with Russia, Senator Lindsey Graham said, "We will begin to unpack the other side of the story." He said it was time to look at the Clinton campaign and 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 said he would look into these matters as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, using subpoena power if necessary, whether or not a special counsel is appointed. Republicans lawmakers have contended the FBI made serious missteps when it sought the warrant to monitor Page in October 2016 shortly after he left the Trump campaign.

Trump lashes out after Russia probe, cites 'treasonous' and 'evil' acts

It's 100 percent the way it should have been," Trump told reporters at the White House. "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 added without mentioning anyone by name or citing specific actions. Attorney General William Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official, on Sunday released a four-page summary of the findings of Mueller's 22-month investigation that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, but said the special counsel had concluded that Trump's campaign did not conspire with Moscow.

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. ...

Ex-coaches charged in U.S. college admission scandal due in court

The 12 people are expected to plead not guilty in Boston federal court to charges that they took part in a $25 million 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. The hearing came as Yale on Monday said it had rescinded the admission of an unnamed student linked to the scandal.

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.

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

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a bid by an unidentified company owned by a foreign government to contest a grand jury subpoena related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's now-completed inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 election, though the justices' action does not force the firm to comply. 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 lower court ruling that upheld a judge's decision to hold it in contempt for refusing to fulfill the document request made in the subpoena. The company already could owe more than $3 million.

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.

Attorney general pores over Russia report, details may come Sunday

WASHINGTON/WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General William Barr pored over a special counsel report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow, and was due to release key findings perhaps as early as Sunday. Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official, aimed to transmit to Congress and the public a summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report by the end of the weekend. There appeared to be initial good news for President Donald Trump and his inner circle, as Mueller did not bring any new indictments when handing over his report to Barr on Friday after a probe of almost two years.

Flooding impairs drinking water treatment for Kansas City, Missouri

The public health advisory came as utility crews struggled to replace broken pumps at a wastewater treatment plant submerged by floodwaters about 30 miles upstream in Leavenworth, Kansas, a town of 35,000 on the river's west bank. It was expected to reach Kansas City on Sunday. The KC Water utility, which serves 170,000 mostly residential customers in Kansas City, Missouri, with water drawn from the river, said it had failed to meet "enhanced treatment technique standards." Testing showed excessive levels of turbidity, the presence of fine particles in the water that can carry bacteria, viruses and parasites including Cryptosporidium, which can cause diarrhea.

Houston petrochemical disaster stretches to sixth day, impacting key port

Fallout from a petrochemical fire outside Houston continued for a sixth day on Saturday, with emergency workers struggling to remove volatile fuels from exposed tanks and ship traffic disrupted on the nation's busiest oil port. A fire that burned for three days broke out last Sunday at Mitsui & Co's Intercontinental Terminals Co site in Deer Park, Texas. On Friday, flames again erupted for an hour and halted efforts to remove volatile fuels that leaked when a containment wall breached.

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

Other ongoing 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. The U.S. Justice Department has a decades-old policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal charges, so such a case against Trump would be unlikely while he is in office even if there were evidence of wrongdoing.

Under heavy fire from Trump, Mueller soldiered on in Russia probe

In this rare public appearance in May 2017, Mueller did not bring up President Donald Trump or the investigation, but offered a clear message stressing the importance of honesty and integrity. "You could be smart, aggressive, articulate, indeed persuasive, but if you are not honest, your reputation will suffer," Mueller said. The saying goes: If you have integrity, nothing else matters, and if you do not have integrity, nothing else matters." On Friday, Mueller handed in the long-awaited report on his investigation.