10 things you need to know today: April 10, 2019
Barr promises redacted Mueller report "within a week," Israel's Netanyahu appears to have won a 5th term, and more
- 1. Barr says redacted Mueller report due out 'within a week'
- 2. Israel's Netanyahu appears to secure historic 5th term
- 3. Trump says he's 'not looking' to resume family separations at border
- 4. New York to require some to get measles vaccinations in health emergency
- 5. Mnuchin says administration lawyers discussed releasing Trump tax returns
- 6. Texas Tech to stop considering race in admissions
- 7. Ex-FBI lawyer told Congress about Trump obstruction concerns
- 8. Homeland Security shakeup continues as deputy secretary resigns
- 9. EU to vote on May's request for another Brexit delay
- 10. Actress Lori Loughlin faces new charge in college admissions scandal
1. Barr says redacted Mueller report due out 'within a week'
Attorney General William Barr said in testimony to the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that he expected to be able to release a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election meddling "within a week." He said he would color-code the material being left out to make it clear why certain sections could not be made public. Barr said that he does not currently intend to provide Congress with a copy of the unredacted report, but added he would be glad to talk to leaders of key committees "as to whether they feel they need more information and see if there's a way we could accommodate that." Barr also said he has no plan to exert executive privilege over information in the report.
2. Israel's Netanyahu appears to secure historic 5th term
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger Benny Gantz both claimed victory after Tuesday's elections, but Netanyahu appeared to have sealed a record 5th term. Both promised to serve as "everyone's prime minister." Netanyahu's Likud and Gantz's Kahol Lavan party were tied with 35 seats apiece, but Netanyahu's right-wing block held a 10-seat lead over the left in the Knesset, or parliament, with 95 percent of the votes counted early Wednesday. Nearly all of the right-wing parties have declared that they would recommend that President Reuven Rivlin let Netanyahu form the next ruling coalition. "It's an unbelievable, tremendous victory," said Netanyahu, who is battling corruption allegations. Gantz, a former military chief of staff, tried to rally support with a call for unity.
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3. Trump says he's 'not looking' to resume family separations at border
President Trump on Tuesday refuted reports that he wants to resume his administration's controversial effort to separate migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. "We're not looking to do that, no," he told reporters. Trump added that when families are not separated, "you have many more people coming. They are coming like it's a picnic, like, 'Let's go to Disneyland.'" In April 2018, the Trump administration rolled out its "zero-tolerance" policy, promising to prosecute all people found crossing the border illegally. When families were caught, the parents went to jail while their children ended up in detention centers or foster care. Senior administration officials told CNN on Tuesday that recently, Trump pressured former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to separate families, even those who came through legal ports of entry to claim asylum.
4. New York to require some to get measles vaccinations in health emergency
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday declared a public health emergency in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn after a measles outbreak. Unvaccinated people in the heavily Orthodox Jewish community who might have been exposed will be required to get the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, and anyone who doesn't comply could face a $1,000 fine. "We don't take these steps lightly," de Blasio said. "It's time to protect your family and your community." Since the start of the outbreak in October, 285 cases have been confirmed, 246 of them in children under 18. Federal health officials said the rise in U.S. measles cases has been fueled by the anti-vaccination movement. "The measles vaccine works," de Blasio said. "It is safe, it is effective, it is time-tested."
New York Post The New York Times
5. Mnuchin says administration lawyers discussed releasing Trump tax returns
Treasury Department lawyers and the White House general counsel's office discussed the possibility of releasing President Trump's tax returns before House Democrats formally requested the documents from the IRS, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday. House Democrats have asked for six years of Trump's returns, citing a law saying the Treasury secretary "shall furnish" tax records if congressional committee chairs request them. Mnuchin said he was never briefed about the discussions Trump administration lawyers had about the returns in anticipation of the request. "I believe that the communication between our legal department and the White House general counsel was informational," Mnuchin told the House Appropriations Committee. "We had obviously read in the press that we were expecting this."
6. Texas Tech to stop considering race in admissions
Texas Tech University's medical school has struck a deal with the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights to stop considering race in admissions decisions. The agreement, struck in February, concluded a 14-year investigation into the university's use of affirmative action. The Trump administration said the deal would force Texas Tech into compliance with federal antidiscrimination law. The case marked the first time that the Trump administration had reached such a resolution in its ongoing targeting of affirmative action in university admissions. The case is unrelated to similar issues at Harvard and Yale, which the Trump administration is investigating on suspicion of discrimination against Asian-American applicants. Texas Tech said it did nothing wrong but would abide by the settlement.
The Wall Street Journal Inside Higher Education
7. Ex-FBI lawyer told Congress about Trump obstruction concerns
Former top FBI lawyer James Baker told lawmakers last fall that high-ranking bureau officials had concerns that President Trump had tried to obstruct the agency's investigation into Trump associates' ties to Russians, according to a transcript of the 2018 testimony released Tuesday. Under questioning by a Democratic committee lawyer, Baker said numerous officials were concerned that Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey in May 2017 amounted to obstruction of justice. Baker said the officials who expressed such concerns included "the acting director" and "the national security folks within the FBI." Baker also said two Cabinet members were willing to discuss invoking the 25th Amendment to oust Trump. The transcript of the testimony to the House Oversight and Judiciary committees was released by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.).
8. Homeland Security shakeup continues as deputy secretary resigns
The leadership shakeup of the Homeland Security Department continued on Tuesday as Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady offered President Trump her resignation. The news came a day after the White House announced the departure of Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles, and two days after DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced her resignation, effective Wednesday. "For the last two years, Claire has served @DHSgov w excellence and distinction. She has been an invaluable asset to DHS – a steady force and a knowledgeable voice," Nielsen tweeted in announcing Grady's resignation. The string of departures came as Trump called for tougher immigration enforcement after declaring a national emergency at the border due to a surge in asylum requests and ongoing drug smuggling.
9. EU to vote on May's request for another Brexit delay
British Prime Minister Theresa May met with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's emergency summit in Brussels, where European Union members will vote on May's request for another delay of the U.K.'s planned departure from the trading bloc. All of the EU's members have to agree for May to get the second Brexit extension she has requested in three weeks. France stepped back from its hardline stance and suggested Tuesday it would accept another Brexit delay. France and other EU countries have expressed mounting frustration with the failure of British lawmakers to agree on Brexit terms, raising the possibility that the U.K. could crash out without a deal in just a few days if the extension request is denied.
10. Actress Lori Loughlin faces new charge in college admissions scandal
Prosecutors filed a new charge against actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, in a high-profile nationwide college admissions cheating scandal. The Hollywood couple and 14 other parents were charged with money laundering conspiracy. Loughlin and Giannulli already had been accused of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with allegations that they paid $500,000 to have their two daughters treated as USC crew-team recruits, even though they never participated in the sport. The news came a day after another celebrity defendant, actress Felicity Huffman, said she would plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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