10 things you need to know today: May 11, 2019

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1. House panel subpoenas Mnuchin, IRS to demand Trump's tax returns
2. Stalled but stable China trade talks calm U.S. markets
3. McGahn declined request that he publicly announce Trump did not obstruct justice
4. Mueller's congressional testimony delayed beyond next week, Nadler says
5. ANC wins South Africa elections
6. Cuba to begin rationing food amid economic crisis
7. Giuliani is no longer going to Ukraine to investigate Biden's son
8. Former Fugees rapper charged in campaign finance conspiracy
9. Uber stumbles in market debut, falling 7 percent
10. NBC orders Kenan Thompson sitcom The Kenan Show

published 11 May 2019

1. House panel subpoenas Mnuchin, IRS to demand Trump's tax returns

The House Ways and Means Committee issued a subpoena on Friday to compel Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to supply President Trump's tax returns within the next week. The House panel has been pursuing Trump's financial records for months but has been met with resistance from the Trump administration; on Monday, Mnuchin declined to turn over the tax returns, saying the committee's demand "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose." The committee chair, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) is one of just a few lawmakers with the authority to request the president's tax returns, and he asked the IRS for six years of Trump's business and personal returns. Friday's subpoenas state: "The IRS is under a mandatory obligation to provide the information requested."

The U.S. and China ended Friday without agreeing to a trade deal and it is unclear when talks will resume. But President Trump touted two days of "constructive conversations" in a tweet on Friday, despite the U.S.'s implementation of a 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese exports that morning. Trump's tweet did not mention if he and China's President Xi Jinping were any closer to reaching a deal, but indicated that talks will "continue" and suggested the tariffs "may or may not be removed" depending on how those negotiations go. That reassurance immediately sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring to finish up 114 points for the day. Still, economists say Trump's tariffs and likely retaliatory tariffs from China are hurting both countries.

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Former White House counsel Don McGahn refused to comply with President Trump's request that he issue a public statement last month saying that he did not believe Trump obstructed justice during Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into 2016 Russian election interference, sources familiar with the situation said. The sources said that McGahn previously told Mueller's investigation team that he did not believe Trump had obstructed justice. Trump was reportedly upset by McGahn's refusal to say that publicly, though McGahn and his lawyers did not feel that the request was "sinister." They reportedly felt it was unnecessary because Attorney General William Barr had already publicly said Trump did not obstruct justice.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Friday confirmed Special Counsel Robert Mueller won't testify before Congress next week, adding that negotiations with the Justice Department are still ongoing. Democrats had previously been aiming for Mueller to testify on May 15, although this was never officially agreed upon, and Nadler said on Friday he has still not spoken with Mueller. Nadler previously suggested he was worried that President Trump would try to stop Mueller from testifying, saying he is "less confident" that Mueller will testify now than he was earlier, but on Friday he said Mueller will "come at some point," and "if necessary, we will subpoena him."

The African National Congress, Nelson Mandela's former liberation movement and the political party that has governed South Africa since 1994, won the country's elections on Saturday, but with its lowest vote share since coming to power. The vote reportedly reflects widespread disillusionment among South Africans who are angered by corruption scandals and continued racial inequality. Still, the ANC took home 57.5 percent of the vote, with its closest competitor and main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, tallying 20.79 percent. The ANC will have enough seats in parliament to give President Cyril Ramaphosa another five years in office, but he will have to contend with intra-party rivals who oppose his reforms.

Cuba will begin widespread rationing of staple foods and other products such as chicken, eggs, rice, beans, and soap as the country faces what The Associated Press calls a grave economic crisis, the government announced on Friday. Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez blamed the Trump Administration for hardening the United States' trade embargo on the island. Some economists, meanwhile, argue that the crisis stems more from the fact that Venezuela has not provided Cuba with its usual amount of aid since becoming mired in its own dire ecomomic and political situation. Díaz said that cooking oil would be in full supply. "We're calling for calm," she said.

Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer, said on Friday he is no longer planning to travel to Ukraine to convince the country's president-elect, Volodomyr Zelensky, to aid in an investigation surrounding former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter. The younger Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian company that is the subject of a probe in Ukraine. The elder Biden is a potential 2020 presidential opponent for Trump, so Giuliani has faced criticism about the trip with many viewing it as election meddling. The lawyer decided to forego his plans, however, citing an "unspecified political trap" designed by Trump's political enemies. "I think this was a set-up," Giuliani told Fox News.

Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, a founding member of the hip-hop group the Fugees, has been charged in a campaign finance conspiracy involving illegally funneling money to former Presiden Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign. The indictment accuses Michel of conspiring with fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho to make and conceal campaign contributions. Low reportedly transferred more than $21 million from overseas to the rapper, who then doled out $865,000 to a network of donors who made contributions to Candidate A, who is clearly Obama, The New York Times reports. Obama is not accused of any wrongdoing in the situation. Michel pleaded not guilty on Friday. He was not detained.

Uber shares made a rocky debut on Friday with a lower-than-expected start to trading. Uber began trading at $42 a share after pricing its IPO at $45 a share, which was already close to the bottom of its projected range, and peaked at $44.74 in the afternoon. Its stock closed at $41.57 a share. The company's initial pricing valued Uber at $82.4 billion. The company raised $8.1 billion in the biggest IPO since Facebook, which debuted in 2012 valued at $104 billion. Uber's 7.6 percent fall makes it one of just 60 companies who've seen a debut day loss of 5 percent or more in the past 10 years. The tumble came as a result of Uber's disappointing first quarter earnings and concerns about the company's business practices.

Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson's new sitcom The Kenan Show was picked up to series by NBC on Friday. The show, which is produced by Chris Rock and Lorne Michaels, stars Thompson as the father of two girls whose father-in-law, played by Andy Garcia, tries to help him out in inappropriate ways. This is yet another NBC project for Thompson, who is expected to remain a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live. He has starred on SNL for 16 seasons, the longest of any cast member. Thompson has also been working with NBC on a series called Bring the Funny, a comedy competition show on which Thompson will be a judge.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.