One of President Trump's closest allies in the Senate is not buying his theory about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday said that he believes the missing Washington Post columnist was murdered and that it was likely "orchestrated at the highest levels of government," per CBS News' Alan He.
Trump suggested on Monday that "rogue killers" may have been responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance, but Graham doesn't "think it was a rogue event." Graham said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is "the one pulling the strings right now." But Trump on Tuesday, seemingly without skepticism, promoted the crown prince's claim that he has no knowledge of Khashoggi's fate.
Khashoggi arrived at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, earlier this month and has not been heard from since. Turkish officials told the United States they found evidence he was murdered and dismembered by a Saudi security team, and gave The Washington Post scans of seven men they believe were part of the Saudi team responsible. Trump promised that "answers will be forthcoming shortly" as Saudi Arabia will "rapidly expand" its investigation. But Turkish officials told the Post that there has been a "lack of Saudi cooperation" in the investigation and that it appears the consulate was cleaned and repainted before they could examine it.
Graham said the Saudi crown prince is "very schizophrenic," and told Fox & Friends that he has "got to go." Until something new happens in Saudi Arabia, Graham added, he has "no interest in engaging with this government" because he "cannot imagine a more blatant example of contempt for a relationship than this." Brendan Morrow
Iran and the United States have both fervently expressed that they do not seek war with one another, despite heightened tensions between the two sides. Now, Saudi Arabia, a longtime U.S. ally and rival of Iran, has proclaimed a similar aversion to warfare with Iran. But, as was the case with Iran and U.S., the kingdom left open the possibility for conflict should they have no other choice.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Abdel al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia does not want or seek war with Iran, but if Iran strikes first, "the kingdom will respond with all force and determination" to defend itself. Riyadh has accused Tehran of ordering drone strikes on two Saudi Arabian oil pumping stations on Tuesday, though Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed responsibility and Iran has denied involvement.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman reportedly recently discussed strengthening security and stability in the Gulf region with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he also called for a meeting later in May with other Gulf State leaders to discuss implications of Iran's possible proxy attacks. "The ball is in their court," Jubeir said, referring to Iran. Read more at Reuters.
The Trump administration has reportedly identified at least 1,712 migrant children who were separated from their parents at the southern border, court transcripts from a Friday hearing revealed. Those children are in addition to the 2,800 children who were separated as a result of the White House's "zero tolerance policy."
In March, a federal judge, Dana Sabraw ordered the Trump administration to identify within six months children who were separated from their families before the zero tolerance policy went into effect. Thousands of more children may still be identified, NBC News reports. So far, the government has reviewed the files of 4,108 children out of 50,000 cases.
Customs and Border Protection Commander Jonathan White, the official who spearheaded the reunification process, said the agency has been focusing on the children most likely to have been separated, but the findings are not conclusive. "I do anticipate that because we were very inclusive we will discover that many of those are false positives after CBP looks at them," White said. Read more at NBC News. Tim O'Donnell
The future of charter schools could be in doubt if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) finds his way into the White House. Early reactions to the news are mixed.
Sanders, one of the frontrunners in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary unveiled an ambitious, 10-point education policy plan on Saturday — which is the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision that made school segregation illegal — during a speech in South Carolina.
Sanders' proposal would put a halt to public funding for charter schools, at least until the completion of a national audit on such schools, which have become a "polarizing" topic in America, HuffPost reports. Sanders would also attempt to implement a ban on for-profit charter schools, which make up 15 percent of all charter schools. Sanders' reasoning is that charter schools can often "drain" communities of already limited resources, hurting traditional public schools in the process and leading to unofficial school segregation. However, HuffPost writes, polls show that black Democrats tend to hold more favorable views of charter schools than white Democrats. Amy Wilkins, the senior vice president of advocacy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, called Sanders' plan "the opposite of the spirit" of the Brown v. Board decision.
Sanders is, to date, the only presidential candidate to have proposed a moratorium on charter school funding.
Other highlights of Sanders' plan are a minimum salary of $60,000 for teachers, tripling federal Title I funding, and providing universal school meals, Vox reports. Tim O'Donnell
It wouldn't be unreasonable to expect President Trump's quick trip to Ireland in June to meet with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar next month to go off without a hitch. But what seemed like a standard, mostly ceremonial visit is now in jeopardy because the two sides can't agree on a venue, putting Varadkar in an unenviable position.
Trump, who is planning on stopping in Ireland en route to Great Britain and France for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, reportedly really wants his meeting with Varadkar to take place at Trump's golf course and hotel in Doonbeg, an Irish government source familiar with the situation told CNN. The Irish government, though, thinks that it would be a bit "unseemly" for Varadkar to host Trump at his own hotel.
As a compromise, Ireland has proposed the two have dinner at a nearby venue, the Dromoland Castle, and then have a follow-up breakfast at Trump's property. "Leo is doing his best to minimize his exposure to Trump on this visit, but he is in a tricky position, as practically every American digital company's European headquarters are in Ireland," said the source.
The Trump visit was already complicated because the president is wildly unpopular in Ireland, CNN writes. At the same time, the prime minister wants to maintain positive relations with the United States as Ireland hosts headquarters for Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Apple, CNN reports. Tim O'Donnell
This story has been updated.