Politics

Politico reports: Mariano Rajoy’s time as Spain’s prime minister appears to be over after the opposition Socialists secured parliamentary backing for ousting the conservative leader. Lawmakers from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) announced Thursday that they would back Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez’s motion of no confidence in Rajoy in a vote to be held Friday. With the PNV’s support, and …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration announced Thursday it will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada after failing to win concessions from the American allies. Europe and Mexico pledged to retaliate quickly, exacerbating trans-Atlantic and North American trade tensions. The European Commission’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Trump’s decision amounted to trade protectionism and …

CNN reports: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson will name the son of his close friend and business associate as deputy chief of staff, the department confirmed Wednesday. Alfonso Costa Jr., 29, is expected to join the department in the coming weeks, a source familiar with the decision told CNN. Costa’s father is a dentist-turned-real-estate-investor who Carson has described …

The Deseret News reports: Mitt Romney revealed Wednesday who he voted for in the 2016 presidential election. His wife, Ann Romney. “I wrote in the name of a person who I admire deeply, who I think would be an excellent president,” the Republican U.S Senate candidate told the Deseret News and KSL editorial boards in response to a question. “I …

The Washington Examiner reports: First lady Melania Trump, who has not been seen in public since May 10, responded to rampant speculation about her health Wednesday, saying she is actually at the White House. Conjecture has swirled about Trump’s whereabouts since she had surgery May 14 for a “benign kidney condition.” She stayed in the hospital for a week to …

The Associated Press reports: An appeals court has refused to toss corruption charges against former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, saying it can’t assess whether his prosecution violated constitutional separation-of-powers clauses until after he goes to trial. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago says in its unanimous ruling Wednesday that it doesn’t believe appellate courts have the authority …

Courthouse News reports: A federal judge warned the lawyer for porn actress Stormy Daniels on Wednesday that his attacks against the president’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, could interfere in Cohen’s rights to a fair trial. Wrapping up a heated one-hour hearing this morning, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood emphasized that the proceedings here are “a potential precursor to a criminal …

CNN reports: Dietitians have been consulted in the White House kitchens. Steak has been swapped out for Dover sole, his favored fish. And hamburger buns have been discarded — or at least the tops have. President Donald Trump, who embarked upon a mission to shed 10 to 15 pounds in January, has acknowledged in private that he needs to lose …

NBC News reports: A new U.S. intelligence assessment has concluded that North Korea does not intend to give up its nuclear weapons any time soon, three U.S. officials told NBC News — a finding that conflicts with recent statements by President Donald Trump that Pyongyang intends to do so in the future. In an odd twist, a list of potential …

Yahoo News reports: Her husband, Kanye West, is a fan. Her former stepfather, Caitlyn Jenner, calls him the “worst president we have ever had” regarding LGBTQ rights. And while Kim Kardashian may have supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, she’s now reportedly prepping for a major meeting with President Trump himself. Kardashian and attorney Shawn Chapman Holley will meet with Jared …

The Washington Post reports: Outgoing Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the House Oversight Committee Chairman and Trump supporter, said in an interview on Fox that the FBI was justified in using a secret informant to assist in the Russia investigation. Gowdy, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, attended a classified Justice Department briefing last week over the FBI’s use of …

Politico reports: She’s left the White House and moved back to New York City. She’s cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller. She’s holed up with the Obamas, working on a tell-all book about her husband — unless she had a secret nip and tuck, in which case she’s just healing. During the two weeks since Melania Trump returned to the …

Fox News reports: Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is expected to resign Tuesday amid a sexual misconduct scandal and allegations of misuse of a charity donor list, sources told Fox News. Greitens, who has previously said he would not quit his post despite the allegations against him, is expected to step down around 4:15 p.m. local time. A press conference …

Politico reports: Utah Senate candidate Mitt Romney said Monday he would not point to Donald Trump to serve as a role model for his grandchildren, doubling down on past criticisms of the president after pledging last month not to look “backward” at his previous stinging Trump rebukes. During an interview with NBC News that aired Tuesday on MSNBC, the former …

Talking Points Memo reports: Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), a candidate for governor of Tennessee, says that pornography is a “big part” of the impetus for school shootings, along with violent movies, “idle hands” and the “deterioration of the family.” “It’s available on the shelf when you walk in the grocery store. Yeah, you have to reach up to get it, …

TV Line reports: Following ABC’s decision to scrap Roseanne‘s 11th season, the agency ICM Partners has dropped Roseanne Barr as a client after she published a racist tweet Tuesday morning. The move was announced in the following email to ICM employees: “We are all greatly distressed by the disgraceful and unacceptable tweet from Roseanne Barr this morning. What she wrote …

Politico reports: Senate Democrats didn’t get Don Blankenship as their GOP opponent in West Virginia. But they are nonetheless happy with the matchup between Sen. Joe Manchin and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. A Democratic poll taken after the GOP primary this month shows Manchin leading Morrisey, 52-40, in the critical Senate race, according to a summary obtained by POLITICO. The …

The New York Daily reports: The number of people killed in Puerto Rico amid Hurricane Maria is at least 70 times higher than the official government death toll, according to a study published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers in the United States and Puerto Rico estimated more than 4,645 people were killed as a result of …

Reuters reports: In a setback to abortion rights advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday paved the way for Republican-backed restrictions on medication-induced abortions to take effect in Arkansas that could lead to the shuttering of two of the state’s three abortion clinics. The nine justices declined to hear an appeal by abortion provider Planned Parenthood of a lower court …

Politico reports: Tom Steyer says the Democrats telling him to call off his impeachment crusade are like those who told civil rights activists to be patient, and says Nancy Pelosi and others holding back on calling for impeachment are “normalizing” Donald Trump’s presidency. Steyer doesn’t care that Democratic leaders are worried that he could blow their chance at winning the …