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Trump says US and NKorea talking at 'extremely high levels'
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. and North Korea are holding direct talks at "extremely high levels" in preparation for a potential summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
But White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump and Kim have not spoken directly.
Trump appeared to answer in the affirmative to that question when asked about the talks at his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"Let's leave it a little bit short of that," he said later, adding, "We have had talks at the highest level."
Trump also confirmed that North and South Korea are working to negotiate an end to hostilities before next week's meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The meeting will be the third inter-Korean summit since the Koreas' 1945 division.
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As GOP balks, McConnell shuts down bill to protect Mueller
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday thwarted a bipartisan effort to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's job, saying he will not hold a floor vote on the legislation even if it is approved next week in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
McConnell said the bill is unnecessary because President Donald Trump will not fire Mueller.
"We'll not be having this on the floor of the Senate," McConnell said on Fox News.
His comments came amid widespread opposition to the bill among members of his caucus, with several GOP senators saying the bill is unconstitutional. Others said it's simply not good politics to try and tell Trump what to do, likening the legislation to "poking the bear."
The bipartisan legislation was introduced last week as Trump publicly criticized Mueller, who is investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign as well as possible obstruction of justice by the president. Trump, fuming about a raid of his personal lawyer's office by a different division of the FBI, said last week that the Mueller investigation is "an attack on our country" and is "corrupt."
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GOP leaders call on Missouri governor to resign
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's Republican legislative leadership called on GOP Gov. Eric Greitens to resign Tuesday after the state's attorney general suggested that Greitens' use of a charity donor list for political purposes may have broken state law. Greitens quickly replied that he won't quit. The Republican governor already is facing a felony invasion-of-privacy charge related to an extramarital affair that occurred as he was preparing to run for governor in 2015. Legislative leaders said the potential of a second felony charge was too much for the state to bear.
"When leaders lose the ability to effectively lead our state, the right thing to do is step aside. In our view, the time has come for the governor to resign," House Speaker Todd Richardson said in a joint statement with House Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr, and House Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo.
Greitens said he plans to remain in office as his May 14 trial date approaches on the invasion of privacy charge.
"I will not be resigning the Governor's office," he said. "In three weeks, this matter will go to a court of law, where it belongs and where the facts will prove my innocence. Until then, I will do what the people of Missouri sent me here to do: to serve them and work hard on their behalf."
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White House adviser apologizes for saying
Haley was confused
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The new White House economic adviser apologized Tuesday to U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley after suggesting she was suffering from "momentary confusion" when she announced over the weekend that new sanctions against Russia were imminent.
Haley had fired back at Larry Kudlow, saying, "With all due respect, I don't get confused."
A White House official said Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, called Haley to apologize Tuesday afternoon in an effort to mend fences. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.
A striking intra-administration quarrel played out in public when Kudlow told reporters during a briefing in Florida that Haley "got ahead of the curve" when she said the U.S. would be slapping new sanctions on Russia on Monday in retaliation for the country's support for Syria's Assad government after its latest suspected chemical attack.
Kudlow said additional sanctions are under consideration but have yet to be implemented. Of Haley, he said, "There might have been some momentary confusion about that."
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Newscaster Carl Kasell of NPR's 'Morning Edition'
dies at 84
NEW YORK (AP) -- Newscaster Carl Kasell, a signature voice of NPR who brought his gravitas to "Morning Edition" and later his wit to "Wait, Wait … Don't Tell Me!" has died. He was 84.
NPR said Kasell died Tuesday from complications from Alzheimer's disease in Potomac, Maryland. He retired in 2014.
Kasell's radio career spanned half a century, starting as a morning DJ and newscaster at WGBR-AM in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He spent a decade at radio station WAVA in Arlington, Virginia, going from morning anchor to news director.
He was a newscaster for 30 years on "Morning Edition" until 2009. Kasell then became the official judge and scorekeeper of the Chicago-based show "Wait, Wait … Don't Tell Me!" in 1998. He left his voice on hundreds of answering machines as part of that show's prize.
"He was, and remains, the heart and soul of our show," Peter Sagal, the host of "Wait, Wait," tweeted Tuesday. NPR's Melissa Block said of Kasell: "A beloved voice. A radio man through and through. And the kindest colleague you could hope to find."
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Another California county backs Trump's
'sanctuary' lawsuit
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Leaders of California's second-largest county voted Tuesday to officially support the Trump administration's lawsuit against the state's so-called sanctuary law that limits police cooperation with federal immigration agents.
The decision by San Diego County's all-Republican Board of Supervisors comes amid a growing conservative backlash in California against the Democratic governor's stance on immigration enforcement.
The region of 3 million residents that borders Mexico joins neighboring Orange County and at least nine other Orange County cities that have passed anti-sanctuary resolutions or voted to support the lawsuit filed last month by President Donald Trump's administration.
The board voted 3-1, with one member absent. It pledged to file an amicus brief supporting the federal lawsuit at the first available opportunity, chairwoman Kristin Gaspar said. She expects the Trump administration to win and California to appeal, at which point the county would be allowed to file its brief.
The board made the decision in closed session after hearing 45 minutes of public comment. Most of the more than two dozen speakers urged the supervisors not to support the lawsuit.
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Russia denies 'feeble' US, UK charges of internet
tampering
(AP) Russia denied accusations from the United States and Britain that its agents have planted malware on key components of the internet to spy on rivals, steal trade and potentially launch cyberattacks.
A Kremlin spokesman on Tuesday called the claim unfounded and "feeble."
In a joint statement Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre said the main targets in the alleged tampering of routers and other networking equipment include "government and private-sector organizations," as well as providers of "critical infrastructure" and internet service providers.
"Victims were identified through a coordinated series of actions between U.S. and international partners," according to a companion technical alert issued by the U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team (US-CERT). Both nations have "high confidence" in the finding of Russian-sponsored cyber-meddling, which the alert said has been reported by multiple sources since 2015.
Australia also admonished Russia and accused Kremlin-backed hackers of cyberattacks on hundreds of Australian companies last year.
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Kucinich was paid $20K by pro-Syrian government group
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a candidate for Ohio governor, reported Tuesday earning speaking fees from a group with sympathies toward the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Kucinich, a Democrat, reported receiving $20,000 for a speech last year from the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees. Business filings list the group as a parent organization of the pro-Assad Syrian Solidarity Movement. The report was part of an amended financial disclosure filing requested by the Ohio Ethics Commission.
The U.S. and its allies last week destroyed sites of Syrian chemical weapons that Assad is accused of using on his own people.
On its website, the Syrian Solidarity Movement praises Assad's government and criticizes what it characterizes as a "false western narrative about Syria."
Kucinich's campaign spokesman, Andy Juniewicz, said Kucinich's speech was delivered at a peace conference hosted by the association. Juniewicz said Kucinich supports peace in the Middle East and has personally pressed Assad to admit he has chemical weapons and to pledge to abide by international agreements.