AP News in Brief at 6:09 p.m. EDT

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This article was published 19/05/2019 (2381 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Trump tells ex-counsel McGahn: Defy subpoena, don’t testify

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump directed his former White House Counsel Don McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena Monday, citing a Justice Department legal opinion that maintains McGahn would have immunity from testifying about his work as a close Trump adviser.

Trump’s action, the latest in his efforts to block every congressional probe into him and his administration, is certain to deepen the open conflict between Democrats and the president. They’ve accused Trump and Attorney General William Barr of trying to stonewall and obstruct Congress’ oversight duties.

McGahn was a key figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, describing ways in which the president sought to curtail that federal probe.

The House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena to compel McGahn to testify by Tuesday, and the committee’s chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., has threatened to hold McGahn in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t testify. Nadler has also suggested he may try and levy fines against witnesses who do not comply with committee requests.

“This move is just the latest act of obstruction from the White House that includes its blanket refusal to co-operate with this Committee,” Nadler said in a statement. “It is also the latest example of this Administration’s disdain for law.”

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Reports: Iran quadruples production of enriched uranium

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity amid tensions with the U.S. over Tehran’s atomic program, nuclear officials said Monday, just after President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister traded threats and taunts on Twitter.

Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, making it usable for a power plant but far below what’s needed for an atomic weapon.

But by increasing production, Iran soon will go beyond the stockpile limitations set by the accord. Tehran has set a July 7 deadline for Europe to come up with new terms for the deal, or it will enrich closer to weapons-grade levels in a Middle East already on edge. The Trump administration has deployed bombers and an aircraft carrier to the region over still-unspecified threats from Iran.

Already this month, officials in the United Arab Emirates alleged that four oil tankers were damaged in a sabotage attack; Yemeni rebels allied with Iran launched a drone attack on an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia; and U.S. diplomats relayed a warning that commercial airlines could be misidentified by Iran and attacked, something dismissed by Tehran.

A rocket landed Sunday near the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone of Iraq’s capital of Baghdad, days after nonessential U.S. staff were ordered to evacuate from diplomatic posts in the country. No one was reported injured. Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul told The Associated Press that the rocket was believed to have been fired from eastern Baghdad, an area home to Iran-backed Shiite militias.

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5th migrant child dies after detention by US border agents

HOUSTON (AP) — A 16-year-old boy from Guatemala who died in U.S. custody Monday had been held for six days — twice as long as federal law generally permits — then transferred to another holding facility after he was diagnosed with the flu.

The teenager, identified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, was the fifth minor from Guatemala to die after being apprehended by U.S. border agents since December.

Advocates demanded that President Donald Trump’s administration act to safeguard the lives of children in detention as border crossings surge and the U.S. Border Patrol detains thousands of families at a time in overcrowded facilities, tents, and outdoor spaces.

“We should all be outraged and demand that those responsible for his well-being be held accountable,” said Efrén Olivares, a lawyer with the Texas Civil Rights Project.

“If these were white children that were dying at this rate, people would be up in arms,” he said. “We see this callous disregard for brown, Spanish-speaking children.”

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Texas transgender woman seen in videotaped attack found dead

DALLAS (AP) — A 23-year-old transgender woman whose beating in front of a crowd was captured on video has been found dead on a Dallas street, police said.

Muhlaysia Booker was found face-down early Saturday after officers were called following reports of shots being fired. She was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Booker died from “homicidal violence,” said police Maj. Vincent Weddington. He did not elaborate. No suspect has been identified.

Weddington said there’s no evidence indicating a link between the shooting and the April 12 beating Booker suffered after she was involved in a minor traffic accident . A police affidavit released at the time said Booker accidentally backed into a vehicle before the driver of that vehicle pointed a gun at her and refused to let her leave unless she paid for the damage.

As a crowd gathered, someone offered $200 to a man to beat the woman, who suffered a concussion, fractured wrist and other injuries, police said. Other men also struck Booker, with one stomping on her head. Edward Thomas, 29, was arrested and jailed on a charge of aggravated assault.

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3 handwritten wills found in Aretha Franklin’s home

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A lawyer says three handwritten wills have been found in the Detroit-area home of Aretha Franklin, months after her death, including one that was discovered under cushions in the living room.

The latest one is dated March 2014 and appears to give the famous singer’s assets to family members. Some writing is hard to decipher, and the four pages have words scratched out and phrases in the margin.

Franklin was 76 when she died last August of pancreatic cancer. Lawyers reported that she had no will at the time, but three handwritten versions were discovered in early May.

David Bennett, an attorney for Franklin’s estate, filed the wills Monday. He told a judge that he’s not sure if they’re legal under Michigan law. A hearing is scheduled for June 12.

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Governor orders probe of medical board in Ohio State abuse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine declared the late Ohio State University team doctor Richard Strauss a monster Monday as he ordered a review of the state medical board’s handling of his case decades ago and called for lawmakers to lift the statute of limitations on rape charges.

The Republican governor signed an executive order at a Statehouse news conference creating a group to review a complete, unredacted version of an investigative report released last week to see what the board knew about Strauss, who took his life in 2005, and when. Portions of the report involving the board’s actions had been blacked out.

“The question we’re faced with is: Did the State Medical Board of Ohio take appropriate action regarding Richard Strauss?” DeWine said.

The report conducted by a law firm and released by the school Friday found that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male students from the 1970s to the 1990s. A lawyer said Saturday that some members of the football team who were Strauss’ victims are not included in that total.

University officials at the time would have been obligated to report felony offences to police, said Sarah Ackman, a legal adviser to DeWine. The governor said that did not appear to have happened.

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Seeing a twisting road ahead, Ford cuts 7K white-collar jobs

DETROIT (AP) — Ford revealed details of its long-awaited restructuring plan Monday as it prepared for a future of electric and autonomous vehicles by parting ways with 7,000 white-collar workers worldwide, about 10% of its global salaried workforce.

The major revamp, which had been under way since last year, will save about $600 million per year by eliminating bureaucracy and increasing the number of workers reporting to each manager.

In the U.S. about 2,300 jobs will be cut through buyouts and layoffs, Ford said. About 1,500 have left voluntarily or with buyouts, while another 300 have already been laid off. About 500 workers will be let go starting this week, largely in and around the company’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, just outside Detroit. All will get severance packages.

The layoffs are coming across a broad swath of the company including engineering, product development, marketing, information technology, logistics, finance and other areas. But the company also said it is hiring in some critical areas including those developing software and dealing with self-driving and electric vehicles.

In a memo to employees, Monday, CEO Jim Hackett said the fourth and final wave of the restructuring will start on Tuesday, with the majority of U.S. cuts being finished by May 24.

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AP Explains: US sanctions on Huawei bite, but who gets hurt?

Trump administration sanctions against Huawei have begun to bite even before their dimensions are fully understood. U.S. companies that supply the Chinese tech powerhouse with computer chips saw their stock prices slump Monday, and Huawei faces decimated smartphone sales with the anticipated loss of Google’s popular software and services.

The U.S. move escalates trade-war tensions with Beijing, but will it only make China more self-sufficient?

Here’s a look at what’s behind the dispute and what it means:

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WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?

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Amid #MeToo, states debate teaching consent to kids

Inside a Catholic school in Portland, Oregon, high school sophomores break into groups to discuss some once-taboo topics: abusive relationships and consent.

At one desk, a girl with banana-colored fingernails begins jotting down some of the hallmarks of abuse: Physically hurting you, verbally abusive, can be one-sided. She pauses to seek input from her classmates, boys and girls alike, before continuing: “It messes up your mentality and your, like, confidence.”

For the first time this year, Central Catholic High School, like public schools in the city, is using educators from a domestic violence shelter to teach kids about what it means to consent. The goal is to reduce sexual violence and harassment among teens and help them understand what behaviour is acceptable — and what’s not — before they reach adulthood.

“We’re talking about dating violence, sexual assault, relationships, #MeToo — all of those things. I think you have to be intentional about bringing this program into our classrooms,” says David Blue, the school’s director of diversity and inclusion. “How do you look at all of these constant conversations in our society right now?”

What’s happening at this Catholic school in liberal Portland represents a larger debate unfolding in blue states and red, as lawmakers, educators and teens themselves re-examine whether sex education should evolve to better address some of the issues raised by #MeToo. Central to the conversation is whether schools should expand curriculums to help kids understand consent — a concept often defined differently from state to state.

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Fiery and icy feelings from fans as ‘Game of Thrones’ ends

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fire rained down and heads came off. There was punishment, banishment and retribution. And that was just from the fans.

“Game of Thrones” aired its 73rd and final episode Sunday night, showing its gift for drawing record-setting numbers of viewers and for leaving those viewers deeply divided about the results, as they have been for finales from “Seinfeld” to “The Sopranos” to “Lost.”

The final episode of “Game of Thrones” at least brought some clear winners, at least one clear loser and a major upset.

(MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.)

Brandon Stark, who until recently appeared happy to remain a mystic philosopher forever, instead becomes philosopher-king, Bran the Broken.