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GOP Sen. Mitt Romney: 'I am sickened' over Trump's conduct revealed in Mueller report

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said the conduct by President Donald Trump and his campaign outlined in special counsel Robert Mueller's report left him "sickened" and "appalled"

Relatives of German bus crash victims arrive in Madeira

FUNCHAL, Portugal (AP) — Relatives of some of the 29 German tourists who died in a bus crash in Madeira arrived on the Portuguese island on Friday as investigators pushed on with the task of finding out why the bus veered off the road and plunged down a slope.

Police arrest 'yellow vest' demonstrators as clashes break out

French police said they arrested more than 100 "yellow vest" demonstrators in Paris on Saturday as clashes broke out with protestors taking to the streets for a 23rd week of anti-government marches. AFP journalists reported scuffles between police and protesters in the afternoon, after hours of calm, as police used anti-riot grenades and tear gas to disperse marchers in the centre of the French capital. Some protesters threw bottles and other objects at police and set fire to vehicles, safety barriers and bins.

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:

Israel destroys family apartments of accused Palestinian killer

Israeli forces destroyed two apartments in the occupied West Bank on Friday that housed the family of a Palestinian accused of killing an Israeli woman in February, the army said. Some clashes broke out between Palestinian residents and Israeli forces during the operation, AFP journalists reported.

Driver with STAYUMBL license plate, notorious for cutting people off around Durham, charged in incident with bus

The STAYUMBL license plate is notorious on the road and social media. Folks say the driver behind the wheel will speed up, cut people off and then slam on her brakes, sometimes causing a crash.

North Korea: US Marine arrested in connection with ‘violent raid’ of embassy in Madrid, sources say

A former US Marine who was allegedly involved in a raid of the North Korean embassy in Madrid has been arrested, according to sources familiar with the case.Christopher Ahn was arrested on Thursday in connection with the incident, when a group of at least 10 people stormed into the embassy, restrained and physically beat some personnel and held them hostage for hours in February.Spanish investigators have said the group stole computers and hard drives before fleeing to the United States, where they shared the stolen material with the FBI.US federal agents also reportedly raided the apartment of Adrian Hong, the leader of self-styled human right group Cheollima Civil Defence, this week in relation to the investigation.Cheollima Civil Defence, which is seeking to overthrow North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has claimed responsibility for the incident but denied that they used violence.Mr Ahn is thought to be the first person arrested in relation to the raid.A Spanish judicial source said the stolen material has been returned to the North Korean embassy, two weeks after the FBI sent it to the Spanish court investigating the raid.The incident came just days before the second summit between Donald Trump and Mr Kim, which resulted in a failure to come to agreement about the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.North Korea’s foreign ministry denounced the incident as a “grave terrorist attack” and suggested that the FBI was involved.The US State Department has denied that accusation.Cheollima Civil Defence has said the incident was not an attack and claimed it had been invited into the embassy.“We were invited into the embassy, and contrary to reports, no one was gagged or beaten,” the group wrote on their website.“Out of respect for the host nation of Spain, no weapons were used. All occupants in the embassy were treated with dignity and necessary caution.”The group also claimed that the US government was not involved with the incident until after the event.However, a judge for Spain’s National Court has accused the group of violently beating embassy officials and putting them in “shackles and flanges”.The judge also said three members of the group took an official into the embassy basement and tried to persuade him to defect from North Korea.Although documents released by the Spanish court said several members, including Mr Hong, had fled to the United States, their whereabouts are unclear.The court is seeking their extradition.Agencies contributed to this report

How to Get Rid of Lawn Weeds

Unless you stop them, weeds are going to grow in your lawn. Here's what you need to do.

Google is making it easier for Android users in Europe to pick a new browser

We've known for a while now that Google offered Android users in Europe a different experience than international customers, and that's because the European Union really wants Google to behave a lot less like a monopoly than before. Google lost three major anti-trust cases in the region, including one that concerns Android.The European Commission slapped Google with three multi-billion fines in each case, which Google has contested. But the company agreed to make changes to its business models, and the changes also concern its mobile operating system. We know now what changes are in place for Android in Europe.Google explained in a new blog post on the matter that Android users in Europe will get search app and browser options, and showed the world what those prompts will look like.The new screens will be shown the first time a user opens Google Play after receiving an update. We're looking at two screens, one for search and one for browsers, as follows below.Each screen will present the user five apps, including the ones that are installed. The apps that are not installed will show up based on their popularity, but they'll show up in a randomized order.A third screen will be shown to users when they install a search app. Google will ask whether they want to change Chrome's default search engine the next time they open the browser.These screens will show up on both existing and new Android phones in Europe in the coming weeks, Google explained, and their implementation will "evolve" over time.

Sarah Sanders admits she lied about FBI trust in Comey — and other false statements revealed in Mueller report

Bold statements made in public by members of President Trump's administration were shown to be lies under the harsh light of Mueller probe.

Aircraft Carrier Alliance: Will Britain Build India a New Queen Elizabeth-Class Carrier?

Will India’s next aircraft carrier be a British design?British defense contractor BAE Systems is offering a Queen Elizabeth-class design as a contender for India’s third aircraft carrier, which will be built in India.“BAE Systems has begun discussions with India regarding the potential for basing development of the second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2) project on the successful Queen Elizabeth Class design,” said a BAE statement. “The design is adaptable to offer either ski jump or catapult launch and can be modified to meet Indian Navy and local industry requirements.”India currently operates one aircraft carrier, the 45,000-ton Vikramaditya, which is actually the former Soviet carrier Admiral Gorshkov. That ship has been plagued by engine problems as well as reliability issues with its MiG-29K fighters.Under construction is India’s first indigenous carrier, the 40,000-ton Vikrant, while is scheduled to go to sea in 2020. But as is often the case with Indian-built defense projects, the vessel has suffered from problems such as massive cost overruns and disputes with Russian contractors who are supplying materials for the Indian-built ship.

Anger followed Notre Dame grief for yellow vest protesters

PARIS (AP) — For many yellow vest protesters, the stinging sadness that came with the devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral has quickly given way to boiling anger.

Officials: South Carolina school girl died of natural causes

WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina authorities said Friday that the death of a fifth grade girl at school last month was due to natural causes and not a fight with another student, which they described as lasting only seconds. But the family of the girl disagreed, saying she was repeatedly antagonized by the other student.

Converse introduces trans-themed shoes for Pride and Twitter is happy for once

Brands sometimes go too hard during Pride season. Every once in a while, however, they get it right.The year 2019 has already brought us one *actually good* example. Converse recently introduced its LGBTQ Pride sneaker line, which now includes sneakers modeled after the Transgender Pride flag.This is the first time Converse has ever had a trans-specific sneaker.SEE ALSO: Mapping state-by-state tech trends: Most popular dating appsThe trans-specific sneakers currently retail for $80. Customers can also customize their own rainbow Pride shoes and add Trans Pride flair.Regardless of how you feel about corporate participation during gay Pride, this is a huge symbolic step forward. Advocates for the trans community have long complained that gay and lesbian people dominate the LGBTQ movement. Recognizing the trans community as a separate -- though equally sneaker-worthy community -- is emblematic of a larger cultural shift. Trans people are clearly moving into the public spotlight, and they can show that (if Converse is their thing) on their feet.Twitter was largely enthusiastic about the move.> TransIsBeautiful > Thank you @Converse for making a trans PRIDE shoe this year! > My 11 year-old-son is ECSTATIC! ️‍ pic.twitter.com/E6lcqIEvfA> > -- Rachel Q. Lyons (@RachelQLyons) April 15, 2019> CONVERSE HAS A NEW PRIDE COLLECTION THAT INCLUDES TRANS PRIDE SNEAKERS FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!! > > SHOP HERE: https://t.co/afn0Gc9nwy (affiliate link) pic.twitter.com/TptVcjY87E> > -- Alysse Dalessandro (@readytostare) April 19, 2019> I thought "which of my trans friends would rock Converse decked out in the colors of the trans flag," and then immediately realized the answer was "all of them." pic.twitter.com/E5NPDfPgMY> > -- Aram Vartian (@vartian) April 19, 2019> Me, looking at the chuck taylor pride collection for this year: *not super impressed* > Converse: we have trans shoes now > Me, out loud: DAMMIT pic.twitter.com/oqzpDUqaOD> > -- Rowan Adventurezone (@politebotanist) April 20, 2019> Y'all let me know when @converse lets me put trans flags on these (and they come in my size). pic.twitter.com/3ZOq9Y6rss> > -- Xan (@AlexandriaDVine) April 20, 2019> Look! You can make them with the pride base but then add trans pride touches. I'm in love! pic.twitter.com/bGtajM2QjF> > -- We'll Have A Gay Old Time (@IssaMeBrianO) April 19, 2019This Twitter user perhaps said it best.> Fuckin converse put the Trans flag on some shoes like.....yes fine I will buy them you stupid brand, ill bow to capitalism just this once> > -- Thank you gay dad (@Darius_lives) April 19, 2019Happy incredibly early Pride, everyone! WATCH: Meet the 10-year-old drag kid shaping the future of drag youth

Pastor apologises for asking students to spit on and cut him in Easter demonstration

A US church has been forced to apologise after a part-time associate pastor urged children to spit on, slap, and even cut him with a steak knife.The preacher at Impact City Church in Ohio, named Jaddeus Dempsey, was leading an after-school activity intended to explain “the very important topic of crucifixion”.Mr Dempsey said the exercise was his idea alone and that no one else knew about his plans.One of the students who took part, aged 12, said: “I thought it was very weird and awkward.“I took part because I thought it was OK because it was coming from an adult.”“The reactions are appropriate,” said the lead pastor, Justin Ross, speaking of the harsh response the church had received. “Many of you were disgusted, many of you were hurt by this, many of you were very confused.” Mr Ross noted the activity was inappropriate, but he also said the “intent was honourable”.Mr Ross added: “[Jesus] chose to allow them to spit on him and beat him and crucify him in order to take the payment of our debt that we call sin.”“So Jaddeus, in an effort to share that message of love through the gospel and the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, he shared this illustration and tried to share some of the pain that Jesus took on that day.”In his apology, Mr Dempsey said: “I am so sorry for misrepresenting the community, the church, the parents, the students and anybody that I hurt,” said Dempsey. “It was not my intention. My intention was just to show them how much Jesus loves them and I love them.”The local sheriff’s office has opened an investigation into the incident, as has the church’s board of directors.

Appeals court upholds California 'sanctuary state' bill

A US appeals court on Thursday upheld a California "sanctuary state" bill that blocks state and local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities. The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, headquartered in San Francisco, unanimously ruled to uphold Senate Bill 54, which prohibits police and sheriffs from collaborating with immigration authorities. "SB 54 may well frustrate the federal government's immigration enforcement efforts," said Judge Milan Smith in the ruling.

Trump was ‘fighting for his political life,’ his former lawyer says, explaining attacks on Mueller

In 2017 and 2018, Cobb played a pivotal role in organizing the White House response to the Mueller investigation, negotiating agreements to turn over documents and allow interviews with White House officials.

Assad urges progress on Idlib deal ahead of Syria talks

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday called for progress on a stalled buffer zone deal around jihadist-dominated Idlib region ahead of fresh talks aimed at ending his country's eight-year war. Assad met envoy Alexander Lavrentiev from key ally Russia in Damascus to discuss the negotiations due April 25-26 in Kazakhstan. Iran and Russia are the major supporters of the Syrian regime, and along with rebel backer Turkey have sponsored repeated rounds of talks in the Central Asian nation.

Police official: Short-circuit likely caused Notre Dame fire

PARIS (AP) — Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said Thursday, as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark.

Speed test between the US Galaxy S10 and the global version might surprise you

Every year, Samsung releases two versions of its flagship phones: One with a Qualcomm processor, and one with its own Exynos processor. This is once again the case for the Galaxy S10, which comes equipped with the Snapdragon 855 in the United States, and the Exynos 9820 in several other regions around the world.In past years, the Exynos chipset has often outperformed Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon, but there were signs early on that Samsung's new processor might struggle to match Qualcomm's in 2019. As it turns out, the Snapdragon 855's impressive benchmark scores did indeed translate over to real-world usage, as PhoneBuff shows in a video featuring a speed test that pits the Snapdragon Galaxy S10 against the Exynos Galaxy S10.As in his other speed test videos, the self-proclaiming PhoneBuff has both phones open sixteen apps consecutively, while waiting for each of them to load before moving on to the next. Although most of the apps opened at about the same speed on both phones, the Snapdragon S10 was never slower than the Exynos S10. Any time there was a discrepancy, the phone with the Snapdragon processor came out on top:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts6DWsktKxYAgain, due to the benchmarks, this shouldn't surprise anyone, but after lagging behind in previous years, it's nice to know that American Android fans are getting the "better" version of the phone this time around. That said, phones are so ridiculously fast at this point, that the differences between top-of-the-line processors are going to be minuscule (as demonstrated by the twelve second difference above), but at least we know we're not missing out this time.

Journalist who covered Columbine reflects on lives unlived

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel. Rachel. Isaiah.

Rights group condemns U.S. 'vigilante' treatment of migrants on border

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico on Thursday called for state authorities to investigate a small group of armed U.S. citizens who they alleged are illegally detaining migrants entering the United States. The United Constitutional Patriots, who claim to be mainly military veterans, have been patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border near Sunland Park, New Mexico, since late February in search of illegal border crossers. The small volunteer group says it is helping Border Patrol deal with a surge in undocumented migrants but civil rights organizations like the ACLU say it is a "fascist militia organization" operating outside the law.

Church apologizes after video shows cleric inviting kids to spit, slap and cut him for Easter lesson

An associate pastor at Impact City Church in Pataskala, Ohio, invited abuse from youths, including spitting, slapping, and allegedly cutting.

Trump ordered Michael Flynn to find Clinton’s emails during campaign, Mueller report finds

Donald Trump ordered the man who would later serve briefly as his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, to find thousands of missing emails from Hillary Clinton’s computer server at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign, the special counsel’s report revealed on Thursday.The episode is among the closest that investigators came to uncovering an instance in which Mr Trump himself appeared to use whatever means necessary to locate the messages.However, it stops short of saying he encouraged a breach of his opponent’s computers, networks or email accounts.Trump had insisted at the time that he was only joking when he encouraged Russian hackers to find and disclose 30,000 deleted emails from Ms Clinton’s servers.But behind the scenes, Trump was serious, according to the report by special counsel Robert Mueller.It said that Mr Flynn, by then a retired three-star Army intelligence officer, told the investigators “that Trump made this request repeatedly, and Flynn subsequently contacted multiple people in an effort to obtain the emails”.As it turned out, Russia’s military intelligence unit and supporters of Mr Trump’s campaign had — apparently independently — sought the email trove, convinced that it contained embarrassing material that could prove decisive on election day.Ms Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state had been the focus of a lengthy investigation by the FBI, and Mr Trump, calling his campaign opponent “Crooked Hillary”, was eager to turn attention to her actions.Moscow’s most intense efforts came just five hours after Trump first signalled his desire by declaring in Florida in July 2016, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing”.Skilled Russian attackers working for two different military units of Russia’s GRU intelligence agency — one called Unit 26165, another Unit 74455 — went to work on exactly that task.Mr Mueller’s investigators never cracked the mystery of how they knew, within hours, which servers and accounts to try to breach.They failed. But Trump’s deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates, was so certain that the emails would soon be on the way that by late summer 2016, he was “planning a press strategy, a communications campaign and messaging based on the possible release of Clinton emails by WikiLeaks”.The picture of those and other hacking efforts that emerged from Mr Mueller’s report is, not surprisingly, a complex mix of political desires in Moscow and New York, and a complex series of computer breaches that, at times, the Russians carried out with remarkable precision.Mr Mueller concluded that “the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion”, and for nearly 200 pages it lays out details of that effort.Because there will never be the equivalent of a 9/11 Commission report on perhaps the most famous and consequential state-sponsored attempt to hack an election, the report will stand as the final word on what happened, even if it does not address how to prevent future breaches.Meanwhile, a candidate who understood very little about how computers and networks operate was clamouring for the leak of data from Clinton’s private server, the special counsel’s investigation found.Mr Mueller found no evidence that Russians and the Trump campaign worked together, and that while the Russians easily infiltrated the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, they appeared to have a difficult time doing so with Clinton’s own personal server.The account of those efforts may be the closest the nation comes to understanding the details of the largest cyber-operation ever initiated against a US election.Mueller found that Russian military intelligence units and Trump’s campaign found themselves working opposite ends of a mutually beneficial, but uncoordinated, effort.“Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts,” the report concludes, there was no finding that any “member of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government”.When General Flynn received the request from Trump, he contacted Barbara Ledeen, a former Senate staff member close to the retired general, and Peter Smith, an investment adviser.The investigators concluded that as early as December 2015, long before the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee became known, Ms Ledeen had sent a 25-page proposal to Smith about how to obtain what she believed were “classified emails” that had already been “purloined by our enemies”. The exchange was included in emails the special counsel obtained during the investigation.Ms Ledeen urged a search of public sources, in hopes that some of the Clinton emails had been leaked by foreign intelligence services that she believed had perhaps already extracted them from Ms Clinton’s server in Chappaqua, New York.If that failed, she wanted to make contact with “various foreign services” to see if any of them had cracked the server.After initially turning down the idea, Mr Smith eventually had a change of heart, the report states, after Trump’s requests in July 2016.Ms Ledeen later contended she had found a trove of the emails on what she termed the “dark web” — referring to parts of the web that are not searchable, and that are often used for criminal activity.But it turned out that the trove was “not authentic”, the report says, prompting a more fevered search.Mr Smith wrote in one message that “all 33k deleted emails” would be released by 1 Nov on WikiLeaks, a week before the election. They never appeared.Trump continued to insist that Russia was unlikely to have been responsible for any of the hacking activity around the 2016 campaign.After meeting President Vladimir Putin of Russia for the first time in Hamburg, Germany, in 2017, Mr Trump called a reporter and noted that Mr Putin had denied being behind the breaches, quoting him as saying, “If we did, we wouldn’t have gotten caught, because we’re professionals’.’Trump said he believed that explanation, “because they are some of the best in the world”.Mr Mueller’s report concluded that they were good but ultimately failed to cover their tracks.The New York Times

2 Top Aides Leaving Kim Foxx's Office Amid Jussie Smollett Fallout

Embattled Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is losing two top deputies amid the fallout from the Jussie Smollett case.

BlackBerry Messenger or BBM to be shut down for consumers on May 31

The mobile messaging service BBM, one of the last remnants from BlackBerry’s heyday is about to be closed for consumers.

Suicide bombers in deadly attack on Afghan ministry

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the communications ministry in central Kabul on Saturday, officials said, in a deadly, hours-long assault that destroyed weeks of relative calm in the capital. The Taliban said it had "nothing to do" with the attack, which left some 2,000 people stranded in the tall office building for hours at the start of the Afghan work week. "As a result of today's explosion/attack in Kabul city, two people have been martyred (killed) and 6 others are wounded," the health ministry spokesman wrote in a tweet, adding 3 of the injured were women.

Widows, ace guide to climb Everest to honor Sherpas

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Five years after one of the deadliest disasters on Mount Everest, three people from Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community are preparing an ascent to raise awareness about the Nepalese mountain guides who make it possible for hundreds of foreign climbers to scale the mountain and survive.

A backpack with a flexible screen? Sure, Sony, why not

The race among consumer electronics giants to develop all manner of screens that flex and fold -- and to attach them to phones, tablets and more -- is starting to get a bit extreme.We saw over the past 24 hours, for example, the results of Samsung rushing to be the first with a foldable smartphone, with reports from several high-profile reviewers and journalists that their Galaxy Folds easily broke after just a day of usage. We've also covered myriad plans and patents from other tech companies that likewise want to rush into the flexible game, and now along comes Sony with a patent for a flexible display that can be attached to a bag -- like a handbag, or backpack.Ladies and gentleman, we've either reached peak flexible display or are very close to it.The Sony patent, published towards the end of March, was spotted by Dutch tech news blog LetsGoDigital, which reports that it depicts a bag with a flexible display module. The display also uses the same kind of "electronic paper" screen found in e-readers, which tends to require less power and background lighting. It's also thinner and more flexible than a typical LCD display.In terms of other aspects of the design, the bag is shown including a switch that can either be a button or a slider. It would allow the user to change what's shown on the display.The design also calls for both an "automatic" and "manual" mode, which are exactly what those suggest. Those would control what's shown on the display. Additionally, the screen connects to the bag through multiple removable contact points, so you can use the bag for, you know, things that don't involve screens.As the LetsGoDigital report notes, this is not the first example of a bag with a display. Last year, for example, the Pix backpack was released that showed animated patterns on it. Whether or not Sony ever does anything with this patent, meanwhile, it does serve as one more reminder that we're going to start seeing flexible screens pretty much everywhere now, even if manufacturers don't totally know what to do with them yet.

Columbine focuses on healing as questions loom after manhunt

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado community changed forever by the attack that killed 13 people at Columbine High School moved ahead Thursday with ceremonies marking the anniversary of the tragedy while awaiting more details on what led a Florida teen "infatuated" with the shooting to buy a shotgun and kill herself in the snowy foothills nearby.

Sarah Sanders reiterates Comey claims despite admitting to lying

Press secretary defended past statements she made in an interview on Friday that Mueller’s team said had ‘no basis in fact’Follow the latest on the Mueller report – liveSupport the Guardian’s independent journalism and make a contribution Sarah Sanders departs after speaking to reporters at the White House in Washington DC, on 2 April. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, has defended claims she repeatedly made to reporters in 2017 regarding Donald Trump’s firing of then FBI director James Comey – despite admitting to investigators for the special counsel Robert Mueller that they had no basis in fact. Sanders admitted in statements to the special counsel that her repeated claims that the president fired Comey because the rank-and-file of the FBI had lost confidence in him as FBI director were “a slip of the tongue” and “not founded on anything”, according to the redacted version of the Mueller report released on Thursday. The long-awaited report – the product of a two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and the Trump campaign – exposed a culture of lying at the White House. The report included multiple examples of Trump’s current and former press secretaries making false claims to journalists, particularly in the days after Comey’s firing. Sanders told the special counsel’s office that a statement she made to journalists about how the White House had heard from “countless members” of the FBI that Comey lacked support within the agency, “was not founded on anything”. Yet on Friday, Sanders appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America and appeared to stand by the statement she had admitted was a lie. Asked by TV host George Stephanopoulos about her “deliberate false statement” she said: “They [FBI rank-and-file] continued to speak out and said that James Comey was a disgrace, a leaker. I stand by the fact, George.” Stephanopoulos, a former White House communications director under Bill Clinton, interrupted, saying: “[You admitted] those comments weren’t founded on anything, when you faced criminal penalty.” On @GMA, White House press sec. Sarah Sanders sought to double down on past statements she made that special counsel Robert Mueller's team said were "not founded on anything." Watch the full interview: https://t.co/7mRpysmjN1 pic.twitter.com/wrHqaXgyp7— ABC News (@ABC) April 19, 2019 Sanders answered: “It was the heat of the moment, meaning that it wasn’t a scripted talking point. I’m sorry that I wasn’t a robot like the Democratic party.” Sanders’ claim on 10 May 2017, the day after Comey was fired, that “countless members of the FBI” opposed Comey was “a slip of the tongue”, Sanders told the special counsel’s office in an interview last year. Sanders repeated that “slip of the tongue” during a press briefing the following day, when skeptical White House reporters questioned her on her claim that Comey did not have support within the FBI’s rank-and-file. One reporter asked what basis the White House had for that conclusion, given that the FBI’s acting director had publicly said that Comey still had the support among the FBI’s agents. “I can speak to my own personal experience,” Sanders told the White House press. “I’ve heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the president’s decision.” She went on: “I’ve certainly heard from a large number of individuals. And that’s just myself. And I don’t know that many people in the FBI.” “You personally have talked to countless officials, employees, since this happened?” another reporter asked later. “Correct,” Sanders said. “I mean, really?” the second reporter asked. “Between, like, email, text messages – absolutely,” Sanders said. “Fifty? Sixty? Seventy?” the reporter asked. “Look, we’re not going to get into a numbers game. I have heard from a large number of individuals that work at the FBI that said they’re very happy with the president’s decision. I don’t know what else I can say.” A year later, in interviews with the special counsel’s office, Sanders said “that her statement in a separate press interview that rank-and-file FBI agents had lost confidence in Comey was a comment she made ‘in the heat of the moment’ that was not founded on anything”. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary at the time, also made a false claim to reporters about Comey’s firing, telling journalists the night Comey was fired that the decision to fire him “was all” Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. Rosenstein said in an interview with the special counsel’s office that he had told other justice department officials that night that he would not participate in putting out a “false story” that Comey’s firing had been his idea. Sanders replaced Spicer as White House press secretary in July 2017. The White House’s public press briefings to journalists have become increasingly rare and increasingly brief, another issue of concern for the American press and White House transparency.

N. Korea Says Bolton Comments on Third Summit Are Foolish: KCNA

“We never expected anything logical from Bolton, but as national security adviser, he should at least know the context of dialogue that took place between the two leaders regarding a third summit before he says anything,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry diplomat Choi Sun Hee was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Spy game? Can China's Huawei be trusted with our 5G?

Depending on whom you believe, Huawei is either a key provider of cellular equipment in the transition to 5G, or a Chinese agent of espionage

The Quick Read About… Ukraine’s Run-Off Presidential Elections

Here's what you need to know about the Ukrainian presidential election run-off between insider candidate and a popular comedian.

AP PHOTOS: Czech believers revive Easter rattling procession

CESKE BUDEJOVICE, Czech Republic (AP) — Participants in black suits with white masks are marching in the southern Czech city of Ceske Budejovice, beating drums and pushing small carts in a revival of an Easter tradition.

21 charged after dozens of Mercedes stolen from car-sharing service

Twenty-one people face charges after dozens of vehicles were stolen from car-sharing company car2go's fleet in Chicago.

The Latest: Columbine moves ahead with memorial events

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — The Latest on the investigation of a woman believed to have posed a threat to schools in Colorado (all times local):

Yellow vest demonstrators, police clash in Paris

Clashes broke out between dozens of demonstrators and police in Paris on the 23rd Saturday of yellow-vest protests after authorities warned that rioters could return to the French capital to spark a new wave of violence. Dozens of black-hooded demonstrators threw rocks at police and some set fire to scooters and trash cans in the center of the French capital, according to Reuters TV footage. Police responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades.

France salutes 'exemplary' firefighters for saving Notre-Dame

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday hailed as "exemplary" hundreds of firefighters who saved Notre-Dame in the devastating blaze, as efforts intensified to shore up the still fragile cathedral. Some 600 firefighters worked throughout the night Monday to put out the fire at the Paris landmark and prevent an even worse disaster, in a blaze that felled the spire and destroyed two-thirds of its roof. A prayer vigil was held at another of Paris's landmark churches, the Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart), on Thursday which was due to remain open all night.

Trump attacks 'total bulls***' in 'the Crazy Mueller Report'

President Trump on Friday lashed out at the damning portrayal of his presidency in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, attacking witnesses who gave the special counsel notes to back up their testimony.

Score an entire suite of creative design apps for only $40

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Someone Is Trying To Sell a Baby T. Rex Skeleton on eBay for $2.95 Million

And paleontologists aren't happy about it.