Trump: 'We're not getting along with Russia at all'
ABC News' Amna Nawaz and MaryAlice Parks discuss Trump's stance on Russia, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Moscow and the ongoing Carter Page investigation.
China urged the United States on Sunday to remove "unreasonable" curbs on cooperation as soon as possible and work together on issues like climate change, while accusing Washington of bringing chaos in the name of spreading democracy. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden singled out a "growing rivalry with China" as a key challenge facing the United States, with his top diplomat describing the country as "the biggest geopolitical test" of this century. Speaking at his annual news conference, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, struck a tough line even as he outlined where the world's two biggest economies could work together.
A mutation called E484K appeared to help the variant, first found in South Africa, to evade antibodies produced by the vaccines, the authors said.
During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle compared being "silenced" as a royal to the princess Ariel's story in "The Little Mermaid."
The rules were unveiled by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in the final year of the Trump administration.
Oprah Winfrey was surprised Meghan told her about her suicidal thoughts, and that royal family members had "concern" over Archie's skin tone.
Senator Roy Blunt (R., Mo.) announced Monday he will not seek reelection in 2022. “After 14 general election victories — three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections — I won’t be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year,” said Blunt, who is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Rules Committee. “In every job Missourians have allowed me to have, I’ve tried to do my best. In almost 12,000 votes in the Congress, I’m sure I wasn’t right every time, but you really make that decision based on the information you have at the time,” the 71-year-old senator said in his announcement. Blunt, who was first elected to the Senate in 2010, is the fifth Republican senator to announce he will retire rather than seek reelection next year. He joins Senators Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Richard Shelby of Alabama and Richard Burr of North Carolina, all of whom have announced they will not run again as Republicans look to reclaim control of the now-evenly divided Senate.
Law Roach styled "The Queen's Gambit" star Anya Taylor-Joy for the Critics Choice Awards. She wore a Dior Haute Couture gown for the virtual event.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disposed of the last of three cases brought to the justices by former President Donald Trump challenging his election loss, bringing a muted end to his futile quest in the courts to hold onto power. The court without comment rejected Trump's appeal challenging thousands of absentee ballots filed in Wisconsin, an election battleground that the Republican businessman-turned-politician lost to Democrat Joe Biden by more than 20,000 votes. Biden became president on Jan. 20.
New Zealand's prime minister says the country is “not likely” to become a republic in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan's interview, as Commonwealth countries face calls for the removal of the Queen as Head of State. Jacinda Ardern was asked whether the unflattering picture of the British royal family painted by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had given her pause about New Zealand's constitutional ties to Britain. "I've said before that I've not sensed an appetite from New Zealanders for significant change in our constitutional arrangements, and I don't expect that's likely to change quickly," she said. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign. But discontent is bubbling elsewhere - #AbolishTheMonarchy was trending on Twitter on Monday morning.
Pentagon officials reportedly believed former president Donald Trump would oppose the promotion of female generals.
The couple stayed at Perry's home in California for three months after leaving Canada when their royal security detail was removed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unloaded on Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cambridge, and the tabloid press in their extraordinary tell-all with Oprah Winfrey. But despite the numerous allegations levelled at named and unnamed members of the Royal family, The Queen emerged unscathed, and instead received glowing praise from the couple. Meghan described how "everyone" welcomed her to the royal set-up initially, but singled out the Queen as making her particularly comfortable. In another sign of their positive relationship, the Duchess said: “I just pick up the phone and I call the Queen - just to check-in. Meghan said the Queen has "always been wonderful" to her and that she reminded the Duchess of her own grandmother. "She’s always been warm and inviting," the Duchess added. The Duchess shared a touching anecdote on how her future husband’s grandmother gave her "some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace" for the couple's first joint engagement together, and that the monarch also shared her blanket while travelling together between visits. The pair attended a ceremony for the opening of the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, in Widnes, Cheshire in June 2018 and travelled north on the Royal train.
Samuel Corum/Getty ImagesA New York tattoo artist and member of the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers who provided protection to disgraced Trump adviser Roger Stone the day of the sacking of the U.S. Capitol was arrested Saturday by the FBI for allegedly taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection, a law enforcement official confirmed to The Daily Beast.Roberto Minuta, 36, was taken into custody at a business in Newburgh, New York, according to NBC New York, which first reported the arrest. Minuta is set to appear in White Plains federal court on Monday. Attorney information for him was unavailable at press time.Minuta, who reportedly lives in New Jersey, was spotted by ABC News providing security for Stone the day of the Capitol riot. Asked for comment, Minuta’s wife told the outlet that her husband hadn’t entered the Capitol building and had not been charged with a crime. As previously reported by The Daily Beast, Minuta also has ties to the far-right militia group, the Oath Keepers. Dozens of Oath Keepers have since been arrested after allegedly planning for at least two months to storm the Capitol after the 2020 election. Trump State Dept. Aide Accused of Beating Cops During Riot Is Already Hating PrisonMinuta owns and operates a tattoo parlor in Newburgh called Casa Di Dolore—“House of Pain” in Italian—which made headlines in May 2020 for reopening in defiance of state lockdown orders. A crowd of supporters gathered outside Minuta’s shop the day he reopened, including a number of Oath Keepers and the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, who traveled to Newburgh from Texas to be there. “Robert will be urging other NY small business owners to follow his example in a mass defiance of Cuomo’s edicts,” Rhodes wrote in a “call to action” on the Oath Keepers’ website prior to the event, asking others to be there. “You should know that Robert drove 350 miles all the way down to Richmond, VA on January 20, 2020 to stand with us and our Virginia brothers at the massive, historic open carry rally to put the Virginia tyrant, Governor Ralph ‘Blackface’ Northam on notice that We the People will NOT comply with his unconstitutional violations of our rights.”As The Daily Beast previously reported, Minuta has also worked security for other Trumpworld figures such as former Trump National Security Adviser Mike Flynn and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones at so-called Stop the Steal rallies in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Minuta was identified by Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton and a group of volunteers calling themselves the “Capitol Terrorists Exposers” who were the first to note Minuta’s connection to Flynn. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Scott-Railton described the relationships between organized groups such as the Oath Keepers and high-ranking members of Trump’s inner circle as “troubling.” Although Flynn did not respond to a request for comment, his brother Joseph said neither he nor his brother knew Minuta.Volunteer researchers dubbed Minuta “Goggles” for the protective eyewear he wore in footage posted online of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege. “We don’t care about your jobs!” he yelled at cops guarding the building.Federal authorities also over the weekend arrested Isaac Steve Sturgeon, 32, for allegedly using a metal police barrier to push into officers—before crawling under the barricade to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Isaac Lawncare (@isaaclawncare) Sturgeon, who owns a lawn care business in Dillon, Montana, was arrested Saturday afternoon at JFK Airport in New York City on several charges, including obstruction of justice, for participating in the siege. Sturgeon was deposited after authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast, Sturgeon, who traveled to Kenya after the riots, was seen in photos and videos on the Capitol grounds with a green jacket, scarf, and dark backpack. He also meticulously documented his involvement in the riots on social media, posting several videos from former President Donald Trump’s speech at the Washington monument.“I’ve seen the cry of The People today…,” he wrote in one Jan. 6 post, along with several photographs of him in a sea of MAGA supporters carrying confederate and Trump flags just outside the Capitol. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Isaac Lawncare (@isaaclawncare) In another video Sturgeon posted on Instagram, a lone D.C. police officer is seen being pulled in various directions by a crowd of rioters who are yelling at him—before other insurrectionists try to use flag poles to break down the Capitol doors. “This officer was pulled out of the Capitol, and dragged down the stairs forcefully, and then protected and returned to the force,” Sturgeon wrote. “BY THE SAME PEOPLE. Today we stand to make a statement, not hurt the police. But to represent a real issue! STAND.”Prosecutors allege the 32-year-old did in fact hurt law enforcement, as he was among a group of rioters who “picked up a metal police barricade and shoved” it into D.C. police officers. After pushing down officers, videos show Sturgeon crawling underneath the barrier to enter the government building.About two weeks after the violent siege, Sturgeon traveled to Kenya and planned to turn to the U.S. on April 5. Sturgeon posted several photos on Instagram about his trip, including one Jan. 28 post with the caption, “Shhh Rona don’t know i’m here…”Last Friday, FBI agents also arrested accused Capitol rioter Shane Leedon Jenkins at his home in northwest Houston. Jenkins, who allegedly threw a pole, a desk drawer, and pipe, and a flagpole at Capitol Police officers trying to guard the building on Jan. 6, was outed to the feds by a concerned citizen analyzing publicly available video footage of the pro-Trump insurrection. In a screenshot the unnamed tipster turned over to the FBI, Jenkins—who has a distinct tattoo underneath his right eye and another spelling out “MAMA TRIED” across the front of his neck—can be seen wearing a red beanie, a blue hoodie, and black jacket as he pulls a crowbar out of his bag and smashes one of the Capitol windows. The damaged window will cost approximately $1,500 to repair, says a criminal complaint filed on Mar. 5 in D.C. federal court. Investigators then matched the photograph with images of Jenkins posted on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, a 2014 Texas Department of Criminal Justice booking photo of Jenkins, in which both his facial and neck tattoos are clearly visible, as well as a driver’s license picture showing the same ink. Ronnie Presley, a 42-year-old from Tennessee who was reportedly caught on video punching a Capitol window, was also arrested on Monday for this role in the riots. The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee confirmed to The Daily Beast that Presley was taken into custody by FBI agents Friday evening in Old Hickory. It is not immediately clear what charges Presley faces, but he is expected to make his initial court appearance on Monday afternoon. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Prince Charles allegedly only took two calls with Prince Harry about so-called “Megxit” before no longer picking up
Prince Harry gave an honest assessment of his relationship with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, telling Oprah Winfrey that he has "compassion" for both of them because they are "trapped" inside the royal family. During an interview that aired on CBS Sunday night, Harry said he did not "blindside" his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, with the news that he would be stepping back from his royal duties, saying he has too much "respect" for her. Last year, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved from Britain to California, and he said that recently, he's actually spoken to the queen more than usual, and they have a "really good relationship." It's been harder to relate with his father, though. Harry said he is "disappointed" in him, and does not think the family did enough to protect Markle from bad press. "I saw history repeating itself," he said, referring to his mother, the late Princess Diana, who was hounded by tabloids. Harry said he asked for help, but Charles stopped answering his calls. Had he received assistance, "we wouldn't have left," Harry said, but "we did what we had to do." He denied having long ago decided he would leave his royal duties, and Markle backed him up. "I left my career, my life," she said. "I left everything because I love him. Our plan was to do this forever." Harry told Winfrey he has money his mother left him, and believes she would have been "very angry at how this has played out, and sad. But ultimately, all she'd ever want is for us to be happy." Today, Harry said Charles is accepting his phone calls, but "there's a lot to work through there." He thought his father would be more understanding, and "there's a lot of hurt that's happened." It is now one of Harry's "priorities to try and heal that relationship," he added. As for William, Harry said he "loves him to bits" but "we're on different paths." Through Markle, Harry said he was able to see he was stuck in the "institution" he was born into, and his father and brother "are trapped. They don't get to leave. And I have compassion for that." More stories from theweek.comLindsey Graham says his revived friendship with Trump is an attempt to 'harness' his 'magic'Britain's tabloids, vilified by Harry and Meghan, are all agog over the 'devastating' Oprah interviewWhat most shocked some Britons about the Harry and Meghan interview? U.S. drug ads.
Hungarians on Monday awoke to a new round of strict lockdown measures aimed at slowing a record-breaking wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths that are among the worst in the world. A rapid rise in pandemic indicators since early February prompted Hungary's government to announce the new restrictions, including closing most stores for two weeks and kindergartens and primary schools until April 7. Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and tobacconists can stay open.
The Duke of Sussex is determined to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whatever the fallout from his interview with Oprah Winfrey. Prince Harry hopes that the brothers can present a united front at Kensington Palace on July 1, which would have been the Princess’s 60th birthday, in an attempt to move past their rift. A source close to Prince Harry insisted that whatever had been said and done, he desperately hoped to attend the event and considered it a priority. There is more uncertainty about whether the Duke might make it back to the UK for earlier events, such as Trooping the Colour on June 12 or the Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday on June 10, partly due to the impending birth of his second child, thought to be due around that time. Despite the explosive nature of the revelations made to Ms Winfrey, the Sussexes consider the interview their last word on the subject and want to move on. They felt they needed to have their say and explain to the public why they turned their backs on royal life, but now consider the matter closed, sources said. One friend said: “It was something they felt they wanted and needed to do but now they have done it, they feel a line has been drawn under that chapter of their lives and they want to move on.”
Prince Harry told Oprah Winfrey he thinks his mother would have been "very angry with how this has panned out" and sad that it did.
Oprah Winfrey's interview with Meghan and Harry hasn't aired yet in Britain, but that hasn't stopped commentators from weighing in, mostly negatively.
The World Health Organization said this week that variants of the coronavirus are provoking another uptick in infections across Europe.Why it matters: European countries reported around 1 million new cases last week, around a 9% increase from the week prior. Last week's surge ended a six-week decline in new infections, the WHO said Thursday, according to AP.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.By the numbers: The variant first found in the United Kingdom, which may be more transmissible and more deadly than the original strain of the virus, is spreading in 27 European countries monitored by WHO, according to AP.It's now the dominant strain in at least 10 countries: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.Meanwhile, the variant first discovered in South Africa has been found in 26 European countries. Vaccine producers Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax have each reported their vaccines, while still effective, offer less protection against the South African variant. The Brazilian variant, detected in 15 European countries, may be able to reinfect people who survived infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus, according to Reuters.The big picture: Italy's government tightened coronavirus restrictions in some of its 20 regions this week in response to the surge.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.