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LONDON UK interior minister quits over growing immigration scandal
Britain’s interior minister resigned Sunday amid a scandal over authorities’ mistreatment of long-term U.K. residents wrongly caught up in a government drive to reduce illegal immigration.
Prime Minister There’s May’s office said late Sunday that May had accepted the resignation of Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
The scandal has dominated headlines in Britain for days and has sparked intense criticism of the Conservative government’s tough immigration policies.
Rudd had been due to make a statement to Parliament on Monday over what has become known as the Windrush scandal.
NEW YORK Sprint and T-mobile agree to combine in $26.5 billion deal
T-mobile and Sprint reached a $26.5 billion merger agreement Sunday that would reduce the U.S. wireless industry to three major players - that is, if the Trump administration’s antitrust regulators let the deal go through.
The nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless companies have been considering a combination for years, one that would bulk them up to a similar size as industry giants Verizon and AT&T. But a 2014 attempt fell apart amid resistance from the Obama administration.
The combined company, to be called T-mobile, would have about 127 million customers. Consumers worry a less crowded telecom field could result in higher prices, while unions are concerned about potential job losses.
In a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure acknowledged that getting regulatory approval is “the elephant in the room,” and one of the first things the companies did after sending out the deal’s news release was to call Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
TEL AVIV, Israel Pompeo says US stands with Israelis, Saudis against Iran
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday ratcheted up the Trump administration’s rhetoric against Iran and gave warm boosts of support to Israel and Saudi Arabia in their standoffs with Tehran.
Pompeo’s comments in Riyadh and then Tel Aviv came as he neared the end of the Middle East leg of his first trip abroad as America’s top diplomat. He has called for concerted international action to punish Iran for its missile programs and other actions that he said destabilize the region.
The tough line was welcomed by his hosts, particularly in Israel, which considers Iran its greatest threat and has led calls for the West to revise or reject the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
WASHINGTON Health care is new front for transgender rights under Trump
Military service. Bathroom use. Job bias. And now, health care.
The Trump administration is coming under fire for rewriting a federal rule that bars discrimination in health care based on “gender identity.” Critics say it’s another attempt to undercut acceptance for transgender people.
The Health and Human Services Department rule dates to the Obama administration, a time when LGBT people gained political and social recognition. But a federal judge in Texas said the rule went too far by concluding that discrimination on the basis of gender identity is a form of sex discrimination, which is forbidden by civil rights laws.
Instead of appealing the judge’s injunction, the Trump administration has opted to rewrite the rule, which applies to health care providers and insurers receiving federal funds.
WASHINGTON Comey dismisses report that found no Russia collusion
Former FBI Director James Comey is dismissing a House Intelligence Committee report that found no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Comey said Sunday on NBC’S “Meet the Press” that he considers the report, issued Friday by Republicans, to be a “political document.” He says the most important investigation is being done by special counsel Robert Mueller.
He says his understanding of the facts at the time of his firing last May don’t support President Donald Trump’s assertion that there’s zero evidence of collusion and that the Russia investigation is a hoax.
Comey says that though he had a “fine and professional” relationship with the committee’s chairman, GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, the panel’s work had become too politicized. Nunes was criticized for being too close to the White House.