Senators call for punishment for Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON — Defying President Donald Trump, senators sent a strong signal Wednesday that they want to punish Saudi Arabia for its role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. By a bipartisan 63-37 vote, the Senate opted to move forward with legislation calling for an end to U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The vote was a rebuke not only to Saudi Arabia but also to Trump’s administration, which has made clear it does not want to torpedo the long-standing U.S. relationship with Riyadh over the killing.

Flake’s defense of Mueller halts judge confirmations

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee has canceled a Thursday vote on more than 20 federal judge nominations amid a standoff between Republican Sen. Jeff Flake and GOP leaders over legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller. The Arizona senator has said he won’t vote for any judges until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds a Senate floor vote on the special counsel bill. McConnell calls the special counsel bill unnecessary.

St. Paul officials consider covering up ‘very white’ 1930s murals from Chicago artist

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Officials in St. Paul are rethinking murals from the 1930s lining the walls in the City Council chambers that the council president says reflect a “very white and very male” perspective. City leaders and residents say the four murals have become outdated. The murals depict a voyageur, a steamboat captain, a railroad surveyor and a laborer, all of them white. The murals “seem to reflect a specific time in the history of St. Paul, and a specific perspective that is really very white and very male,” City Council President Amy Brendmoen. Chicago artist John Norton painted the murals. Votes are expected next month on commissioning new murals to temporarily cover the old ones.