BitGou: Thursday Morning Briefing: Barr cancels second day of testimony

Politics

Attorney General William Barr canceled plans to testify before the House of Representatives about his handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, further inflaming tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress.

Can Trump use executive privilege to block congressional probes? Like numerous U.S. presidents before him, Donald Trump could cite the legal doctrine of “executive privilege” to try to block congressional investigators from getting access to certain documents and witnesses they are seeking. Here is how executive privilege works and how useful it might be to Trump as the investigations close in on him.

Exclusive: Foreign government leases at Trump World Tower stir more emoluments concerns. The 90-story Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must pass muster with federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.

Joe Biden's rise in 2020 race catches Trump's eye and unnerves his allies. Biden soared from “will-he-or-won’t-he-run?” status to the head of the crowded Democratic field just days after announcing his candidacy last week, pulling away from Senator Bernie Sanders and a host of other rivals in opinion polls. Some Trump advisers see the former vice president, with his mainstream blue-collar appeal, as a tough opponent in the three states that carried Trump to his improbable victory in 2016 - Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Florida’s legislature passed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in the classroom, expanding a program launched after the deadly high school shooting in Parkland with the aim of preventing another such massacre. Florida’s House of Representatives voted 65 to 47 to pass the bill after hours of debate over two days in which the Republican majority thwarted Democratic efforts to amend, stall or kill the measure. Florida’s Senate approved it 22 to 17 last week.

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Venezuelans heeded opposition leader Juan Guaido’s call to take to the streets on Wednesday in a bid to force President Nicolas Maduro from power, but there was little concrete sign of change in a crisis that increasingly looks like a political stalemate. The Trump administration faces a critical test of its Venezuela policy as opposition leader Juan Guaido, bolstered by vocal U.S. support, pressures the country’s military to abandon socialist President Nicolas Maduro and mounts mass protests to force him out. Here are Trump’s challenges and remaining options.

The British government’s inquiry into the disclosure of secret information relating to Chinese telecoms company Huawei was needed to ensure the integrity of national security discussions, cabinet office minister David Lidington said. Prime Minister Theresa May fired her defence minister Gavin Williamson on Wednesday over a leak from a meeting of the National Security Council which discusses intelligence coordination and defence strategy.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a London court he did not want to be extradited to the United States to face trial for one of the largest compromises of classified information in history. The United States has requested the extradition of Assange, who was dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London on April 11, and has charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn will pay homage to his ancestors as part of preparations for his elaborate coronation ceremonies this weekend. The coronation, which takes place from Saturday to Monday, will be the first the country has seen in 69 years, since his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was crowned in 1950. In a tradition dating to the 18th century, the Chakri kings have held the formal title Rama, after an avatar of Hindu god Vishnu in the ancient Indian epic the Ramayana. Here are details of the nine previous kings in the dynasty.

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Myanmar reporters remain among ‘10 most urgent’ cases of press freedom violations: https://reut.rs/2ZPnQmn Follow updates on the case: https://reut.rs/2GQSHGx

4:36 PM - May 1, 2019

China

Recent visitors to the bay surrounding China’s strategic nuclear submarine base describe a curious phenomenon: powerful spotlights sometimes trained on the ocean-front hotels, which make it almost impossible to see out to sea at night. But the lights can’t obscure something of intense interest to the world’s military intelligence agencies. The answers are in this Reuters special report.

Exclusive: China blocks imports from two Canadian pork producers amid diplomatic spat. China has suspended pork imports from two Canadian companies, according to an interview with Canada’s agricultural minister and a Chinese customs document, marking the latest irritant in a widening diplomatic dispute. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said in an interview with Reuters that she has not yet received an official notice from China of the permit suspensions, and would not identify the companies involved.

Tech

As SpaceX prepares for the launch of a Dragon cargo ship to ISS, take a look at the company’s missions to date. Reuters photographers share what it was like witnessing his first rocket launch - from cameras triggered by sound sensors to photographers stationed on top of buildings.

Tesla said it had filed with regulators to launch around $2 billion in fundraising through issues of new shares and debt, with Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk pitching in $10 million of his own money to buy shares.

Traditional stock-pickers in the hedge fund world have been struggling to justify their expenses and weak returns in recent years, as low-cost algorithmic funds have done better. Now, human managers are starting to embrace the technologies employed by their robot rivals to improve results.