White House delays tariffs on EU, Canada and Mexico

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday it would postpone a decision on imposing tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico for 30 days, avoiding the potential for a trade battle with Europe as the U.S. prepares for tense trade talks in China this week.

The Trump administration said it had reached an agreement with South Korea on steel imports following discussions on a revised trade agreement, the outlines of which were previously announced by U.S. and South Korean officials. And the administration said it had also reached agreements in principle with Argentina, Australia and Brazil on steel and aluminum that will be finalized shortly.

Announcing the trade actions, the White House said “in all of these negotiations, the administration is focused on quotas that will restrain imports, prevent transshipment and protect the national security.”

Facing a self-imposed deadline, President Donald Trump was considering whether to permanently exempt the EU and Mexico, Canada, Australia, Argentina and Brazil from tariffs that his administration imposed last month on imported steel and aluminum. The White House provided temporary exemptions in March and had until the end of Monday to decide whether to extend them.

The EU has said if it loses its exemption it will retaliate with its own tariffs on U.S. goods imported to Europe.

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Israel says documents prove Iran lied about nuclear program

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister on Monday unveiled what he said was a “half ton” of Iranian nuclear documents collected by Israeli intelligence, claiming it proved that Iranian leaders covered up a nuclear weapons program before signing a deal with world powers in 2015.

In a speech delivered in English and relying on his trademark use of visual aids, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the material showed that Iran cannot be trusted, and encouraged President Donald Trump to withdraw from the deal next month.

“Iran lied big time,” Netanyahu declared.

In Washington, Trump said it vindicated his past criticism of the nuclear deal.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said later that the U.S. had been aware of the documents “for a while” and that he and Netanyahu discussed them during their meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

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10 Things to Know for Tuesday

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday:

1. TRADE BATTLE PUT OFF, FOR NOW

The White House says it will postpone a decision on imposing tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico for 30 days.

2. BOTTLENECK AT BORDER REMAINS

About 200 people in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers wait on the Mexican border with San Diego for a second straight day to turn themselves in to U.S. border inspectors.

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Report: Mueller gives list of questions to Trump’s lawyers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller has given a list of almost four dozen questions to lawyers for President Donald Trump as part of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump obstructed justice, according to a report published in The New York Times.

The Times obtained a list of the questions, which range from Trump’s motivations for firing FBI Director James Comey a year ago to contacts Trump’s campaign had with Russians.

Although Mueller’s team has indicated to Trump’s lawyers that he’s not considered a target, investigators remain interested in whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice and want to interview him about several episodes in office. The lawyers want to resolve the investigation as quickly as possible, but there’s no agreement on how to do that.

Many of the questions obtained by the Times centre on the obstruction issue, including his reaction to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the Russia investigation, a decision Trump has angrily criticized.

Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow declined to comment to The Associated Press on Monday night, as did White House lawyer Ty Cobb.

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Kelly calls ‘BS’ on report he called Trump an ‘idiot’

WASHINGTON (AP) — New details emerged on the rift between White House chief of staff John Kelly and President Donald Trump, with one former administration official saying Kelly privately called Trump “an idiot” last year.

Kelly’s insult to the president’s intelligence, confirmed to The Associated Press by the former official, came as his clashes with Trump over policy and personnel grew louder and more frequent. Kelly, who has cast himself as safeguarding the public from the president, has also threatened to quit the White House on several occasions.

Kelly’s disparaging remark was first reported Monday by NBC News. In a statement Monday, Kelly called the report “total BS,” and characterized his relationship with Trump as “incredibly candid and strong.” He added of the president, “He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS.”

Kelly’s top aide, Zachary Fuentes, also disputed the characterization, saying he had never heard Kelly describe the president that way.

“Remember, he is a Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine,” said Fuentes. “The office of the commander in chief is held to the highest regard.”

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Cardinal Pell to face trial on criminal charges in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Vatican official to be charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis, must stand trial on charges alleging he sexually abused multiple victims decades ago, a magistrate ruled Tuesday.

Magistrate Belinda Wallington dismissed around half the charges that had been heard in the four-week preliminary hearing in Melbourne but decided the prosecution’s case was strong enough for the remainder to warrant a trial by jury. The number of charges has not been made public

When she asked Pell how he pleaded, the cardinal said in a firm voice: “Not guilty.” Wallington gave him permission not to stand, which is customary.

When the magistrate left the room at the end the hearing, many people in the packed public gallery broke into applause.

Lawyers for Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic had argued all the accusations were untrue, could not be proved and should be dismissed.

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Twin bombings in Afghanistan kill 25, including 9 reporters

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two Islamic State suicide bombers struck in Afghanistan’s capital on Monday, killing 25 people, including nine journalists who had rushed to the scene of the first attack, in the deadliest assault on reporters since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

An Agence France-Presse photographer and a cameraman for the local Tolo TV station were among the fatalities, police said. Two reporters for the Afghan branch of Radio Free Europe and a third who was to begin working there soon also were killed, Radio Free Europe said. At least 45 people were wounded in the attacks, according to Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai, who said four police were among those killed.

The attack was the latest in a relentless string of large-scale bombings and assaults in the capital and elsewhere in Afghanistan this year.

A few hours later, in the southern Kandahar province, a suicide car bomb targeting a NATO convoy killed 11 children from a nearby religious school, police said. The children had gathered around the NATO convoy for fun when the bomber struck, said Abdul Rahim Ayubi, a lawmaker from Kandahar. Eight Romanian NATO soldiers were wounded.

The Islamic State group claimed the Kabul bombings in a statement posted online, saying it targeted the Afghan intelligence headquarters. The statement did not say anything about specifically targeting journalists. The blasts took place in the central Shash Darak area, home to NATO headquarters and a number of embassies and foreign offices — as well as the Afghan intelligence service.

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Detroit released from active state oversight of finances

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit reached a key step in fiscal redemption on Monday by reclaiming control of its own finances roughly three years after exiting the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

A state review commission unanimously agreed to release the city from state financial oversight after Detroit delivered three consecutive years of audited balanced budgets. The city was about $12 billion in debt and unable to deliver basic services like prompt responses to 911 calls and park maintenance when the state took financial management.

“Detroit is once again finally a city of full self-governance,” Mayor Mike Duggan said following the commission’s vote.

The change means that when contracts are approved by the City Council, Detroit won’t have to wait for the commission to approve them. But the city must still submit monthly financial reports to the commission, which will continue to monitor Detroit’s fiscal health for the next 10 years and could resume oversight if a budget deficit occurs.

Gov. Rick Snyder placed the city under state receivership in early 2013, angering local officials and some residents because the move essentially stripped power from the City Council and mayor’s office. The Republican governor also appointed turnaround expert Kevyn Orr as an emergency manager to oversee Detroit’s finances. The city, under Orr, filed bankruptcy the same year.

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Trump takes aim at asylum seekers still stuck at US border

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — About 200 people in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers waited on the Mexican border with San Diego for a second straight day on Monday to turn themselves in to U.S. border inspectors, who said the nation’s busiest crossing facility did not have enough space to accommodate them.

After a monthlong journey across Mexico under the Trump administration’s watchful eye, the asylum seekers faced an unexpected twist Sunday when U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing facility had “reached capacity.” The agency said in a statement on Monday that it had no estimate when the location would accept new asylum application cases.

About 50 people, many of them women and children, camped overnight on blankets and backpacks in Tijuana outside the Mexican entrance to the border crossing. The crowd grew Monday, assembled behind metal gates that Mexican authorities erected to avoid impeding the flow of others going to the United States for work, school and recreation.

Another 50 asylum seekers were allowed past a gate controlled by Mexican officials Sunday to cross a long bridge but were stopped at the entrance to the U.S. inspection facility at the other end. They waited outside the building, technically on Mexican soil, without word of when U.S. officials would let them try to claim asylum.

Irineo Mujica, a caravan organizer, said asylum seekers who crossed the bridge remained in a waiting area on Mexican soil Monday. He alleged that U.S. authorities were refusing entry in an effort to dissuade people from trying.

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Rozier (29 pts), Tatum (28) help Celtics beat 76ers 117-101

BOSTON (AP) — Terry Rozier scored 29 points and first-year Celtics forward Jayson Tatum scored 28 to outplay redshirt rookie Ben Simmons and lead the Boston Celtics to a 117-101 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night.

With much of the attention focused on Philadelphia young guns Simmons and Joel Embiid, Boston’s youth movement of Tatum and Rozier led the way. Rozier, in his third year, added eight rebounds and six assists, and Al Horford had 26 points and seven rebounds for Boston.

Embiid scored 31 points with 13 rebounds for Philadelphia. Simmons, the likely rookie of the year after missing all of last season with an injury, scored 18 with seven boards and six assists.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Boston.