Trump Ignores Advisers during Trump-Putin Summit

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit consisted of a 46 minute news conference where Trump attacked his own FBI on foreign soil and heavily praised Russia. Before the meeting, Trump’s staffers provided him with 100 pages of briefing materials that involved a tough stance towards Putin, but the president ignored most of it. Trump’s remarks were, “very much counter to the plan”, said someone familiar with the discussions. Advisers covered matters from Russia’s annexation of Crimea, to its interference in the U.S. elections. However, it has been reported that the president has been reluctant to accept the idea that Russia meddled in the elections.

Immigrant Children Return from Shelters and Recount Experiences

Federal officials have begun to return the 2,500 immigrant children separated from their parents under the Trump Administration’s former family separation policy. Mothers and fathers are being reunited with their children after weeks and months. Many of these children are now deeply traumatized, showing up with cuts and bruises on their face and refusing to speak of their experience. Most suffer from nightmares and now have difficulty trusting their parents. Some explain that they felt like prisoners, as punishment was a constant threat.  Mark Weber, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency responsible for the shelters, said they couldn’t comment on specific children or cases. However, he stated, ““our focus is always on the safety and best interest of each child.”

Planned Parenthood Sues State of Idaho

Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands is suing Idaho in federal court over new abortion reporting requirements that critics say are “unconstitutional”. The law, which went into effect on July 1, created a list of what lawmakers believed to be complications of abortion. Health professionals are required to report when these health effects occur, and abortion providers must collect personal information about the women. In the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood contends that the law is intended to stigmatize women seeking medical care by singling out one medical procedure for the reporting requirement.

Trump’s Judicial Nominee Withdrawn from Consideration over Racially Charged Writings

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) withdrew the nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from the Senate floor after it became clear that a number of Republicans would oppose him over racially-charged writings found in Bounds’s records. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) revealed Bounds’s past commentary to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who then sided with Scott about the nomination. "The nominee was not able to alleviate Scott’s concerns to show how he had grown since the writings from his younger days," said a witness familiar with the matter. As an undergraduate at Stanford, Bounds had lamented organizations on campus that “divide up by race for their feel-good ethnic hoedowns” and called for these groups to be discontinued, along with other racial remarks.

Afghan Vice President Returns to a Suicide Bomber

After more than a year in exile, General Abdul Rashid Dostum returned to Afghanistan facing criminal charges of rape, kidnapping, brutality, human rights abuses and killing his first wife. Waiting to greet him at Kabul’s International Airport was a government delegation and a suicide bomber. Moments after Dostum’s team left the airport, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a traffic circle, killing 20 people, nine of which were from Gen. Dostum’s security detail. 90 others were wounded. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to an extremist monitoring group. Gen. Dostum’s millions of supporters believe the numerous criminal charges to be lies, causing him to remain the country’s first vice president.

Trump Tweets War Threats to Iran

President Donald Trump issued an all-caps challenge to the Iranian regime late Sunday night, stating that any threats to the US would be met with dire consequences.

"To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Trump’s tweets were a response to earlier remarks by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who warned the US that war with Tehran would be “the mother of all wars.” Rouhani also held out on the possibility of a peaceful relationship with the US, in remarks reported by the Iranian state media. In a speech on Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo likened the Iranian regime to the mafia, accusing the clerics of enriching themselves and funding terrorism at the expense of ordinary Iranians.

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