Comey: “Possible” that Russians have leverage over Trump
WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director James Comey says he thinks it’s possible the Russians have compromising information on President Donald Trump and that there is “some evidence of obstruction of justice” in the president’s actions. That included Trump’s request to end an FBI investigation into former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.
In an ABC News interview that aired Sunday, Comey acknowledged that it was “stunning” to think that Russia could have damaging information on a president but said he could not discount the possibility.
“It is stunning and I wish I wasn’t saying it, but it’s just — it’s the truth. I cannot say that,” Comey said. “It always struck me and still strikes me as unlikely, and I woulda been able to say with high confidence about any other president I dealt with, but I can’t. It’s possible.”
He also answered “possibly” when asked if the president was attempting to obstruct justice when he cleared the Oval Office of other officials last February and encouraged him to close the investigation into Flynn, who pleaded guilty last December to lying to the FBI and is now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
The interview aired hours after a vitriolic Twitter outburst from the president, who called Comey “slippery,” suggested he should be in jail and labeled him the “the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!”
‘Full Metal Jacket’ actor R. Lee Ermey dies at 74
LOS ANGELES — R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine who made a career in Hollywood playing hard-nosed military men like Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket,” has died.
Ermey’s longtime manager Bill Rogin says he died Sunday morning from pneumonia-related complications. He was 74.
The Kanas native was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his memorable performance in “Full Metal Jacket,” in which he immortalized lines such as: “What is your major malfunction?”
His co-stars Matthew Modine and Vincent D’Onofrio tweeted their condolences Sunday evening.
“#SemperFidelis Always faithful. Always loyal. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” Modine wrote, quoting the Dylan Thomas poem. “RIP amigo. PVT. Joker.”
US to hit Russia with new sanctions for aiding Syria’s Assad
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his use of the phrase “Mission Accomplished” to describe a U.S.-led missile attack on Syria’s chemical weapons program, even as his aides stressed continuing U.S. troop involvement and plans for new economic sanctions against Russia for enabling the government of Bashar Assad.
Stepping up the pressure on Syria’s president, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley indicated the sanctions to be announced Monday would be aimed at sending a message to Russia, which she said has blocked six attempts by the U.N. Security Council to make it easier to investigate the use of chemical weapons.
“Everyone is going to feel it at this point,” Haley said, warning of consequences for Assad’s foreign allies.
“The international community will not allow chemical weapons to come back into our everyday life,” she said. “The fact he was making this more normal and that Russia was covering this up, all that has got to stop.”
Trump tweeted Sunday that the strike was “perfectly carried out” and that “the only way the Fake News Media could demean was by my use of the term “Mission Accomplished.”” He added that he knew the media would “seize” on the phrase, but said it should be used often. “It is such a great Military term, it should be brought back,” he wrote.
Spring storm moves east after blanketing central US in snow
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota residents slogged through a mid-April storm Sunday that dumped 2 feet (half a meter) of snow on parts of the Upper Midwest, coated roads with ice and battered areas farther south with powerful winds and tornadoes before plowing toward the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S.
The storm system prompted Enbridge Energy to temporarily shutter twin oil and gas pipelines in Michigan that may have been recently damaged by a ship anchor strike.
The Line 5 pipelines were temporarily shuttered Sunday afternoon due to a power outage at Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy told The Detroit News. Enbridge decided to shut down the twin pipelines until weather conditions improve in the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, Duffy said.
At least four deaths were blamed on the weather.
Boston tributes mark 5 years since marathon attack
BOSTON — The bells of Old South Church in Boston rang at 2:49 p.m. to commemorate a citywide moment of silence in honor of Boston Marathon bombing survivors and victims
It was an emotional moment in a day filled with service projects and ceremonies to remember those impacted by the deadly bombings five years ago.
Boston began the anniversary of the attacks Sunday with Mayor Marty Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker laying wreaths early in the morning at the spots along downtown Boylston Street where two bombs killed three spectators and maimed more than 260 others April 15, 2013.
Both addressed families and survivors at a private ceremony inside the Boston Public Library.
“On April 15, 2013, our city changed forever but over the last five years, we have reclaimed hope. We have reclaimed the finish line and Boston has emerged with a new strength, a resilience rooted in love,” Walsh said.
