This photo that spread like wildfire, depicting a 2-year-old girl crying as her mother — both asylum seekers from Honduras — was detained at the Texas border, was taken right before the pair was sent "to a processing center for possible separation," Getty photographer John Moore told BuzzFeed.
President Trump continues to flip most presidential norms upside down — and nowhere do we see it as clearly as the list of friends and foes he's made on the world stage.
Why it matters: During the campaign, critics called out the president's soft talk toward Russia. But now Trump seems to be distancing himself from America's long-term allies while cozying up to controversial leaders and dictators.
As of the end of May, 1,995 children have been separated from 1,940 parents since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the “zero-tolerance” policy at the southern border, according to DHS data obtained by the Associated Press.
Why it matters: The family separation policy has sparked widespread outrage among lawmakers, children advocates, church groups, the U.N. and the public. President Trump said Friday morning on the matter, "I hate it. I hate to see separation of children and their parents," blaming Democrats for the situation. However, the decision to prosecute parents who are caught crossing the border illegally stems from the Trump administration.
President Trump would sign either immigration bill up for a vote next week in the House, according to a White House statement, despite Trump telling reporters Friday morning that he wouldn't sign the new GOP immigration bill unveiled this week.
Why it matters: The president's support is crucial for the bill's chances when it's taken up by the House next week. Conservative and moderate Republicans, as well as House leadership, have spent weeks haggling over the details. The more conservative immigration bill by Rep. Bob Goodlatte will also get a vote next week, but it's not expected to pass.
The Democratic National Convention will be held on July 13-16 in 2020, CNN's Dan Merica reports, which is earlier than they've held it in two decades.
Why it matters: An intra-party divide was created among the Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton wings of the party. Democratic leaders anticipate a similarly combative election next cycle (because more than 20 candidates are expected to run,) so they're moving the convention to allow more time for those tensions to cool after a nominee is selected.
President Trump gave a semi-surprise interview on Fox & Friends on Friday morning, where he claimed former FBI Director James Comey had acted criminally, called the Justice Department's IG report "wrong" and praised Kim Jong-un's leadership.
President Trump, during a semi-surprise appearance on Fox & Friends Friday morning, said that the Justice Department's inspector general report, which ultimately concluded that then-FBI Director James Comey was not politically biased and that any political biases that did exist did not compromise the FBI's work, was wrong, and that what Comey did "was criminal."
“I think Comey was the ringleader of this… den of thieves”
The Justice Department's inspector general report on the FBI's handling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails during the 2016 presidential election gave new ammunition to President Trump and other Republicans to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, the Washington Post reports.
The big picture: Republicans touted the report as a meaningful development that will damage Mueller's credibility with the public and hold up President Trump.
President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani reacted to the Department of Justice's inspector general report on Fox News Thursday night, saying "tomorrow Mueller should be suspended, and...Strzok should be in jail by the end of next week."
Intelligence and defense contracting companies are advertising for employment opportunities — to assist the U.S. government with undocumented children after they've been separated from their families, the Daily Beast reports.
The bottom line: The practice, recently adopted by the Trump administration, has been widely and strongly criticized as a violation of rights, and at least one of the companies being called in to help has a record with discrimination and harassment, per the Daily Beast.
