Mar 14, 2018

White House: Russia to blame for U.K. nerve agent attack on ex-spy

Trump and Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

The White House released a statement on Wednesday supporting the U.K.'s expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats earlier in the day over the poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal in the English town on Salisbury.

"The United States shares the United Kingdom’s assessment that Russia is responsible for the reckless nerve agent attack on a British citizen and his daughter, and we support the United Kingdom’s decision to expel Russian diplomats as a just response."

— Press Secretary Sarah Sanders

The backdrop: Theresa May's announcement was a major escalation in Russia-U.K. relations, and President Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. would condemn Russia "[a]s soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them." Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley took a strong stance against Russia on Wednesday.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 9 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Tanker truck appears to plow into Minneapolis protesters

Authorities closed major roads at 5 p.m. in Minneapolis for the march. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

A tanker truck appears to have driven toward thousands of protesters Sunday evening during a demonstration in Minneapolis, who managed to avoid the vehicle, video from the scene shows.

What they're saying: Minnesota Department of Public Safety tweeted, "Very disturbing actions by a truck driver on I-35W, inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. The truck driver was injured & taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He is under arrest. It doesn’t appear any protesters were hit by the truck."

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Orion Rummler

Updated 17 mins ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. enters 6th day of nationwide protests over George Floyd's killing

A protest in Philadelphia on May 31. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Local news footage captured a tanker truck appearing to drive toward protesters at a peaceful demonstration in Minneapolis, forcing demonstrators to quickly get out of the way of the incoming vehicle on Sunday evening.

The big picture: Protests have continued across the country for six days, as demonstrators call for justice in response to the deaths of George Floyd and other other black Americans who have died in police custody or who have been killed in racist attacks.

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Jonathan Swan

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Inside Trump's antifa tweet

President Trump at Cape Canaveral on May 30. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

As recently as Saturday night, senior administration officials told me that the designation of a violent cohort of far-left activists, antifa, as a terrorist organization was not being seriously discussed at the White House. But that was Saturday.

Behind the scenes: The situation changed dramatically a few hours later, after prominent conservative allies of the president, such as his friend media commentator Dan Bongino, publicly urged a tough response against people associated with antifa (short for "anti-fascist").

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