1. Ban take two
Donald Trump signed a new travel ban Monday, after a January attempt foundered. The new ban removes Iraq from a list of banned countries of origin, does not apply to green card holders and does not mention exceptions for Christians.
'Cosmetic' changes
But the new ban contained “merely cosmetic” changes, said Grace Meng of Human Rights Watch, adding: “President Trump still seems to believe you can determine who’s a terrorist by knowing which country a man, woman or child is from.”
2. Comey contradicts Trump
FBI director James Comey has reportedly asked the US justice department to publicly reject claims made by Trump that Barack Obama ordered his phones to be tapped during the 2016 election campaign.
On Saturday morning, Trump tweeted: “How low has President Obama gone to tapp [sic] my phones during the very sacred election process…” The White House would not publicly stand by that accusation on Monday.
Summary
Spicer again: "The president speaks very candidly. His tweets speak for themselves."
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) March 6, 2017
3. White House asks Congress to investigate
The White House has asked Congress to investigate Trump’s allegation about Obama’s supposed wiretapping. Press secretary Sean Spicer called the supposed wiretapping “very troubling”. There’s no public evidence it happened.
Updated
4. Become a Guardian member
It might take just a minute to catch up on the latest politics news. But good journalism takes time and costs money. If you like the Guardian’s politics coverage, please consider joining us by becoming a member for only $6.99 a month. Thanks for reading!
5. Trump’s mad weekend
The president was furious that attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from an investigation of Russia ties, according to reports. “He was pissed,” close friend Christopher Ruddy said. “I haven’t seen him this angry.”
6. Court returns transgender case
The supreme court has opted not to decide whether federal anti-discrimination law gives a transgender teen the right to use the boys’ bathroom in his Virginia school, returning the case to lower court.
...and another thing:
mesmerizing pic.twitter.com/iA6WgkQIhL
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 3, 2017
