Donald Trump has been warned he cannot declare war without congressional support following the bombing of Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
The strikes, which destroyed half of the kingdom’s oil production capacity, were claimed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
On Sunday night Mr Trump said the US was “locked and loaded” and believed it knew who was truly behind the attack.
But Bernie Sanders, who is gunning for the Democratic nomination for president, tweeted: “Mr. Trump, the Constitution of the United States is perfectly clear. Only Congress—not the president—can declare war.
“And Congress will not give you the authority to start another disastrous war in the Middle East just because the brutal Saudi dictatorship told you to.”
It came hours before Mr Trump was due to hold a rally in New Mexico, a state he lost in 2016 but hopes to flip in the 2020 election.
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Donald Trump has suggested Democrats only want to take guns away from Americans, as his 2020 presidential hopefuls came out in favour of strong legislation in the wake of mass shootings across the United States, writes Clark Mindock.
Mr Trump reportedly plans to release a policy proposal this week geared towards solving America’s gun violence crime, but few details have been made public.
United Nations special envoy Martin Griffiths has said it is “not entirely clear” who was behind Saturday’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities – but added that it has increased the chances of a regional conflict.
“It’s not entirely clear who was behind the attack, but the fact that Ansar Allah has claimed responsibility is bad enough,” he told the UN Security Council on Monday, using the official name of Yemen’s Houthi group.
“This extremely serious incident makes the chances of a regional conflict that much higher.”
Kelly Craft, US ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council that emerging information on attacks on Saudi oil facilities “indicates that responsibility lies with Iran” and that there is no evidence the attack came from Yemen.
Reuters
US energy secretary Rick Perry has said it is too soon to say whether the US will have to tap into its emergency petrol reserves following weekend attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
He told CNBC: “We are yet a little premature in making any...actions about whether or not the [US strategic petroleum reserve] is actually going to be needed until we get a handle on the length of time that this facility is going to be down.”
Saturday’s attacks on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil processing shut five per cent of global oil supply – but the country today said it could bring back about a third of the shut supply.
The Department of Energy said it was working with the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), which coordinates energy policies of 30 industrialised countries, on whether a combined emergency release is needed.
Mr Perry said countries in the IEA, of which the US is a member, have more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil in reserves.
Reuters
Could a written constitution save us from the worst instincts of a gangster government, writes James Moore…
As the double-headed monster that is Dominic Cummings/Boris Johnson torches Britain’s unwritten one, the prospect is being raised seriously by serious people.
It’s nice to see we still have a few of them in a Britain whose prime minister compares himself to a bright green Marvel Comics character.
If you want evidence a codified constitution is not a panacea, take a look across the Atlantic, where another ill-mannered demagogue dedicated to trashing convention holds sway
US and Chinese deputy trade negotiators are expected to meet on Friday, with senior negotiators likely to meet about a week and a half later, the US Chamber of Commerce's chief executive has said.
Speaking at a press conference to urge US congressional approval of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, Tom Donohue said US trade representative Robert Lighthizer “did indicate that there was some movement in the direction of purchasing of (US) agricultural products and other issues”.
Reuters
Donald Trump’s hometown plans to ban flavoured e-cigarettes after officialls linked a nationwide spate of deadly lung illnesses to vaping, writes Zamira Rahim.
New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo said that the state’s health commissioner Howard Zucker would recommend a formal ban during an emergency meeting of health officials.
Emergency regulations are likely to go into effect immediately.
It comes after the US president said he planned to ban the products during an appearance at the Oval Office last week, claiming companies were getting rich as people died.
While Iran’s specialist military forces seize ships, arrest foreign nationals and mount drone attacks, the president is tweeting out vague threats of reprisal. Based on his previous behaviour, it’s unlikely that he really means it, writes Scott Lucas…
Initial probes show Iranian weapons were likely used in the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations at the weekend, a Saudi military spokesman has said.
Colonel Turki al-Malki also told reporters in Riyadh that the early morning strikes on Saturday were not launched from Yemen, as claimed by Iranian-allied Yemeni rebels who are at war with Saudi Arabia.
He did not elaborate further and said the results of the investigation would be made public to the media once complete.
AP
Kim Jong-un invited Donald Trump to visit Pyongyang in a letter sent in August amid stalled denuclearisation talks, according to diplomatic sources, Hyonhee Shin writes…
Mr Trump said on 9 August that he had received a “very beautiful letter” from Mr Kim.
But US officials have not said anything about a second letter sent in the third week of August.
More on this:
The president appears to have implied that Iran could have had something to do with the Saudi oil attacks, accusing the country of telling a "very big lie" about a drone that was shot down.
He tweeted: “Remember when Iran shot down a drone, saying knowingly that it was in their “airspace” when, in fact, it was nowhere close.
"They stuck strongly to that story knowing that it was a very bi lie. Now they say that they had nothing to do with the attack on Saudi Arabia. We’ll see?”
There are crises and problems around the world for the Trump administration at the moment, it seems.
From near-war in the Middle East and faltering talks with North Korea, to the latest in Venezuela's fraught peace talks.
The opposition in the Latin American country said on Sunday that dialogue with the regime, which was being mediated by Norway, had ended, six weeks after president Nicolas Maduro's government suspended participation.
The negotiations to resolve the political crisis brought about by Juan Guaido's failed military uprising in April had mostly taken place in Barbados.
Representatives of Mr Maduro, who is accused of human rights abuses and has overseen an economic collapse which has caused millions to flee his country, walked away in August to protest Mr Trump's tightening of sanctions.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Mr Trump has said Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is “the one who is actually being assaulted” amid new allegations of sexual assault.
A new allegation emerged from a former Yale University classmate of the judge, who claims to have seen his genitals pushed into the hands of a female student at a party.
The allegations were reported in an article in the New York Times and there were calls to impeach Mr Kavanaugh.
However, just hours later, the newspaper updated its article to include the significant details that several of the alleged victim’s friends said she did not remember the alleged sexual assault – and that the woman refused to be interviews and would not make a comment on the alleged incident.
Mexico's tiny asylum agency has been overwhelmed by applicants who are abandoning the American dream because of Donald Trump's immigration policies.
But now the agency - COMAR - fears the burden will increase after the US Supreme Court decided to restore a Trump administration policy banning most asylum applications at the US-Mexico border.
It dictates that migrants crossing another country en route to the US must apply for asylum in that country.
COMAR employees are already working up to 15 hours a day.
Additional reporting by Reuters
A niche UK politics joke for you...
Not really Trump news, but worth noting...
People visiting beaches on the southeastern US coast should be wary of potentially dangerous rip currents caused by Hurricane Humberto, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) has warned.
The storm has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane and by early on Monday, it had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.
Humberto will bring large swells to the northwestern Bahamas and southeastern US coast for several days, the NHC said.
The National Weather Service issued advisories warning of high rip current risks until Monday evening at beaches from northeast Florida to North Carolina.
Rip currents are narrow channels of water that move away from shore at high speed, posing a drowning threat to swimmers.
Additional reporting by AP
Elton John declined Donald Trump’s offer to perform at his 2016 presidential inauguration because he felt it was inappropriate as a British National.
Mr Trump had been hoping Sir Elton would croon him into the presidency, writes Maggie Haberman.
He had gone so far as to tell people it was happening even though the singer had not yet agreed to such a performance.
More on this here:
Mr Trump is now calling on the Federal Reserve to make a “big interest rate drop, stimulus” ahead of a meeting this week.
North Korea has claimed diplomatic talks with the US could resume in a "few weeks", but said it would not consider abandoning its nuclear weapons unless external threats are fully removed - a reiteration of its long-held position.
A statement on Monday attributed to a North Korean foreign ministry official said the upcoming working-level talks would be decisive in determining the fate of the country's diplomacy with Washington, which has faltered despite historic meetings between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump.
Talks collapsed in February over disagreements on sanctions relief in exchange for disarmament measures.
Pyongyang's statement said discussions of North Korea's denuclearisation would only be possible when "threats and hurdles endangering our system security and obstructing our development are clearly removed beyond all doubt".
Experts have told The Independent in the past that US and North Korean officials disagree on what the term "denuclearisation" really means and that both sides "want the impossible".
Additional reporting by AP
Donald Trump has claimed the US doesn’t need oil and gas from the Middle East but will help its allies.
He tweeted: “Because we have done so well with energy over the last few years (thank you, Mr President!), we are a net energy exporter, and now the number one energy producer in the world.
“We don’t need Middle Eastern oil and gas, and in fact have very few tankers there, but will help our allies!”
US drug company Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy as it faces more than 2,500 lawsuits worth billions of dollars, in relation to its alleged role in America’s opioid crisis, writes Harry Cockburn.
The company, owned by the Sackler family, manufactured the opioid-based drug OxyContin – marketed as a narcotic painkiller and which has been blamed for a sharp rise in addiction, prescription drug abuse and fatal overdoses.
The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Donald Trump has tried to tackle the opioid crisis with extra funding and other measures, and has warned the government may sue drug companies.
