In Brief: Nation & World: 2-7-17

Trump’s ban hits appeals court as travelers arrive to tears

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fierce battle over President Donald Trump’s travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court. Travelers, temporarily unbound, tearfully reunited with loved ones at U.S. airports.

The Justice Department prepared to ask a San Francisco-based federal appeals court to restore Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations. The lawyers were expected to argue in a brief that the president, not the courts, has the authority to set national security policy and that an executive order to control access at the country’s borders is lawful.

The filing with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was to be the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump’s order, which was halted Friday by a federal judge in Washington state.

The appeals court refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota — two states challenging it — argued anew on Monday that any resumption would “unleash chaos again,” separating families and stranding university students.

It’s not clear how quickly the appeals court might rule. Whatever the outcome, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

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Israel passes law legalizing thousands of settlement homes

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land, a step that is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure.

The explosive law is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel’s hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. He is seen as more sympathetic to Israel’s settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office.

“We are voting tonight on our right to the land,” Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. “We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it.”

Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel’s Supreme Court. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property.

The vote passed 60-52 in Israel’s 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favor of the vote from the dais. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors’ seats raised black cloth in apparent protest.

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Trump: Allow those into US who ‘want to love our country’

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump vowed Monday to allow only people who “want to love our country” into the United States, defending his immigration and refugee restrictions as he made his first visit to the headquarters for U.S. Central Command.

Trump reaffirmed his support for NATO before military leaders and troops and laced his speech with references to homeland security amid a court battle over his travel ban on people from seven majority-Muslim countries. He did not directly mention the case now before a federal appeals court after a lower court temporarily suspended the ban.

“We need strong programs” so that “people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in” and those who “want to destroy us and destroy our country” are kept out, Trump said.

“Freedom, security and justice will prevail,” Trump added. “We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism and we will not allow it to take root in our country. We’re not going to allow it.”

Trump touched upon various alliances in his remarks, noting, “we strongly support NATO.”

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Anti-Trump protests complicate start of his presidency

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scrappy as ever, Donald Trump on Monday dismissed polls showing low approval ratings as “fake news.” But whatever his opinion, active opposition to his go-it-alone presidency appears to be widening.

From corporate boardrooms to the halls of Congress, Trump is facing an unprecedented effort to disrupt even the most basic of his presidential functions. It’s an evolving, largely grass-roots effort that aims to follow Trump and his potential supporters everywhere they go — and there are early signs that it’s having an impact.

The Trump name alone is enough to spark outrage. There are plans for a mass “mooning” of Trump Tower in Chicago. Boycotts are underway of companies that sell Ivanka Trump’s clothing line or advertise on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” where Trump has remained an executive producer.

Congressional offices are being flooded with emails, social media messages and calls jamming phone lines. Hundreds of protesters are flocking to town halls and local congressional offices, some in strongly Republican districts, to voice their opposition to Trump’s Cabinet picks, health care plans and refugee restrictions.

The goal, say organizers of some of the efforts, is nothing short of complete resistance. It’s a strategy Democrats say they learned from the success of the tea party movement, which stymied President Barack Obama’s agenda through protests, door-to-door political action campaigns and online activism.

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Syrian rebels and insurgents battle in split over peace push

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s ragtag rebel groups and insurgents trying to oust President Bashar Assad have turned their guns on each other in some of the worst infighting yet, with al-Qaida-linked fighters battling other factions in a split between supporters and opponents of the Russian-led push for a new peace process for the war-torn country.

The clashes — mainly in opposition-held areas in northern Syria — have led to the formation of two new coalitions but have also raised the specter of more fractures among rebel factions, already struggling to recover from their December loss of the eastern half of the city of Aleppo to Assad’s forces.

At the root of the infighting is a call that came at the end of the peace talks last month in the Kazakh capital of Astana. Russia, Turkey and Iran — sponsors of the gathering — urged Syria’s rebels to dissociate themselves from al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, now known as the Fatah al-Sham Front.

The Astana meeting was designed to pave the way for political talks to be held in Geneva in late February but it also marked a new push in efforts to resolve Syria’s conflict, with Russia and Iran, Assad’s main supporters, and Turkey, the rebels’ chief backer, pledging to put their influence behind the truce. The United States, busy with the presidential transition, played no significant role in Astana.

The Fatah al-Sham Front, previously called the Nusra Front, has been excluded from all negotiations and cease-fires, along with the Islamic State group — both considered by the international community to be terrorist organizations.

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AP Explains: Can Trump deny funds to sanctuary cities?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is threatening to punish cities and other municipalities that shelter immigrants living in the country illegally by denying them federal dollars.

Can a president do that?

Most taxpayer money is beyond Trump’s control. But a relatively small portion of the federal budget involves grants distributed by agency and Cabinet department heads appointed by Trump, and those programs could be affected.

WHAT IS TRUMP THREATENING?

Through a recent executive order and, on Sunday in an interview with Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, Trump threatened to “defund” so-called sanctuary cities by taking away their federal grants. Those are cities and other municipalities that, generally speaking, shelter immigrants in the country illegally by refusing to help the federal government enforce immigration laws.

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Romania PM: I may fire justice minister over graft decree

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s prime minister said Monday he may fire the justice minister for mishandling a contentious decree that has sparked the country’s largest anti-government protests since communism ended.

Premier Sorin Grindeanu said the emergency decree to decriminalize some official misconduct approved by his cabinet last week had “led to division” among Romanians. Grindeanu suggested Justice Minister Florin Iordache may lose his job over the move within days.

Although the government repealed the measure Sunday, the unrest its move sparked continued Monday. Thousands of people gathered outside the government offices for the seventh consecutive evening, yelling “Resignation!” and waving Romanian flags.

Elsewhere, hundreds of government supporters gathering outside the presidential palace in the Romanian capital blaming President Klaus Iohannis for the crisis. The president has strongly opposed the ordinance.

Anti-government protester Sebastian Moruga, a Bucharest resident who worked in England for 12 years, said he wanted change.

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Tech cos. take stand against travel ban, risking backlash

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Through a Super Bowl ad, public statements and court filings, Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are taking a strong stand against President Donald Trump’s travel ban, saying high tech needs immigrants’ creativity and energy to stay competitive.

Although the companies are risking a backlash from customers who side with Trump, they say the pushback is necessary for an industry dependent on thousands of highly skilled foreign workers.

About 58 percent of the engineers and other high-skill employees in Silicon Valley were born outside the U.S., according to the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, an industry trade group.

“Immigration and innovation go hand in hand,” said Carl Guardino, the group’s CEO. “This cuts so deeply into the bone and marrow of what fuels the innovation economy that very few CEOs feel the luxury of sitting on the sidelines. So people are going to stand up and speak up.”

The tech industry contends there aren’t enough Americans with the specialized skills these companies need. Though critics contend that companies favor immigrants because they can pay them less, tech companies argue that the ban would pressure them to move some operations abroad.

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Brady gives credit to his mom, White for Super Bowl MVP win

HOUSTON (AP) — Tom Brady doesn’t want to talk about “Deflategate.” He’d rather reflect on a night he will never forget and how much it meant to his mother.

The New England quarterback spoke Monday hours after he won his fifth Super Bowl ring and fourth MVP trophy. He called the 34-28 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons a “hell of a game” for his mother, who has been dealing with an undisclosed health issue and was not able to attend any other games this season.

“It was great. She’s been through a lot,” Brady said. “Way harder than I went through last night. Way harder than everyone on our team went through last night. My dad’s been there every step of the way. They set such a great example for me.

“All families go through challenging times personally. But she has a lot of support and a lot of love. I’m just happy last night to be able to celebrate with her.”

What was missing from the celebration was Brady’s game jersey, which he said disappeared from the locker room. Texas’ lieutenant governor asked the Texas Rangers to help Houston police look for the jersey.

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Being a White House kid comes with pluses and minuses

WASHINGTON (AP) — If it’s tough being a kid, try being a “first kid” — the child of an American president.

Just ask President Bill Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea. Or President George W. Bush’s twins, Jenna and Barbara. And now, President Donald Trump’s youngest child, Barron, is finding out.

Ten-year-old Barron was the target of a poorly received joke tweeted by a “Saturday Night Live” writer on Jan. 20 as the new first family reveled in Inauguration Day events. Separately in Chicago, comedian Shannon Noll played the title character in “Barron Trump: Up Past Bedtime,” which had a recent run at a theater in Hyde Park.

Both instances have revived age-old questions about the sometimes less-than-kid-glove treatment of presidential kids.

“I think the children are off-limits,” said Lisa Caputo, who was White House press secretary when “Saturday Night Live” made fun of then-13-year-old Chelsea Clinton. “They didn’t run for public office, they don’t hold an official role.”