AP News in Brief 03-15-18

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking dies at age 76

LONDON — Stephen Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Hawking died at his home in Cambridge, England, according to a statement by the University of Cambridge.

The best-known theoretical physicist of his time, Hawking wrote so lucidly of the mysteries of space, time and black holes that his book, “A Brief History of Time,” became an international best-seller, making him one of science’s biggest celebrities since Albert Einstein.

“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years,” his children Lucy, Robert and Tim said in a statement. “His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world. He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”

Even though his body was attacked by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, when Hawking was 21, he stunned doctors by living with the normally fatal illness for more than 50 years. A severe attack of pneumonia in 1985 left him breathing through a tube, forcing him to communicate through an electronic voice synthesizer that gave him his distinctive robotic monotone.

Hawking was involved in the search for the great goal of physics — a “unified theory” that would resolve the contradictions between Einstein’s theory of relativity, which describes the laws of gravity that govern the motion of large objects like planets, and the quantum mechanics theory, which deals with the world of subatomic particles.

For Hawking, the search was almost a religious quest — he said finding a “theory of everything” would allow mankind to “know the mind of God.”

After UK slaps penalties on Russia, attention turns to Trump

WASHINGTON — After the brazen poisoning of a former spy, British Prime Minister Theresa May quickly pinned the blame on Russia. So did U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in what ultimately became one of his last public statements before being fired.

But at the White House, President Donald Trump’s initial response was more circumspect, with his spokeswoman pointedly avoiding naming Russia as the likely perpetrator of the attack. Tougher rhetoric came only on Wednesday evening, when White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders put out a statement saying the U.S. “stands in solidarity with its closest ally” and shares Britain’s assessment that “Russia is responsible for the reckless nerve agent attack.”

For U.S. allies and some congressional lawmakers, it was another befuddling example of the president appearing to soft-pedal in the face of Moscow’s provocations. Some Russia watchers said the fact that the U.S. had to play catch-up to align itself with the British was glaring, particularly at a time of uncertainty over the trajectory of American foreign policy.

“It’s striking the contrast between what the Brits have done and what the U.S. has not done,” said Angela Stent, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. Stent said that while it’s unlikely the U.S. would levy new sanctions on Russia over an incident on British soil, “you would still expect solidarity” from Washington.

The pressure on Trump to forcefully respond to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian agent convicted of spying for Britain, and his daughter Yulia escalated Wednesday when May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and severed high-level contacts with Moscow. May also vowed both open and covert action against Russia, which denies being behind the nerve agent attack.

Democrat clings to lead in Pa. House race; GOP eyes recount

CANONSBURG, Pa. — Republicans eyed a recount and a lawsuit over perceived irregularities in a closely watched U.S. House race in Pennsylvania where Democrat Conor Lamb clung to a slender lead Wednesday in the longtime GOP stronghold friendly to President Donald Trump.

With the last batch of absentee ballots counted, Lamb, a 33-year-old former prosecutor and first-time candidate, saw his edge over Republican Rick Saccone shrink slightly, to 627 votes out of more than 224,000 cast, according to unofficial results.

The four counties in the Pittsburgh-area district reported they had about 375 uncounted provisional, military and overseas ballots. They have seven days to count the provisional ballots, and the deadline to receive military and overseas ballots is next Tuesday.

With the margin so close, supporters of either candidate can ask for a recount.

The GOP is considering lodging a recount request, and county officials reported receiving a letter from a law firm requesting that they preserve their records, something the counties say they do anyway under state law.

As Mueller seeks interview, Trump left without easy options

WASHINGTON — The special counsel’s office wants to talk to Donald Trump about the firings of James Comey and Michael Flynn, but as the president’s lawyers negotiate the terms and scope of a possible interview, they’re left with no easy options.

Balking at an interview, even a narrowly tailored one focused on obstruction of justice questions, risks perpetuating the perception that Trump has something to hide. But agreeing to discuss those matters with Robert Mueller’s team is risky for Trump, whose statements can be unpredictable and inconsistent. Weeks of dialogue between the sides have yet to resolve a question of extraordinary consequence: Will Trump, like many of his aides before him, get grilled by Mueller’s prosecutors?

“Obviously this is not just a legal problem, but this is also a political problem,” said Robert Ray, who succeeded Kenneth Starr as the independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation. “Life is not that simple. It requires a delicate balance between weighing the important legal issues that are involved but also recognizing the important political consequences as well.”

The negotiations have been closely held, but a resolution could arrive soon to avert the prospect of a grand jury subpoena, as happened to President Bill Clinton during Whitewater, or a lengthy court challenge reminiscent of the Watergate era.

Mueller’s interest in Trump himself has appeared focused on seminal moments of his administration even amid signs of an expanding, and intensifying, investigation. In the past month alone, Mueller secured the guilty plea of a Dutch lawyer for lying to the FBI, indicted 13 Russians accused of meddling in the 2016 presidential election and secured the grand jury testimony of a well-connected Lebanese-American businessman whose statements could open a new front for investigators.

Trump picks camera-proven Kudlow as top economic aide

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has chosen Larry Kudlow to be his top economic aide, elevating the influence of a longtime fixture on the CNBC business news network who previously served in the Reagan administration and has emerged as a leading evangelist for tax cuts and a smaller government.

Kudlow told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has accepted the offer, saying the U.S. economy is poised to take off after Trump signed $1.5 trillion worth of tax cuts into law.

“The economy is starting to roar and we’re going to get more of that,” he said.

Kudlow will join an administration in the middle of a tumultuous remodeling as a wave of White House staffers and top officials have departed in recent weeks. Trump on Tuesday dumped his secretary of state, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson.

The famously pinstripe-suited Kudlow would succeed Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive who is leaving the post in a dispute over Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Britain boots 23 Russian diplomats over spy poisoning

LONDON — Relations between Britain and Russia plunged Wednesday to a chilly level not seen since the Cold War as Prime Minister Theresa May expelled 23 diplomats, severed high-level contacts and vowed both open and covert action against Kremlin meddling after the poisoning of a former spy.

Russia said it would respond soon to what it called Britain’s “crude” and “hostile” actions.

While May pledged to disrupt Russian espionage and “hostile state activity,” she gave few details about how hard Britain would hit Russian politicians and oligarchs where it really hurts — in their wallets.

“Expelling diplomats is a kind of a standard response,” said Natasha Kuhrt, a Russia expert at King’s College London. “I’m not sure it’s going to make Moscow stand up and think.”

May told the House of Commons that 23 Russians diplomats who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers have a week to leave Britain.

Perry denies interest in VA job as support for Shulkin fades

WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Wednesday he had no interest in becoming the next head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, flatly rejecting speculation that he would soon take over the position amid rapidly eroding White House support for embattled VA Secretary David Shulkin.

Two administration officials told The Associated Press that Shulkin’s position is growing more precarious and that he could be out of a job within the week, but cautioned that nothing was finalized. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive personnel matter.

Shulkin, a former Obama administration official, has faced several investigations over his travel and leadership of the department. Until recently, he had received praise from President Donald Trump for his work to turn around the agency, but a raft of blistering VA watchdog reports detailing mismanagement and spending waste has weakened his standing.

The White House made clear Wednesday that Shulkin’s job was not safe.

In recent weeks, Shulkin has faced an insurgency within his department and now faces fresh allegations that he used a member of his security detail to run personal errands. On Tuesday, two people familiar with White House discussions told AP that Trump viewed Shulkin as a distraction and floated the notion of moving Perry to the VA to right the ship. Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Tuesday.