Well, we missed quite a bit this weekend. Let's get caught up to make sense of today.
Trump alleges Obama had Trump's phones wiretapped during election
Saturday morning through a series of tweets, U.S. President Donald Trump accused – with no evidence – his predecessor Barack Obama of wiretapping him during the late stages of the 2016 election campaign. Mr. Obama, through a spokesman, denied the accusations as "simply false." This came amid serious concerns about Mr. Trump's and his administration's dealings with the Russian government. Mr. Trump turned to Congress on Sunday looking for help in finding evidence that Mr. Obama did, indeed, tap Mr. Trump's phones, and a U.S. official said the FBI asked the Justice Department to dispute the allegation. Republican leaders of Congress appeared willing to honour the request, but the move has potential risks for Mr. Trump, particularly if the House and Senate uncover damaging information about Mr. Trump, his aides or his associates. U.S. allies such as Canada, Europe and Asia were rattled by Mr. Trump's accusations, which could hinder the potential for collaboration with the U.S. and other countries. But Mr. Trump's aides defend his wiretapping claim.
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Now, on to today.
Trump signs revised executive order on immigration
Mr. Trump revised his controversial executive order on Monday, removing Iraq from the list of Muslim-majority countries and banning citizens from the six remaining countries – Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – from applying for visas for 90 days and blocking all refugees from around the world from entering the country for 120 days. Additionally, it exempts U.S. permanent residents, or green-card holders, as well as dual citizens with passports from a country not on the list. It's slated to go into effect March 16, rather than immediately. This is a revision from the initial order, which banned people from seven countries from entering the United States, and was suspended a week after it was issued in early February. Expect there to be fallout, including boycotts by various academics in Canada. Here's what you need to know about the new executive order.
U.S. Supreme Court sends transgender bathroom case back to lower court
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The U.S. Supreme Court scrapped plans to hear a major transgender rights case and threw out a lower court's ruling in favour of a transgender Virginia student Gavin Grimm on Monday after Mr. Trump rescinded a policy protecting such youths under the federal law. The case was sent back to U.S. appeals court, which last year ruled in the student's favour, with the dispute centering around a federal anti-discrimination law, a constitutional issue and Mr. Trump's administration's action.
U.S., Germany should discuss trade outside EU: Trump adviser
Peter Navarro, Trump administration trade adviser, said Monday the $65-billion U.S. trade deficit with Germany was "one of the most difficult" trade issues and that bilateral discussions were needed to reduce it outside of European Union restrictions. Mr. Navarro said Germany has used the argument that the EU dictates its trade policies, but Mr. Navarro affirmed it would be "useful to have candid discussions with Germany" about ways to reduce the deficit outside the "boundaries and restrictions they claim that they are under." German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to visit Washington on March 14 and a large portion of that visit could circulate around discussions on how to improve the U.S.-German economic relationship.