While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Feb 15
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Trump to sign border Bill and declare national emergency for more wall money
President Donald Trump will sign a border security and federal spending Bill to avert another government shutdown but also will declare a national emergency to try to obtain funds for his promised US-Mexico border wall, the White House said, drawing immediate criticism from Democrats.
The bipartisan legislation, passed by the Republican-led Senate on Thursday before going to the Democratic-led House of Representatives for final congressional approval, denied Trump the funds he had demanded for a border wall, one of his central 2016 campaign pledges.
In a move that could infringe upon the power of Congress over the national purse strings and plunge Trump into an extended court battle with lawmakers over constitutional powers, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump will declare an emergency.
Trump's administration has suggested he could use national emergency powers to redirect money already committed by Congress for other purposes towards paying for his wall.
Trump enters obese range, but still in 'good health,' exam findings show
President Donald Trump has put on a a couple of kilos over the past year and is now in the obese range, although he remains in "very good health overall,"according to the results of a physical examination conducted last week.
"After taking into account all the laboratory results, examinations and specialist recommendations, it is my determination that the president remains in very good health overall," the president's physician, Sean Conley, wrote in a memo.
A copy of the memo was released by the White House.
US Senate confirms William Barr as attorney-general
The US Senate confirmed William Barr as attorney-general, installing a seasoned lawyer with decades of Washington experience to head the Justice Department and putting him in charge of overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's long-running probe of whether President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.
The Senate voted 54 to 45, largely along party lines.
Many Democrats opposed Barr out of concern he might not make Mueller's findings fully public. But the Senate is controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans.
Amazon scraps plan to build a headquarters in New York City
Amazon.com said it is axing plans to build a new corporate campus in New York City, bowing to fierce opposition from some residents and politicians and denying the city what the mayor and governor had called its biggest ever economic win.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lobbied hard to bring the deal to the city, with the governor even jokingly offering to change his name.
They touted the promise of as many 40,000 jobs in the city over the next two decades with an average salary of US$150,000 (S$200,000).
New tape shows R. Kelly having sex with minor, lawyer says
The lawyer representing a porn star in a legal battle with US President Donald Trump said his office has previously-unreleased footage of R&B superstar R. Kelly having sex with a young girl.
Michael Avenatti said his team discovered the graphic tape as representatives of multiple clients linked to accusations against the American singer, who has faced allegations of sexual assault for decades.
In a statement, Avenatti said he gave the "new critical video evidence" against the artist to the Cook County State's Attorney in Chicago, where Kelly, 52, lives.
