North America

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — New presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg traveled to the city that hosts the world’s largest Navy base on Monday and blasted President Donald Trump over the recent ouster of the nation’s Navy secretary.

For the first stop of his Democratic campaign, Bloomberg went to Norfolk, where he criticized Trump over the firing of Richard Spencer. The civilian leader of the Navy said he could not in good conscience follow an order by the president to allow a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes to retire without losing his SEAL status.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama district attorney said Monday that authorities have “good reason” to believe human remains found in a wooded area belong to the missing stepdaughter of a UFC heavyweight fighter.

The remains were found on a county road in neighboring Macon County, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes told The Associated Press.

“I can confirm that human remains have been found in Macon County on County Road 2 and we have good reason to believe they are that of Aniah Blanchard,” Hughes said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The witnesses have spoken, the politics are largely settled. Now impeachment investigators will make the case for public opinion.

On Monday, hundreds of pages from Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff’s intelligence committee were being compiled into an exhaustive report that will begin to outline whether President Donald Trump engaged in “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors” by withholding $400 million in aid as he pushed Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. The report may come as soon as next week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s intervention in the case of a Navy SEAL is raising questions about the president’s role in military justice.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says Trump ordered him to stop a disciplinary review for Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher. He was acquitted of murder in the stabbing death of a captive in Iraq but convicted of posing with the corpse.

Trump previously restored Gallagher’s rank, which had been reduced in his military jury conviction.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ordered former White House counsel Donald McGahn to appear before Congress in a setback to President Donald Trump’s effort to keep his top aides from testifying.

The outcome could lead to renewed efforts by House Democrats to compel testimony from other high-ranking officials, including former national security adviser John Bolton.

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) - The top U.S. general said on Monday that as far as he was concerned the case of a Navy SEAL convicted of battlefield misconduct in Iraq was now closed, a day after Defense Secretary Mark Esper fired the Navy’s top civilian over the saga.

Esper fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer on Sunday over his handling of the sailor in question, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House undertook a confidential review of documents that revealed extensive efforts to generate an after-the-fact justification for President Donald Trump’s decision to hold up military aid to Ukraine, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Questions about whether an Ohio mayor intervened on behalf of his grandson in the hours after a fatal shooting have prompted the victim’s mother to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the mayor and the city’s police chief.

Andrea Parra sued Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams earlier this month in state court. The lawsuit said the two suspects in the slaying of 30-year-old Antonio Parra this summer were members of a gang connected to Jackson’s 22-year-old grandson, Frank Q. Jackson.

NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the world’s richest men, has formally launched a Democratic bid for president.

Ending weeks of speculation, the 77-year-old former Republican announced his candidacy Sunday in a written statement posted on a campaign website describing himself as uniquely positioned to defeat President Donald Trump. He will quickly follow with a massive advertising campaign blanketing airways in key primary states across the U.S.

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Law enforcement agencies in Alabama and beyond posted messages of condolences on social media Sunday in the aftermath of the fatal weekend shooting of a sheriff in the state.

Few details were immediately available about the circumstances surrounding Saturday evening’s shooting and the capture of an 18-year-old suspect hours later.