USA

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Relentless flooding in the central U.S. on Friday inundated communities and damaged or spilled over levees on three major rivers in two states, and authorities discovered the body of a drowning victim at a Missouri lake.

The fast-flowing Arkansas River smashed a 40-foot (12-meter) hole in a levee in rural western Arkansas, causing water to spill into a nearby community. In northeast Missouri, a levee was overtopped on the Mississippi River, and another levee was topped on the Missouri River in the central part of the state.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Exasperated by reports of a flood of illegal border crossings, President Donald Trump summoned his top immigration advisers to demand action. Responding to his mounting concern, including his extreme threats to entirely close the U.S.-Mexico border, they prepared an alternative but still-inflammatory plan to levy escalating tariffs on all Mexican imports to the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s surprise threat to impose escalating tariffs on Mexican imports jolted industry leaders throughout the U.S. economy Friday, sparked opposition even from usual Trump allies and set the stage for American consumers to face higher prices.

It also sent stock markets tumbling, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing down roughly 355 points, or 1.4%. Investors poured money instead into the safety of bonds, sending yields lower and signaling that they fear the economy will slow in the coming months.

30 May 2019; AFP: US economic growth at the start of 2019 was slightly slower than originally reported but remained robust despite President Donald Trump's extended government shutdown, according to new data released Thursday.

The new estimate left Trump's economic scorecard largely intact for the first three months of the year, when growth is usually slackens, and gives him a boost ahead of next year's presidential elections.

31 May 2019; DW: The United States has recorded its highest tally of measles cases in 27 years. If the US cannot control the outbreaks, it may lose its status of having eliminated measles.

The United States recorded 971 cases of measles in the first five months of 2019, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The tally is the highest in the US since 1994, when the total number of cases for the year hit 963.

31 May 2019; DW: The chancellor has addressed students at the elite university, encouraging them to shape the future. Her halting speech appeared to contain a few digs at President Donald Trump, without mentioning him by name.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered a commencement speech to Harvard graduates on Thursday after being greeted with rousing applause when introduced as "one of the most respected and influential leaders of the postwar era."

LOS ANGELES, May 30 (Xinhua) -- NASA's Curiosity rover has found the highest amounts of clay minerals since its landing on Mars in August of 2012, according to a release of NASA on Wednesday.

Two samples the rover recently drilled at rock targets called "Aberlady" and "Kilmarie" have revealed the highest amounts of clay minerals ever found during the mission, said the release.

Both drill targets appear in a new selfie taken by the rover on May 12, the 2,405th Martian day of the mission.

NEW YORK, May 30 (APP): US President Donald Trump finally admitted in a tweet that Russia helped elected him before immediately retracting it.

In series of testy tweets , he said he “had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected.”

“No, Russia did not help me get elected,” Trump told reporters as he departed Washington for Colorado Springs. “I got me elected.” He spoke less than an hour after his Twitter post.

NEW YORK (AP) — Uber is continuing to bleed money even as it posts dramatic revenue growth.

In its first financial report since its lackluster debut on Wall Street, Uber said Thursday that its revenue rose to $3.1 billion in the first quarter of 2019, up 20% from the same time last year, beating expectations of analysts polled by FactSet. But the ride-hailing giant posted $1 billion in losses as it fights to maintain its share of the market.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the special counsel’s Russia investigation (all times local):

3:20 p.m.

Attorney General William Barr says special counsel Robert Mueller could have reached a decision on whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice.

Barr says in an interview with “CBS This Morning” that though Justice Department rules prevent the indictment of a sitting president, Mueller nonetheless could have decided whether Trump had committed a crime.