The corporate logo of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is seen in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 31, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
April 4, 2019
ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank denied on Thursday they were in merger talks after a news report said the emirate was considering combining them.
Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Abu Dhabi was considering merging the two lenders to create the Gulf region’s largest lender. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates, in a bourse filing said it “strongly denies the report issued by Bloomberg on the potential merger”.
“FAB currently has not entered discussions with ADIB to pursue any merger activity,” it said. ADIB, in a separate bourse filing, said the news report was not correct and that the bank is “currently not studying for any merger or acquisition”.
There has been speculation in recent months of more possible banking tie-ups in light of the wave of consolidation sweeping Abu Dhabi.
With around 50 banks, the crowded UAE banking sector has been squeezed by decreased government spending and lower profit margins.
Abu Dhabi’s two largest banks, First Gulf Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi merged in 2017 to form First Abu Dhabi Bank while another three-way merger of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Al Hilal Bank is currently underway. Two of Abu Dhabi’s largest investment funds, Mubadala and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) were also merged.
(Reporting By Stanley Carvalho; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is leading an effort to get rid of the state's burdensome occupational licensing laws, which he says cost many ordinary professionals hundreds of dollars and subject them to frustrating and unnecessary bureaucracy.
Studies have shown that nearly one in three jobs in America are subject to stringent occupational licensing laws, with Arizona being one of the most strictly regulated, hindering professional employment and deterring individuals from starting their own businesses.
Ducey, 54, a Republican originally from Ohio who succeeded the GOP's Jan Brewer as Arizona's governor in 2015, said it’s time to get rid of the laws that cost on average of $455 in fees and almost 600 days of education and experience, according to Reason magazine.
“Our focus [has been] on improving that structure of government and really stopping the bullies that were part of the boards and commissions,” he told the libertarian magazine.
“Our focus [has been] on improving that structure of government and really stopping the bullies that were part of the boards and commissions.”
— Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
The governor is backing a measure that would allow Arizona to recognize occupational licenses granted by other states.
“Just because somebody packs up that moving van in Chicago, Illinois, they don't lose their skills on the way to the state of Arizona,” Ducey explained. “Why should somebody have to suffer the burden of thousands of dollars, or weeks or months of recertification, in a skill that they already have?”
“Just because somebody packs up that moving van in Chicago, Illinois, they don't lose their skills on the way to the state of Arizona.”
— Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
But Democratic critics say the bill could drive down professional standards in the state, by attracting people who experience licensing problems elsewhere.
“My issue is that we don't really know what the standards are in these other states,” Democratic state Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley told Reason. “Why should we dumb down our standards? I see this as sort of deregulation for the sake of deregulation.”
Yet the measure addresses the problems raised by the critics, explicitly noting that only people who have no problems in other states or a disqualifying criminal history would be able to transfer their occupational licenses to Arizona.
Some professionals may still have to take tests, if required, to make sure they are familiar and understand Arizona laws related to their occupation.
“I think it's important that we remember who the voters are and who the citizens are and we're here to serve them,” Ducey says. “Too many of these boards and commissions exist to stop competition, to stifle and protect the status quo. And we're changing that in Arizona.”
Dentists can miss important details on x-rays when put under time pressure, according to new research led by the University of Plymouth.
The study, published in the Journal of Dentistry, showed that primary care dentists missed 67% of bone loss and 40% of tooth decay on a sample of dental x-rays, when given limited time to assess them. However, the 40 study participants diagnosed correctly, on average, all the pathologies related to bone loss and tooth decay correctly, when not faced with time pressure.
Dental x-rays are taken routinely by dentists to detect dental decay and loss of bone support around teeth (which is a sign of severe gum disease).
The study participants, all from dental practices in and around the south west of England, rated their stress levels as much higher in the time-pressured situation than in without time pressure.
The research was led by Anastasios Plessas, Academic Clinical Fellow in Peninsula Dental School, in collaboration with the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth.
He said: “I conducted this research as there are no other studies out there evaluating the performance of dentists under time pressure, and it’s a really important issue.
“This work showed a significant deterioration of dentists’ diagnostic performance when examining x-rays under time pressure. Diagnostic errors may put patient safety at risk. Underdiagnosis may lead patients to be needing more complex treatment in the future or even extraction of teeth unnecessarily. This study shows that we shouldn’t be cutting appointment times in order to fit more people in, but looking at other ways to meet the patient needs.”
The full study is entitled Impact of time pressure on dentists’ diagnostic performance and is now available to view in the Journal of Dentistry.
Alex Jones and callers discuss how Texas Governor Greg Abbott must be ready to take action and defend the southern border, with or without permission from the federal government or President Trump.
Police say an enraged driver plowed his car into a family of eight, including a baby and five children, outside a store in Rockland County, New York, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring several others.
Police believe an argument erupted Wednesday afternoon when the father told the driver not to smoke in front of his children outside a 7-Eleven store in the Town of Haverstraw, a northwest suburb of New York City.
Police said the driver, identified as 35-year-old Jason Mendez of Washingtonville, hit all eight members of the family and smashed into the storefront before he reversed the vehicle and drove forward again, striking the family a second time.
All of the family members were hospitalized. The woman was later pronounced dead. Police have not released her name. A 35-year-old man and six children, including a 2-year-old child, were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The knife-wielding Mendez was arrested at the scene after police used a stun gun to subdue him.
“He didn’t say anything initially to the police officers,” said Haverstraw Police Capt. Martin Lund. “He refused to drop the knife. Then he was tazed at the scene and taken down.”
Mendez pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on murder and attempted murder charges Wednesday night. It wasn’t clear if he had a lawyer who could comment on the charges.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday that she would not allow the House to take up legislation that would potentially spare President Trump from an embarrassing rebuff from Congress over his decision to declare a national emergency on the border.
“In an effort to avoid voting in favor of the House's resolution to terminate Trump’s #FakeEmergency, GOP senators are proposing legislation to allow Trump to violate the Constitution *just this once.* The House will not take up this legislation to give President Trump a pass,” Pelosi tweeted.
Trump declared a national emergency last month after Congress granted only a fraction of the $5.7 billion he had requested for a wall on the southern border. The move opens up billions in additional dollars to be spent on the border.
But the move caused consternation among not only Democrats, but also some Republicans -- with a number of GOP senators prepared to join with Democrats in voting to stop the national emergency declaration. Politico reported that roughly a dozen Senate Republicans are either committed to voting to disapprove of the president or weighing their options. The Democrat-controlled House has already voted to derail the emergency.
Such a move would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump, and a two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to override the veto would be next-to-impossible to achieve. But such a rebuff from Congress would be an embarrassing slap on the wrist for the president.
As a way to avert such a clash, Republican senators are pushing a plan that would handcuff future declarations. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah on Tuesday introduced a bill that would automatically end future emergency declarations after 30 days, and therefore allow Republicans to vote against condemning the emergency declaration.
“Congress gave these legislative powers away in 1976 and it is far past time that we as an institution took them back. If we don’t want our president acting like a king we need to start taking back the legislative powers that allow him to do so,” Lee said in a statement.
But Pelosi’s statement appeared to be an attempt to limit those options, and she was joined in her move by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
"Do you hear me, my colleagues, my Republican colleagues. This won't pass," Schumer said on Wednesday morning, according to Politico. "This fig leaf is so easily seen through, so easily blown aside that it leaves the constitutional pretensions of my Republican colleagues naked."
The Associated Press reported that Vice President Mike Pence met privately with five Republican senators as part of the efforts to fend off the rebellion. Meanwhile, President Trump urged Republicans against "overthinking" the vote.
"Republican Senators are overthinking tomorrow’s vote on National Emergency. It is very simply Border Security/No Crime - Should not be thought of any other way. We have a MAJOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY at our Border and the People of our Country know it very well!" he tweeted.
Republicans control the Senate 53-47, meaning that only four senators need to defect to approve the resolution and send it to the White House.
The Texas Tech men’s basketball team was banned from using smartphones to help players focus on their upcoming championship run, which highlights how smartphones can turn people into zombies incapable of achieving their potential.
The team initially banned smartphones after a three-game losing streak in February, when one player suggested that the team turn over their devices before bed while on the road.
And since the ban, the team has only lost one game, which underscores the impact smartphones can have on people who are encouraged to use them excessively.
“Just to be able to get away from it, just live in the moment, feels great,” Texas Tech forward Tariq Owens told Time Magazine. “I know this for a fact, not a lot of teams would be happy about it. This is the kind of culture we have. Guys don’t care about it.”
“We’re locked into more important things than cell phones.”
Case in point, a Australian survey published in March suggested that people are suffering from “technoference,” which refers to the problems linked to obsessive smartphone use, including a lack of sleep, productivity and an increase in anxiety.
…Problematic or excessive mobile phone use refers to an individual’s inability to control their usage of their mobile phone which, in turn, leads to adverse consequences in their everyday life. On a personal level, such consequences may relate to financial problems, sleep disturbances, attentional and learning impairments in educational settings, excessive sedentary behavior, and the deterioration of personal relationships.
Other studies came to similar conclusions, including one study which found that children are spending twice as long on smartphones and tablets as they are talking to their own parents face-to-face.
Another study by San Diego State University said that people born in 1995 and after “spend a lot more time online, on social media and playing games, and they spend less time on non-screen activities like reading books, sleeping or seeing their friends in face-to-face interactions.”
“Those children are growing up more slowly,” reported France 24. “By the age of 18, they are less likely to have a driver’s licence, to work in a paying job, to go out on dates, to drink alcohol or to go out without their parents compared to teens in previous generations.”
FILE - In this June 20, 2018, file photo Louise Turpin, left, and her husband, David Turpin, right, appear for a preliminary hearing in Superior Court in Riverside, Calif. The Turpins who starved a dozen of their children and shackled some to beds face sentencing for years of abuse. The couple is due Friday, April 19, 2019, in Riverside County Superior Court for a proceeding that is largely a formality. The couple pleaded guilty in February to torture and other abuse and agreed to serve at least 25 years in prison. (Watchara Phomicinda/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool, File)
LOS ANGELES – The desperate cry for help came from a girl who had lived in such isolation for 17 years that she didn't know her address, the month of the year or what the word medication meant.
But after jumping out a window from the filthy home where she lived with her parents and 12 siblings, she knew enough to punch the digits 9-1-1 into a barely workable cellphone and then began describing years of horrific abuse to a police dispatcher.
The brave girl's call that freed her siblings — some who had been chained to their beds — led to the opposite fate for their parents, David and Louise Turpin, who face 25 years to life in prison when sentenced Friday.
The couple pleaded guilty in Riverside County Superior Court in February to torture and other abuse and neglect so severe it stunted their children's growth, led to muscle wasting and left two girls unable to bear children.
Before the 17-year-old escaped from the home in a middle-class section of the city of Perris, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, the Turpins had lived largely out of view.
David Turpin, 57, had been an engineer for Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Louise Turpin, 50, was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing.
Their home was neatly kept and neighbors rarely saw the kids outside the home.
When deputies arrived, they were shocked by what they discovered. A 22-year-old son was chained to a bed and two girls had just been set free from their shackles. The house was covered in filth and the stench of human waste was overwhelming.
Deputies testified that the children said they were only allowed to shower once a year. They were mainly kept in their rooms except for meals, which had been reduced from three to one per day, a combination of lunch and dinner. The 17-year-old complained that she could no longer stomach peanut butter sandwiches — they made her gag.
The Turpin offspring weren't allowed to play like normal children. Other than an occasional family trip to Las Vegas or Disneyland, they rarely left the home. They slept during the day and were active a few hours at night.
Although the couple filed paperwork with the state to homeschool their children, learning was limited. The oldest daughter only completed third grade.
"We don't really do school. I haven't finished first grade," the 17-year-old said, according to Deputy Manuel Campos.
Children said they were beaten, caged and shackled to beds if they didn't obey their parents.
Investigators found that the toddler had not been abused, but all of the children were hospitalized after they were discovered.
The seven adult children were living together and attending school in February when their parents pleaded guilty. Attorney Jack Osborn, who represents them, declined to comment on them Thursday.
It's not clear if any children will attend the sentencing, but they will be offered a chance to speak or can offer written statements to be read in court.
Defense attorneys would not say if their clients will address the court.
The couple pleaded guilty to 14 criminal charges. Prosecutors said the deal would likely keep them in prison for the rest of their lives and spare the children from testifying.
"The defendants ruined lives, so I think it's just and fair that the sentence be equivalent to first-degree murder," District Attorney Mike Hestrin said at the time of the plea.
Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta, Cyprus, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stefanos Kouratzis
April 26, 2019
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriot police searched on Friday for more victims of a suspected serial killer, in a case which has shocked the Mediterranean island and exposed the authorities to charges of “criminal indifference” because the dead women were foreigners.
The main opposition party, the left-wing AKEL, called for the resignation of Cyprus’s justice minister and police chief.
Police were combing three different locations west of the capital Nicosia for victims of the suspected killer, a 35-year-old army officer who has been in detention for a week.
The bodies of three women, including two thought to be from the Philippines, have been recovered. Police sources said the suspect had indicated the location of the third body, found on Thursday, and had said the person was “either Indian or Nepali”.
Police said they were searching for a further four people, including two children, based on the suspect’s testimony.
“These women came here to earn a living, to help their families. They lived away from their families. And the earth swallowed them, nobody was interested,” AKEL lawmaker Irene Charalambides told Reuters.
“This killer will be judged by the court but the other big question is the criminal indifference shown by the others when the reports first surfaced. I believe, as does my party, that the justice minister and the police chief should resign. They are irrevocably exposed.”
Police have said they will investigate any perceived shortcomings in their handling of the case.
One person who did attempt to alert the authorities over the disappearances, a 70-year-old Cypriot citizen, said his motives were questioned by police.
The bodies of the two Filipino women reported missing in May and August 2018 were found in an abandoned mine shaft this month. Police discovered the body of the third woman at an army firing range about 14 km (9 miles) from the mine shaft.
Police are now searching for the six-year-old daughter of the first victim found, a Romanian mother who disappeared with her eight-year-old child in 2016, and a woman from the Phillipines who vanished in Dec. 2017.
The suspect has not been publicly named, in line with Cypriot legal practice.
A public vigil for the missing was planned later on Friday.
(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones)
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
April 26, 2019
LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.
The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo
April 26, 2019
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.
The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.
Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.
But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.
Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.
High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.
It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.
Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.
“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.
The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.
Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.
Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.
Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.
Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.
This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff
April 26, 2019
By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh
(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.
The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.
Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.
Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.
“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.
Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.
“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.
U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.
Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.
Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.
Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.
Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.
Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.
Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.
Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.
Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.
Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.
(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
April 26, 2019
By Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan
(Reuters) – The “i word” – impeachment – is swirling around the U.S. Congress since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted Russia report, which painted a picture of lies, threats and confusion in Donald Trump’s White House.
Some Democrats say trying to remove Trump from office would be a waste of time because his fellow Republicans still have majority control of the Senate. Other Democrats argue they have a moral obligation at least to try to impeach, even though Mueller did not charge Trump with conspiring with Russia in the 2016 U.S. election or with obstruction of justice.
Whether or not the Democrats decide to go down this risky path, here is how the impeachment process works.
WHAT ARE GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT?
The U.S. Constitution says the president can be removed from office by Congress for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Exactly what that means is unclear.
Before he became president in 1974, replacing Republican Richard Nixon who resigned over the Watergate scandal, Gerald Ford said: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”
Frank Bowman, a University of Missouri law professor and author of a forthcoming book on the history of impeachment, said Congress could look beyond criminal laws in defining “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.
HOW DOES IMPEACHMENT PLAY OUT?
The term impeachment is often interpreted as simply removing a president from office, but that is not strictly accurate.
Impeachment technically refers to the 435-member House of Representatives approving formal charges against a president.
The House effectively acts as accuser – voting on whether to bring specific charges. An impeachment resolution, known as “articles of impeachment,” is like an indictment in a criminal case. A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach.
The Senate then conducts a trial. House members act as the prosecutors, with senators as the jurors. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over the trial. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president from office.
No president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of an impeachment and conviction by Congress.
Nixon quit in 1974 rather than face impeachment. Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were impeached by the House, but both stayed in office after the Senate acquitted them.
Obstruction of justice was one charge against Clinton, who faced allegations of lying under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Obstruction was also included in the articles of impeachment against Nixon.
CAN THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN?
No.
Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if Democrats tried to impeach him. But America’s founders explicitly rejected making a Senate conviction appealable to the federal judiciary, Bowman said.
“They quite plainly decided this is a political process and it is ultimately a political judgment,” Bowman said.
“So when Trump suggests there is any judicial remedy for impeachment, he is just wrong.”
PROOF OF WRONGDOING?
In a typical criminal court case, jurors are told to convict only if there is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” a fairly stringent standard.
Impeachment proceedings are different. The House and Senate “can decide on whatever burden of proof they want,” Bowman said. “There is no agreement on what the burden should be.”
PARTY BREAKDOWN IN CONGRESS?
Right now, there are 235 Democrats, 197 Republicans and three vacancies in the House. As a result, the Democratic majority could vote to impeach Trump without any Republican votes.
In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a Democrat.
The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would requires 67 votes. So that means for Trump to be impeached, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.
WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT IF TRUMP IS REMOVED?
A Senate conviction removing Trump from office would elevate Vice President Mike Pence to the presidency to fill out Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)
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