Special counsel Robert Mueller speaks at the Department of Justice Wednesday, May 29, 2019, in Washington, about the Russia investigation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)[/caption] –> Special counsel Robert Mueller issued his first public statement about the Russia probe, saying the report speaks for itself, his findings did not exonerate the president and he would be closing the special counsel’s office. President Donald Trump visited Japan to discuss trade and North Korea, before returning home to make more economic news with a plan to levy a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods imported into the U.S. as of June 10. The European Union held elections, with results that will have a major impact on member nations going forward. Israel will also be holding another election, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government. New Hampshire’s legislature voted to abolish the death penalty, Japanese children were targeted in a deadly mass stabbing incident that claimed two lives, and singer R. Kelly was charged with 11 new counts of sexual assault. Read more about these stories and the other biggest news of the week, as they appeared in The Daily Edition. 1. Key takeaways as Mueller breaks his silence on Russia probe – Associated Press, Chad Day Top line: “Robert Mueller finally broke his silence. In his first public comments in the nearly two-year Russia investigation, the special counsel gave some new insight into what he believed were the key parts of his 22-month probe of Russian election interference and President Donald Trump’s campaign. And he revealed a deep reluctance to say any more before Congress or the public ever again. Here are a few takeaways from Mueller’s public statement on Wednesday.” Topic to follow: Robert Mueller 2. Trump presses Japan over trade gap, expects ‘good things’ from North Korea – Reuters, Jeff Mason, Linda Sieg Top line: “U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday to even out a trade imbalance with the United States and said he was happy with how things were going with North Korea despite its recent missile and rocket launches. Trump told a news conference with Abe after their summit that he wanted U.S. exports to be put on a fair footing in Japan through the removal of trade barriers. He said he hoped to have more to announce on trade very soon and said he and Abe had agreed to expand cooperation in human space exploration.” Topic to follow: Shinzo Abe 3. Trump Tariff Vow Roils Markets, Autos as Mexico Urges Talks – Bloomberg, Jenny Leonard, Shawn Donnan Top line: “President Donald Trump’s vow to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods over illegal immigration threatened to increase costs for automakers and other manufacturers and left Mexico’s president calling to resolve the issue “with dialogue.” U.S. equities slumped as Trump opened a new front in his trade wars, threatening to place escalating tariffs on Mexico and jeopardizing a new North American trade agreement. Mexico is by far the largest source of U.S. auto imports and tariffs on goods from there would increase costs for many major manufacturers. Trump’s latest move announced on Thursday would put 5% American duties on all Mexican imports on June 10, rising in increments to 25% in October unless Mexico halts “illegal migrants” heading to the U.S.” Topic to follow: Tariffs 4. European elections 2019: What we know – BBC News Top line: “The major centre-right and centre-left groupings were always going to have a tough election, the question was – on what scale? When the results came, it was clear they had lost their combined majority in the European Parliament as voters shied away from the mainstream. But they still held more than 43% of the vote. The mainstream blocs lost votes to the Liberals, Greens and nationalists, creating a new, fragmented reality for the European Parliament. Turnout was at its highest since 1994, with some observers suggesting this was due to more young people voting.” Topic to follow: European Union 5. Israel will hold unprecedented second election after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form a governing coalition – The Washington Post, Loveday Morris and Miriam Berger Top line: “In a stunning turn, Israel will head to elections for a second time in less than six months after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government before a midnight Wednesday deadline. Rather than give someone else the chance to do so, his party advanced a bill to dissolve the parliament and trigger new elections in September. Despite his reputation as a master of political maneuvering, Netanyahu proved unable to bring Avigdor Liberman, his former defense minister, into a coalition that would give the prime minister a majority in the parliament, or Knesset. The two veteran politicians were at loggerheads over legislation sought by Liberman to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, a measure bitterly resisted by Netanyahu’s powerful political allies in the religious parties.” Topic to follow: Benjamin Netanyahu 6. After weeks of deadly tornadoes and flooding in the nation’s heartland, severe weather shifts to Northeastern US – CNN, Faith Karimi and Joe Sutton Top line: “Several deaths have been blamed on flooding and severe weather, including one each in Arkansas, Kentucky and Ohio; three in Missouri and six in Oklahoma, authorities said. Thursday, severe thunderstorms could produce damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes across southeastern Pennsylvania, northeast Maryland, north Delaware and southwest New Jersey, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said. About 26 million people are under a slight risk of severe weather and 48 million are under marginal threat, CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said.” Topic to follow: Extreme Weather 7. These Are the Victims of a Deadly Climbing Season at Mount Everest – The New York Times, Karen Zraick and Derrick Bryson Taylor Top line: “The pictures were astounding: a single-file line of dozens, if not hundreds, of people, perched on a jagged ridge, tantalizingly close to the summit of Mount Everest. Nepal issued 381 permits this year, a record number; a smaller number of adventurers also climb from the Chinese side. This climbing season — April and May — also had a paltry number of good weather days, leading many people to set out at once when the skies cleared and the winds seemed calm. Nepalese officials said on Wednesday that they were considering changing rules about who was allowed up Everest. At least 11 people died this month climbing Everest, more than twice the number who died last year. Most were on the Nepalese side; only two of the deaths occurred on the Chinese side, which has more restrictions. The climbers who died came from India, the United States and Europe. One was a Nepali guide. Most were described as experienced trekkers.” Topic to follow: Mount Everest 8. New Hampshire Abolishes Death Penalty As Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto – NPR, Bill Chappell Top line: “New Hampshire is now the 21st U.S. state to have abolished capital punishment, after its legislature voted to override a veto by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. After a years-long effort to repeal the state’s death penalty, the state’s Senate voted 16-8 Thursday to finally make it official. Calling capital punishment “archaic, costly, discriminatory and violent,” Democratic state Sen. Melanie Levesque said the time has come to end it, according to New Hampshire Public Radio. The rejection of Sununu’s veto had been expected even before the governor took that step on May 3, as both the Senate and House overwhelmingly had approved a bill last month changing New Hampshire’s penalty for capital murder. Where people found guilty of the crime once were exposed to a possible death sentence, the new law calls for life in prison without the possibility of parole.” Topic to follow: Death Penalty 9. ‘My heart is broken’: Japan mourns victims of mass stabbing attack – The Guardian, Justin McCurry Top line: “The head of a school in Japan whose pupils were targeted in a deadly mass stabbing on Tuesday has said he is “heartbroken” by the attack, which left two people dead and 17 others injured. Most of those injured were pupils at Caritas Gakuen primary school in Kawasaki, near Tokyo. Teachers at the school described one of the victims, 11-year-old Hanako Kuribayashi, as “thoughtful and good-natured”, while neighbours said they often saw her and her mother walking the dog. The second victim, Satoshi Oyama, a 39-year-old foreign ministry official who was seeing his daughter off to school, died in hospital from stab wounds to his neck and back following the attack.” Topic to follow: Japan 10. R. Kelly charged with 11 new counts of sexual assault and abuse – NBC News, Minyvonne Burke and Diana Dasrath Top line: “Singer R. Kelly was charged Thursday with 11 new counts of sexual assault and sex abuse, court documents show. Four of the charges are aggravated criminal sexual assault, two are criminal sexual assault by force, three are aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between 13 and 16 years old and two are aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The aggravated criminal sexual assault chargesare Class X felonies, which according to NBC Chicago is the most serious felony in Illinois and carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of six to 30 years.” Topic to follow: R. Kelly Check out The Daily Edition throughout the week for your news updates. ~ HeatherC is reading Modern Mental Health by Medium