Voting is underway in the southern U.S. state of Alabama in a tightly contested Senate election between Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore, a campaign roiled by charges from women who accused Moore of sexual misconduct four decades ago when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. Tuesday's special election was being watched nationally, both as an indicator of how midterm congressional elections might play out next November and also as a barometer of President Donald Trump's political clout. Trump endorsed Moore, who has denied the women's allegations, and called for the defeat of Jones, whom he said would be a political "puppet" of liberal Democratic lawmakers in Washington. The election winner will serve the last three years of the seat left vacant by Jeff Sessions when he joined Trump's Cabinet as attorney general, the country's top law enforcement position. If Moore wins, Republicans will retain their 52-48 majority in the Senate, but a Jones victory would pare the margin to 51-49, possibly further complicating Trump's efforts to pass his legislative agenda. Pre-election polls at various times have shown both Moore, 70, and Jones, 63, in the lead, but the history of elections in deeply conservative Alabama runs against Jones. No Democrat has won a Senate election in the state since Richard Shelby did in 1992, and two years later he switched parties to become a Republican. Still a senator, Shelby said Sunday that he voted absentee for "a distinguished Republican" as a write-in choice, but could not bring himself to vote for Moore after one woman, now in her 50s, said Moore abused her when she was 14. Moore, twice deposed as a state Supreme Court justice for failing to follow federal court rulings, has accused journalists, Democrats and establishment Republicans in Washington of trying to undermine his campaign. Some Republican lawmakers, a number of whom said Moore should drop out of the contest after the women's allegations surfaced, said they would try to expel him from the Senate if he won. When did Trump endorse Moore? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. after the election B. during the election C. prior to the election D. not enough information
C

President Donald Trump often likes to point out how different he is from his White House predecessors in terms of style and substance. But it is unlikely any past president would envy the legal challenges facing Trump, from the Russia investigation to Stormy Daniels to the scrutiny law enforcement is giving his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. On Tuesday it was a night of pomp and glamor at the White House as President Donald Trump and Mrs. Trump welcomed French President Macron and his wife for a state dinner. The two presidents got along famously during their White House meetings. The only damper on the day came when both men were in the Oval Office and a reporter asked Trump about the legal difficulties facing his longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen. "Mr. President, what about Michael Cohen? Are you considering a pardon for Michael Cohen?" asked ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl. After a pause, the president responded. "Stupid question," he said dismissively. Cohen is under scrutiny for a payment to an adult film star. Stormy Daniels says it was hush money to keep her quiet about a brief affair she had with Trump in 2006, a claim the president has denied. Trump has frequently complained about the recent FBI raids on Cohen's home and office and the ongoing Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Earlier this month Trump spoke up during a meeting with military officials at the White House. "Here we are talking about Syria, we are talking about a lot of serious things with the greatest fighting force ever, and I have this witch hunt constantly going on for over 12 months now." Several legal analysts have said the increased scrutiny of Trump's long relationship with Cohen could become a serious problem for the president. "There has been no suggestions that Cohen has nothing that he could say, which suggests that they know that Cohen actually does possess information that could be damaging to Trump or the Trump organization more generally as a legal matter," said George Washington University Law... How does the author probably feel about the Trump Cohen relationship? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. Like there was probably collusion B. not enough information C. Like they were good friends D. Like they were mostly business associated
A

U.S. President Donald Trump has blocked the release of a Democratic rebuttal to a Republican memo alleging FBI abuses of power during an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. In a letter released Friday, White House counsel Don McGahn said Trump had decided not to declassify the Democratic memo "because the memorandum contains numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages." The president himself expounded on that explanation Saturday on Twitter. "The Democrats sent a very political and long response memo which they knew, because of sources and methods (and more), would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency. Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!" Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2-ranking Democrat in the House, released a statement late Friday saying, "It is deeply disturbing that President Trump has blocked the release" of the Democrat-written memo. He said that after Trump on Feb. 2 released "a one-sided, misleading memo written by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, it is only appropriate that Americans see all the facts." McGahn's letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes asked for revisions in the document before it could be released. Nunes released a statement late Friday, saying, "I had warned that the Democratic memo contains many sources and methods ... it's no surprise that these agencies recommended against publishing the memo without redactions." McGahn's statement said because of the "public interest in transparency in these unprecedented circumstances, the president has directed that Justice Department personnel be available to give technical assistance to the committee" in its efforts to revise the document. Trump had until the end of Friday to decide whether to declassify the memo, written by Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The president last week authorized the release of the Republican version of the memo, which... What did the Republican memo state that everyone was talking about? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. It had numerous sensitive passages include in it B. It blamed the White House for lack of transparency C. It stated the FBI improperly obtained a warrant to spy on Carter Page D. not enough information
C