Fund-raising stalled, Republican convention asks Adelson for donation

Here is the latest Politics News from Reuters.

Fund-raising stalled, Republican convention asks Adelson for donation
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – A handful of donors to the Republican National Convention have withdrawn pledges and fund-raising has stalled during Donald Trump’s polarizing bid for the presidency, leading organizers to ask casino mogul Sheldon Adelson for an urgent donation.

New urgency for Cleveland security after France truck attack
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Cleveland on Friday set up concrete traffic dividers and tall metal fences around next week’s Republican National Convention site, measures meant to thwart an attacker like one in France who drove a truck into a crowd, killing more than 80 people.

Trump’s VP pick rankles Republican gay rights activists
CLEVELAND/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s choice of Mike Pence as his vice presidential running mate has irked some Republican activists who see the Indiana governor’s years of opposition to gay rights initiatives as a setback to efforts to broaden the party’s appeal.

Clinton leads Trump by 12 points ahead of Republican convention
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump trailed Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 12 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday, making him the clear underdog ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention.

EU and U.S. seek trade deal this year, knowing large hurdles remain
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU and U.S. negotiators said on Friday that they still needed to overcome large differences for a transatlantic free trade deal to be sealed this year, and factor in the impending exit from the European Union of Britain, one of the United States’ biggest export markets.

Congress to receive 28 classified pages of 9/11 report today: Pelosi
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress on Friday will receive 28 classified pages of the official report on the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said.

U.S. budget deficit to reach $600 billion in 2016: White House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. budget deficit is projected to rise to $600 billion in 2016, $16 billion less than previously expected, the White House Office of Management and Budget said on Friday.

Republicans, Democrats sharply divided over Muslims in America: Reuters/Ipsos poll
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Many Americans view Islam unfavorably, and supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are more than twice as likely to view the religion negatively as those backing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online poll of more than 7,000 Americans.

Changes to North Carolina voting laws could put thousands of 2016 ballots at risk
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – On Election Day in 2014, Joetta Teal went to work at a polling station in Lumberton, North Carolina. Like all poll workers, she was required to stay until voting booths closed, so she decided to cast her own vote there.

Trump likely to announce running mate before convention: adviser
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump plans to make an announcement on his vice presidential pick before he heads to the party’s national convention in Cleveland next week, his campaign manager said on Friday.

Trump backers sue San Jose for allowing ‘mob’ assault
(Reuters) – Police in the California city of San Jose, motivated by the political leanings of city officials, allowed an angry mob to assault Donald Trump supporters as they left a rally for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate last month, a lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges.

Senators urge U.S. to close lead testing gaps, citing Reuters investigation
(Reuters) – Some influential U.S. senators are urging a federal agency to take action to ensure more children are tested for lead poisoning, citing a Reuters investigation that found millions are missing required lead tests, leaving some vulnerable to lifelong health effects.

Trump’s expected VP pick: coal advocate who defied Obama’s climate agenda
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Republican Donald Trump’s expected selection of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate cheered the U.S. energy industry and dismayed green advocates on Thursday, with both sides citing Pence’s support for coal mining and defiance of President Barack Obama’s climate-change agenda.

U.S. House passes Iran sanctions, financial services measures
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed two pieces of legislation linked to the international nuclear agreement with Iran on Thursday, one year after the landmark pact was announced, defying President Barack Obama’s veto threat.

On the sidelines of the 2016 presidential campaign
(Reuters) – For the scores of photographers on the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign trail, capturing the characters, the color and the vibe of the election often means turning away from the speaker on the podium.

U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to criminalize ‘revenge porn’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced long-stalled legislation on Thursday that would make it a federal crime to share sexually explicit material of a person online without the subject’s consent.

European politicians wary on Republican convention over Trump
BERLIN (Reuters) – Britain’s Nigel Farage will be at the Republican convention in Cleveland next week to dole out lessons from his Brexit campaign. So will Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, who sees Donald Trump as an ally in his crusade to prevent an “Islamization” of the West.

U.S. says allies oppose bill allowing 9/11 lawsuits against Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. State Department officials told members of Congress on Tuesday that legislation that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia is opposed by important U.S. allies and posed a national security risk.

FBI, Homeland Security chiefs preparing for violence at political conventions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers on Thursday that they were preparing their agencies for the possibility of violence, both from unruly demonstrators and terrorists, at the upcoming Republican and Democratic nominating conventions.

White House candidate Trump picks Indiana Governor Pence for running mate: source
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Donald Trump told Republican officials on Thursday he has picked Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his vice presidential running mate, a Republican source said, choosing a conservative with the potential to unify divided Republicans.

U.S. presidential race tied, Clinton hurt by emails: poll
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. presidential race is tied going into the major parties’ national conventions and Democrat Hillary Clinton has been damaged by the FBI investigation into her email use while secretary of state, a new opinion poll showed on Thursday.

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg ‘regrets’ Trump criticisms
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Thursday said she regrets making critical comments about Republican presidential contender Donald Trump.