US News Roundup: Hassett's departure and Mexico tariffs; Sephora to shut US stores

Explainer: What would it take for U.S. Congress to impeach Trump?

U.S. President Donald Trump, under growing pressure from numerous investigations of him and his administration, last week scorned talk of being removed from office via the impeachment process as "dirty, filthy, disgusting." The U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to impeach the president, although no president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of this arduous procedure.

Jury selection set in death penalty case of Illinois man charged with murdering Chinese scholar

Jury selection is set to start on Monday for the trial of an Illinois man charged with kidnapping and murdering a visiting Chinese scholar two years ago, in a case where federal prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty. Brendt Christensen, 29, has been held without bond since his arrest in June 2017 for the abduction and presumed to slay of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student Yingying Zhang, 26, whose body has not been found.

White House economic adviser Hassett says his departure not linked to Mexico tariffs: CNBC

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday that his departure from the post had been in the works for a while and is not linked to the recent announcement of tariffs on Mexico. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Hassett will "shortly" leave his position, announcing his departure in a Twitter post.

Sanders kicks fight against Trump into high gear as Democrats swarm San Francisco

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Sunday called on California Democrats to unite against Donald Trump, kicking the 2020 presidential campaign into high gear with jabs against the Republican president and a veiled swipe at Democratic rival Joe Biden. Sanders called Trump "a racist, a sexist, a homophobe and a religious bigot" in a speech capping off a state Democratic convention that drew fourteen of the 24 candidates to make their case before 5,000 delegates, guests and press in the most populous - and most heavily Democratic - U.S. state.

Police search for reason for Virginia Beach mass shooting

The reason why DeWayne Craddock shot up a Virginia Beach municipal building on Friday - killing 12 people, and severely wounding four others - may have died with him. Even as families plan funerals on Monday, Craddock, 40, remains a puzzle to police.

Illinois lawmakers vote to allow sports betting, approve Chicago casino

A major gambling expansion in Illinois that will give Chicago its first casino, allow betting on sports and raise money for a massive infrastructure program won final approval on Sunday in the state legislature. The Democratic-controlled state Senate also took final votes to pass a $40.1 billion general funds budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 after the state House of Representatives completed its work on Saturday.

U.S. Hurricane Centre says 60% chance of cyclone over Bay of Campeche

A broad area of low pressure over the Bay of Campeche has a 60% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. This system is expected to move slowly northwestward toward the northeastern coast of Mexico and interests along the Gulf coast of Mexico should monitor the progress of this.

Trump says customers should drop AT&T over CNN news coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump targeted AT&T on Monday, urging customers to drop the telecommunications company over its ownership of cable news network CNN in the latest salvo in his long-running criticism over its news coverage. Trump, who was in London at the start of a state visit, reiterated his complaints about CNN, a Time Warner property now owned by AT&T that the president has frequently blasted for what he sees as negative coverage of him and his administration.

Sephora to shut U.S. stores for day of diversity training after racial incident

LVMH's Sephora beauty chain said it will close all its U.S. stores, distribution centres and corporate offices on Wednesday to conduct diversity training for employees, a move that follows a racial incident involving a Grammy-nominated singer. R&B singer SZA, who is black, said in April she was racially profiled at a Sephora store in Calabasas, California.