The White House instructed former Trump aide Hope Hicks and the ex-counsel’s chief of staff not to cooperate with a congressional subpoena for documents related to their White House service.
The House Judiciary Committee last month issued a compulsory measure to one of Trump’s closest staffers and longtime aides, Hicks, and Donald McGahn’s staffer, Annie Donaldson, as part of its expansive probe into potential abuse of power, public corruption and obstruction.
Both faced a Tuesday deadline to turn over documents and have been subpoenaed to appear for testimony later in June.
In a statement, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the committee, said the two were told not to cooperate.

Israel expects to launch US-mediated talks with Lebanon on setting their maritime border within weeks, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday, naming a UN peacekeeper compound in southern Lebanon as a possible venue.
Lebanon has not commented publicly on whether it would attend talks or on any possible timeline.
The United States, which has been sending a senior envoy on shuttle missions between Lebanon and Israel, also has not announced a date or venue but said it is prepared to help them resolve the dispute.
Formally at war since Israel‘s 1948 founding, the neighbors have long disagreed on border demarcations in the eastern Mediterranean, an issue that gained prominence in the past decade when large deposits of natural gas were found there.

Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled on Monday that the state must pay the brothers who found the remains of missing Israel Defense Forces soldier Majdi Halabi the $10 million reward it had previously offered for assistance in locating him.
Halabi, a Druze soldier from the northern village of Daliyat al-Karmel, near Haifa, went missing in May 2005 while attempting to hitchhike back to his base from his home.
In October 2012, Ibrahim Kozli, a Jewish National Fund worker, discovered a body in a brook in the Carmel Forest as he was clearing an area damaged in a fire. The remains were later identified as Halabi’s.

China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a travel advisory, warning citizens against traveling to the U.S., effective until December 31, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
“Noting the frequent occurrence of shootings, robberies and theft in the United States recently, the ministry warned Chinese tourists to fully assess the risks of traveling there,” the news agency said.
China issued a similar travel advisory last year, but the latest one comes amid heightened trade tensions that show no sign of abating. In a separate advisory Tuesday, China warned Chinese firms operating in the U.S. they could face harassment from American law enforcement agencies, Reuters reports.

Three fires in southern Israel were started by incendiary balloons launched by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, mere hours after Israel expanded the fishing zone around the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.
The fires took place in the area of the Eshkol Regional Council. They brought the number of such fires to over 50 in the last month, Israeli news site Mako reported.
Airborne incendiary devices have been launched into Israel by Gaza terrorists for over a year, since the beginning of the so-called “March of Return” riots on the Israel-Gaza border. Though they have caused no casualties, the balloons have resulted in millions of dollars in damage to agriculture and infrastructure in Israel’s south.

With the showy, royal puffery of the queen’s banquet at Buckingham Palace and tea with Prince Charles over, President Donald Trump turned to business Tuesday, and the possibility of a trade deal once Britain finally leaves the European Union.
In a joint news conference with outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump expressed confidence that Brexit would evenually happen. “I think it will happen,” he said, adding: “This is a great, great country, and it wants to have its own identity. . . . I think it deserves a special place.”

In a video published on Monday, Hamas boasted that it had found a way to “overcome” Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
The video, translated from Arabic by Israeli Channel 12, shows Hamas militants next to rocket launchers, as well as footage of what appeared rockets fired from Gaza at Israel in May.
“We found a way to overcome Iron Dome. The pace of launches was the fastest in our history, 700 rockets in 30 hours. 85 rockets were fired at Ashkelon, 80 to Ashdod, 60 to Beersheba — all carrying large warheads,” Hamas said.
“We employed a tactic of massive launches toward a single target to overcome Iron Dome. The heaviest fire was used after [Israel] hit high-rise buildings. We have more surprises up our sleeve,” it added.

MK Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the United Right’s National Union faction, on Tuesday discussed the ruckus surrounding his Sunday statement that he aims to “return the Torah to its foundation.”
“I have no intention of stuttering or apologizing, or ceasing pushing for the things I believe in,” he added.
There’s also a “complete lack of understanding” when it comes to how Jewish law works, he said. “Reality has changed, Judaism by the way has also changed.”
“When you say ‘an eye for an eye’ it’s obviously not physically, it’s monetary [compensation].”
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior Middle East adviser Jared Kushner held talks with European Union chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Tuesday.
Kushner arrived in Brussels from London, where his father-in-law is making a state visit, and the trip came with international hopes dimming for a US peace plan for the Middle East.
“The president will meet Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump. They will discuss the Middle East situation and other geopolitical issues,” European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters.
Read more at i24NEWS.
{Matzav.com}

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak is running for the Labor party leadership, Army Radio reported on Tuesday.
The Labor party’s leadership primary will take place on July 2, after its current chairman, Avi Gabbay, led the party to its worst ever election on April 9, gaining a mere six seats.
Barak led the party to victory in 1999 when he was elected Prime Minister, beating then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Gabbay is supporting Barak’s candidacy for leadership, according to a report by Israel Hayom.
Read more at i24NEWS.
{Matzav.com}