Monday morning news: August 13, 2018

Demonstrators mark one-year anniversary of Charlottesville protest » Demonstrators turned out in the nation’s capital on Sunday, marking the one-year anniversary of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The police presence was heavy …   

AUDIO: Rally sound

Patrol cars escorted a group of about 30 white nationalists from a metro station to a park near the White House … as thousands of counter-protesters chanted and heckled the small group.

AUDIO: No KKK, no fascist USA 

Jason Kessler, who organized last year’s rally in Charlottesville, also organized Washington event. Kessler wanted to return to Charlottesville, but the city denied his group a permit after last year’s rally turned deadly, when man drove a car into a crowd of counter-protestors killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.  

Police were determined to keep the peace this time. They closed down streets and threw up barricades to keep demonstrators and counter-protesters apart.

Meanwhile in Charlottesville, hundreds gathered in a park to speak out against racism and honor Heather Heyer.

Turkish president lashes out amid controversies » Turkish President Recep Erdogan lashed out over the weekend amid the country’s ongoing currency crisis.

Erdogan warned of drastic measures if businesses withdraw foreign currency from the Turkish banks. He also urged Turkish citizens to help stem the crisis…

AUDIO: [Erdogan in Turkish] 

…saying, “If you have dollars, euros or gold under your pillow, go to banks to exchange them for Turkish lira. It is a national fight.”

Turkey’s currency nosedived this past week over concerns about the government’s economic policies and an ongoing dispute with the United States.

Erdogan told The New York Times that if the U.S. doesn’t reverse course it will —quote—“require us to start looking for new friends and allies.”

Former Trump aide bashes president » Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman is releasing a new book this week called “Unhinged” in which offers a scathing portrayal of her former boss.

Her book portrays President Trump as a man in mental decline. She told NBC’s Meet the Press there are things the White House doesn’t want the public to know.

NEWMAN: How mentally declined he is, how difficult it is for him to process complex information, how he is not engaged in some of the most important decisions that impact our country. 

She also said she secretly recorded White House Chief of Staff John Kelly firing her in the Situation Room last December. Meet the Press aired a portion of that recording, in which she said felt Kelly threatened to ruin her reputation if she spoke out against the president.  

She also called President Trump a racist and claims a tape exists of him using a racial slur.

The White House says Newman is a disgruntled ex-employee who’s engaging in Trump bashing to sell books. At an event at his New Jersey golf club, the president responded to her claims with four words.

TRUMP: Lowlife. She’s a lowlife.

Newman rose to national fame as a contestant on NBC’s “The Apprentice” back when Trump hosted show. The White House hired her as director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison in January of last year.

Rep. Chris Collins suspends reelection bid » Congressman Chris Collins has ended his reelection bid. The New York Republican announced the move on Saturday, just hours after once again declaring his innocence of insider trading charges and vowing to press on.

Authorities arrested and charged Collins last week. Prosecutors say he passed inside information about a biotech company to family members.

In a statement, Collins said he reversed course after deciding it was in the best interest of his district and the Republican party.

Collins was first elected in upstate New York’s 27th District in 2012. He was the first sitting congressman to endorse then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016.

NASA launches space probe to learn more about the sun » AUDIO: Five, four … 

NASA launched a probe into space Sunday that will travel closer to the sun than ever before.

AUDIO: Liftoff off the mighty Delta 4 heavy rocket with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, a daring mission to shed light on the mysteries of our closest star, the sun. 

If all goes well, the Parker Solar Probe will fly straight through the edges of the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, in November. In the years ahead, it will gradually get within 3.8 million miles of the surface, its instruments protected by a new carbon heat shield.

The information the probe gathers could help to better predict solar flares and space weather that can disrupt satellites and endanger astronauts.

Altogether, the Parker probe will make 24 close approaches to the sun during the seven-year journey at a price tag of about $1.5 billion.

I’m Kent Covington. Legal Docket is straight ahead. And later, Mary Coleman on the one-year anniversary of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is The World and Everything in It.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber) Demonstrators against racism march along city streets as they mark the anniversary of last year’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. 

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