Nightly Brief

Your Monday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including President Donald Trump, his embattled attorney Michael Cohen and the Trump Organization facing a deadline of to assert privilege over files seized by the FBI; in an early morning Twitter tirade, the president accuses the investigators working under special counsel Robert Mueller of harboring secret conflicts of interest; the White House defends CIA chief nominee Gina Haspel ahead of her confirmation hearing; a California employees’ union representing 25,000 low-wage campus and medical facility workers begins a statewide, three-day strike after a year-long impasse in negotiations with the University of California; the foreign ministry of the European Union appointed a former U.S. prosecutor to take over its unit that investigates war crimes out of Kosovo, and more.

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**National **

FILE - This April 11, 2018 file photo shows attorney Michael Cohen in New York. President Donald Trump said Sunday, April 15, 2018, that all lawyers are now “deflated and concerned” by the FBI raid on his personal attorney Cohen’s home and office. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

1.) President Donald Trump, his embattled attorney Michael Cohen and the Trump Organization have a deadline of today to assert privilege over files seized by the FBI last month.

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2016, file photo, then-President-elect Donald Trump, right, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani pose for photographs as Giuliani arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J. Giuliani is joining the legal team defending President Donald Trump in the special counsel’s Russia investigation. That’s according to a statement from Trump personal attorney Jay Sekulow. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

2.) In an early Monday Twitter tirade, President Donald Trump accused the investigators working under special counsel Robert Mueller of harboring secret conflicts of interest.

In this May 2, 2018, photo, CIA Director-nominee Gina Haspel attends the ceremonial swearing in for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department in Washington. Haspel is telling senators that she would stand firm against restarting the spy agency’s brutal interrogation program of terrorist suspects. Two administration officials said May 4 that Haspel is saying that if confirmed, she would be against resurrecting the program even though Trump has supported waterboarding and worse.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

3.) President Donald Trump on Monday defended Gina Haspel, his nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, dismissing debate over her involvement in a harsh interrogation program and arguing Democrats want her out because she “is too tough on terror.”

4.) Accusing regulators of dropping the ball on dark political spending, a watchdog group brought two federal complaints Friday about shady donations to super PACS on both sides of the aisle.

**Regional **

In this Friday, April 27, 2018 photo, electioneers greet voters outside the Hamilton County Government Center during early voting in Noblesville, Ind. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is facing a backlog of requests for comprehensive cybersecurity reviews of state election systems. Among those still waiting is Indiana, which is one of four states with primaries on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

5.) Two Indiana congressmen and a Hoosier State businessman with few policy differences are locked in a fierce GOP primary battle for the chance to run against one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in November’s general election.

Protesters cheer as they listen to a speaker during a rally on the UCLA campus Monday, May 7, 2018, in Los Angeles. Thousands of custodians, security guards, gardeners and other service workers at University of California campuses have started a three-day walkout to address gender pay inequalities and to demand higher wages. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

6.) A California employees’ union representing 25,000 low-wage campus and medical facility workers began its statewide, three-day strike on Monday after a year-long impasse in negotiations with the University of California came to a head last month.

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2016, file photo, water flows through an irrigation canal to crops near Lemoore, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

7.) Just two months after lawmakers accused it of sitting on voter-approved funds, California regulators have switched their tune and are ready to spend billions on water infrastructure projects.

8.) Suing to block Sotheby’s sale of a masterpiece by the acclaimed graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, an 86-year-old collector accused the storied auction house Thursday of “shamelessly” capitalizing on a family in turmoil.

**Science **

9.) As companies working on self-driving cars continue to battle for market position, a series of limitations have conspired to keep their cutting-edge products in neutral.

**International **

An unidentified woman sits by a graves she attends a ceremony on the annual day to honor the missing, in the Grieving Valley where 19 years ago 376 Albanian civilians were killed by the Serb army, in the village cemetery of Meja, near Gjakova, Kosovo, Friday, April 27, 2018. There are still about 1,650 people unaccounted for since the 1998-99 war that left some 10,000 dead and ended after NATO intervened on behalf of the region's Albanian majority. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

10.) The foreign ministry of the European Union appointed a former U.S. prosecutor on Monday to take over its unit that investigates war crimes out of Kosovo.

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