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WESLACO, Texas U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has apologized for the behavior of some of his congressional colleagues during a recent congressional field hearing in the Rio Grande Valley.

The U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth was supposed to be in the region to gather facts on economic disparity and fairness in growth. But, Republican members on the committee spent much of their time attacking President Biden over border security.

Obviously, we had a group of members that went rogue and totally got off subject. They were here for totally political reasons and political purposes. They were here to get re-elected or elected. They were not here to learn of our problems or solve our problems. It is unfortunate. I apologize to our community for the members that went rogue on us today, Gonzalez told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.

Asked by a reporter if half the allotted time of the next congressional field hearing on border security could instead be spent on economic disparity, Gonzalez said: Right. I was appalled that my Republican colleagues used this unique opportunity to paint South Texas as a lawless and unsafe community. With all of their statistics, they failed to mention that the Rio Grande Valley is home to some of the safest communities in the entire country.

Gonzalez, D-McAllen, said he worked hard to get the select committee to visit the Valley.

As we are now investing trillions of dollars in infrastructure funding, I thought it imperative that the committee came down here in person and saw the challenges we face every single day, Gonzalez said.

We are still the largest urban community in the United States that is not connected to an interstate highway. We still have drainage issues. We have major drainage issues. We have a digital divide that is like no other in the country.

In a media advisory sent out before the hearing, Gonzalez set out the parameters for the visit.

The field visit will help underscore practical approaches from the federal to local level to enhance roadways, improve drainage infrastructure, and expand access to broadband, as well as include a tour of a local colonia to illustrate unique infrastructure challenges impacting South Texas communities and highlight obstacles in escaping generational poverty.

After the event, Gonzalez acknowledged the visit did not go exactly to plan.

It was ignorant and highly disrespectful of my Republican colleagues to continue to use the Rio Grande Valley as a political backdrop and use my constituents as political pawns. It is time my Republican colleagues take some time to sit down and learn a thing or two about what South Texans are all about.

The attendance for the select committees field hearing in Weslaco held at the offices of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council resembled a Whos Who of Valley leaders. The chairman of the committee, Democrat Jim Hines of Connecticut said the number of people attending was the best the committee had ever had.

This is actually the biggest attendance we have had for a field hearing. It is important to hold the hearings outside of Washington so we can actually see the problems we are trying to address, Hines said.

We are here primarily to listen. This committee has a very simple charge. The speaker of the House asked us to look at the disparity, the economic disparity that exists in this country and all over this country.

Hines added: We believe as Americans that every American regardless of the zip code, the color of their skin, where they were born, what language they speak, they should have the opportunity to partake in the American Dream.

Hines won applause for this last remark.

Because there were more GOP members of the committee members present, there was no continuity in the discussion. Local leaders focused on issues such as drainage and flooding, the need to expand broadband, connecting I-69 East and I-69 Central to the rest of the nations interstate system, and building a second causeway to South Padre Island. But when the Republicans on the panel spoke, the focus turned sharply to undocumented immigration and beefing up border security.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin, is the ranking member on the select committee. He said he liked to get out of the Washington swamp in order to hear from ordinary folks.

In his opening remarks Steil claimed the Valley would have more local funds to address drainage issues if it did not have to spend as much on border security. He pivoted from flooding to border security in just a few sentences.

Flooding has had a significant impact on the Rio Grande Valley. This committee had an opportunity to see some of that firsthand today with the committees visit to the colonias. I think we should really explore how the federal government can partner with local areas to meet this need. Flood infrastructure costs millions of dollars. But what is so frustrating when I hear from folks here is that the federal government and local resources are being used to address a different crisis. And that is the porous border crossing the state of Texas and cities across the Rio Grande Valley millions of dollars each year, Steil said.

Steil said a video to be aired at the hearing would show that a local school had to barricade its grounds with large boulders to stop car chases. However, the school was in Brackettville, Kinney County, not the Valley. The video featured Brent Smith, the county attorney for Kinney County.

U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, a Republican from Florida, said she would take the Valleys concerns about flooding back to Washington, D.C.. But, like the other GOP members, she spent much of her time talking about immigration. Cammack asked the five witnesses who testified at the hearing if there was a crisis at the border. Four of them refused to say yes. They were Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevio, Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes, Cameron County Commissioner David Garza, and digital inclusion specialist Jordana Barton.

Only one of the witnesses said there was a crisis at the border Susan Kibbe, executive director of the South Texans Property Rights Association. After the hearing, Kibbe, a resident of Brooks County, said: Washington has turned its back on the property owners and citizens of South Texas. I wish I could say that the administration considers us second class citizens, but to them, we dont even exist.

Kibbe said South Texas rural landowners are adversely affected by an un-secure border. Local Emergency services are being diverted from local public safety needs of their communities to deal with smuggling pursuits, bailouts, and the lost, injured, and dehydrated or dead immigrants. The normal daily emergency needs dont just put themselves on hold until illegal immigration slows down. They just become needs that are unmet.

After the hearing, Rep. Gonzalez said he kept trying to steer the conversation back to infrastructure.

We already know this but we were trying to enlighten the folks that have not been down here that we have drainage issues that need to be attended to. We are also the largest urban area in the country that is not connected to an interstate highway. Two of the three cities least connected to broadband are in the Rio Grande Valley and we need to make those substantial investments. The only way to do it is through federal funding, funding that was passed largely by Democrats. If we had not gotten those funds people would still be drinking yellow water, Gonzalez said.

I would like to thank all of the local leaders and experts for sharing their time, experiences, and recommendations with us.

Producing quality journalism is not cheap. The coronavirus has resulted in falling revenues across the newsrooms of the United States. However, The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service is committed to producing quality news reporting on the issues that matter to border residents. The support of our members is vital in ensuring our mission gets fulfilled.

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Gonzalez: Congressional hearing was supposed to focus on infrastructure, not immigration - Rio Grande Guardian

Voting at Swanson Middle School in Westover in November 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) The ballot for the general election has been set, with three races to be decided by local voters.

Multiple candidates for Arlington County Board, School Board and the 8th Congressional District have qualified for the ballot. The first day of in-person early voting is Friday, Sept. 23 and the last day to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 17, according to Arlingtons election office.

8th Congressional District

In the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary, incumbent Rep. Don Beyer overcame challenger Victoria Virasingh. Beyer goes on to the general election to face the GOP nominee, Arlington resident Karina A. Lipsman, and independent candidate Teddy Fikre.

The seat for the 8th District, which encompasses Arlington, Alexandria, the City of Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County, has been held by a Democrat for decades. Beyer won a crowded primary for former Congressman Jim Morans seat in 2014 and the general election later that year.

Lipsman was nominated to take on the progressive establishment, said an email from the Arlington GOP after the nomination.

Lipsman, who is originally from Ukraine, outlines priorities such as supporting law enforcement, opposing tax increases, stopping illegal immigration and her stance against abortion on her website. She says she supports school choice and community colleges, technical schools and vocational training programs.

Among issues Beyer lists on his campaign website are climate change, housing, immigration, gun violence prevention, the federal workforce and others.

Fikres website says he is an IT project manager with an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, cares about inclusive justice and implementing policies that restore fairness in America and enacting laws that are rooted in love. Among issues hes focused on are making taxes voluntary for the working, middle and upper-middle-class, as well as forgiving all student loans.

Arlington County Board

Three familiar names are up for consideration for a County Board seat. Incumbent Matt de Ferranti was not challenged for the Democratic nomination.

During his tenure on the board, de Ferranti says he has focused on Covid response, racial equity and priorities like affordable housing, hunger, climate change and school funding.

Two independent candidates will also be on the ballot and not for their first time seeking a seat.

Independent Adam Theo, who is vice president of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, is running on a platform of expanding government accountability, prioritizing public safety and making housing affordable. Theo describes himself as a fierce non-partisan free-thinking progressive libertarian.' He was previously deployed to eastern Afghanistan while serving in the Air Force Reserve as a civil engineer.

This is Theos second time running for the County Board in as many years. Last year, he ran in a crowded County Board race for the seat that Democrat Takis Karantonis occupies.

Civic activist Audrey Clement is also running as an independent, seeking to reduce taxes, stop up-zoning, and preserve parks, trees and historic places. She said on her website shes running because the Board has pushed harmful policies resulting in: overcrowded schools, gentrification, loss of green space, and a 10 year average annual effective tax rate increase that is twice the rate of inflation.

The Westover resident has been a perennial candidate over the last decade or so and says she believes once people realize the Missing Middle housing push will rezone some neighborhoods, they will support a candidate like her.

Arlington School Board

After some commotion surrounding the Democratic endorsement for the School Board seat up for grabs, only two names will be on the ballot: James Vell Rives and Bethany Sutton.

The Arlington County Democratic Committee endorsed Sutton through its endorsement process, which saw a few changes this year in light of calls for a broader reform that were ultimately defeated.

Brandon Clark, a Gunston Middle School teacher, was also vying for the Democratic endorsement before he withdrew to run as an independent, claiming education shouldnt be partisan. But he has since withdrawn from the race altogether.

I decided to withdraw and focus on being a husband, father and teacher for the time being, he told ARLnow. I plan to be involved in advocating for educators as Chair of the Teachers Council on Instruction and through community engagement.

Sutton served on Randolph Elementary Schools PTA board for seven years, three of which she was president of the board. Since spring 2020, she has led the Randolph Food Pantry, a community-based volunteer effort to support families affected by the pandemic.

Rives is a psychiatrist and serves as co-chair of Arlington Public Schools School Health Advisory Board. His website asserts that as an independent, he is not indebted to any political party or interest group.

The Fairlington resident particularly wants to help as schools recover from the effects of the pandemic, keeping schools open so students can catch up on lost skills and ensuring that APS retains teachers.

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Here's who will be on the ballot for the November general election in Arlington - ARLnow

European Union has, at least by territory and population, expanded as the European Council overwhelmingly decided to grant Moldova and Ukraine, with the possibility of Georgia, candidates status to join the bloc. Current, the European Union consists of 27 members and has an estimated total population of about 447 million. Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, all former Soviet republics, will together add approximately 50.8 million to the current population of the European Union.

As former Soviet republics, the three attained their political independence and within the international laws, must be considered with respect based on the principles of their territorial integrity and national sovereignty. While the granting them their new status after official requests from them, it has indeed sparked debates especially in the Russian Federation.

European Union leaders have formally agreed to grant candidate status to Ukraine, as well as Moldova, although the two former Soviet republics face a long path before joining the bloc. Ukraine applied to join the bloc just days after the Russian invasion on 24 February, and the process from application to candidacy has gone through at record speed.

Undoubtedly the new status has opened wide, most possibly, better doors and a platform to spring up with economic development through integration into European Union. President of the European Council, Charles Michel, noted: it is a historic moment, today marks a crucial step on your path towards the European Union. Our future is together.

The official congratulated the leaders of Ukraine and Moldova. Regarding Georgia, the European Council decided to recognize the European perspective of Georgia and is ready to grant candidate status once the outstanding priorities are addressed, Michel said. Congratulations to the Georgian people, he said. A historic moment in EU-Georgia relations: Georgias future lies within the EU.

The European Commission on June 17 recommended that the summit grant a candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. It is a symbol of hope to support the Ukrainians while the country had a long way to go before actual accession. A few days later, Speaker of Moldova Parliament, Igor Grosu, announced that Moldova ready to join new sanctions, mostly in finance and banking, against Russia.

We will show solidarity with the EU, as our status and European aspirations oblige us. Of course, we will join [any new sanctions] meant to stop the military operation. We are seeking to contribute to this goal by any diplomatic means, Grosu said following a decision by the EU.

Moldovas Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu earlier said the East European nation could not fully join anti-Russian sanctions due to its weak economy. European Union candidate status now provides Moldova with access to worlds most developed market. It offers similar new economic opportunities to bothe Ukraine and Georgia.

In one of her warm-hearted illuminating speeches at a media briefing, President Maia Sandu emphasized: Candidate country status gives us a clear direction of our development, support on this path, and most importantly, hope. We are a small and vulnerable country, which would feel more secure when it becomes part of the European family, in which we could count on support from all members and institutions. Belonging to the EU also means access to the richest and the most developed market in the world.

Moldova, however, expects more support from the European Union to improve the wellbeing of its people and provide preconditions for developing the business environment. The situation will not change overnight after candidate status has been granted, as a lot of hard work is still ahead, Sandu said, attributing the current hardships in Moldova to the conflict in Ukraine that began late February.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the news as a unique and historic moment, adding Ukraines future is within the EU while the French President Emmanuel Macron said that the decision by EU leaders sent a very strong signal to Russia that Europeans support Ukraines pro-Western aspirations.

At least, they have joined the European family that offers practical warmth for sustainable development. Ukraine has already signed an agreement with the European Union on joining its LIFE Program, an international funding instrument for the environment and climate action, whose budget on environment protection projects for 2021-2027 amounts to 5.43 billion, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the Environment Protection and Natural Resources Ministry.

Ukrainian Environment Protection Minister Ruslan Strilets and European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius signed the agreement.The ministry has over 15 concrete proposals to be transformed into relevant projects to be presented for consideration under LIFE Program.

Ukraine has received great support and colossal capabilities from the European Union for restoring not only the environment but also live nature in Ukraine. This is something for which there has always been a lack of funding. LIFE is a powerful financial tool of the participating countries. This means great confidence in Ukraine, Strilets said. This should help us develop more new projects which local businesses could be engaged with. Therefore, weve made a very important step today.

In the near future Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia have the possibility to access the benefits from the Global Gateway, a new European strategy directed at boosting smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.

It is in line with the commitment of the G-7 leaders from June 2021 to launch a values-driven, high-standard and transparent infrastructure partnership to meet global infrastructure development needs. The Global Gateway is also fully aligned with the UNs Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Paris Agreement.

In addition, late June the he Group of Seven economic powers the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Canada and Japan made some progress in bringing their counterparts from their five guest countries closer to Western views on sanctions against Russia. The G-7 is committing themselves to support the new members especially Ukraine.

Ahead of his trip, Biden authorized another US$450 million in weaponry to be sent to Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. commitment to US$6.1 billion since the start of the war. Offering a concrete template, the G-7 combined are aiming to invest US$600 billion in public and private capital for infrastructure projects over the next five years, with US$200 billion of that total coming from the United States.

According to European lawmakers interviewed by local Russian media Izvestia, this step has broad support from the EU. Meanwhile, Russia views the move ambiguously. On the one hand, it sees EU membership as tantamount to striving for NATO, on the other hand, European integration is a purely economic issue and does not raise any concerns.

Well see, well analyze the consequences, former Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Izvestia. The context is important; it is not as harmless as it might have seemed three years ago. Decisions are being made amid a sanctions offensive and against everything Russian, he added.

That being said, the European Union noted that obtaining candidate status is only the first step towards membership. Engin Eroglu, a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament, in an interview with Izvestia said that the process of gaining membership to the EU does not mean automatic entry, but it means that the country has started pro-European processes and reforms, which are partially financed by Brussels.

The granting of candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova has angered other countries that have been striving to join the European Union for several years now. For example, the European Commission has so far denied this status to Georgia, the newspaper writes.

Tbilisi, to put it mildly, was not happy about the refusal, but this will not be a reason for any deterioration in relations between the European Union and Georgia, Head of the Department of Integration Studies at Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) Nikolay Kaveshnikov told Izvestia.

Russia consistently expresses fierce opposition to this European membership over the past several years. President Vladimir Putin had declared Ukraine to be part of Moscows sphere and insisted he was acting due to attempts to bring the country into NATO, the Western alliance that comes with security guarantees.

Granting Ukraine and Moldova candidate status to join the European Union looks like nothing more than a scam by the West, according to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Scam is such a wonderful word, seeing that the numerous decisions taken by the West are more like combination of a destructive, provocative nature, rather than well-thought-out steps, the diplomat said, speaking to the Sputnik Radio.

I think thats certainly their case, she added, Given these maneuvers, these zigzags that we now are witnessing from the West with regards to Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia, it is no longer necessary to prove anything in terms of market conditions. There is a direct link between economics and politics. And this is exactly what they have always stood against. She described the actions by the European Union as infringement of Russias territorial integrity, and as encroachment on former Soviet space and territory.

On the distinctive opposite side, Russia sees no risks for itself in the fact that Ukraine and Moldova have been granted EU candidate status, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on June 24 in Baku.

Our position has always been that the European Union is not a political bloc, unlike NATO. The development of its relations with any countries that wish to do so does not create any threats and risks for us, Lavrov said in reply to a media question. Of course, we will realistically consider the European Unions behavior and monitor the real steps it takes and how the candidate countries act: whether they comply with these requirements or still try to show their independence.

These new European Union members have some strategic significance. Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It shares borders with Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north. Ukraine, with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively could be used for economic benefits by the European Union.

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European Union Could Share Its Solid Economic Benefits With Moldova, Ukraine And Georgia OpEd - Eurasia Review

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and European Union (EU) representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrellannounced during a joint press conference in Tehran over the weekend that Iran would renew negotiations over its nuclear program with the United States, which have stalled since March following animpasse over political disputes between Washington and Tehran.

The two diplomatsindicated that they had held a long but positive discussion on Saturday, after which Amirabdollahian agreed to the resumption of indirect discussions between Iran and the United States, emphasizing that Irans primary concern was returning to the sanctions relief promised under the original deal.

Whatever issue that can impact Irans economic benefits will not be agreeable, Abdollahian said. We hope that the American side will this time realistically and fairly engage in committed and responsible acts towards reaching the final point of an agreement.

Borrell emphasized that the resumed discussions were intended to resolv[e] the last outstanding issues, without describing what those issues were.

In addition to his meeting with Amirabdollahian, Borrell and his deputy Enrique Mora met deputy foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani.

Iran and the P5+1 nations fully cooperated in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from its inception in 2015 until 2018, when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and imposed maximum pressure sanctions on Iran in an attempt to win better concessions. Although Iran initially continued to adhere to its obligations under the deal, it gradually withdrew from them as tensions rose between Iran and the West. Iran withdrew from the deal altogether after the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.

President Joe Biden and Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi have voiced willingness to return to the nuclear agreement and negotiations to this end have continued in Vienna, Austria, but political issues haveobstructed the finalization process as Irans nuclear program draws closer to completion.

In particular, the two sides have clashed over the U.S. designation of the IRGC, the branch of Irans military devoted to preserving the Iranian governments theocratic character, as a foreign terrorist organization, obstructing its ability to engage in international commerce. Because the designation was part of Trumps maximum pressure campaign, Iranian negotiators have pressed Biden to undo it. However, Biden has refused, partly due to powerful political opposition to the move on Capitol Hill.

Trevor Filseth is a current and foreign affairs writer for the National Interest.

Image: Reuters.

Link:
Iran and the European Union Agree to Resume Nuclear Talks - The National Interest Online

LONDON

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signaled Monday that a plan to rip up parts of the post-Brexit trade deal he signed with the European Union could become law by the end of the year.

Lawmakers began debating legislation that rewrites trade rules for Northern Ireland on Monday, the first step on what could be a rocky journey through Parliament.

If approved by lawmakers, the legislation would remove checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K., thereby scrapping parts of a trade treaty that Johnson signed before Britain left the EU in 2020.

Johnson said he thought the plan could be approved fairly rapidly if Parliament cooperates. Asked if the measures could be in place this year, he said: Yes, I think we could do it very fast, Parliament willing.

The British government says the rules, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, are burdening businesses and undermining peace in Northern Ireland. It argues the unilateral move is justified under international law because of the genuinely exceptional situation.

Johnsons opponents, however, say the move is illegal.

Many of us are extremely concerned that the bill brazenly breaks a solemn international treaty, it trashes our international reputation, it threatens a trade war at a time when our economy is flat and it puts us at odds with our most important ally, Conservative Andrew Mitchell said in Parliament Monday.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss replied that the governments plans are the only solution to resolve trade problems in Northern Ireland because the EU has been unwilling to reopen negotiations.

The plans have caused concern among some of Johnsons fellow Conservatives, already worried about his judgment and popularity following a series of ethics scandals and two special election defeats.

But Johnson said Monday that questions about his leadership are no longer relevant.

We settled that a couple of weeks ago, he told reporters in Germany, referring to his survival in a no-confidence vote three weeks ago.

The EU has threatened to retaliate against the U.K. if it goes ahead with its plan to rewrite the rules of the post-Brexit deal, raising the specter of a trade war between the two major economic partners.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said he was hugely disappointed that the U.K. government is still pursuing its unlawful approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

This is not the way to find sustainable solutions to the genuine concerns of people and business in Northern Ireland and only adds to uncertainty, he said.

The blocs ambassador to Britain, Joao Vale de Almeida, said Britains plan was illegal because it is a breach of international law, a breach of EU law, U.K. law and international law.

It is a treaty that we signed, ratified and even went through a general election in this country, he told Times Radio.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the U.K. that shares a border with an EU country, Ireland. When Britain left the European Union and its borderless free-trade zone, the two sides agreed to keep the Irish land border free of customs posts and other checks because an open border is a key pillar of the peace process that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Instead, to protect the EUs single market, there are checks on some goods, such as meat and eggs, entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K.

Johnsons Conservative government claims overzealous EU implementation means the rules are not working as expected and are causing a political crisis in Northern Ireland.

You have got one tradition, one community, that feels that things really arent working in a way that they like or understand youve got unnecessary barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Johnson said.

All we are saying is you can get rid of those whilst not in any way endangering the EU single market, he said.

British unionists there say the checks are fraying the bonds between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K., seen by some unionists as a threat to their British identity. Northern Irelands main unionist party is blocking the formation of a new power-sharing government in Belfast, saying it wont take part until the Brexit trade rules are scrapped.

I want to see the reestablishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Executive, and the protocol is getting in the way of that, Lewis told Sky News. We have got to resolve that. Thats what this legislation will do.

Ultimately, we want to do this by agreement with the EU, he added. But to do that, they need to show some flexibility and actually come and negotiate in a flexible way.

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U.K. presses on with rewrite of Brexit rules while EU calls it illegal - Los Angeles Times