'Start Here': Trump vows to appeal ruling that favors Dems as Ford eliminates thousands of jobs
Here's what you need to know to start your day.
It's Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Let's start here.
1. 'Do-over'
President Donald Trump is vowing to appeal after a federal judge ruled in favor of House Democrats seeking to obtain the president's financial records.
"They're trying to get a do-over or redo," he told reporters on Monday. "You can't do that as far as the financials are concerned. It's totally the wrong decision by obviously an Obama-appointed judge."
Judge Amit Mehta wrote, in the ruling siding with the House Oversight Committee, "It is not for the court to question whether the Committee's actions are truly motivated by political considerations."
The White House has been fighting back against Democrats' attempts at congressional oversight on several fronts. Trump blocked former White House counsel Don McGahn from testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, but Democrats remain eager to explore potential cases of obstruction of justice outlined in special counsel Robert Mueller's report.
"There are a lot of questions that were raised by the Mueller report that only the principals can truly answer," ABC News Political Director Rick Klein says. "Of course, there's politics involved in this too."
2. 7,000 jobs
Ford Motor Co. said it's cutting 7,000 jobs in the U.S. and overseas by the end of August as the automaker faces pressure to evolve in a rapidly changing industry.
Many automakers are now turning to collaboration, and several are partnering up to save money, including Ford and Volkswagen, according to Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard.
"The future is about autonomous vehicles, driverless vehicles, electrification and a lot of money is required to get there," she says on "Start Here."
3. Peace in the Middle East?
The U.S. is set to hold an "economic workshop" in Bahrain in June to help launch the president's Middle East peace plan, the White House recently announced.
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, has been leading the administration's efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and hopes to entice Palestinian leadership with economic opportunities in the region, but critics say that's unlikely to be enough.
"The Palestinians fear the United States is no longer going to back a two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state," ABC News' Jordana Miller, who's based in Jerusalem, explains. "They have already dismissed this conference and said it is doomed to fail unless it deals with those political issues."
"Start Here," ABC News' flagship podcast, offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or the ABC News app. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content and show updates.
Elsewhere:
'Stood tall': As Democrats disagree on pursuing impeachment proceedings, pressure builds on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
'It was a big mistake I made. I was intoxicated. I didn't know what I was doing at the time.': A New Jersey man says he regrets drunkenly urinating on a memorial for a 9-year-old boy.
'Equine pelvic injuries are rare': More racehorses are dying.
'For the first time ever, we are tracking a white shark in the Long Island Sound': An animal is seen where it's never been seen.
From our friends at FiveThirtyEight:
Beto O'Rourke ignored cable news -- and it ignored him: When O'Rourke first entered the race, his strategy was to stay off cable news. "Seeing you eyeball-to-eyeball, to me, is so much more satisfying than being on cable TV," he told a supporter at a Virginia town hall when explaining why he chose to avoid the national spotlight TV appearances in favor of smaller gatherings. But his polls have sunk to the lowest they have been since his launch, and now O'Rourke is trying to pivot back to major televised events like interviews and town halls.
Doff your cap:
James Longman travels to Antarctica with scientists who are tagging humpback whales.
Researchers brave brutal conditions to research climate change in Antarctica: Part 1
Antarctic whales an indicator for world environmental health, scientists say: Part 2
"The scientists we are with," Longman writes in a reporter's notebook column, "are the latest generation in a long line of adventurers who have not just made saving Antarctica their life's work, but who have sought to show the world what insights learned here can tell us about the rest of our planet -- and the places where we live."
