Nation briefs 8/16/17

Trump hits back at CEOs who quit panel

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday ripped into business leaders who resigned from his White House jobs panel -- the latest sign corporate America's romance with Trump is faltering -- after his equivocal response to violence by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. "They're not taking their job seriously as it pertains to this country," Trump said at a news conference at Trump Tower in New York City. After his remarks, a fifth member of his manufacturing panel resigned: AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who said in a statement, "We cannot sit on a council for a president who tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism."

Trump again blames 'both sides' for unrest

NEW YORK -- Combative and insistent, President Donald Trump declared anew Tuesday "there is blame on both sides" for the deadly violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, appearing again to equate the actions of white-supremacist groups and those protesting them. He showed sympathy for the fringe groups' efforts to preserve Confederate monuments. The president's comments effectively wiped away the more conventional statement he had delivered at the White House a day earlier, when he branded members of the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who take part in violence as "criminals and thugs." The president's retorts Tuesday suggested he had been a reluctant participant in that effort.

Trump noncommital on Bannon's future

NEW YORK -- President Donald Trump won't say whether he plans to keep Steve Bannon, a top adviser and key campaign strategist, in the White House. "We'll see what happens with Mr. Bannon," Trump said during a Tuesday news conference where he fielded questions about his confidence in his adviser. Bannon, the former leader of conservative Breitbart News website, has been a contentious figure in a divided White House for months. In recent days, some of Trump's closest advisers have returned to pressing the president to fire Bannon. The anti-Bannon campaign comes as Trump is facing criticism for not immediately condemning by name white supremacists and other hate groups after deadly violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. Bannon once described Breitbart as "the platform for the alt-right."

Mormons decry white supremacy

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Mormon church specifically condemned white- supremacist attitudes in its strongest statement since a Virginia rally over a Confederate War monument descended into deadly violence. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday any members who promote white-supremacist views aren't adhering to its teachings. Leaders said some in white-supremacist communities assert the Mormon church is neutral or supportive of their views, but "nothing could be further from the truth." Leaders said such views are morally wrong and sinful. The condemnation came two days after church leaders issued a more general statement against intolerance after a deadly attack in Charlottesville, Virginia.

-- From wire reports