Trump says Democrat should quit for scuttling VA nominee; NEWS BRIEFING; Staff and news services; Asylum-seekers in Mexico snub warnings of stern U.S. response; Russia: Floating nuclear plant towed to sea for fueling trip; Zimbabwe legalizes marijuana for medicinal, scientific uses; Joy Reid can’t prove hackers wrote ‘hurtful’ posts; Pompeo kicks off Mideast leg of first trip as top U.S. envoy

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Saturday sharply called for the resignation of the Democratic senator who assembled and released what he called "false" allegations that scuttled the nomination of the White House doctor who'd been in line to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Trump stepped up his criticism of Montana's Jon Tester, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans' Committee, in two tweets days after asserting that Tester "has to have a big price to pay" politically in the GOP friendly state for his leading role in Ronny Jackson's failed VA bid. Tester faces a competitive re-election race this year.

Tester, in a statement, didn't directly respond to Trump but said he was committed to aiding veterans. "It's my duty to make sure Montana veterans get what they need and have earned, and I'll never stop fighting for them as their Senator," he said.

At issue are allegations that Tester has said were brought to his attention by more than 20 military and retired military personnel who've worked with Jackson.

The charges against Jackson raised questions about his prescribing practices and leadership ability, including accusations of drunkenness on the job. Tester's office collected the allegations, which included a claim that Jackson "got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle" at a Secret Service going-away party.

Trump tweeted Saturday that the allegations "are proving false. The Secret Service is unable to confirm (in fact they deny) any of the phony Democrat charges. ... Tester should resign."

Asylum-seekers in Mexico snub warnings of stern U.S. response

TIJUANA, Mexico - U.S. immigration lawyers are telling Central Americans in a caravan of asylum-seekers that traveled through Mexico to the border with San Diego that they face possible separation from their children and detention for many months. They say they want to prepare them for the worst possible outcome.

The Central Americans, many traveling as families, on Sunday will test the Trump administration's tough rhetoric criticizing the caravan when the migrants begin seeking asylum by turning themselves in to border inspectors at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing, the nation's busiest.

President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet have been tracking the caravan, calling it a threat to the U.S. since it started March 25 in Tapachula, near the Guatemala border.

Russia: Floating nuclear plant towed to sea for fueling trip

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - A floating nuclear power plant built in Russia has embarked on its first sea voyage so its reactors can be loaded with fuel.

The floating plant, the Akademik Lomonosov, was towed on Saturday out of the St. Petersburg shipyard where it was constructed.

It is to be pulled through the Baltic Sea and around the northern tip of Norway to Murmansk in northwest Russia, where the nuclear reactors are to be fueled.

The Lomonosov is to be put into service in 2019 in the Arctic off the coast of Chukotka in the far east, providing power for a port town and for oil rigs.

The project has been widely criticized by environmentalists. Greenpeace has described the craft as a "floating Chernobyl."

Zimbabwe legalizes marijuana for medicinal, scientific uses

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe has legalized the production of marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes, making it the rare African country to turn the drug into a source of revenue.

A government notice issued recently by the health minister said individuals and corporations can apply for licenses to grow marijuana, whose production and possession had brought up to 12 years in prison.

Recreational use remains illegal.

The decision is a marked shift from the traditionally tough stance on marijuana in the largely conservative country.

The tiny nation of Lesotho last year became the first in Africa to issue a license for medical marijuana.

Much of Africa still criminalizes the production and use of marijuana.

Joy Reid can't prove hackers wrote 'hurtful' posts

NEW YORK - MSNBC's Joy Reid, under fire for homophobic language in old blog posts, apologized Saturday for any past comments that belittled or mocked the LGBTQ community and says she hasn't been able to verify her claim that her account was hacked.

Reid opened her weekend show "AM Joy" by acknowledging she has said "dumb" and "hurtful" things in the past. "The person I am now is not the person I was then," she said.

But she was unable to explain blog posts from a decade ago that mocked gay people and individuals who were allegedly gay. Reid has denied posting them but says security experts she hired to find if she had been a hacking victim found no proof.

The posts that came to light in December were written for her blog a decade ago.

Pompeo kicks off Mideast leg of first trip as top U.S. envoy

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, kicking off the Middle East leg of his first trip abroad as America's top diplomat.

Pompeo arrived in the Saudi capital of Riyadh for talks with the Saudi king, crown prince and foreign minister just weeks ahead of several key dates that could further roil the volatile region. After leaving Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Pompeo will travel to Israel and Jordan before returning home.

President Donald Trump has set a May 12 deadline to decide whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Two days later the U.S. plans to open its new embassy in Jerusalem, marking a significant shift in American policy toward Israel and the Palestinians, who also claim the holy city as their capital.

Saudi sports officials apologized Saturday after images of scantily clad women appeared on big screens during a World Wrestling Entertainment event held in the ultra-conservative kingdom, which hosted women and children for the first time.

Friday's show was part of a gradual expansion of public entertainment

The search for a man accused of killing a sheriff's deputy came to an end Saturday on the fourth day of an intense manhunt in the woods of central Maine.

The Maine Department of Public Safety reported that 29-year-old John Williams was in custody but provided no details of the arrest.

Caption: Supporters of Alfie Evans release balloons outside the Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, England, where the terminally ill 23-month-old boy died early Saturday. Last week, his parents ended their long legal battle to have him kept on a ventilator indefinitely.

Christopher Furlong/Getty