Trump claims strict voter ID act should be ‘easy pass’ but says ‘we need Democrat votes’ – as it happened

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• Trump news at a glance: president blasts Nato allies amid reports US will send more troops to Middle East

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The US military is deploying thousands of additional marines and sailors to the Middle East, three US officials told Reuters on Friday.

One of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the USS Boxer, along with the marine expeditionary unit onboard, were departing the west coast of the US about three weeks ahead of schedule.

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