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Ten Republican state attorneys general on Thursday urged federal authorities to rescind a policy set by former U.S. President Barack Obama that protects from deportation nearly 600,000 immigrants brought into the country illegally by their parents, known as "Dreamers."

Obama, a Democrat, had hoped that overhauling the U.S. immigration system and resolving the fate of the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally would be part of his presidential legacy. But Republican President Donald Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security earlier this month rescinded a separate Obama-era policy meant to cover illegal immigrant parents that had been blocked by the courts. However, DHS said the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy covering "Dreamers" was still in effect.

In a letter on Thursday, the Republican attorneys general asked that DHS abolish the DACA program going forward, while noting that the government did not have to rescind permits that had already been issued.

If the federal government does not withdraw DACA, the attorneys general said they would file a legal challenge to the program in federal court in Texas.

A DHS representative referred questions to the U.S. Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 10 Republican attorneys general who signed the letter represent the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Nebraska, Arkansas, South Carolina, Idaho, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kansas.

A larger coalition of 26 Republican AGs had challenged the policy covering illegal immigrant parents.

In a statement, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said it took encouragement from the diminished number of attorneys general signing onto the DACA letter, and urged Trump not to "cave in to the toothless threat" of legal action.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

BEIJING China reacted relatively calmly on Friday after a series of diplomatic broadsides by the United States, expressing anger over new arms sales by Washington to Taiwan but hoping ties could soon be brought back on track.

Maine lawmakers will vote on a budget plan on Friday that would repeal a 3 percent tax hike on those who earn at least $200,000 and increase education funding to try to avert a partial government shutdown threatened by Governor Paul LePage.

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Republican attorneys general target Obama 'Dreamer' program - Reuters

The Obama administration didn't "choke" in its handling of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, former White House official Eric Schultz said on the latest episode of "The Takeout" podcast. He defended the Obama administration's handling of intelligence demonstrating Russia intended to influence the American democratic process.

"Our view was, let's do this by the book. And what that meant was, the intelligence community was going to investigate they were going to be thorough, and as soon as they reached a conclusion they were going to release it." And that, he told CBS News' Major Garrett and Steve Chaggaris, was the right decision at the time.

Schultz's comments follow aWashington Postreport that details much of what the Obama administration knew and when officials knew about Russian President Vladimir Putin's directives to influence the election.

At the heart of the story is the question of whether the Obama administration did enough in late 2016 to combat Russia's cyber campaign in an attempt to "disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race." Politicians from both sides have argued that not nearly enough was done to prevent interference.

President Trump went as far as to say President Obama "colluded or obstructed" and "did not want to 'rock the boat'" because he thought Clinton would win.

One official quoted in the story said the situation was "the hardest thing about my entire time in government to defend," and that "I feel like we sort of choked."

Schultz argues that's not the case, and that the risk that the Obama administration could being perceived as intervening in the electoral process should not be underestimated.

"It's important to take stock of how we were making decisions in real time, versus looking back in hindsight. So if you transport ourselves back to the summer and fall of 2016, it's in the midst of a spirited, intense presidential election," Schultz said, noting that he respected the Washington Post's thorough reporting.

"It's also in the midst of President Obama crisscrossing this country campaigning for Secretary [Hillary] Clinton," he added. "We're acutely aware of that, and we're acutely aware of how information that we release gets consumed in that particular environment. And you had a Republican nominee for president claiming that the election was rigged. And you had a campaign trying to undermine results if Secretary Clinton had prevailed."

Over yogurt, berries, eggs, toast, and Garrett's "Kitchen sink Omelet-plus" at the Ritz Carlton'sQuadrant, Schultz, who served as the White House principal deputy press secretary, also discussed what it's like to stand at the White House podium to brief reporters on live television.

"Briefing for the White House is the hardest thing I've ever done, and will likely be hardest thing I ever do," he said. "When you brief, you can move markets, you can mobilize armies, you can impact Congress and governors."

For more from Schultz's conversation with CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett and CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris, listen to "The Takeout" podcast, available oniTunes,Google Play,Stitcher,SpotifyandCBSNews.com. And follow "The Takeout" on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @TakeoutPodcast.

Producers: Arden Farhi, Nick Fineman, and Katiana Krawchenko

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Eric Schultz: Obama White House didn't "choke" in handling of Russian meddling - CBS News

Photo Credit Anthony Gerace, photograph by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re The Anti-Legacy, by Peter Baker (news analysis, Sunday Review, June 25):

Do you know why President Trump is working so hard to tear down former President Barack Obamas legacy? Because Mr. Obama represents everything that Mr. Trump is not: an articulate orator, a deep thinker and someone who is elegant in style, words and actions.

Mr. Obama brought grace, self-deprecating humor and sensitivity to our countrys deepest concerns, and a fearless commitment to public service. He risked his presidency over his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

Barack Obama is the light, and Donald Trump is the dark, and all the world now knows it.

GABRIELLA EVANS, BELMONT, CALIF.

To the Editor:

Your online headline asks, Can Trump Destroy Obamas Legacy? Its a fair question, but the more important one is what parts of Barack Obamas legacy President Trump will keep.

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How Should We View the Obama Legacy? - New York Times

While the statement wasn't one of then-President Obama's most important pronouncements during his time in office, it was one of the most questionable, from a truth perspective. Said to Ryan Seacrest during a radio interview in March of 2014, it was a response to Obama's critics, those who mocked his denimwear, which, according to years of photographic evidence, leaned toward ill-fitting, stone-washed, and extremely "Dad"-like.

He again wore jeans on Tuesday, this time while on vacation with his family in Bali, Indonesia. The look was a definite upgrade, but the jury's still out as to whether jeans are, or should be, his thing.

"There was one episode like four years ago, in which I was wearing some loose jeans, mainly because I was out on the pitcher's mound and I didn't want to feel confined while I was pitching," Obama told Seacrest during that same conversation. The sartorial moment, which occurred in 2009, stuck with him. "I've paid my penance for that [look.] I got whacked pretty good. Since that time, my jeans fit very well." But, do they? Here's a look back; decide for yourself:

Here's the pitch in July 2009 that earned him the title of Dad jeans king:

In May of that year, cheering on the sidelines of one of his daughter's soccer games, things weren't much better. The super-wide leg, the monotone wash, the awkward length...hi, Dad.

The following year, vacationing in Martha's Vineyard, the jeans were better in the wash department -- more of a gray denim -- but the pairing of them with mandals brought the overall score down. Way down.

But sometime around 2013, he turned a corner. With Malia in Hawaii in July of that year, here's the then-president stepping up his demin game. The fit is tighter, the wash darker, the shoe far more acceptable.

He finished his presidency with no more headline-grabbing jeans debacles, and reemerged in March of this year a new (denim) man. Here he is in DC in March, after a visit to a museum with Michelle Obama. Leather jacket, T-shirt, button-down, good belt, tight jeans. Who is this guy, and what have you done with Barack Obama?

Which brings us to yesterday. The collared, short-sleeved shirt, tucked neatly into the waistband, the telltale sneakers -- it all still says "Dad," but in a far more stylish way. He's embraced a dark wash and he's acknowledged that legs have shape.

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Obama's jeans game gets strong(er) - CNN

(This story corrects typo in 10th paragraph.)

By Jessica Damiana

JAKARTA From white water rafting in Bali to visiting temples on Java, former U.S. President Barack Obama's private family holiday is being closely tracked in Indonesia where he spent four years as a child.

Obama was six when he moved to Jakarta after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married an Indonesian man following the end of her marriage to Obama's Kenyan father.

"I feel proud that my friend became a president," said Sonni Gondokusumo, 56, a former classmate of Obama at the Menteng 01 state elementary school in Jakarta.

Gondokusumo showed a class photograph of himself standing behind a young Obama, who was wearing a school beret.

"He was a clever boy. Whenever a teacher asked him to solve a problem in front of the class, he could do it," Gondokusomo told Reuters, adding he hoped to meet the former president again.

Obama remains popular in the world's most populous Muslim nation and his trip has been splashed across the media during an extended public holiday to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. The Rakyat Merdeka newspaper carried a headline "Obama loves Indonesia".

Obama returned for an official visit as president in 2010 with his wife, Michelle, but this time has brought daughters Malia and Sasha as well.

Indonesians are avid social media users and snaps of the former U.S. president walking with his family in rice fields and rafting on Bali's Ayung River have gone viral.

Obama kicked off the holiday on the island of Bali, where he stayed at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort Bali near the cultural center of Ubud.

On Wednesday, Obama and his family arrived in the city of Yogyakarta on Java island, and visited the ancient temple of Borobudur.

According to CNN Indonesia, Central Java police deployed 700 officers to secure his visit to Borobudur, a Buddhist temple dating from the 8th and 9th centuries.

Obama is due to meet President Joko Widodo on Friday at the palace in Bogor, south of Jakarta, and visit the capital on Saturday.

(Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Nick Macfie)

WASHINGTON Leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Wednesday they had reached an agreement that would allow them to see memos written by former FBI Director James Comey about his meetings with President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON Four of Washington's largest business lobby groups urged Congress in a letter on Wednesday to settle their differences on government spending so they can move forward on overhauling the U.S. tax code in the next year.

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Yes he can: 'Clever boy' Obama returns to Indonesia for family vacation - Reuters