Jan. 6 panel subpoenas Trump, demanding historic testimony
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S.Capitol formally issued an extraordinary subpoena to Donald Trump on Friday, demanding testimony from the former president who lawmakers say «personally orchestrated» a multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The nine-member panel issued a letter to Trump’s lawyers saying he must testify, either at the Capitol or by videoconference, «beginning on or about» Nov.14 and continuing for multiple days if necessary.
The letter also outlined a sweeping request for documents, including personal communications between Trump and members of Congress as well as extremist groups. Those are to be turned in by Nov.4, although the committee’s deadlines are generally subject to negotiation.
«We recognize that a subpoena to a former president is a significant and historic action,» Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney wrote in the letter to Trump.»We do not take this action lightly.»
The panel rooted its action in history, listing past presidents from John Quincy Adams to Gerald Ford, who testified before Congress after leaving office – and noted that even sitting presidents have responded to congressional subpoenas.
___
Court temporarily blocks Biden’s student loan forgiveness
ST.LOUIS (AP) – A federal appeals court late Friday issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans, throwing the program into limbo just days after people began applying for loan forgiveness.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay while it considers a motion from six Republican-led states to block the program.The stay ordered the Biden administration not to act on the program while it considers the appeal.
It´s unclear what the decision means for the 22 million borrowers who already applied for the relief. The Biden administration had promised not to clear any debt before Oct.23 as it battled the legal challenges, but the soonest it was expected to begin erasing debt was mid-November.
The crucial question now is whether the issue will be resolved before Jan. 1, when payments on federal student loans are expected to restart after being paused during the pandemic.Millions of Americans were expected to get their debt canceled entirely under Biden´s plan, but they now face uncertainty about whether they will need to start making payments in January.
Biden has said his previous extension of the payment pause would be the final one, but economists worry that many Americans may not have regained financial footing after the upheaval of the pandemic.If borrowers who were expecting debt cancellation are asked to make payments in January, there´s fear that many could fall behind on the bills and default on their loans.
___
Ukrainian forces bombard river crossing; Kherson a fortress
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions in the occupied and illegally annexed southern Kherson region, targeting resupply routes across a major river while inching closer Friday to a full assault on one of the first urban areas Russia captured after invading the country.
Russian-installed officials were reported desperately trying to turn the city of Kherson, a prime objective for both sides because of its key industries and major river and sea port, into a fortress while attempting to evacuate tens of thousands of residents.
The Kremlin poured as many as 2,000 draftees into the Kherson region – one of four Moscow illegally annexed and put under Russian martial law – to replenish losses and strengthen front-line units, according to the Ukrainian army’s general staff.
The Dnieper River figures prominently in the regional battle because it serves critical functions – crossings for supplies, troops and civilians; drinking water for southern Ukraine and the annexed Crimean Peninsula; and power generation from a hydroelectric station. Much of the area, including the power station and a canal feeding water to Crimea, is under Russian control.
Kremlin-installed Kherson officials said Ukrainian shelling of a Dnieper River ferry crossing killed two journalists working for a local TV station they set up under occupation. At least two other people were reported killed and 10 members of the broadcast crew and their relatives were wounded, Russia’s Tass news agency reported
___
Boris Johnson, ousted by scandal, eyes comeback as UK leader
LONDON (AP) – Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson — ousted by ethics scandals just three months ago — jockeyed to make a comeback Friday as one of several contenders seeking to replace Liz Truss, whose rapid downfall threw the country´s leadership into disarray at a time of severe economic challenges.
The governing Conservative Party has ordered a lightning-fast race that aims to finalize nominations Monday and install a new prime minister, its third this year, within a week.
Johnson has not publicly declared he is running, but a political ally who spoke with him told Sky News he is «up for it» and bookmakers have made him one of the favorites to win the contest.
A return by Johnson would be an astonishing recovery for a polarizing figure forced out by a welter of ethics scandals.Opponents say giving him another chance would only lead to more controversy and disappointment.
The leadership uncertainty comes at a time of weak economic growth and as millions struggle with higher borrowing costs and rising prices for groceries, fuel and other basics.A growing wave of strikes by train and postal workers, lawyers and others has revealed mounting discontent as a recession looms.
___
Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine will cost $110-$130 per dose
Pfizer will charge $110 to $130 for a dose of its COVID-19 vaccine once the U.S.government stops buying the shots, but the drugmaker says it expects many people will continue receiving it for free.
Pfizer executives said the commercial pricing for adult doses could start early next year, depending on when the government phases out its program of buying and distributing the shots.
The drugmaker said it expects that people with private health insurance or coverage through public programs like Medicare or Medicaid will pay nothing.The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover many recommended vaccines without charging any out-of-pocket expenses.
A spokesman said the company also has an income-based assistance program that helps eligible U.S. residents with no insurance get the shots.
The price would make the two-dose vaccine more expensive for cash-paying customers than annual flu shots.Those can range in price from around $50 to $95, depending on the type, betgaranti according to CVS Health, which runs one of the nation’s biggest drugstore chains.
___
Day care workers charged, betgaranti accused of scaring tots with mask
HAMILTON, Miss.(AP) – Four people linked to viral video footage of Mississippi day care employees using a scary mask to frighten young children are facing charges of felony child abuse, and a fifth person faces two misdemeanor counts, authorities say.
The daycare´s owner, Sheila Sanders, is not facing charges.She has said that at least four of the employees were fired after the video came to light.
The videos – one filmed in September and another this month – were posted on social media. They show a day care worker at Lil´ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center in Hamilton, an unincorporated community in northeast Mississippi, wearing a Halloween mask similar to the one in the «Scream» movies and yelling at children who didn´t «clean up» or «act good.»
Children can be seen bawling, cowering in fear and at times running from the masked employee.Another employee gives directions, singling out which children have acted good or bad. The employee in the mask is shown screaming inches away from children´s faces, the video showed.
Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook said in a news release that four of the women each face three counts of felony child abuse.A fifth woman, he says, faces charges of failure to report abuse by a mandatory reporter and simple assault against a minor – both misdemeanors.
___
Cardi B absolved in racy mixtape artwork lawsuit
SANTA ANA, Calif.(AP) – A jury sided with Cardi B on Friday in a copyright infringement case involving a man who claimed the Grammy-winning rapper misused his back tattoos for her sexually suggestive 2016 mixtape cover art.
The federal jury in Southern California ruled Kevin Michael Brophy did not prove Cardi B misappropriated his likeness.After the jury forewoman read the verdict, the rapper hugged her attorneys and appeared joyful.
Cardi B thanked the jurors, admitting she was «pretty nervous» before hearing the verdict.
«I wasn´t sure if I was going to lose or not,» she said after leaving the courthouse.She was swarmed by several reporters, photographers and more than 40 high schoolers who chanted her name. One fan held up a sign asking if she could take him to his homecoming dance, to which she replied «Yes, I’ll see what I can do.»
«I told myself if I win, I was going to cuss Mr. Brophy out. But I don’t have it in my heart to cuss him out,» she said.In the courtroom, Cardi B had a brief, cordial conversation with Brophy and shook his hand.
___
West and Russia clash over probe of drones in Ukraine
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The United States and key Western allies accused Russia on Friday of using Iranian drones to attack civilians and power plants in Ukraine in violation of a 2015 U.N.Security Council resolution and international humanitarian law.
Russia countered by accusing Ukraine of attacking infrastructure and civilians for eight years in the eastern separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed earlier this year.
The U.S., France, Germany and Britain supported Ukraine’s call for U.N.Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to send a team to investigate the origin of the drones.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the drones are Russian and warned that an investigation would violate the U.N. Charter and seriously affect relations between Russia and the United Nations.
U.S.deputy ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis said that «the U.N. must investigate any violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions – and we must not allow Russia or others to impede or threaten the U.N. from carrying out its mandated responsibilities.»
___
Guilty plea due in Michigan school shooting that killed 4
DETROIT (AP) – A teenager accused of killing four fellow students and injuring more at a Michigan high school is expected to plead guilty to murder next week, authorities said Friday.
Ethan Crumbley had created images of violence during a classroom assignment last November but was not sent home from Oxford High School in southeastern Michigan. He pulled out a gun a few hours later and committed a mass shooting.
Authorities have pinned some responsibility on Crumbley’s parents, portraying them as a dysfunctional pair who ignored their son’s mental health needs and happily provided a gun as a gift just days before the attack.They also face charges.
Crumbley, 16, is due in court Monday.
«We can confirm that the shooter is expected to plead guilty to all 24 charges, including terrorism, and the prosecutor has notified the victims,» said David Williams, chief assistant prosecutor in Oakland County.
___
Saga of last US slave ship finds life in ‘Descendant’ doc
MONTGOMERY, Ala.(AP) – In the murky waters of an Alabama river, diver Kamau Sadiki said he had to pause before entering the last known slave ship to the United States, where 110 people were confined in hellish conditions.
«You feel the reverberation, the pain and suffering, and the screams and the hollering,» said Sadiki, a diver who works with the Smithsonian Slave Wrecks Project.»We do this work to understand the science and archeology and collect all the data we can to help tell the story. But there’s another whole dimension here that we need to connect with.»
The documentary «Descendant» retells this once-submerged history, intertwining the 2019 discovery of the ship Clotilda with the stories of the descendants of the 110 people aboard.Along the way, it raises questions about the legacy of slavery and what justice would look like 162 years after the ship’s voyage.
In 1860 – decades after the United States had banned the importation of slaves – the Clotilda illegally transported 110 people from what is now the west African nation of Benin to Mobile, Alabama.With Southern plantation owners demanding slaves for their cotton fields, Alabama plantation owner Timothy Meaher made a bet that he could bring a shipload of Africans across the Atlantic. The ship was later scuttled to conceal evidence of the the crime.
Slavery ended five years after the arrival of the Clotilda captives.They saved money to start an community that came to be called Africatown. Some of their descendants continue to live there in the historical hamlet deeply tied to its heritage but now surrounded by heavy industry in south Alabama.
