New hurdle in Comey case as Trump's Justice Department faces questions about the grand jury process
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey has hit another hurdle. The Justice Department acknowledged in court Wednesday a possible lapse in how the case was presented to a grand jury. The revelation that the full grand jury didn't review a copy of the final indictment came during a hearing where Comey’s lawyers asked a judge to throw out the case on grounds the government is being vindictive. Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of making a false statement and obstructing Congress. President Donald Trump's Justice Department says Comey was indicted because he broke the law, not because Trump ordered it.
What's next now that Trump has signed bill releasing the Epstein files
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed a bill to compel the Justice Department to make public its case files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It's a potentially far-reaching development in survivors’ yearslong push for a public reckoning over how the well-connected financier sexually abused and trafficked teenage girls for more than a decade. Now that the bill has been signed by the president, there’s a 30-day countdown for the Justice Department to produce what’s commonly known as the Epstein files. The bill will most likely trigger a rarely seen baring of a sprawling federal investigation. It also creates the potential for unintended consequences.
Larry Summers takes leave from teaching at Harvard after release of Epstein emails
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has abruptly gone on leave from teaching at Harvard University over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. That's according to Summers' spokesperson. Summers has been retreating from his public commitments amid the fallout of the emails revelation. Earlier Wednesday, Summers severed ties with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and other organizations over the emails. He was also affiliated with multiple think tanks, research centers and media organizations. Several of them confirmed that those affiliations have ended.
A corruption scandal pressures Ukraine's Zelenskyy to show greater accountability
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take stronger action to show accountability in the face of a corruption scandal presenting the greatest threat to his government since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Zelenskyy has dismissed two top officials and imposed sanctions on close associates after government investigators revealed that $100 million had been embezzled from the country’s energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors. But that hasn’t quieted the political storm. After more than three years of war in which Ukrainians face regular power outages, corruption in the energy sector isn’t sitting well with the public. Calls are growing for Zelenskyy to remove his chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who many consider to be Ukraine’s de facto vice president.
Arrests now top 250 in immigration crackdown across North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during an immigration crackdown in North Carolina centered around Charlotte, the state’s largest city. Those totals released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are about double the arrest figures announced earlier this week. The operation that began over the weekend is the latest phase of Republican President Donald Trump’s aggressive mass deportation efforts. Military and immigration agents have converged on Democratic-run cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. The push to carry out arrests in North Carolina expanded to areas around the state capital of Raleigh in just the last day.
Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns
The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious. The Associated Press has found that the predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched, and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going, and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement. The Border Patrol’s parent agency said they use license plate readers to help identify threats and disrupt criminal networks and are governed by "federal law and constitutional protections.”
Labor Department won't release full October jobs report, a casualty of the 43-day federal shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department said Wednesday that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for October because the 43-day federal government shutdown meant it couldn’t calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers. Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — most importantly the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on Dec. 16. The department’s “employment situation″ report usually comes out the first Friday of the month. But the government shutdown disrupted data collection and delayed the release of the reports. For example, the September jobs report, now coming out Thursday, was originally due Oct. 3.
As infant botulism cases climb to 31, recalled ByHeart baby formula is still on some store shelves
Health officials say at least 31 babies in 15 states have been treated for botulism as an outbreak tied to ByHeart formula continues to grow. The company confirmed Wednesday that lab tests found that samples of its formula were contaminated with the type of bacteria that can cause the illness. Investigators in at least three states said the formula remains on some store shelves, despite a Nov. 11 recall of all products nationwide. Infant botulism is a potentially deadly illness. Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop. The illness requires immediate medical attention.
Israel's military carries out strikes in Lebanon and Gaza, killing dozens of people
SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — The Israeli military has carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what it claims are Hezbollah weapons storage facilities. This comes after a drone strike earlier in the day killed one person and injured several others, including students on a bus. Tensions between Israel and militants are escalating. On Tuesday night, an airstrike killed 13 people in a Palestinian refugee camp, the deadliest since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago. Israel claims Hezbollah is regrouping in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, hospitals in Gaza report that Israeli strikes have killed 21 Palestinians.
NASA unveils close-up pictures of the comet popping by from another star
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is unveiling close-up pictures of the interstellar comet that's making a quick one-and-done tour of our solar system. Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit from another star. It zipped harmlessly past Mars last month. Several NASA spacecraft at and near the red planet zoomed in on the comet as it passed just 18 million miles away. The closest the comet will come to Earth is 167 million miles in mid-December. Then it will hightail it back into interstellar space, never to return. NASA’s acting astrophysics director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, said during a news conference Wednesday that getting a glimpse of the comet presents “a fascinating and rare opportunity.”
