“The House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection has formally approved holding ex-President Trump ally Steve Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena to appear before the panel. The full House is expected to vote on the resolution tomorrow. As serious as criminal contempt sounds, the process of prosecuting it could take years and may not result in hard consequences. It’s seen by many as more of a warning shot to discourage similar action by other Trump allies. One committee member said Congress will use ‘all of the tools’ available to force Bannon to testify, even if he just shows up and uses his constitutional right to plead the Fifth Amendment.” Read more at CNN
“The Food and Drug Administration may give its approval to administering booster shots that are different from recipients' original COVID-19 vaccine by Wednesday, the New York Times reported . The decision would fulfill the requests of state health officials, who have been seeking increased flexibility in giving the vaccines. Pfizer boosters were authorized for certain populations last month. The Moderna and J&J boosters are expected to be cleared by Wednesday evening, the Times said, and that may also be the timeline for the announcement on the differing boosters. Some studies have found benefits in combining different vaccine shots as part of the initial protocol, but there isn't a uniform consensus about the practice yet.” Read more USA Today
“WASHINGTON — Justice Stephen G. Breyer on Tuesday turned away a request from health care workers in Maine who had asked the Supreme Court to block a state vaccine mandate based on their religious objections while their legal challenge moved forward.
Justice Breyer did not ask for a response to the workers’ application or refer it to the full Supreme Court. He said the workers could return to the Supreme Court after the federal appeals court rules on their appeal or if that court does not issue a decision by Oct. 29. That is the date on which the state has said it will start enforcing the requirement.
Last week, Judge Jon D. Levy of the Federal District Court in Maine, ruled that the requirement did not run afoul of the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.” Read more at New York Times'
“General Electric Co., Union Pacific Corp. and other large U.S. employers are imposing Covid-19 vaccine mandates for their workers to comply with a Dec. 8 deadline set by the Biden administration for companies that are federal contractors.
Boeing Co. , International Business Machines Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. are other federal contractors that have already announced Covid-19 vaccine mandates for their U.S. staff. Together with GE and Union Pacific, these companies collectively employ more than 300,000 U.S. workers.
Employees of government contractors are required to get vaccinated against Covid-19 under an executive order signed in September by President Biden. Contractors can request an accommodation for a religious belief or disability, but cannot opt out of the shot through Covid-19 testing. The White House has also said it plans to require companies that employ 100 or more workers to require their employees be vaccinated or undergo regular Covid-19 testing, but that policy is awaiting a formal rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
While some large companies, such as Walt Disney Co. and meatpacker Tyson FoodsInc., have imposed vaccine mandates, most businesses are awaiting more details from OSHA. Some companies have pushed back return-to-office plans and some business groups have raised concerns about the burden of complying with the standard.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“New York City will require that all of its municipal workforce get vaccinated against Covid-19, eliminating the option for testing and joining a group of state and local governments with similar mandates.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will funnel up to $120 million worth of molnupiravir, an experimental antiviral COVID treatment from Merck, to lower-income countries. Keep reading.” Read more at Axios
“A Brazilian Senate report will recommend President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with ‘crimes against humanity ‘for his COVID-19 policies, alleging that the right-wing leader intentionally allowed the virus to spread in a failed effort to reach herd immunity, the N.Y. Times reports (subscription).
Why it matters: One year out from Brazil's elections, the extraordinary allegations underscore the depth of national fury at a president who actively downplayed the virus as ‘a little flu,’ encouraged mass gatherings, and spurned masks and vaccines.
The six-month special investigation, which featured nightly testimony about ‘bribery schemes and disinformation operations,’ blames Bolsonaro's policies for the deaths of more than 300,000 Brazilians, or half the country's current COVID-19 death toll.
What to watch: Brazil's attorney general, a Bolsonaro appointee, will have 30 days to decide whether to pursue criminal charges against the president, three of his sons and more than 60 other officials named in the report.” Read more at Axios
“U.S. authorities detained more than 1.7 million migrants along the Mexico border during the 2021 fiscal year that ended in September, and arrests by the Border Patrol soared to the highest levels since 1986, according to unpublished U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Washington Post.
Illegal crossings began rising last year but skyrocketed in the months after President Biden took office. As CBP arrests increased this past spring, Biden described the rise as consistent with historic seasonal norms. But the busiest months came during the sweltering heat of July and August, when more than 200,000 migrants were taken into custody.” Read more at Washington Post
“WASHINGTON — President Trump’s defense secretary thought the idea was outrageous.
In the spring of 2020, Mark T. Esper, the defense secretary, was alarmed to learn of an idea under discussion at a top military command and at the Department of Homeland Security to send as many as 250,000 troops — more than half the active U.S. Army, and a sixth of all American forces — to the southern border in what would have been the largest use of the military inside the United States since the Civil War.
With the coronavirus pandemic raging, Stephen Miller, the architect of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda, had urged the Homeland Security Department to develop a plan for the number of troops that would be needed to seal the entire 2,000-mile border with Mexico. It is not clear whether it was officials in homeland security or the Pentagon who concluded that a quarter of a million troops would be required.
The concept was relayed to officials at the Defense Department’s Northern Command, which is responsible for all military operations in the United States and on its borders, according to several former senior administration officials. Officials said the idea was never presented formally to Mr. Trump for approval, but it was discussed in meetings at the White House as they debated other options for closing the border to illegal immigration.
Mr. Esper declined to comment. But people familiar with his conversations, who would speak about them only on condition of anonymity, said he was enraged by Mr. Miller’s plan. In addition, homeland security officials had bypassed his office by taking the idea directly to military officials at Northern Command. Mr. Esper also believed that deploying so many troops to the border would undermine American military readiness around the world, officials said.” Read more at New York Times
“The gang that kidnapped a group of 17 American and Canadian missionaries in Haiti has asked for $17 million for their release -- $1 million for each person. The 16 American citizens and one Canadian were kidnapped Saturday by the powerful 400 Mawozo gang and are reportedly being held outside a Port-au-Prince suburb. The missionaries, affiliated with an Ohio-based ministry, include four children and an 8-month-old. A wave of brazen kidnappings has hit Haiti as the country deals with political unrest and severe poverty. Such kidnappings have increased 300% since July, and many are at the hands of the 400 Mawozo gang, according to a Haitian nonprofit. The kidnappers usually demand ransom for their hostages, which in this case is another calling card of gang activity.” Read more at CNN
“President Biden has dictated the first cuts to the pared-down economic spending bill. Tuition-free community college is out, despite being a major White House priority. The child tax credit, another key priority, would likely be extended for only one more year, which is much shorter than many Democrats wanted. Other provisions for elder care, disability care and paid leave benefits may also be on the chopping block. The cuts are an attempt to pare the proposed $3.5 trillion price tag down to about $1.9 trillion to appease moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who holds a critical vote. However, Biden said they plan to keep an expansion of Medicare to keep more progressive members on board.” Read more at CNN
“A federal grand jury has indicted Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) on charges of lying to federal investigators about his campaign contributions.
The congressman, who was elected in 2004, said in a video released Monday evening that he anticipated the indictment. His wife, Celeste, in a letter to supporters before the indictment was announced, labeled it a ‘false accusation.’
The federal grand jury charged him with one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators looking into illegal contributions to his 2016 campaign, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Under House Republican rules, Fortenberry will have to step down as the top Republican on the appropriations subcommittee on agriculture while the charges are pending. Aides to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fortenberry’s committee assignments.
Fortenberry, 60, served on the Lincoln City Council for four years before winning an open House seat in 2004 on a conservative record of opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He has easily won reelection in the Republican-leaning district. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The charges center on a $30,200 donation made by Gilbert Chagoury, a wealthy Nigerian business executive of Lebanese descent, in January 2016 ‘using other individuals as conduits,’ according to the indictment.” Read more at Washington Post
“The gunman who killed 14 students and three staff members at a Parkland, Florida, high school is set to plead guilty to their murders , more than three years after the attack. Attorneys for Nikolas Cruz, 23, told a judge he will plead guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The guilty plea would set up a penalty phase, decided by jury, where Cruz would seek life without parole and not the death penalty. In the aftermath of the shooting, Parkland student activists formed March for Our Lives, a group that rallied hundreds of thousands around the country for tighter gun laws.” Read more at USA Today
“The global supply chain crisis could result in fewer discounts and deals as the holiday shopping season approaches. Because of backups and shortages, stores are already having trouble keeping products on shelves, and some may not get the inventory they need before Black Friday-type bargain shopping begins. Supply chain challenges aren’t just a result of backed-up ports and manufacturing shutdowns. There’s also a shortage of workers to unload and transport products. The trucking industry needs about 80,000 drivers, a reported record high and about a 30% increase since the beginning of the pandemic. Worker shortages are why some efforts to alleviate backlogs, like Biden’s recent directive that some ports operate 24/7, aren’t fully solving the problem.” Read more at CNN
“A day after the death of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former President Donald Trump disparaged the diplomat and decorated general in a statement.” Read more at USA Today
“CNN anchor shares a significant health update: While applauding vaccine mandates, John King revealed that he has multiple sclerosis.” Read more at USA Today
“Facebook has agreed to pay penalties totaling more than $14 million under a settlement with the Justice Department over findings that the company’s hiring practices intentionally discriminated against Americans in favor of foreign workers, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The social media behemoth has also agreed in a settlement with the Labor Department to do more to recruit Americans for technology jobs and be subject to federal scrutiny for up to three years, the officials said.
The agreements came after the Justice Department sued Facebook in December for allegedly failing to properly advertise at least 2,600 jobs — and consider applications from U.S. citizens — before offering the spots to foreigners whom the company was sponsoring for green cards granting permanent residency in 2018 and 2019.” Read more at Washington Post
“Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told The Wall Street Journal he ‘screwed up’ in how he communicated with employees who were upset over ‘The Closer,’ the comedy special in which Dave Chappelle made remarks that offended the transgender community.
‘What I should have led with in those emails was humanity,’ Sarandos said. ‘I should have recognized the fact that a group of our employees was really hurting.’
But he said there are no plans to remove the show.
‘The Closer’ is currently among the top 10 most popular Netflix shows in the U.S., and it was as high as No. 3 earlier this week, The Journal says.
Netflix said yesterday that ‘Squid Game’ is now officially its biggest show ever, with 142 million member-households globally watching the title in its first four weeks.” More from Sara Fischer. Read more at Axios
“Arguing it restricts classroom discussion without educational justification, a group of educators and students announced Tuesday afternoon that they are filing a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s so-called ‘critical race theory’ ban.
Filed in the Western District of Oklahoma by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the lawsuit’s plaintiffs includes two public school teachers from Edmond and Oklahoma City Millwood, a high school student, the Black Emergency Response Team at the University of Oklahoma and chapters of the American Indian Movement, NAACP and the American Association of University of Professors.
The lawsuit claims that House Bill 1775, which took effect this summer, has had a chilling effect on lesson plans by pushing districts to remove certain texts from their curriculum, including Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun.’
The lawsuit also claims that districts have told teachers to avoid certain discussion topics and phrases in their classes, including ‘white privilege’ and ‘diversity.’
As adopted, HB 1775 bans teaching that one race or gender is inherently superior. It also prohibits causing a student to feel guilty or uncomfortable because of their race or gender, as well as teaching that anyone is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or otherwise.” Read more at Tulsa World
“With its immense gas reserves, Turkmenistan should be one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Instead, it’s an economic basket case — and that’s a problem for the planet.
As Aaron Clark and Matthew Campbell report, the secretive Central Asian nation of 6 million people ranked behind only the U.S. and Russia last year as the worst emitter of methane, which has more than 80 times the global-warming power of carbon dioxide. The largest component of natural gas can leak in huge quantities from facilities that aren’t properly maintained.
While satellite monitoring can spot methane eruptions from space, it’s a lot harder to press states to plug and prevent them. That’s a challenge facing world leaders at the COP26 climate summit in Scotland that starts at the end of this month.
Methane emissions detected by satellite over Turkmenistan from 2019 to the present. Source: Kayrros
Only nine of the top 20 emitters have so far signed a Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions that’s being promoted by the U.S. and the European Union for launch at the meeting. In the EU’s own backyard, methane is spewing from Romania’s oil and gas infrastructure.
Russia, where state-run Gazprom has repeatedly acknowledged leaks, isn’t among the signatories, even as President Vladimir Putin highlighted the importance of cutting emissions at U.S. leader Joe Biden’s climate summit in April. Nor are China and India, the world’s biggest and third-biggest greenhouse-gas polluters.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson predicted ‘extremely tough’ talks at COP26 in a Bloomberg interview Monday, and urged countries to make ‘hard pledges’ to contain global warming.
In Turkmenistan, led by the authoritarian Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a giant crater known as the ‘Gates of Hell’ has burned gas continuously for more than 40 years since a drilling accident. Nobody there is planning to put out the fire.” — Anthony Halpin Read more at Bloomberg
“Afghanistan meeting. Representatives from Russia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran, and India gather in Moscow today to discuss Afghanistan’s transition following the Taliban takeover in August. Afghanistan’s Acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanaf will lead a Taliban delegation at the meeting.
On Tuesday, Russian, Chinese, and Pakistani officials all said they would provide aid to Afghanistan, but stopped short of offering full recognition to the Taliban-led government. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his government was holding off on recognition discussions with the Taliban, adding that Russia is ‘prodding them to fulfill the promises they made when they came to power.’
In Washington, Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the Biden administration had no plans to unfreeze the more than $9 billion in Afghan central bank reserves currently held outside the country.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“North Korea’s missile. The U.N. Security Council will hold emergency talks today following the latest North Korean missile test, officially confirmed by Pyongyang early Wednesday. North Korean state media said a ‘new type’ of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was tested on Tuesday, equipped with ‘lots of advanced control guidance technologies.’ The test comes soon after South Korea demonstrated its own capabilities in its first successful SLBM test, adding to the handful of nations that have mastered the technology.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Two bombs attached to a bus carrying Syrian troops exploded in Damascus during the morning rush hour Wednesday, a military official said. Fourteen people were killed in the attack, one of the deadliest in the capital in years.
While the Syrian government’s decade-long conflict with insurgents continues in parts of the country including the rebel-held northwest, bombings in Damascus have become exceedingly rare since President Bashar Assad’s troops pushed opposition fighters from the capital’s suburbs in 2018.” Read more at AP News
“Brexit is starting to hurt the U.K. economy.
Many Brexit supporters had billed a split with the European Union as an opportunity to break free of restrictions that weighed on the nation’s prosperity. Now, nearly 10 months after formally starting a new relationship with the bloc, the U.K. is grappling with hobbled trade just as its economy needs all its engines firing to power out of its worst downturn in a century. The move put the U.K. outside the EU’s vast internal market of 445 million consumers and a customs territory that is bigger still, one food wholesale business in England’s West Midlands generated up to a quarter of its annual revenue from customers around the EU. Now, the company has stopped exporting to the EU altogether to avoid having to pay thousands of dollars to hire a customs agent to assemble the correct information for products to clear customs, and more to ship them. U.K export volumes at the end of July were 16% lower than at the end of 2019, while imports were flat. World trade, including imports and exports, meanwhile, was 4% higher in July than it was at the end of 2019.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“A drone company said Tuesday that it had received permission from the Spanish government to conduct a rescue mission to save several dogs trapped on La Palma in the Canary Islands as volcanic eruptions continue.
Video shot nearly a week ago showed the stranded dogs looking desperate, weak and skinny in ash-covered yards in the southwest area of Todoque.
The company, Aerocámaras, said Thursday that it hoped to evacuate the animals by drone. The plan, according to a statement released by the company, was to fly drones in with food for the animals, as well as another camera to inspect the logistics of the area. Once the dogs got used to the machines, it would carry out the rescue mission.” Read more at Washington Post
“$25 million — The settlement reached for families and victims of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., when a gunman killed 17 people. The settlement, which took months to negotiate, will be distributed among 52 families and victims. It settles 52 of 53 lawsuits filed against Broward County Public Schools for negligence over the shooting, according to the families’ lawyer.
10% — Roughly the percentage of U.S. grocery sales that are online, up from 5% in 2019. Grocery-delivery service Instacart expects that share to reach 30% over the next several years, with its CEO saying the Covid-19 pandemic has fueled lasting changes in the way consumers buy food.
24 — The number of GOP state attorneys general who wrote in a letter to President Biden last month that more than 120 million Americans previously infected with Covid-19 had a degree of immunity that should excuse them from vaccine mandates. Nurses, factory workers and athletes are among those making similar requests. Research comparing immune responses from prior infection and vaccination has been mixed. Federal health authorities say the shots have proved safe and effective after being administered to billions.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Just six outs stood between the Red Sox and an imposing 3-to-1 lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. Yet in a season where little has come easily, there should be little surprise that a potential path to the World Series proved crooked — and possibly impassable.
The Red Sox held a 2-1 lead over the Astros in the top of the eighth inning Tuesday night. The one-run advantage seemed significant given that the team’s two most dominant pitchers this year would be entrusted with it.
But Houston, whose five consecutive ALCS appearances have eliminated anxiety in the face of daunting circumstances, rallied for a game-tying run in the eighth off Garrett Whitlock before exploding for seven two-out runs in the ninth — four charged to Nate Eovaldi — in a 9-2 victory seen by 38,010 deflated patrons at Fenway….
The Astros’ victory ensures that the road to the World Series will now head back through Houston, the Sox having foresworn a chance to secure passage to the Fall Classic at home thanks to their first Fenway defeat in five postseason home games. At 2-2, the best-of-seven ALCS is reduced to a two-out-of-three race whose outcome is entirely unclear.” Read more at Boston Globe
“MLB teams will now be required to provide housing for minor league players, reports Axios Sports' Jeff Tracy.
Why it matters: Minor leaguers are expected to train year-round while being paid roughly $15,000 per year on average.
Most players work offseason side gigs, cram into apartments and subsist on food unfit for professional athletes.
The big picture: This housing upgrade comes amid MLB's efforts to modernize the minors, which included 2020's restructuring, reduced travel and upgraded facilities.” Read more at Axios
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