Ex-Trump aide confirms Biden probe linked to Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — A former top White House official confirmed Thursday that military aid to Ukraine was held up by President Donald Trump’s demand for the ally to investigate Democrats and Joe Biden, but testified there’s nothing illegal, in his view, about the quid pro quo at the center of the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry.
Tim Morrison, who stepped down from the National Security Council the day before testifying, was the first White House political appointee to appear and spent more than eight hours behind closed doors with House investigators.
“I want to be clear, I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed,” Morrison said about a pivotal phone call between Trump and the Ukraine president, according to prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press.
But he confirmed what diplomat William Taylor told investigators in earlier testimony — that Morrison had a “sinking feeling” when he learned that Trump was asking the Ukrainians to publicly announce an investigation of Biden and the Democrats, even as the president denied it was a quid pro quo.
“I can confirm,” Morrison wrote, that the substance of the diplomat’s testimony “is accurate.”
Sharply divided House approves impeachment rules
WASHINGTON — Democrats swept a rules package for their impeachment probe of President Donald Trump through a divided House Thursday, as the chamber’s first vote on the investigation highlighted the partisan breach the issue has only deepened.
By 232-196, lawmakers approved the procedures they’ll follow as weeks of closed-door interviews with witnesses evolve into public committee hearings and — almost certainly — votes on whether the House should recommend Trump’s removal.
All voting Republicans opposed the package. Every voting Democrat but two supported it.
Underscoring the pressure Trump has heaped on his party’s lawmakers, he tweeted, “Now is the time for Republicans to stand together and defend the leader of their party against these smears.”
Yet the roll call also accentuated how Democrats have rallied behind the impeachment inquiry after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent months urging caution until evidence and public support had grown.
Trick-or-treater, 7, critically injured in Chicago shooting
CHICAGO — A 7-year-old girl out trick-or-treating in a bumblebee costume was critically injured Thursday night after being struck by apparent stray gunfire, police said.
The girl, who was shot in the upper chest area, was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. A 30-year-old man was shot in the left hand and taken to a nearby hospital in good condition.
The shooting occurred early Halloween evening as the girl was walking with her family and other trick-or-treaters along a street in the Little Village neighborhood.
In a tweet, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the girl was believed to be an unintended victim. He said members of the community were assisting investigators “but we need more.”
“We heard the shots … four shots, and I went outside,” said Lali Lara, who works in a nearby cellphone store, told the Chicago Tribune. “The girl’s father was screaming, ‘My little girl’s been shot.’”
Chicago teachers strike ends after 11 days without school
CHICAGO — Chicago teachers and the nation’s third-largest school district reached a labor contract deal on Thursday, ending a strike that canceled 11 days of classes for more than 300,000 students.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the district had reached a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union after months of unsuccessful negotiations led to the city’s first significant walkout by educators since 2012. The union’s 25,000 members went on strike Oct. 17, holding marches and rallies across the city.
Chicago Teachers Union delegates voted late Wednesday to approve a tentative deal that includes pay raises over five years, but they initially refused to end the strike unless the mayor added school days to cover the lost time.
The union said Lightfoot had agreed to make up five days of lost time. The school district said classes will resume Friday.
Throughout the strike, Chicago Public Schools kept schools open, promising parents that their kids would have a safe place to go and receive meals. City parks, libraries and community groups also opened their doors to kids whose parents didn’t want to leave them home alone but were uncomfortable using schools being picketed by educators.
Islamic State group announces successor to al-Baghdadi
BEIRUT — The Islamic State group declared a new leader Thursday after it confirmed the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi days earlier in a U.S raid in Syria.
In its audio release by the IS central media arm, al-Furqan Foundation, a new spokesman for IS identifies the successor as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — tracing his lineage, like al-Baghdadi, to the Prophet Muhammad’s Quraysh tribe.
It provided no other details about al-Qurayshi and it was not immediately clear who the name was in reference to. The group typically identifies its leaders using noms de guerre that refer to their tribal affiliation and lineage. Those names often change.
The speaker in the audio also confirmed the death of Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, a close aide of al-Baghdadi and a spokesman for the group since 2016.
Al-Muhajir was killed in a joint U.S. operation with Kurdish forces in Jarablus in northern Syria on Sunday, hours after al-Baghdadi blew himself up during a U.S. raid in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.
From wire sources
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The pressure is now on Facebook to ban political ads, too
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter’s ban on political advertising is ratcheting up pressure on Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg to follow suit. But so far, that doesn’t appear likely to happen.
Facebook’s policy is to accept paid political ads from candidates without fact-checking them or censoring them, even if they contain lies.
And Zuckerberg doubled down on that stand Wednesday following Twitter’s announcement, reiterating that “political speech is important” and that Facebook is loath to interfere with it.
Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites have come under fire over Russia’s use of such platforms to spread misinformation and sow political division in the U.S. during the 2016 presidential campaign. That debate has heated up again in recent weeks along with the 2020 race for the White house.
Twitter chose to respond with a ban on all political advertising, suggesting that social media is so powerful that false or misleading messages pose a risk to democracy.
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Survivors say burning train took 20 minutes to stop, 74 dead
MULTAN, Pakistan — A raging fire swept through a train in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab Province on Thursday, killing 74 people, and survivors said afterward it took nearly 20 minutes for the train to stop amid contradictory reports about the condition of the train’s brakes.
Three carriages were consumed by flames from a fire caused by a cooking gas stove and dozens of people jumped in panic from the speeding train.
Conductor Sadiue Ahmed Khan told The Associated Press the train’s emergency breaking system was in perfect working order and the train stopped within three minutes after the first signs of fire.
“This is the worst tragedy in my life as a driver,” he said.
Investigators said they will be looking at the train’s braking system to determine its condition at the time of the fire. Survivors recounted pulling at emergency cords that weave through the train to notify the conductor, but they said the train continued to speed down the tracks.