House votes to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in contempt
The House voted Thursday to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. In a rare show of bipartisanship on the House floor, the committee’s Democratic chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, led the floor debate along with Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of two Republicans on the panel. Still, the vote was 229-202 with all but nine GOP lawmakers who voted saying “no.” The House vote sends the matter to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, where it will now be up to prosecutors in that office to decide whether to present the case to a grand jury for possible criminal charges.
FBI: Remains found in Florida park ID’d as Brian Laundrie
The FBI on Thursday identified human remains found in a Florida nature preserve as those of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of girlfriend Gabby Petito while the couple was on a cross-country road trip. The remains, a backpack and notebook believed to belong to Laundrie were discovered Wednesday in a Florida wilderness park, according to the FBI. The area where they were found had been under water during earlier searches. The FBI’s Denver office said in a news release a comparison of dental records confirmed that the remains were Laundrie. A lawyer for his parents, Steve Bertolino, also confirmed in a statement they were told the remains were those of their son.
Fed imposes sweeping new limits on policymakers’ investments
The Federal Reserve is imposing a broad new set of restrictions on the investments its officials can own, a response to questionable recent trades that forced two top Fed officials to resign. The Fed announced Thursday that its policymakers and senior staff would be barred from investing in individual stocks and bonds. They would also have to provide 45 days’ advance notice of any trade and receive prior approval from ethics officials. And they would have to hold the investments for at least a year. These senior officials will also have to sell any individual stocks or bonds they now own, as well as any category of securities, such as municipal bonds, that the Fed is buying as part of its economic support programs.
New York City mandates vaccines for its workers
New York City took one of its most aggressive steps yet to increase vaccination rates, requiring almost every member of the nation’s largest municipal workforce to get vaccinated by the end of the month or lose their paychecks. The new mandate by Mayor Bill de Blasio, following similar requirements for teachers and health care workers that led to a surge in vaccinations, is intended to persuade thousands of city workers who have resisted getting the shot to do so before winter. At least 46,000 police officers, firefighters and other city workers have not yet received the vaccine.
By wire sources