GOP fights COVID mandates, then blames Biden as cases rise
Over eight hours last Thursday night and into Friday morning, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., hit on many issues as he spoke on the House floor in an unsuccessful effort to thwart House passage of President Joe Biden’s social safety net and climate change bill. But among his most audacious assertions was that Biden was to blame for the country’s failure to quell the pandemic. McCarthy used this line of attack even as members of his own Republican Party have spent months flouting mask ordinances and blocking the president’s vaccine mandates. As of mid-September, 90% of adult Democrats had been vaccinated, compared with 58% of adult Republicans.
Pentagon forms a group to examine unexplained aerial sightings
The Pentagon on Tuesday night announced a new group to investigate reports of unidentified aerial phenomena in sensitive areas, work that will be overseen by both the military and the intelligence agencies. The group will lead an effort to “detect, identify and attribute objects” in restricted airspace, as well as mitigate any threats to military flights. The announcement follows the release of a report in June that failed to provide explanations of 143 sightings of strange phenomena by military pilots and others over the past two decades. Releasing a report that said the sightings were unexplained further drove theories that the videos or pictures could be visitors from space.
COVID-strained hospitals in Massachusetts delay nonurgent procedures
Massachusetts hospitals will cut back on nonurgent scheduled procedures starting Monday because of staffing shortages and longer patient hospital stays, according to the state’s health authorities. Coronavirus cases have been rising in Massachusetts for several weeks. The staffing shortage has contributed to the loss of approximately 500 medical, surgical and ICU hospital beds in Massachusetts, according to the state. And hospitals are seeing an influx of patients who delayed visiting the doctor when COVID cases were higher. The order, issued Tuesday, applies to hospitals that have less than 15% of beds available, and applies only to procedures that can be delayed without having a negative effect on patients’ health.
Trump investigation enters crucial phase as prosecutor’s term nears end
As Cyrus Vance Jr. enters his final weeks as Manhattan district attorney, his prosecutors have issued new subpoenas for records about Donald Trump’s hotels, golf clubs and office buildings. They recently interviewed a banker employed by Deutsche Bank, Trump’s top lender. And they told a top Trump executive who had been under scrutiny, Matthew Calamari, that they did not plan to indict him in the purported tax-evasion scheme that led to charges against Trump’s company. The developments, described by people with knowledge of the matter, show that Manhattan prosecutors have returned to an original focus of their three-year investigation: Trump’s statements about the value of his assets.
California leaders vow to crack down after high-profile burglaries
On Friday night, at least 30 people burglarized several of San Francisco’s most upscale stores, prosecutors said. The following day, hours after officials vowed to prosecute the thieves and prevent another large burglary, dozens of people ran into a Nordstrom store in the suburb of Walnut Creek, California. They grabbed clothes, jackets and handbags, and escaped into a caravan of waiting vehicles, the police said. Across eight days this month, near Chicago, around the Bay Area and in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, a series of fast, high-profile burglaries have alarmed businesses, bystanders and some state and local officials, who have promised to crack down on the crimes.
Iran rebuffs UN watchdog on resuming nuclear inspections
In what could be an ill omen for upcoming talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that he had failed to persuade Iran to replace equipment needed to monitor its nuclear program. Director-General Rafael Grossi said that talks with Iran had not produced an agreement to reinstall surveillance cameras at a centrifuge parts workshop in Karaj, Iran. The workshop was the target of apparent sabotage in June. Iran had reached an agreement with Grossi to allow inspectors access to monitoring devices in various nuclear facilities, but it has since denied inspectors access to retrieve the data.
Australia defamation case signals a crackdown on ordinary citizens, critics say
Australia’s defense minister on Wednesday won a defamation case over a tweet that called him a “rape apologist.” Critics said the case exemplified the conservative government’s heavy-handed approach toward regulating damaging commentary on social media. The dispute began when Shane Bazzi, an advocate for refugees, wrote a Twitter post in February about Peter Dutton, then the country’s home affairs minister and now the defense minister. Dutton began defamation proceedings soon after, saying that the post had “deeply offended” him and had wrongly suggested he condoned and excused rape. The court ordered Bazzi to pay Dutton about $25,000 in damages.
Germany gets a new government
German leaders on Wednesday announced a new government with a new chancellor, Olaf Scholz — a return to power for the center-left, in a coalition that faces immediate challenges posed by the pandemic, the economy and foreign relations. The coalition will combine Scholz’s Social Democrats with the progressive Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats. Leaders on Wednesday announced a governing deal they had negotiated since shortly after the Sept. 26 election. All three parties’ executive bodies or memberships will have to approve the document before Scholz and his new Cabinet can be sworn in. That is expected to take place by the second week of December.
Dozens dead after boat capsizes in English Channel
At least 27 people drowned in frigid waters off the coast of France on Wednesday, after a boat carrying migrants trying to reach Britain capsized in the English Channel, one of the worst death tolls in recent years for migrants attempting the dangerous crossing. Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said that the dead, including five women and a little girl, were part of a group whose inflatable boat was found completely deflated by rescuers. The deaths came only a few days after French and British authorities had reached an agreement to do more to stem the number of people taking to the sea.
British lawmaker is reprimanded for bringing baby to debate
Moments after Stella Creasy, a Labour lawmaker, left a parliamentary debate Tuesday, she received an official complaint stemming from her having brought her 3-month-old son into parliamentary chambers. Creasy posted a copy of the email on Twitter, leading to an outcry. Several lawmakers urged Parliament to change its rules to make it easier for female lawmakers to do their jobs. By Wednesday morning, the speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, said that the House of Commons Procedure Committee would review the rules. Some female lawmakers said the episode was just another example of the difficulties that women in Parliament face.
By wire sources