Justice Dept. forms domestic terrorism unit
The Justice Department is creating a unit to fight domestic terrorism at a time when the threat of violent extremism has increased, a top official said Tuesday. The number of FBI investigations of suspects accused of domestic extremism has more than doubled since the spring of 2020, the head of the department’s national security division, Matthew G. Olsen, said in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The national security division has a counterterrorism team, Olsen added, but a group of lawyers will now be dedicated to the domestic threat and ensure that cases will be “handled properly and effectively coordinated” across the agency and federal law enforcement.
US announces $308M in aid for Afghans as crisis grows
The United States on Tuesday announced $308 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, offering new aid to the country as it edges toward a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover nearly five months ago. White House national security council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement that the new aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development will flow through independent humanitarian organizations and will be used to provide shelter, health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman on a quarter
Writer and poet Maya Angelou has become the first Black woman to have her likeness depicted on the quarter, the first in a series of coins commemorating pioneering American women that began shipping this week, the U.S. Mint announced Monday. “It is my honor to present our nation’s first circulating coins dedicated to celebrating American women and their contributions to American history,” Ventris Gibson, deputy director of the Mint, said in a statement. ” Angelou’s 1969 memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” documented her childhood in the Jim Crow South and was among the first autobiographies by a 20th-century Black woman to reach a wide general readership.
Jan. 6 committee subpoenas Trump aide, 2 GOP strategists
The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection is demanding records and testimony from a former White House aide they say helped draft former President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 speech, along with two others it says were in communication with people close to Trump. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democratic chairman of the panel, issued subpoenas on Tuesday to Andy Surabian and Arthur Schwartz, strategists who advised Donald Trump Jr., and Ross Worthington, a former White House official who the committee says helped draft the speech Trump gave at the rally directly preceding last year’s attack.
Judge: FTC’s antitrust case against Facebook can proceed
A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s revised antitrust suit against Meta, formerly known as Facebook, can proceed, shutting down the social media company’s request for a dismissal. In a revised complaint filed last August, the FTC argues that the company pursued a “buy or bury” strategy against rivals to suppress competition. This is the FTC’s second antitrust run at the company. A federal judge in June dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought against Facebook by the agency and a broad coalition of state attorneys general that were among multiplying efforts by federal and state regulators to rein in tech titans’ market power.
Kazakhstan says Russian troops can start leaving this week
A Russian-led military alliance will begin withdrawing its troops from Kazakhstan in two days, the country’s president announced Tuesday, saying it had fulfilled its primary goal of helping stabilize the Central Asian nation as it experienced the worst political crisis in its history. In a speech to senior government officials and members of Parliament, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the withdrawal would take “no more than 10 days.” So far, the military operation is regarded as a geopolitical triumph for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who can present himself once again as an effective crisis manager for countries that Moscow considers within its sphere of influence.
By wire sources
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