Threats against lawmakers surge
A New York Times review of more than 75 indictments of people charged with threatening lawmakers since 2016 has shed light on a chilling trend: In recent years, and particularly since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, a growing number of Americans have lodged concrete threats of violence against members of Congress. Overall, threats against members of Congress reached a record high of 9,600 last year, according to the Capitol Police, double the previous year’s total. In the first three months of 2021 alone, the Capitol Police fielded more than 4,100 threats against lawmakers in the House and Senate.
Archives found possible classified material in boxes returned by Trump
The National Archives and Records Administration discovered what it believed was classified information in documents Donald Trump took with him from the White House as he left office, according to a person briefed on the matter. The discovery, which occurred after Trump returned 15 boxes of documents to the government last month, prompted the National Archives to reach out to the Justice Department for guidance, the person said. The department told the National Archives to have its inspector general examine the matter, the person said. It is unclear whether the inspector general has referred the matter to the Justice Department.
Jan. 6 inquiry subpoenas Navarro
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Wednesday issued a subpoena to Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to former President Donald Trump who was involved in what he called an “operation” to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 election. The subpoena was the committee’s latest attempt to obtain information about efforts in Trump’s White House to invalidate the election. Navarro, who has insisted the violence on Jan. 6 was not part of his plans, said Wednesday that he would not comply with the committee’s subpoena, citing Trump’s invocation of executive privilege.
Stock trading ban for lawmakers gains momentum
An effort to strictly control stock ownership by members of Congress is gathering momentum on Capitol Hill, fueled by politically vulnerable lawmakers who recognize the potency of signaling to voters that they will act on the perceived corruption in Washington. The issue of banning the ownership and trading of individual stocks by lawmakers raises questions of what other kinds of personal investments or economic liabilities could be perceived as conflicts of interest. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, took to the Senate floor to embrace the ban and encourage Democrats to reach out to Republicans.
Masks come off in more states
New York’s governor said Wednesday that she was ending the state’s indoor masking rules. The governor of Massachusetts announced that face coverings would soon become optional in schools. And by day’s end, the governors of Illinois, Rhode Island and Washington said that they, too, would loosen coronavirus rules. The moves mean that many of the COVID-19 restrictions that have divided Americans will soon be eliminated in places where politicians have long championed sweeping virus precautions. As the omicron variant loosens its grip, leaders in liberal-leaning states are moving toward a stance embraced in many conservative areas a year ago.
Violence erupts at Syrian camp for ISIS families
At a detention camp in northeastern Syria where tens of thousands of family members of Islamic State fighters have been held for years, guards opened fire at residents this week after women and children attacked them with rocks and knives, according to a top security commander for the region. One child was killed and several women and children were wounded Monday in the shooting, the commander, Newroz Ahmed, told The New York Times on Tuesday. It was the first time that guards in the sprawling Al Hol camp had opened fire on children.
Protesters block 3rd point along US-Canada border
A new trucker blockade protesting pandemic restrictions snarled traffic at a third point along the Canadian and the United States border Wednesday. A barricade of trucks in Sarnia, Ontario, stalled traffic traveling on the only expressway route to a bridge into the United States that connected Sarnia and Port Huron, Michigan. That bridge was already swamped Wednesday with traffic from the United States after it became the only alternative route to the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, which was shut down in the Canada-bound direction Monday after protesters erected a road blockade.
Germany has a new climate envoy: an American activist
Germany on Wednesday announced the appointment of a new international climate envoy — an American, Jennifer Morgan, who is the current executive director of Greenpeace International. Morgan, who said she has lived in Germany since 2003 and has applied to become a German citizen, will begin her new job as the special envoy for climate policy, working in the Foreign Ministry. She will become a junior minister after she is granted German citizenship. Under the new government that took power in December, international climate policy will be housed in the Foreign Ministry and not the Environmental Ministry.
Navy works to salvage F-35 jet from ocean floor
On Jan. 24, one of the U.S. Navy’s most expensive warplanes crashed as it tried to land on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the South China Sea. The $94 million F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is now the subject of a salvage operation. Photos and videos that appeared to have been taken aboard the Vinson have been posted on social media. Public affairs officers said that some of the images — such as one of the F-35 on the ocean surface — were authentic.
Experts hail big step forward in fusion technology in UK
European scientists have taken a significant step closer to mastering a technology that could allow them to one day harness nuclear fusion, providing a clean and almost limitless source of energy, British officials said Wednesday. Researchers at the Joint European Torus experiment near Oxford managed to produce a record amount of heat energy over a five-second period, which was the duration of the experiment, the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority said. The 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy produced were more than double the previous record achieved in 1997.
Family: Bob Saget died after accidental blow to the head
Bob Saget’s death last month stemmed from an accidental blow to the head, his family said in a statement Wednesday. The comedian and “Full House” star was found dead Jan. 9 in a Florida hotel room. He’d performed in the area the night before as part of a stand-up tour. “The authorities have determined that Bob passed from head trauma,” the Saget family said. “They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved.”
By wire sources
© 2022 The New York Times Company
