Biden rejects Trump’s claim of privilege for White House visitor logs
President Joe Biden ordered the National Archives to hand over a range of visitor logs from the Trump White House to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, rejecting his predecessor’s claim that the material is protected by executive privilege. The decision boosts the committee’s efforts to gather information about who was coming and going from the White House as President Donald Trump sought to overturn the election. The archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, said in a letter to Trump on Wednesday that unless prohibited by a court, the National Archives would hand over the logs March 3.
Ex-Interior secretary broke ethics rules, inquiry finds
Ryan Zinke, the former interior secretary, misused his position and lied to investigators about his involvement in a Montana land deal, repeatedly breaking federal ethics rules, a government watchdog said on Wednesday. The Interior Department’s inspector general found that while in office, Zinke continued to negotiate with developers about a real estate project in his hometown, Whitefish, Montana. His involvement violated an ethics agreement he had signed upon taking office to not participate in such matters. Zinke, who is running for Congress in Montana, was the subject of several ethics inquiries while he served under former President Donald Trump.
Mudslides in Brazil kill at least 94
Firefighters and desperate residents searched for victims Wednesday after mudslides and flooding swept through a mountainous region north of Rio de Janeiro, dumping a month’s worth of rain overnight and killing at least 94 people. The mayor of Petrópolis, Brazil, a city nestled in mountains about 70 miles from Rio de Janeiro’s beaches, said the death toll could still rise. Images and videos on social media showed rivers of mud rushing through the city’s streets. Many experts say such extreme weather events are becoming more common with global warming. The rains that caused the devastation were the heaviest the city had seen since 1952, Brazil’s National Meteorological Institute said.
Shark kills swimmer in rare death off Sydney coast, officials say
A shark killed a swimmer Wednesday off the coast of Sydney, Australia, officials said, in what local news outlets called the first fatal shark bite near the city in decades. About 4:30 p.m. in Sydney, police officers and other emergency workers responded to a report of a shark incident in the vicinity of Buchan Point near Malabar, according to a statement from the New South Wales Police Force. They found human remains in the water, police said. Little Bay Beach, about 7 miles southeast of the Sydney Airport, was closed as officers continued to search the area. The authorities did not identify the person who died.
By wire sources