Jan. 6 panel has evidence for criminal referral of Trump, but splits on sending
The leaders of the House committee investigating the Capitol attack have grown divided over whether to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department of former President Donald Trump, even though they have concluded that they have enough evidence to do so, people involved in the discussions said. The debate centers on whether making a referral would backfire by politically tainting the department’s investigation into the Jan. 6 assault. Since last summer, a team of former federal prosecutors working for the committee has focused on documenting the attack and the efforts by Trump to reverse his 2020 election defeat.
China makes semi-secret delivery of missiles to Serbia
Russian ally Serbia took the delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region. Media and military experts said Sunday that six Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport early Saturday, reportedly carrying HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems for the Serbian military. The Chinese cargo planes with military markings were pictured at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. Serbia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment.
2 killed, 10 wounded in Cedar Rapids nightclub shooting
A shooting inside a crowded Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nightclub left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded early Sunday, authorities said. Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said investigators believe two men fired more than a dozen shots inside the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday. He said officers who were just outside the club because of an earlier incident rushed inside just as 100-150 people streamed out of the bar and found the victims. The gunmen likely escaped as the crowd rushed out of the nightclub. Police were searching for suspects Sunday afternoon and no arrests had been reported.
Wind energy company to pay $8M in killings of 150 eagles
A wind energy company pleaded guilty last week to killing at least 150 eagles at its wind farms and was ordered to pay $8 million in fines and restitution, federal prosecutors said. The company, ESI Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, was also sentenced to probation for five years, during which it must follow an eagle management plan, after pleading guilty Tuesday to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. ESI acknowledged that at least 150 bald and golden eagles had died at its facilities since 2012, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Facing disastrous floods,
they turned to mangrove
trees for protection
As sea levels rise, eroding embankments and pushing water closer to their doorsteps, the residents of the hundreds of villages in the Sundarbans — an immense network of rivers, tidal flats, small islands and vast mangrove forests straddling India and Bangladesh — have found their lives and livelihoods at risk. In the absence of much government support, women such as Aparna Dhara, with help from a nonprofit environmental conservation organization, have devised their own solution: planting hundreds of thousands of additional mangrove trees to bolster their role as protective barriers.
By wire sources
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