FDA chief decries ‘shocking’ conditions at baby formula plant
The Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan that was shut down in February, sparking a baby formula shortage crisis, had a leaking roof, water pooled on the floor and cracks in key production equipment that allowed bacteria to get in and persist, Dr. Robert Califf, head of the Food and Drug Administration, told a House panel Wednesday. Califf told members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that the agency worked with Justice Department officials to dictate steps the company needed to take to turn the facility around. That effort is expected to result in the plant reopening June 4, Jonathon Hamilton, an Abbott spokesperson, said.
Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary is officially headed to a recount
The Republican primary for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania will go to a recount, with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician backed by former President Donald Trump, clinging to a narrow advantage over David McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, in one of the nation’s most intensely watched midterm contests. Oz was leading McCormick by 902 votes as of Wednesday, according to Leigh M. Chapman, the state’s acting secretary of the commonwealth, who said all 67 of Pennsylvania’s counties had reported unofficial tallies to the state. The recount could lead to a series of lawsuits and challenges in the primary, which could ultimately determine control of the Senate.
Trump said to have reacted approvingly to Jan. 6 chants about hanging Pence
Shortly after hundreds of rioters at the Capitol started chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” on Jan. 6, 2021, the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, left the dining room off the Oval Office, walked into his own office and told colleagues that President Donald Trump was complaining that the vice president was being whisked to safety. Meadows, according to an account provided to the House committee investigating Jan. 6, then told the colleagues that Trump had said something to the effect of, maybe Pence should be hanged. The reported remark was further evidence of how extreme the rupture between the president and his vice president had become.
Biden signs policing order on anniversary of Floyd’s death
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to improve accountability in policing. It’s a meaningful but limited action on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death that reflected the challenges in addressing racism, excessive use of force and public safety with a deadlocked Congress. Most of the order issued Wednesday is focused on federal law enforcement agencies — for example, requiring them to review and revise policies on use of force. It will also create a database to help track officer misconduct. The administration cannot require local police departments to participate in the database, which is intended to prevent problem officers from job-hopping. The order also restricts the flow of surplus military equipment to local police.
Beto O’Rourke interrupts briefing, echoing US debate on guns
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke has blamed Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for inaction on gun control. His remarks echo a debate happening across the U.S. after the latest deadly school shooting. As the Republican governor was finishing his opening remarks Wednesday about the deaths of 19 children and two teachers in the small town of Uvalde, O’Rourke approached the stage, pointed to the governor and blasted him for “doing nothing.” Republicans countered that it wasn’t time to talk about politics and partisanship. But Abbott went on to say that he doesn’t support restrictions on guns and prefers to focus on issues such as mental health and school security.
Boeing capsule lands back on Earth after space shakedown
Boeing’s astronaut taxi has returned to Earth from the International Space Station, completing a repeat test flight with a mannequin on board. The Starliner capsule parachuted into the New Mexico desert just four hours after leaving the orbiting lab Wednesday. Aside from a few snags, Starliner appears to have clinched its high-stakes shakedown cruise 2 1/2 years after its botched first attempt. That means NASA test pilots will fly next, perhaps by year’s end. NASA wants two competing U.S. companies ferrying astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX is already the established leader.
Reality TV’s Josh Duggar gets 12 years in child porn case
A federal judge has sentenced reality TV’s Josh Duggar to about 12 1/2 years in prison for his conviction on one count of receiving child pornography. Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence the former “19 Kids and Counting” star on Wednesday to the maximum 20 years. Duggar’s lawyers sought a five-year prison term. Duggar was arrested in April 2021 after authorities found child pornography on a computer at a car dealership that he owned. He maintains his innocence and his attorneys say they will appeal. TLC cancelled the show featuring Duggar and his large family in 2015 amid allegations that he molested five girls years earlier, including four of his sisters.
A heat wave’s lamented victim: The mango
No fruit in India is as universally loved and as eagerly anticipated as the mango, which, for one brief window each year, cools and sweetens the long days of summer. But this year, this centuries-old ritual is imperiled. As blistering heat has struck northern India weeks earlier than usual, mango crops have been devastated, threatening a way of life for the thousands of small farmers who grow the fruit and the millions more who consume it. The heat wave is a vivid example of the challenge India faces in ensuring its food security as the effects of climate change worsen.
Weary Europe greets monkeypox with a touch of fatalism
With the cost of living soaring, a war in Ukraine and the coronavirus still circulating, many Europeans had already been feeling anxious and drained. Then came more unwelcome news: Monkeypox, a rare viral illness that causes pus-filled rashes, had appeared in more than a dozen countries in the region. “I’m trying to be positive and not think about it,” Sourena Naji, a 27-year-old bartender in London, said Tuesday. Health experts say monkeypox is unlikely to wreak the same kind of havoc as COVID-19, which has killed millions, infected more than half a billion people and ravaged the world’s economy.
Dozens of migrants die after boat sinks off Tunisian coast
Seventy-six migrants were presumed dead after their boat, which departed from Libya, sank off the coast of Tunisia, the United Nations migration agency said Wednesday. The boat carried about 100 people when it left the Libyan port city of Zuwara most likely bound for Italy, and only 24 of them were rescued, the Tunisian branch of the International Organization for Migration said on Twitter. The Tunisian coast guard, which rescued the shipwrecked people Tuesday, only found one person dead in the water, said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the migration agency.
By wire sources