Intelligence officials will assess security risks from Mar-a-Lago documents
U.S. intelligence officials will conduct a review to assess the possible risks to national security from former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents after the FBI retrieved boxes containing sensitive material from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a letter to lawmakers. Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, said that her office would lead an intelligence community assessment of the “potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure” of the documents. Haines said her office would work with the Justice Department to ensure the assessment did not interfere with the department’s criminal investigation concerning the documents.
Ashes of Nichelle Nichols are set for journey to deep space
The ashes of Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura in the original “Star Trek” television series and died in July, will be launched into space later this year. Celestis, a private spaceflight company that works with NASA, will carry her ashes on a rocket set to travel between 150 million and 300 million kilometers (about 93,000 million miles to 186 million miles) into space beyond the Earth-moon system and the James Webb telescope. Nichols, one of the first Black women to have a leading role on a network television series, died at age 89 from heart failure.
with disaster looming, inspectors set to visit Ukraine nuclear plant
As renewed shelling intensified fears about a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, Ukrainian authorities stepped up emergency drills Saturday and rushed to hand out potassium iodide, a drug that can protect people from radiation-induced thyroid cancer, to tens of thousands of people living near the facility. In a country still haunted by the memory of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, officials urged the public not to panic even as complex negotiations to allow for a team of scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit the Russian-controlled plant in southeastern Ukraine took on added urgency.
Judge recommends rejecting bid by 9/11 families to seize frozen Afghan funds
A federal magistrate judge has recommended rejecting the effort by relatives of victims of 9/11 to seize $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan central bank funds to pay off judgment debts owed by the Taliban — in part because doing so, she said, would effectively recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. “The Taliban’s victims have fought for years for justice, accountability and compensation,” the judge, Sarah Netburn, wrote. “They are entitled to no less. But the law limits what compensation the court may authorize.” Those limits, she added, placed the Afghanistan central bank’s assets beyond the court’s reach.
Rival Chechen fighters take war to battlefields of Ukraine
Fighters from Chechnya, the war-scarred Russian republic, are participating on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine. Pro-Kyiv volunteers are loyal to Dzhokhar Dudayev, the late Chechen leader who headed the republic’s drive for independence from Russia. They form the “Dudayev Battalion” and are the sworn enemies of Chechen forces who back Russian President Vladimir Putin and joined Russia in the siege of Mariupol and other flashpoints in Ukraine’s east and south. At one training site near Kyiv, Chechen volunteers on Saturday practiced combat basics, including how to drop explosive devices carried by drones. One Chechen volunteer said Ukraine must win this war because otherwise Russia will go after the Baltics or Georgia or Kazakhstan next.
Pope expands ranks of cardinals who’ll likely pick successor
With a solemn ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis has expanded the ranks of churchmen now eligible to vote for his successor in case he dies or resigns. Of the 20 churchmen raised to cardinal’s rank on Saturday, 16 are younger than 80 and thus eligible to participate in a conclave. That’s the locked-door assembly of cardinals who cast ballots to elect a pontiff. The latest cardinals include one bishop from the United States, a missionary representing the tiny Catholic flock in Mongolia and an archbishop from the environmentally-vulnerable Amazon region, an area of papal concern. San Diego’s Robert Walter McElroy, one of the new cardinals, said the pope is having mobility issues “but that is not affecting his mind.”
Tunisia hosts Japanese-African economic cooperation meeting
African heads of state, representatives of international organizations and private business leaders are in Tunisia for the eighth iteration of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development. The Japanese government created the triennial event in 1993 to promote growth and security in Africa. Economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, a food security crisis worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, and climate change are some of the topics expected to define the two-day conference starting Saturday. While 30 African heads of state and government planned to attend the event, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is attending remotely. He tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the summit.
Diana’s car auctioned as 25th anniversary of her death nears
A car driven by Princess Diana in the 1980s sold for 650,000 pounds ($764,000) at auction Saturday, just days before the 25th anniversary of her death. Silverstone Auctions says there was “fierce bidding” for the black Ford Escort RS Turbo before the sale closed. The U.K. buyer, whose name was not disclosed, paid a 12.5% buyer’s premium on top of the selling price, according to the classic car auction house. Britain and Diana’s admirers worldwide are preparing to mark a quarter century since her death. She died in a high-speed car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. Diana drove the Escort from 1985 to 1988.
By wire sources