Trump urged to delay 2024 launch after GOP’s uneven election
It was supposed to be a red wave that former President Donald Trump could triumphantly ride to the GOP nomination as he prepares to launch another White House run. Instead, Tuesday night’s disappointing results for Republicans are raising new questions about Trump’s appeal and the future of a party that has fully embraced him, seemingly at its peril, while at the same time giving new momentum to his most potent potential rival. Indeed, some allies were calling on Trump Wednesday to delay his planned announcement, saying the full focus needs to be a runoff election in Georgia that could again determine control of the Senate.
Biden hopes Putin will negotiate WNBA star Griner’s release
President Joe Biden says he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner now that the U.S. midterm elections are over. He spoke Wednesday afternoon, hours after Griner’s lawyers revealed that she had been sent to a penal colony to serve her sentence for drug possession. U.S. officials have for months tried to negotiate the release of Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Paul Whelan. But there have been no overt signs of progress.
CDC to conduct health study at polluted former Army base
Federal health officials are conducting a new study to determine whether veterans once stationed at a now-shuttered California military base were exposed to dangerously high levels of cancer-causing toxins. The announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes nine months after an Associated Press investigation found that drinking water at Fort Ord contained toxic chemicals and that hundreds of veterans who lived at the central California coast base in the 1980s and 1990s later developed rare and terminal blood cancers. The AP’s review of public documents showed the Army knew that chemicals had been improperly dumped at Fort Ord for decades. Even after the contamination was documented, the Army played down the risks.
Suspect in Paul Pelosi attack indicted on federal charge
A man already in custody in last month’s attack on the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping. The charges stemming from the Oct. 28 break-in at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home are the same as but supersede those in an earlier federal complaint. The assault roiled the political world days before the hotly contested midterm elections. David DePape was arrested on Oct. 28 inside the Pelosi residence after San Francisco police responded to Paul Pelosi’s 911 call. Pelosi told officers that he was sleeping when a man entered his bedroom looking for Nancy Pelosi.
Russia claims pullout from occupied city; Ukraine skeptical
Russia’s military says it will withdraw from the only Ukrainian regional capital it’s captured but Ukrainian officials and analysts warn it could be a trap. A pullout from Kherson would mark one of Russia’s most significant and humiliating setbacks in the 8-month-old war. Ukrainian authorities cautioned against considering the announced planned retreat from Kherson, a gateway to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, and nearby areas as a done deal. Kyiv’s forces have zeroed in on the strategic industrial port city and cut off supply lines in a counteroffensive in eastern and southern Ukraine that has pushed Russian troops out of wide swaths of territory. A military analyst told the AP Russia’s announced retreat could be an ambush and trap.
Facebook parent Meta cuts 11,000 jobs, 13% of workforce
Facebook parent Meta is laying off 13% of its employees as it contends with faltering revenue and broader tech industry woes. The move that comes just a week after widespread layoffs at Twitter under its new owner, billionaire Elon Musk. Meta, like other social media companies, enjoyed a financial boost during the pandemic lockdown era because more people stayed home and scrolled on their phones and computers. But as the lockdowns ended and people started going outside again, revenue growth began to falter. An economic slowdown and a grim outlook for online advertising have contributed to Meta’s woes.
By wire sources