Paul Pelosi attack: Suspect enters not-guilty plea
The man who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and beat her 82-year-old husband in October has pleaded not guilty to six charges, including attempted murder. Suspect David DePape entered the plea in state court Wednesday. Authorities say he had planned to kidnap the speaker — who was out of town — when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home on Oct. 28. Instead he severely beat her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer in an attack that was witnessed by two police officers and shocked the political world. The public defender’s office declined to comment.
Lawmakers signal inquiries into US gov’t’s use of foreign spyware
Senior lawmakers said they would investigate the government’s purchase and use of powerful spyware made by two Israeli hacking firms, as Congress passed a measure in recent days to try to rein in the proliferation of the hacking tools. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chair of the House Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration asking for detailed information about the agency’s use of Graphite, a spyware tool produced by Israeli company Paragon. Graphite, like the better-known Israeli hacking tool Pegasus, can penetrate the mobile phones of its targets and extract messages, videos, photos and other content.
Judge orders longest prison term so far in Gov. Whitmer plot
A Delaware trucker described as an architect of the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan’s governor has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison. The sentence announced Wednesday is the longest yet given to anyone convicted in the plot. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for 47-year-old Barry Croft Jr., who was the fourth and final federal defendant to learn his fate. Judge Robert J. Jonker described him as “the idea guy” behind the plot and called him “a very convincing communicator” for people who were open to his views. Croft and accomplice Adam Fox were convicted in August of conspiracy in Grand Rapids. Fox was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years behind bars.
US will require COVID-19 testing for travelers from China
The U.S. will soon require COVID-19 testing for travelers from China. The U.S. joins a few other nations imposing travel restrictions because of a surge of infections in China. The increase in cases follows the rollback of China’s strict anti-virus control. Beginning Jan. 5, travelers to the U.S. from China will have to take a COVID-19 test no more than two days before they travel and provide negative results before they board their flights. The U.S. action announced Wednesday is a return to requirements for some international travelers. The Biden administration lifted the last of such mandates in June.
Vatican says health of retired pope Benedict XVI ‘worsening’
The Vatican says Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s health has worsened over the past hours and doctors are constantly monitoring his condition. Pope Francis appealed Wednesday to the faithful to pray for his “very ill” predecessor “until the end.” A Vatican spokesperson said Francis went to visit the 95-year-old Benedict in the monastery on Vatican grounds where he has lived since retiring in February 2013. The spokesperson said Benedict’s situation “at the moment remains under control.” Benedict was the first pontiff to resign in 600 years. Earlier, Francis departed from prepared remarks to ask the faithful to pray for the retired pontiff. Benedict has become increasingly frail in recent years as he dedicated his post-papacy life to prayer and meditation.
Whelan’s detention in Russia hits 4 Years
U.S. officials reiterated their commitment to bringing Paul Whelan home on Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of his detention in Russia, where he has been serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges that the U.S. government says are a sham. Whelan, 52, has been “suffering through an unfathomable ordeal,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding that “our efforts to secure Paul’s release will not cease until he is back home with his family where he belongs.” Whelan, a corporate security executive and a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and accused of spying.
Russia’s strikes on Kherson continue as Ukraine renews pleas to evacuate
Russian forces launched a missile attack and nearly three dozen rockets at Kherson over the past day, the Ukrainian military said Wednesday, and officials called on residents to evacuate the embattled southern city where Moscow has stepped up artillery strikes. The strikes hit a maternity ward where at least five women were recovering after giving birth, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office. “Miraculously, no one was hurt,” he said. Kherson has been battered by shelling since Ukraine retook the city last month, with Russian forces launching near-daily barrages at the city.