Garland refuses to reveal details on Biden inquiry
Attorney General Merrick Garland offered a fiery defense of the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden on Wednesday, telling a House committee he was “not Congress’ prosecutor” — and would not reveal details of the inquiry no matter how much pressure lawmakers applied. During a grueling hearing before the House Judiciary Committee that foreshadowed a bruising impeachment fight ahead, Garland repeatedly refused to answer questions about internal deliberations or offer explanations for decision-making in the investigation, or the two federal indictments of former President Donald Trump. House Republicans view Garland as a linchpin as they seek to bolster an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Republicans inch closer to spending deal, spoiling for a shutdown showdown
House Republicans inched closer on Wednesday to overcoming deep internal divisions and reaching an agreement that would allow them to advance stalled spending legislation, as Speaker Kevin McCarthy bowed to the demands of far-right lawmakers for steep spending cuts that stood little chance of surviving in the Senate. The emerging deal was unlikely to bring Congress closer to averting a shutdown in 10 days, and it remained unclear whether Republicans could even reach agreement among themselves on a purely symbolic measure that underscored McCarthy’s precarious hold on his job. McCarthy intended to keep House members in town and voting at least through Saturday, lawmakers said.
Trump moves to lock up Iowa support
With less than four months until Iowa’s caucuses, former President Donald Trump and his team on Wednesday began a more concerted effort to lock up his support there, starting with two events in eastern Iowa — the first of five planned visits to the state over the next six weeks. The increased pace of Trump’s Iowa trips, along with a six-figure advertising purchase by his main super PAC, suggest a stronger push by his campaign to shut down his rivals. Speaking to about 1,000 supporters at a convention center in Dubuque, Trump urged them to show up in January and cast “the most important vote of your lives.”
Two candidates straddle eligibility before the second GOP debate
Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, long-shot presidential candidates, appear to be in jeopardy of failing to qualify for the Republican Party’s second debate next week. Both have been registering support in the low single digits in national polls and in the polls from early nominating states that the Republican National Committee uses to determine eligibility. The threshold is higher for this debate, happening Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Several better-known GOP rivals are expected to make the cut — but former President Donald Trump is again planning to skip the debate.
Gas prices have crept higher this summer
Gas prices are rising again. On Wednesday, the national average for unleaded gasoline was $3.88 per gallon, according to AAA, the highest level in nearly a year. It has been a slow but steady increase: around 20% since the start of the year and more than 8% since June 1, according to AAA. Among the reasons are a recent jump in crude oil prices and the unusually hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere, which affected production capacity at refineries. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is also historically low. The pressure could ease soon, though. Most states switch to a cheaper blend of gasoline in the fall, when demand also typically drops.
Labor deal in Canada as U.S. talks inch along
Negotiations between each of the three large U.S. automakers and the United Auto Workers union remain far from being resolved, but Ford Motor has averted a second strike in Canada. Late Tuesday, the company reached a tentative agreement with Unifor, Canada’s main auto union. The deal was announced minutes before an 11:59 p.m. deadline set by the union for a strike by its 5,600 members at Ford. Neither side disclosed the terms of the agreement. Unifor focused on securing the best deal it could from Ford before turning to the other two automakers. Now, it will seek to strike similar agreements with GM and Stellantis.
ChatGPT can now generate images, too
ChatGPT can now generate images — and they are shockingly detailed. On Wednesday, San Francisco artificial intelligence startup OpenAI released a new version of its DALL-E image generator to a small group of testers and folded the technology into ChatGPT. DALL-E 3 can produce more convincing images than previous versions of the technology, showing a particular knack for images containing letters, numbers and human hands, the company said. By adding the latest version of DALL-E, previously a separate application, to ChatGPT, OpenAI is solidifying its chatbot as a hub for generative AI, which can produce text, images, sounds, software and other digital media on its own.
Biden and Netanyahu meet to try to soothe tensions, with some success
For the first time since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel returned to office in December, he and President Joe Biden met face to face Wednesday in a session that both soothed and aggravated monthslong tensions between the leaders and demonstrated Biden’s wider commitment to Israeli security. By ending his informal moratorium on in-person contact with Netanyahu, Biden showed he was prepared to overlook personal frustrations with the prime minister’s domestic policies in favor of furthering international projects of mutual U.S.-Israeli interest: blocking Iran from building a nuclear weapon and establishing formal relations for the first time between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Zelenskyy tells U.N. Security Council it’s useless while Russia has a veto
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, denouncing Russia’s “unprovoked aggression,” told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that if it did not break the grip of Russian veto power, it would be powerless to resolve conflicts around the world, adding his voice to the rising calls to reform how the body works. “Ukrainian soldiers are doing with their blood what the U.N. Security Council should do by its voting,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday, arguing that “veto power in the hands of the aggressor is what has pushed the U.N. into deadlock.”
South Korean police accuse 17 U.S. soldiers of drug crimes
Police in South Korea on Wednesday accused 17 U.S. soldiers and five other people of distributing or using synthetic marijuana that had been brought into the country through the U.S. military’s postal service. The police said they had not arrested any of the soldiers but that they had asked prosecutors to file charges against all 22 people. A Philippine national and a South Korean national were under arrest, said the police in the city of Pyeongtaek. Synthetic marijuana is an illegal substance in South Korea. Cha Min-seok, a senior detective, said the drug investigation was one of the largest in recent years involving U.S. soldiers.
Sunak softens Britain’s climate targets as election approaches
After years of claiming leadership in the international fight against climate change, Britain’s government Wednesday gambled on an abrupt change of course, weakening key environmental pledges and promising lower costs for Britons. Brushing aside criticism from business leaders, environmentalists and some of his own Conservative lawmakers, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would stick to Britain’s overall goals for achieving net zero by 2050 but would do so in what he described as a more “sensible” way. “It cannot be right for Westminster to impose such significant costs on working people,” said Sunak, referring to Britain’s government. “If we continue down this path, we risk losing the consent of the British people.”
Cargo ship in Black Sea is damaged in explosion
The crew of a cargo ship sailing across the Black Sea was rescued and evacuated to the Romanian port of Sulina, near the border with Ukraine, after the ship was damaged by an explosion, Romanian authorities said Wednesday. The cause of the explosion remains unknown. Romania’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, suggested in a news conference that the ship could have been damaged by a mine, but he did not offer any evidence for the claim. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, both countries have littered the Black Sea with explosive devices.
By wire sources