Prosecutors withdraw second subpoena in Trump fundraising inquiry
Federal prosecutors have quietly withdrawn a subpoena seeking records from former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign as part of their investigation into whether Trump’s political and fundraising operations committed any crimes as he sought to stay in power after he lost the election, according to two people familiar with the matter. The decision this week by the office of special counsel Jack Smith to effectively kill the subpoena to the Trump campaign came on the heels of the withdrawal of a similar subpoena to Save America, the political action committee that was formed by Trump’s aides shortly after he lost the race in 2020.
Texas lawmakers vote to let local police arrest migrants
In a direct challenge to federal power over immigration, the Texas House on Thursday approved the creation of a state-level crime for entering the country from Mexico between ports of entry, allowing local police agencies to arrest and jail migrants entering the country illegally or order them back to Mexico. The legislation had been called for by Gov. Greg Abbott in what would be a sharp escalation of his multibillion-dollar border security program, known as Operation Lone Star. The Texas House also approved an additional $1.5 billion for the state to use to construct its own barriers near the international boundary.
Ohio woman fatally
drugged 4 ‘johns’ she
met for sex, official say
She met the “johns” for sex in northeast Columbus, Ohio, then drugged them with fentanyl, stole their possessions and left them for dead, state prosecutors said. All told, they said, the woman killed four men from January to June. The woman, Rebecca Auborn, 33, was indicted Wednesday on four counts of murder and other felonies, including manslaughter, aggravated robbery, assault and tampering with evidence, according to a news release from the office of Dave Yost, the attorney general of Ohio. “Don’t buy sex in Ohio,” Yost said. “It ruins lives and could cost you yours.”
Google search boss says company invests to avoid becoming ‘roadkill’
The Justice Department has spent weeks arguing in a federal antitrust trial that Google has built an impenetrable barrier around its search business with strong-arm tactics and multibillion-dollar deals. But Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s senior vice president overseeing search and other products, presented a different account Thursday as the company began its defense in the landmark trial. “I feel a keen sense not to become the next roadkill,” Raghavan said, naming Amazon as a major threat. Joshua Hafenbrack, a lawyer for the Justice Department, sought to undercut Raghavan, pointing to a 2019 analysis conducted by Google that found no effect on its search or shopping revenue among members of loyalty programs like Amazon Prime.
Ukraine braces for winter attacks on energy grid
Russian drone strikes near a nuclear power plant in western Ukraine this week have revived anxiety among Ukrainian officials and civilians over one of the most oppressive hardships of the war: a winter assault on their nation’s energy grid. The strikes Wednesday, which landed near the Khmelnytsky nuclear facility, drew an angry response from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who said it was “highly likely” that the power plant was the target. Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that it is likely that the Kremlin is stockpiling missiles to renew its assault on the energy grid as winter begins to bite.
Slovakia’s leader announces end to military aid for Kyiv
Slovakia, a small Eastern European nation that has been in the vanguard of sending arms to Ukraine, says it is halting all military aid to its embattled neighbor, a policy shift that is unlikely to change the balance of forces on the battlefield but that delivers a symbolic blow to Kyiv. Slovakia’s newly appointed prime minister, Robert Fico, announced Thursday that while he supported “comprehensive” nonmilitary aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, “I will be supporting zero military aid to Ukraine.” However, Slovakia’s commercial defense contracts with Ukraine for Slovak-made artillery and other defense systems are expected to continue.
Israel’s invasion of Gaza is being held up by indecision from leaders
Its troops are massed on the Gaza border and described as ready to move, but Israel’s political and military leaders are divided about how, when and even whether to invade, according to seven senior military officers and three Israeli officials. In part, the delay is intended to give negotiators more time to try to secure the release of some of the more than 200 hostages captured by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups when they raided Israel three weeks ago. But Israeli leaders, who have vowed to retaliate against Hamas for its brutal massacre of civilians, have yet to agree on how to do so, although the military could move as soon as Friday.
Li Keqiang, former
Chinese premier, dies
of heart attack at 68
China’s former premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack early Friday, China announced, an abrupt end to the life of a leader who had served alongside Xi Jinping for a decade and set a milder tone while never appearing to directly challenge Xi’s hard-line policies. Li, 68, was visiting Shanghai when he suddenly suffered the heart failure near midnight Thursday, a report on Chinese state television said. Li was once considered a potential top leader of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. But in the end, he was overtaken by Xi, and became China’s prime minister in 2013. Over the following 10 years, he steered Chinese government ministries, with Xi dominating policy.
By wire sources
