Nation & world news – at a glance – for Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Texas woman asks court to allow her abortion

A pregnant Texas woman whose fetus has a fatal condition sued the state Tuesday seeking an emergency court order to allow her doctor to perform an abortion, despite the state’s strict bans on the procedure. The lawsuit is believed to be one of the first attempts in the nation to seek a court-ordered abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Cox is 20 weeks pregnant, and her fetus has been diagnosed with trisomy 18, a condition that in all but very rare cases leads to miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of the infant within the first year after birth.

Johnson plans vote on impeachment inquiry, predicting unanimous GOP support

Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday promised a floor vote to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, hoping to provide legal heft to an investigation that has been underway for months but has so far failed to prove Republicans’ claims that Biden accepted bribes. “This vote is not a vote to impeach President Biden,” Johnson said at a news conference. “This is a vote to continue the inquiry of impeachment, and that’s a necessary constitutional step. I believe we’ll get every vote that we have.” An aide to Johnson said he planned to call the vote next week, but he cautioned that the schedule remained fluid.

Prosecutors intend to show long pattern of baseless claims by Trump

When former President Donald Trump goes on trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, federal prosecutors intend to inform the jury about everything from his support for the far-right Proud Boys to his decadelong history of making baseless claims about election fraud, according to court papers unsealed on Tuesday. The court papers, originally filed under seal on Monday night in U.S. District Court in Washington, contained an array of allegations against the former president that prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith want to introduce at the election interference trial even though they technically fall outside the span of the conspiracy charges Trump is facing.

Biden says ‘I’m not sure I’d be running’ if not for Trump

President Joe Biden suggested Tuesday that he might have been content to serve only a single term if his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, were not attempting to recapture the White House. At a campaign fundraiser, Biden presented his decision to run for reelection as driven largely by his determination to prevent Trump from returning to power. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” he told donors at the Weston, Massachusetts, home of Alan Solomont, a longtime Democratic financial backer. “But we cannot let him win.” Biden has concluded that he is best positioned to beat Trump again, justifying a reelection campaign.

House declares anti-Zionism is antisemitism, dividing Democrats

House Democrats splintered Tuesday over a resolution condemning the rise of antisemitism in the United States and around the world, with more than half of them declining to support a measure declaring that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” The resolution denouncing antisemitism, drafted by Republicans, passed by a vote of 311-14, drawing the support of all but one Republican. Ninety-two Democrats voted “present” — not taking a position for or against the measure — while 95 supported it. That reflected growing divisions between those Democrats who have offered unequivocal support for the Jewish state and its actions, and others who critical of Israel’s policies and its conduct in the war with Hamas.

Cementing ideology shift, Xi tightens controls on business

In his decade as China’s top leader, Xi Jinping has asserted greater control for himself and the Communist Party over the country’s economy. Now, Xi has moved to extend that power more forcefully than ever over China’s financial system. The Communist Party issued a detailed ideological statement last week in Qiushi, the party’s main official theoretical journal, that made clear that it expected banks, pension funds, insurers and other financial organizations in China to follow Marxist principles and pay obedience to Xi. The Qiushi paper could cut against efforts by Beijing to show that the economy is open to investment even as it places a heavier hand on business.

Smaller airlines seek mergers to compete with industry giants

Smaller airlines that operate in the shadow of the nation’s four dominant air carriers are increasingly feeling pressure to merge with others to gain access to more planes and airport gates. Those dynamics were on display in a federal courtroom in Boston on Tuesday where JetBlue Airways tried to persuade a judge to let it buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion. It was also at play this past weekend when Alaska Airlines proposed acquiring Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. The outcome of these deals could be pivotal for the companies and the U.S. airline industry. If one or both mergers are approved, the deals would be the largest in years.

U.S. job openings fell in October, reverting to prepandemic levels

Job openings fell considerably in October, hitting the lowest level since March 2021, the Labor Department announced Tuesday. There were 8.7 million job openings in October, down significantly from 9.3 million in September, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. That was lower than economists’ expectations of 9.3 million openings. The rate of layoffs was little changed, as was the rate of quitting, which generally reflects workers’ confidence in their ability to find new employment. The November jobs report will be released Friday by the Labor Department. Economists forecast that the unemployment rate will stay around 4%, with a gain of about 180,000 jobs.

Ukraine aid falters in Senate as Republicans insist on border restrictions

President Joe Biden’s urgent push to replenish Ukraine’s war chest and send aid to Israel is on the brink of collapse in the Senate, where Republicans are prepared Wednesday to block the funding unless Democrats agree to add strict measures to stanch migration at the U.S. southern border. A classified briefing with administration officials devolved into a partisan screaming match Tuesday, with Republicans accusing Democrats of trying to steamroll over their demands for a border crackdown. A crucial test vote is planned Wednesday in the Senate on a $110.5 billion emergency spending bill. A vote to block aid would spotlight flagging U.S. resolve at a critical time in Ukraine’s war against Russia.

Nigeria’s president calls for inquiry after military strike kills at least 85 civilians

Idris Dahiru was hosting a religious celebration in northern Nigeria on Sunday night, when a piercing sound streaked through the air, followed by an explosion and screams. A drone strike had hit Dahiru’s village of Tudun Biri, and on Tuesday, Nigeria’s military said that it was responsible. At least 85 people were killed and at least 66 more injured, said Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency. The search for bodies is continuing. As Nigeria has been fighting extremist groups and armed gangs for more than a decade, its military has resorted to airstrikes, with accidental bombings becoming far too common, security analysts and human rights experts say. Sunday’s strike was by far the deadliest.

Peru’s top court orders Fujimori released from prison

Peru’s top court Tuesday ordered former President Alberto Fujimori released from prison, where he is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations, defying an order by an international court that the South American country keep him behind bars. Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal voted 3-1 to reaffirm its decision to instate a presidential pardon granted to Fujimori in 2017; the Inter-American Court of Human Rights had found the pardon violated the rights of his victims. Fujimori’s lawyer told reporters that the former president would most likely be released from prison on Wednesday.

U.N. group to look into video claiming to show the killing of Ukrainian soldiers

Prosecutors in Ukraine have started a war crimes investigation into whether Russian troops shot dead two Ukrainian soldiers who were in the act of surrendering, the latest episode in which the government in Kyiv has accused Moscow of violating the Geneva Conventions. The prosecutor general’s office said the incident took place at an observation post in Donetsk region outside the village of Stepove, northwest of the city of Avdiivka, which Russian forces have attempted to storm in recent weeks. It did not say when the incident took place.

Putin to visit Saudi Arabia and UAE on Wednesday

President Vladimir Putin of Russia will make a rare trip to the Middle East on Wednesday, the Kremlin announced, saying he would discuss bilateral relations, oil and international affairs in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. And on Thursday in Moscow, Putin will host President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran. The meetings, announced unexpectedly, come as Ukraine tries to shore up Western aid for its war effort, amid signs of eroding support in the United States. Putin’s trip will also come against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, a conflict that has played into his geopolitical aims by distracting Western leaders from the war in Ukraine.

By wire sources