Review finds Trump-era hunt for leaks extended deep into Congress
(NYTimes) — Leak investigations during the Trump administration extended far deeper into Congress than previously known, leading to scrutiny of the records of dozens of staff members, the Justice Department’s inspector general found in what he described as worrisome overreach. In a report released Tuesday, the inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, examined how federal prosecutors under President Donald Trump tried to determine who was revealing classified information to journalists in 2017. The issue, while seven years old, may gain new urgency under a second Trump administration, given that the president-elect has vowed to pursue leakers in his coming term.
White House threatens Biden veto of bipartisan bill to add new judges
(NYTimes) — White House officials on Tuesday said President Joe Biden would veto a bipartisan measure creating 66 new federal judicial seats over the next three presidential administrations, stating that the measure the House is set to take up this week is “unnecessary to the efficient and effective administration of justice.” In a new statement, the officials, from the Office of Management and Budget, also noted that the legislation, which passed the Senate with no opposition in August, would create new vacancies in states where senators have dragged their feet on filling vacancies during the Biden administration.
Health panel endorses new option for cervical cancer screening
(NYTimes) — Doctors routinely advise that women undergoing screening for cervical cancer receive Pap smears every three years beginning at age 21. Now, beginning at age 30, women have a new option. Instead of undergoing a pelvic exam, these patients may go to a doctor’s office and collect their own vaginal sample to be tested for human papillomavirus, the infection that causes most cases of cervical cancer, according to new guidelines issued Tuesday. Self-collection was approved in May by the Food and Drug Administration. The HPV test should be repeated every five years from age 30 until 65, when most women can stop screening, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said.
Netanyahu finally takes the stand in his corruption trial
(NYTimes) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered a Tel Aviv courtroom Tuesday morning, eight years after police started investigating him and four years after his trial began. It was his first time taking the stand to respond to accusations of corruption that have defined and disrupted Israeli public life for nearly a decade. Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate but related cases. The charges center on claims that he gave regulatory favors and diplomatic support to prominent businesspeople in exchange for gifts and sympathetic media coverage. The trial is expected to continue for years.
Israel, seeing an opportunity, demolishes Syria’s military assets
(NYTimes) — Between Sunday, when it became clear there would be regime change in Syria, and Tuesday, at least 350 Israeli airstrikes leveled Syria’s military assets, taking out its navy, fighter jets, drones, tanks, air-defense systems, weapons plants, missiles and rockets, according to the Israeli military. Israeli officials said they were destroying the neighboring country’s weapons and military facilities to keep them out of the hands of Islamic extremists. The rebel group that led the toppling of the president, Bashar Assad, was formerly linked to al-Qaida and is still considered a terrorist group by the United States and the United Nations. But the assault raised alarm among some in the international community.
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