Top News Stories for Today – Oct 5, 2018
Top News Stories for Today – Oct 5, 2018
A doctor and Yazidi survivor win Nobel Peace Prize
On Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.” The committee said it has not yet been able to contact Mukwege or Murad to inform them that they are Nobel Peace laureates.
Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, “has spent large parts of his adult life helping the victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo” and condemning impunity for mass rape, the Nobel Committee said. Murad, one of 3,000 Yazidi girls and women abducted by the Islamic State and used as sex slaves, “has shown uncommon courage in recounting her own sufferings and speaking up on behalf of other victims.” Nobel Committee
Ex S Korean President Lee Sentenced to 15 Years
Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday on a range of corruption allegations. Lee also was ordered to pay an almost $11.5 million fine. He had been alleged to have taken several million dollars in bribes from Samsung and other companies while in office, as well as embezzling almost $35 million from a company he was involved with.
Prosecutors had originally sought a sentence of 20 years for his illegal activities. Lee has denied all wrongdoing and called the case against him “political revenge.” He has been in custody since March 23. Lee is the fourth elected South Korean leader to receive jail time after leaving the executive position. VOA
FBI’s Kavanaugh investigation
Brett Kavanaugh’s odds of being confirmed to the Supreme Court improved Thursday, with several key senators expressing no issues with the FBI’s recently concluded background investigation. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) called the probe “very thorough.” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) agreed with this assessment. He added that nothing the FBI found corroborates Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation that Kavanaugh groped her and attempted to rape her in high school, an accusation Kavanaugh denies.
However, another undecided Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), said Thursday she is not yet sure whether the FBI investigation was thorough. Meanwhile, previously undecided Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said she will vote no, and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is reportedly leaning yes. If all 51 Republicans remain united, Kavanaugh will be confirmed when the Senate votes this weekend. The Washington Post, Politico
Kavanaugh says he wouldn’t be partisan justice
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is asking for a mulligan. In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal published online Thursday night, Kavanaugh says that if confirmed Saturday, he will be the “umpire — a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no political party, litigant, or policy” — that he promised to be when nominated, not the “very emotional” man whose “tone was sharp” and who “said a few things I should not have said” as he “forcefully and passionately denied the allegation against me” in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Kavanaugh gives his reasons for his angry and partisan testimony, but says that “going forward, you can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career.” The Wall Street Journal
China infiltrated US with microchip
China placed tiny microchips on motherboards that ended up in US government servers, potentially giving a “stealth doorway” to hackers, US officials tell Bloomberg Businessweek in a massive investigation published Thursday. Amazon reportedly first discovered the Chinese-built motherboards, sold by California company Supermicro, contained mysterious, rice-grain-sized chips in 2015. That finding sparked a top-secret, ongoing federal investigation that concluded Chinese subcontractors implanted the chips and that this hardware infestation could be particularly severe, officials told Businessweek.
They also said Apple, a bank, and government and military agencies could be susceptible to hacking via the chips. In statements to Businessweek, China claimed to be “a resolute defender of cybersecurity,” Apple and Supermicro denied knowing about the investigation, and Amazon called the report “untrue.” Bloomberg Businessweek