Top News Stories for Today – Sept 26, 2018
Top News Stories for Today – Sept 26, 2018
Trump addresses in United Nations
President Trump addressed the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday, stressing America’s sovereignty and accusing other nations of taking advantage of American generosity. He remained true to an “America first” foreign policy strategy, saying he would “reject the ideology of globalism.”
Trump additionally criticized OPEC nations of “ripping off the rest of the world,” complaining that the US defends them “for nothing.” Other targets of Trump’s ire included Venezuela and Iran. In a notable awkward moment, the assembled world leaders audibly laughed when Trump declared that he had “accomplished more than almost any other administration” in American history. CBS News
US proposes arms sell to Taiwan
Washington’s notification of a second weapons sale to Taiwan in as many years is helping arm the client without, so far, enraging its military rival, China, or exacerbating already strained Sino-US ties.
The Pentagon notified Congress Monday of a $330 million arms package, including parts for American-made aircraft such as F-16s and F-5s. The package omits new fighter jets, such as F-35s, or technology for submarines despite Taiwan’s requests over the years. But the deal has drawn just a routine protest from China rather than the outrage expected from bigger sales. VOA
US warns Iran of hell to pay if crossed
US National Security Adviser John Bolton has warned Iran’s rulers that there will be “hell to pay” if they harm the US, its citizens or allies. His comments came hours after President Donald Trump accused Iran of sowing “chaos, death and destruction” across the Middle East.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded by criticising the Trump administration for its hostility. The US recently imposed sanctions after leaving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. BBC
Senate schedules Kavanaugh vote on Friday
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Friday morning on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. On Thursday, the panel will hear testimony from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a professor who said she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh when they were teenagers. Under committee rules, a vote must be scheduled three days in advance, and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said a vote might not take place.
“If we’re ready to vote, we will vote,” he tweeted. “If we aren’t ready, we won’t.” The committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, said it’s “outrageous” for a vote to be scheduled “two days before Dr. Blasey Ford has had a chance to tell her story.” Politico
Mitchell hired to question Kavanaugh and Ford
Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona prosecutor and registered Republican, will question Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford on Thursday in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) confirmed Tuesday night. Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers.
All 11 Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are men, and they’ve decided to bring a woman in to ask Ford and Kavanaugh questions while they are under oath during Thursday’s hearing. Mitchell is a 26-year veteran of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, and is the sex crimes bureau chief. The Washington Post
Bill Cosby sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison
Bill Cosby on Tuesday was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for his conviction on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University women’s basketball administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The former comedian and TV star was declared a “sexually violent predator” and will appear as such on a sex-offender registry for the rest of his life.
Cosby was convicted in April on three counts of indecent aggravated assault, after more than 60 women accused him of sexual misconduct. Defense lawyers argued Cosby was no longer a threat to the public, but Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill decided that prosecutors had presented “clear and convincing” proof otherwise. The Associated Press, Buzzfeed News