Top News Stories for Today – Feb 21, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – Feb 15, 2019
US denies Jihadist’s return
The United States said Wednesday that it would refuse to take back a U.S.-born Islamic State propagandist who wants to return from Syria, arguing that she is no longer a citizen. The Trump administration’s refusal to admit Hoda Muthana, 24, could set precedent and face legal challenges, because it is generally extremely difficult to lose US citizenship.
“Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. The statement is at odds with his calls on other countries to take back and prosecute their own jihadist nationals. Just this weekend, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to chastise European allies who have not taken back IS prisoners caught in Syria. VOA
US-China trade talks resume in Washington
The Trump administration is set Thursday to resume high-level talks with Chinese officials, aiming to ease a trade standoff that’s unnerved global investors and clouded the outlook for the world economy.
A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He will meet in Washington with a U.S. team led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as well as Larry Kudlow, a key White House economic adviser, and Peter Navarro, a trade adviser. The talks are expected to end Friday. VOA
US Coast Guard officer wanted to kill Democrats
A US Coast Guard lieutenant, Christopher Paul Hasson, was arrested Feb. 15 on drug and gun charges, but prosecutors said in a detention memo this week that he intended to kill prominent Democratic politicians, and journalists, federal prosecutors allege in court papers.
He has espoused extremist views for years, the court papers say, and he read the manifesto of Anders Breivik, the white supremacist Norwegian terrorist who shot and killed 77 people in 2011. From January 2017 to January 2019, “the defendant conducted online searches and made thousands of visits for pro-Russian, neo-fascist, and neo-Nazi literature,” the document says. A search of his Silver Spring, Maryland, residence yielded 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Prosecutors say he searched the web for MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, and “compiled a list of prominent Democratic Congressional leaders, activists, political organizations, and MSNBC and CNN media personalities.” NBC News
Dems prepare resolution against Trump’s declaration
House Democrats will file a resolution Friday aimed at blocking the national emergency declaration that President Donald Trump has issued to help finance border wall.
The resolution will pass the House and may pass in the Senate, but there are probably too few Republican votes to override Trump’s expected veto. Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Wednesday she would back a resolution blocking the declaration, making her the first Republican to publicly state her support for the effort to thwart the emergency. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority, three more GOP senators would need to vote with Democrats for the resolution to win initial approval. The Associated Press
Mueller will finish investigation next week
Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress soon after a summary of Mueller’s confidential report, according to people familiar with the plans.
The preparations are the clearest indication yet that Mueller is nearly done with his almost two-year investigation. The precise timing of the announcement is subject to change. The scope and contours of what Barr will send to Congress remain unclear. Also unclear is how long it will take Justice officials to prepare what will be submitted to lawmakers. CNN
Michael Cohen to testify publicly
President Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen will appear publicly before lawmakers on Capitol Hill next week, just weeks before he’s set to report to federal prison. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, announced the date for Cohen’s testimony on Wednesday.
Cohen, who will begin a 3-year prison sentence in early May, was originally scheduled to testify before Cumming’s committee on Feb. 7, but backed out citing threats to his family. His congressional testimony has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 27. Cohen will appear before the House Intelligence Committee in closed session the next day. CBS News
Bangladesh fire kills 78
A fast-moving fire swept through a historic district of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, killing at least 78 people, officials say. The blaze broke out at night in a residential building that had flammable material stored on the ground floor. Members of a bridal party are thought to be among the victims. It is not yet clear what started the fire.
The centuries-old Chawkbazar district has narrow streets and buildings very close to each other. Large building fires are relatively common in densely populated Bangladesh, owing to lax safety regulations and poor conditions. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years. On Sunday, a fire in a slum in the coastal city of Chittagong killed at least nine people. BBC