Top News Stories for Today – feb 5, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – feb 5, 2019
Trump inauguration committee subpoenaed
Prosecutors in New York’s Southern District have subpoenaed documents from President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, sources with direct knowledge told ABC News, indicating that even as the special counsel probe appears to be nearing an end, another investigation that could hamstring the president and his lawyers is widening. The subpoena from the Southern District, which came from its public corruption section, is the latest activity focusing on Trump’s political fundraising both before and immediately after the 2016 election.
Prosecutors are seeking documents and records related to the committee’s donors to the massive inauguration fund, according to sources familiar with the request. Prosecutors also are seeking information on attendees to the events surrounding the inauguration, including benefits to top-level donors such as photo opportunities with Trump, sources said. ABC News
10 dead in Paris apartment fire
Ten people including a baby have died in a fire at an eight-storey building in south-western Paris, fire service officials say. More than 30 people – including six firefighters – were injured. One person is in a serious condition. Fifty people were evacuated by ladders from the blaze in the upmarket 16th arrondissement.
The Paris prosecutor says it may have been deliberately started. Police have detained a female suspect. Rue Erlanger is a popular street close to the Parc des Princes soccer stadium. The fire spread across the two floors of the 1970s building on Erlanger street shortly after 01:00 (00:00 GMT), forcing some residents to scramble on to nearby rooftops to escape the flames and smoke. BBC
ISIS regrouping in Iraq
The Islamic State group is regrouping in Iraq faster than in Syria, according to a new Pentagon report, underscoring the fluid nature of the security threat in the Middle East. The assessment of the efforts by ISIS to reestablish a foothold in the region comes as the US military is moving forward with a plan to pull out of Syria. The report covers the three months from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2018. Trump announced Dec. 19 that the US military would be leaving Syria.
The report, which was released Monday, confirms an NBC News story published last week that said a draft version had warned that ISIS could regain territory in six to 12 months in the absence of sustained military pressure. NBC News
Bernhardt nominated as US secretary of interior
President Trump announced Monday he’d nominate David Bernhardt to be the next secretary of the Interior. The former deputy Interior Secretary has been serving as acting Interior secretary for the past month ever since Ryan Zinke left the top spot in the new year. “David has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived,” Trump wrote in a tweet.
Bernhardt worked in the Interior Department under former President George W. Bush, and was a lawyer and lobbyist for the coal and mining industries after that. The announcement comes as four other Cabinet-level positions remain empty, with two nominees stalled in Senate confirmation proceedings. Donald J. Trump via The Week
GM confirms job cuts to happen
General Motors confirmed that on Monday it began cutting some 4,000 salaried jobs, mostly in North America. A spokesman said the process will be concluded over the next two weeks. GM leadership is communicating with employees on the timing and procedure of the job cuts, part of a restructuring intended to save $2.5 billion this year. The spokesman noted that some areas have already made cuts over the past couple of weeks.
Some employees inside GM’s Detroit headquarters received an email Monday morning from CFO Dhivya Suryadevara telling them “restructuring activities” were beginning and saying employees will be informed by their team leaders when the cuts are complete. Detroit Free Press
Democracy in US has weakened
Freedom House says that democracy in the United States has weakened significantly in recent years and blames US President Donald Trump for “ongoing attacks on the rule of law, fact-based journalism, and other principles and norms of democracy.” The US-based nongovernmental group warned in its annual report on democracy that it has seen similar patterns in other nations where democracy was ultimately overtaken by authoritarianism.
The group said the freedom rating for the United States shows that the country is still a robust democracy by global standards, it says its democracy has weakened significantly. It says the current US score puts American democracy on a level with Greece, Croatia and Mongolia, well below other long-standing democracies such as Germany, France and Britain. VOA