Top News Stories for Today – Jan 8, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – Jan 8, 2019
Framework for US withdrawal from Syria approved
The 2,000 US troops in Syria as part of the fight against the Islamic State terror group have “an approved framework for the withdrawal,” Pentagon spokesman, Commander Sean Robertson, said Monday, adding commanders are “now engaged in executing that withdrawal.”
Word of an approved withdrawal framework came just hours after US President Donald Trump took to Twitter, criticizing media coverage of his decision last month to immediately begin pulling US forces from Syria — a decision which led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis days later. VOA
N Korea leader visits China
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is visiting China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, only days after warning he may take an alternative path if the United States does not ease sanctions and pressure on his isolated country.
The visit, confirmed by North Korean and Chinese state media, will likely lead to Kim’s fourth summit with Xi in the last year and comes amid plans for a second summit with Trump aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsula. VOA
WH directs IRS to pay tax refunds during shutdown
Lawyers for the Trump administration ruled on Monday that the Internal Revenue Service will be able to issue tax refunds, despite the government shutdown. During earlier shutdowns, including one last year, the IRS said it would not send out any refunds. A senior official with the Office of Management and Budget told The Washington Post it was decided that processing tax refunds is similar to paying Social Security benefits, which is allowed during a government shutdown.
Since the shutdown started on Dec. 22, 90 percent of IRS staffers have had to stay home without pay. Roughly 800,000 federal workers will miss out on their first paycheck this week. The Week
Trump to give TV speech on border
Democrats are asking for equal time on Tuesday night to respond to President Trump’s prime-time address on the border. Trump announced on Monday he’s going to speak about “the humanitarian and national security crisis on our southern border,” and requested that the major networks air his address. After mulling it over, ABC, NBC, CBS, and MSNBC all said they will go live to his speech at 9 p.m. ET.
In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a joint statement late Monday saying that if Trump’s “past statements are any indication,” his address will be “full of malice and misinformation,” adding that Democrats “must immediately be given equal airtime.” The Week
GOPs fear support eroding for shutdown fight
Several dozen House Republicans might cross the aisle this week to vote for Democratic bills to reopen shuttered parts of the federal government, spurring the White House into a dramatic effort to stem potential GOP defections. White House officials and Republican congressional leaders worry that GOP support for the shutdown is eroding, weakening President Donald Trump’s hand as he seeks billions of dollars for a border wall that Democrats have vowed to oppose, according to GOP lawmakers and aides.
Vice President Mike Pence and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will address House Republicans on Tuesday evening. The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a Democratic bill designed to fund the IRS and several other agencies, the first of four bills Democrats hope will peel off Trump’s GOP support in the House. Politico
Former presidents debunk Trump’s wall claim
President Trump claimed last week that former presidents had told him that they supported the idea of building a wall on the southern border. “This should have been done by all of the presidents that preceded me,” Trump said. “And they all know it. Some of them have told me that we should have done it.” All four living ex-presidents told The Washington Post on Monday that this is untrue.
Former President Barack Obama’s spokesman referred to previous comments in which Obama said a wall would “run counter to our history as the world’s melting pot,” while former President Jimmy Carter said he does “not support [Trump] on the issue.” Representatives for former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton said they had never discussed the matter with Trump. The Week