Trump asks SCOTUS to block release of Jan. 6 records
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to block the release of White House records concerning the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, arguing that he had a constitutional right to shield the materials from Congress even though President Joe Biden declined to invoke executive privilege over them. The case raises novel constitutional questions about the separation of powers and the power of a president no longer in office. Trump’s lawyers asked the justices to block the release of the records while they decide whether to hear his appeal. A special House committee investigating the attacks sought the records from the National Archives.
Kim Potter convicted of manslaughter for killing Daunte Wright
The former police officer who said she mistook her gun for her Taser when she fatally shot a man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb was convicted Thursday on two counts of manslaughter, a verdict likely to send her to prison for years. The jury deliberated four days before agreeing on guilty verdicts for Kimberly Potter, 49, a white woman who testified that she had never fired her gun in 26 years on the police force in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, until she shot a single bullet into the chest of Daunte Wright, 20, a Black man who had been driving to a car wash in April.
Canada to pay billions over contaminated indigenous drinking water
The Federal Court of Canada approved a multibillion-dollar legal settlement that requires the government to take swifter action to clean up contaminated drinking water on Indigenous reserves and to compensate First Nations for the decades they have gone without access to clean water. Under the settlement, released by the court late Wednesday, the government will commit to spend at least 6 billion Canadian dollars over nine years to fund water infrastructure and operations on hundreds of reserves, and will pay 1.5 billion dollars in damages to about 140,000 Indigenous people.
Merck’s COVID pill is authorized for high-risk adults
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized a second antiviral pill for COVID but said it should not be preferred over other treatments. The FDA cleared the pill, developed by Merck and known as molnupiravir, for adults vulnerable to becoming severely ill from COVID and for whom alternative treatment options are “not accessible or clinically appropriate.” The decision reflects concerns that Merck’s pill is modestly effective and carries possible safety risks. Merck’s treatment is expected to be available early next month. With the omicron variant driving an onslaught of infections, the drug will be in greater supply in the coming weeks than other treatments in the United States.
Israelis at risk might receive a fourth dose
Israel is considering whether to approve a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose for vulnerable people to contain the fast-spreading omicron variant, despite debate among scientists and a lack of evidence either for or against another booster. The panel of experts advising the Israeli government on the pandemic recognized that uncertainty, but on Tuesday it recommended giving a fourth dose, concluding that the potential benefits outweighed the risks. But some scientists warned that the plan could backfire, because too many shots might cause a sort of immune system fatigue, compromising the body’s ability to fight the coronavirus.
Congresswoman carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia
Five teenagers were arrested in Delaware Wednesday night after they were found inside a stolen car belonging to Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, who was carjacked earlier that day in Philadelphia, authorities said. Scanlon, D-Pa., was unharmed in the carjacking, during which she was robbed at gunpoint around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday after leaving a meeting in South Philadelphia, her office said. Around 9 p.m. Wednesday, Scanlon’s blue 2017 Acura MDX was found in Newark, Delaware, about 40 miles from where it was stolen, the Delaware State Police said in a statement. The FBI confirmed that its Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force was working with police on the investigation.
Another boat sinks off Greece, adding to migrant death toll
At least four people died in the southern Aegean Sea on Thursday after a boat carrying migrants struck an islet, Greek authorities said, the second deadly episode of people-smuggling off Greece’s shores this week. About 90 people were left stranded after Thursday’s crash of the migrant boat into the rocky islet off the Greek island of Antikythera, officials said. Elsewhere in the Aegean, rescue teams searched to no avail for additional survivors from the wreck late Tuesday of a migrant boat off the island of Folegandros that left at least three people dead and dozens unaccounted for.
Hong Kong removes statue that memorialized victims killed in Tiananmen Square
Authorities in Hong Kong on Thursday removed a statue that memorialized those killed in the 1989 government massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing, the latest crackdown on political dissent in the Chinese territory. The 26-foot copper statue, known as the “Pillar of Shame,” was created by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot in 1996 and shows a pile of naked corpses arranged into what looks like a ghastly obelisk. It commemorates the June 4, 1989, massacre of pro-democracy students and workers around Tiananmen Square by the Chinese government. As workers removed the statue before dawn, journalists at the scene reported that the police had blocked off the area.
Hundreds of charges in ‘massacre’ of Koalas
An Australian landowner and two companies have been hit with hundreds of animal cruelty charges after a land-clearing operation last year led to the deaths of 70 koalas, an episode that one lawmaker described as a “massacre.” Authorities discovered dozens of dead, injured or starving koalas on private property in Cape Bridgewater in southwest Victoria in February of last year, after the landowner and a forest and earth-moving business cleared their habitat, the state’s conservation regulator said in a statement Wednesday. Authorities did not identify the landowner or the businesses.
Toys R Us tries to come back
Four years after Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and three years since closing its 735 stores, the brand that Charles Lazarus started in 1957 has been raised from the dead in time for last-minute holiday shopping. Its first new store and the mall where it sits — American Dream, in East Rutherford, New Jersey — are betting on the strength of nostalgia’s grip, hoping that a familiar retail name will attract shoppers who are increasingly accustomed to doing their buying online. Toys R Us is planning to follow this opening with hundreds of mini locations inside Macy’s stores over the next year.
Amazon reaches labor deal, giving workers more power to organize
Amazon, which faces mounting scrutiny over worker rights, agreed to let its warehouse employees more easily organize in the workplace as part of a nationwide settlement with the National Labor Relations Board this month. Under the settlement, made final Wednesday, Amazon said it would email past and current warehouse workers — probably more than 1 million people — with notifications of their rights and would give them greater flexibility to organize in its buildings. The agreement also made it easier and faster for the NLRB, which investigates claims of unfair labor practices, to sue Amazon if it believes the company has violated the terms.
SKorea ex-President Park, jailed for corruption, is pardoned
The South Korean government said Friday it will grant a special pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, who is serving a lengthy prison term for bribery and other crimes. The Justice Ministry said in a statement that Park’s pardon is aimed at overcoming past divisions and promoting national unity in the face of difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The ministry said the 69-year-old Park was among 3,094 people who are to be pardoned on Dec. 31.
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