House GOP votes to
oust Democrat Omar
from major committee
House Republicans have voted to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The vote in a raucous session Thursday to remove the Somali-born Muslim lawmaker came after her past comments critical of Israel. It was also a response by the new Republican majority after Democrats booted far-right GOP lawmakers from committees over their incendiary, violent remarks in the last session. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked quickly to solidify wavering Republican support after some GOP lawmakers had expressed reservations about taking such a dramatic step. The Minnesota Democrat has apologized for comments that she has said she came to understand were antisemitic.
Biden’s handwritten notes
part of classified docs probe
President Joe Biden is a man who writes down his thoughts. And some of those handwritten musings over his decades of public service are now a part of a special counsel’s investigation into the handling of classified documents. It isn’t clear yet what the investigators are looking for by taking the notes from his time as vice president and his years in the Senate, from his Delaware homes in Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington. A special counsel is working to determine how classified information from Biden’s time as senator and vice president came to wind up in his home and former office, and whether the notes are considered personal, and therefore belong to Biden.
Ally claims Bolsonaro
plotted coup to block
Lula presidency
A Brazilian magazine has released audio of a senator claiming then President Jair Bolsonaro sought help in a plot to annul the October elections and keep himself in power. In the recording, Sen. Marcos do Val tells the magazine Veja that the idea was discussed at a meeting Dec. 9, three weeks before leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was set to take office. Veja released the audio after the senator issued denials following the magazine’s report Thursday morning about the purported plot, which had not cited him as its source. The alleged meeting adds to the growing woes for Bolsonaro, who is already under investigation following the Jan. 8 riot in the capital by his supporters. He is in Florida and did not comment on any of his social media channels.
Frustrated Texans
endure winter storm
with no power, heat
The mayor of the capital of Texas is acknowledging the frustration of residents shivering for more than a day without power during a winter storm. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson says the duration of the icy storm that has plagued the area since Tuesday has made it challenging to restore power. The storm is blamed for at least 10 deaths across much of the southern U.S. Things are starting to warm up, but a wave of cold is forecast to target New England with the coldest weather in decades. Wind chills could plunge to 50 degrees below zero, or even lower.
Police: ‘High chance’ of Hollywood mass shooting prevented
Los Angeles police say a “high chance” of a mass shooting in Hollywood was thwarted by police seizing a cache of guns and ammunition in a Los Angeles high-rise apartment where several rifles were pointed toward a nearby park. Braxton Johnson was taken into custody Tuesday after he allegedly made violent threats involving weapons to security staff at the apartment building and people outside. He remains jailed Thursday on suspicion of making criminal threats. His bail is set at $500,000. It is not yet clear if Johnson has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
US filings for jobless aid lowest since April
U.S. applications for jobless aid fell again last week to their lowest level since April, further evidence that the job market has withstood aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve as it attempts to cool the economy and bring down inflation. Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for the week ending Jan. 28 fell by 3,000 last week to 183,000, from 186,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the third straight week claims were under 200,000 and the third straight weekly decline. Jobless claims generally serve as a proxy for layoffs.
Israeli settler population in West Bank tops 500K
A new report says that Israel’s West Bank settler population now makes up more than half a million people. That figure crosses a major threshold and it is set to continue to surge under Israel’s new ultranationalist government. Thursday’s report was released by the pro-settler WestBankJewishPopulationStats.com and is based on official figures. It shows that the settler population grew to 502,991 as of Jan. 1, rising more than 2.5% in 12 months and nearly 16% over the last five years. Much of the international community views the settlements as illegitimate and an obstacle to peace.
Former US Navy captain sentenced in massive bribery scandal
A former U.S. Navy captain who was caught up in a massive contracting scandal has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for taking nearly $91,000 in bribes. Retired Capt. David Haas was sentenced Thursday in San Diego. Prosecutors say he was among dozens of Navy officials who helped obtain contracts for a man known as “Fat Leonard” Francis. Francis owned a Singapore company that supplied food, water and fuel to vessels for decades. He has acknowledged overbilling the Navy by $35 million with the help of officers whom he plied with prostitutes, meals and other bribes. More than 30 people have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the case.
Flings for jobless aid lowest since April
U.S. applications for jobless aid fell again last week to their lowest level since April, further evidence that the job market has withstood aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve as it attempts to cool the economy and bring down inflation. Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for the week ending Jan. 28 fell by 3,000 last week to 183,000, from 186,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the third straight week claims were under 200,000 and the third straight weekly decline. Jobless claims generally serve as a proxy for layoffs.
By wire sources
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