YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP | | | | The AG doesn't take orders from the White House. | | | |
Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered an emotional address to Congress amid a backdrop of harsh GOP criticism. Also in the news: The UAW strike plants to include more plants, risking job cuts for more autoworkers and why gas prices are up again. | | | |
This is the news to know on Thursday. |
AG Garland chokes back tears in Capitol Hill hearing |
Attorney General Merrick Garland struck a defiant tone Wednesday in defending the Justice Department as independent of the White House and Congress, but Republicans attacked him repeatedly for the handling of high-profile investigations of Hunter Biden and Donald Trump. |
"Our job is to uphold the rule of law," Garland told the House Judiciary Committee in an uncharacteristically emotional statement that brought him close to tears as he described his family fleeing the Holocaust. |
| • | Garland's testimony came amid multiple investigations that are politically fraught. House Republicans are investigating whether to impeach President Joe Biden, in part because of alleged influence peddling by his son Hunter. | | • | Republicans blasted Garland for the department's "ridiculous" plea deal offered to Hunter Biden that fell apart in July. | | • | The White House dismissed the hearing as "a not-so-sophisticated distraction" from the potential "costly and dangerous government shutdown" looming Oct. 1. | | Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before House Judiciary Committee during hearing: Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice on Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Jack Gruber, Jack Gruber-USA TODAY |
If UAW strikes expand to more plants, it could mean the end for many |
If the United Auto Workers union and the Detroit automakers can't reach a tentative agreement, at some point the UAW has said it plans to strike at more plants across the three companies. On Monday night, UAW President Shawn Fain announced a new strike deadline of this Friday at noon. If Ford Motor Co., General Motors or Stellantis have not made substantial progress toward an agreement with the UAW by that time, Fain will expand the Stand Up Strike to more plants. A broader and prolonged strike would mean parts suppliers couldn't keep production going if the vehicle assembly plants that use their parts are idled — and no one is sure of just how long suppliers could hold out. Read more | Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union hold a practice picket in front of Stellantis headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on September 20, 2023. MATTHEW HATCHER, AFP via Getty Images |
Gas prices are creeping up (again). Why? |
Rising oil prices are causing pain at the pump for much of the U.S. Oil prices climbed 30% since the start of July, which has raised new concerns about how they might ripple through to consumers' pockets, the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy and the trajectory of inflation, which turned up in August. One reason why: The summer's extreme heat has made it harder for refineries to produce enough gasoline to meet demand and pushed pump prices higher. Read more |
Senate bypasses Tommy Tuberville's abortion protest |
Military promotions for decades have been approved at large without controversy. But Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has held up about 300 promotions for senior military jobs since February in protest of a Pentagon policy that pays troops for some travel to states that provide abortions, along with some other expenses. In remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Tuberville's blockade and said he would seek to advance a number of nominations, including Gen. C.Q. Brown, who was confirmed as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by the Senate Wednesday evening. Read more |
| • | Democrats want a federal voting rights bill ahead of 2024 elections. | |
Many US hospitals are ill-equipped to care for sexual assault survivors |
Despite a 2022 law requiring a national directory of sexual assault nurse examiner locations, there is no comprehensive national resource to direct survivors to the nearest forensic exam. Congress tasked the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to create the resource but did not allocate funding for the project, leaving the agency unable to create it. Medical care afterward is key to addressing physical and mental health needs and collecting evidence, but a USA TODAY investigation examined obstacles to care. Read more |
Photo of the day: The English come to France |
French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's King Charles III held talks in Paris on Wednesday at the start of a long-awaited three-day state visit meant to highlight the friendship between France and the U.K. For their first stop in the French capital, Charles and Queen Camilla attended a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, where they were greeted by Macron and his wife, Brigitte. Read more | French President's wife Brigitte Macron, Britain's Queen Camilla and President of the French National Library Laurence Engel speak during their visit to the "Bibliotheque Nationale de France" (BNF - French National Library), to present a new French-British literary prize to be awarded for the first time next year, in Paris on September 21, 2023. CHRIS JACKSON, POOL/AFP via Getty Images |
Associated Press contributed reporting. | | | | The eNewspaper is now available in the breaking news app. | | | | | | |
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