10 things you need to know today: November 25, 2019

1. Schiff: Impeachment report won't be delayed by Trump administration

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that the House Intelligence Committee, which he chairs, will pull together its impeachment inquiry despite the refusal of some key witnesses to testify. "We'd love to have these witnesses come in," Schiff said. "But we're not willing to simply allow them to wait us out — to stall this proceeding — when the facts are already overwhelming." Democrats, backed by testimony from several diplomats and national security officials, suspect President Trump of using congressionally approved military aid as leverage to pressure Ukraine into investigating Democrats, or at least saying that it was. Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani have defied calls to testify.

The Washington Post

2. Pro-democracy parties make gains in Hong Kong elections

Pro-democracy candidates overwhelmingly beat their pro-Beijing rivals in Hong's District Council elections, according to early results. Several high-profile pro-government lawmakers appeared to have lost their seats. Pro-democracy parties, lifted by six months of anti-government protests, won 389 of 452 elected seats, up from 124, and pro-government parties got just 58, down from 300. "There has been a very deep awakening of the Hong Kong people," said Alan Leong, chairman of the pro-democracy Civic Party. Turnout reportedly exceeded 70 percent, a record. Hong Kong Baptist University politics expert Kenneth Chan said the turnout "exceeded many predictions" and showed that voters support democracy and are "counting on this election to point a way out of this impasse."

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CNN The New York Times

3. Defense secretary asks for Navy secretary's resignation

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Sunday fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, who had threatened to quit after President Trump intervened to block punishment of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL convicted of illegally posing for photos with the corpse of an ISIS fighter. Trump tweeted on Thursday that he wouldn't let the Navy boot Gallagher from the elite SEAL special forces group. Spencer responded by saying that a tweet did not amount to an official order, although Spencer denied that he had threatened to resign over the case. In his letter confirming his departure, Spencer said he could not in good conscience obey an order that would break the oath he took to defend the Constitution. He said the president "deserves and should expect" a Navy secretary who shares his approach to military order and discipline.

CNBC

4. Justice Ginsburg returns home from hospital

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from a hospital Sunday after treatment for a possible infection, a court spokeswoman said. Ginsburg, 86, was admitted to Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Friday for evaluation after experiencing chills and a fever. Ginsburg, the court's oldest justice, has had several health problems in the past year, including surgery for lung cancer and radiation treatment for pancreatic cancer. She also survived cancer in 1999 and 2009. Earlier this month, she missed oral arguments due to a stomach bug. Before going to the hospital Friday, she attended the justices' weekly private conference as well as another function. In September, Ginsburg said: "I think my work is what saved me, because instead of dwelling on my physical discomforts, if I have an opinion to write or brief to read I know I've just got to get it done and have to get over it."

ABC News

5. Bloomberg officially launches presidential bid

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg formally announced Sunday that he was running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. "Defeating Donald Trump — and rebuilding America — is the most urgent and important fight of our lives. And I'm going all in," Bloomberg said. "I offer myself as a doer and a problem solver — not a talker. And someone who is ready to take on the tough fights — and win." Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman and former Republican, described himself as a pragmatic candidate and "a new choice for Democrats." He has expressed concerns about progressive policies pushed by some of the other candidates, and showed how his financial resources could disrupt the race, reserving nearly $35 million in airtime for early ads.

The New York Times

6. Pope Francis urges world powers to scrap 'immoral' nuclear arsenals

Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on Sunday, and urged world powers to dismantle their nuclear arsenals. "The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral," the pope said at the peace memorial in Hiroshima, where an atomic bomb dropped by U.S. forces killed 140,000 people at the end of World War II. Francis, speaking to survivors of the 1945 bombings, rejected the Cold War deterrence doctrine long sanctioned by the Catholic Church, calling instead for arms control agreements and trust. Francis met with several survivors of the bombings. "No one in this world can imagine such a scene of hell," said Yoshiko Kajimoto, who was 14 and working in a factory when Hiroshima was bombed. "Do we still need nuclear even after you see all of this?"

Politico BBC News

7. Report: White House review finds emails about withholding Ukraine aid

The White House Counsel's Office, responding to the House impeachment inquiry, reviewed President Trump's decision to freeze military aid to Ukraine, and found hundreds of documents discussing how to justify the move, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing three people familiar with the matter. Congress approved nearly $400 million in security aid for Ukraine, but Trump ordered a hold on it in mid-July. The impeachment inquiry is focusing on whether Trump used the aid as leverage to get Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. In early August, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney reportedly emailed White House budget officials asking how long the aid could be frozen. They argued a hold deemed "temporary" was legal, but State Department and national security officials objected.

The Washington Post

8. Leaked documents show extent of brainwashing in China camps

A trove of leaked secret documents dubbed the China Cables revealed the scope of Beijing's mass detention of ethnic minorities in northern Xinjiang province. The Communist Party documents, obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, show that China has used 24-hour surveillance and forced ideological lessons in behavioral re-education camps in northwestern China to indoctrinate Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, and other minorities. "They confirm that this is a form of cultural genocide," said Adrian Zenz, a senior fellow in China studies at the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. "It really shows that from the onset, the Chinese government had a plan." China has said the camps are for job training.

CBC The Associated Press

9. 3 storms threaten to complicate record Thanksgiving travel

Three major storms threaten to disrupt Thanksgiving week travel, as a record number of people plan to hit the road for the holiday. Freezing rain and sleet, followed by snow, hit the Northeast on Sunday. High winds could prompt organizers to ground the iconic balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Snow is expected to continue in the Northeast after the rains end Monday, making travel treacherous on some highways. On the West Coast, another winter storm could disrupt travel, with elevations above 3,000 feet in the Sierra getting as much as three feet of snow starting Tuesday night. A third system will dump snow on the Central Plains to the Upper Great Lakes through the middle of the week.

CNN

10. Frozen 2 gives Disney Animation Studios its biggest debut ever

Frozen 2 dominated the weekend box office with $127 million in domestic ticket sales, a record debut for Walt Disney Animation Studios and the biggest ever for an animated film outside of summer. The sequel to the 2013 smash Frozen also made $223 million overseas, making the music-packed film's global total the richest worldwide debut in history for an animated film, without adjusting for inflation. Frozen 2's haul exceeded expectations and boosted a struggling November box office, with sales down by 27 percent compared to the same month last year. "Making a sequel to Frozen was a high bar to set for yourself," says Disney distribution chief Cathleen Taff. "The filmmakers did an outstanding job delivering this next chapter. It's emotional and it has something for everyone."

The Hollywood Reporter