10 things you need to know today: December 12, 2019

1. DOJ watchdog testifies to senators about Russia investigation

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, saying that his investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation found that the FBI was justified in launching the inquiry and was not motivated by bias against President Trump. Horowitz said, however, that FBI officials made important errors in how they proceeded, including using the so-called Steele dossier when applying for a secret-court warrant for surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Democrats used the hearing to call the FBI investigation into Russian election meddling a crucial and unbiased effort to defend U.S. democracy, while Republicans cited the flaws Horowitz found as evidence the FBI was out of control.

The Associated Press The Washington Post

2. Lawmakers debate articles of impeachment against Trump

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday began debate on articles of impeachment against President Trump for alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The committee is expected to vote Thursday on the articles formally calling for Trump's removal from office, setting up a possible vote in the full House next week. The articles of impeachment allege that Trump "ignored and injured the interests of the Nation" by "corruptly soliciting" help from Ukraine to investigate his political opponents. One article accuses Trump of using the promise of a White House meeting and the withholding of military aid as leverage. The second accuses Trump of obstructing Congress by ordering officials to defy House subpoenas. Republicans on the committee defended Trump, saying he did nothing wrong.

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3. House approves Space Force and family leave for federal workers

The House on Wednesday passed a $738 billion defense policy bill that authorizes the creation of a Space Force as the sixth branch of the military, and gives federal workers 12 weeks of paid parental leave. The bill, which passed 377-48, also gives troops a three percent pay raise. The House passed a version of the bill in July, and negotiators spent the last several months working out details and making concessions. The compromise bill does not include any provisions related to President Trump's border wall, and also drops several items touted by progressive Democrats, including blocking Trump from taking military action against Iran and banning the sale of certain munitions to Saudi Arabia. The bill still has to pass in the Senate, but Trump has said he will sign it.

The Hill

4. Death toll from New Zealand volcanic eruption rises to 8

Two more people died from injuries sustained in Monday's volcanic eruption on New Zealand's White Island, bringing the death toll to eight, local police announced on Wednesday. Another eight people are missing and presumed dead. Twenty-eight people remained hospitalized, many suffering from horrific burns. Twenty-three are in critical condition. Some of the survivors fled into the sea to escape steam and ash that blasted out of the volcano, and suffered severe and extensive burns over as much as 95 percent of their bodies. New Zealand ordered 186,000 square inches of skin grafts from the U.S. to treat the victims. "This number of burns is unprecedented in New Zealand," said Dr. John Kenealy, clinical director of surgery at Counties Makanau, "and in the rest of the world."

USA Today

5. New Jersey attacker's social media page included anti-Semitic posts

Evidence mounted suggesting a deadly shooting in a Jewish market in Jersey City was motivated by anti-Semitism. One of the two suspected attackers, both of whom were killed in a firefight, had a social media page with rants against Jews and the police. Three bystanders were killed at the market. A police officer also was killed in the exchanges of gunfire with the attackers. Police said despite their suspicions, investigators had not firmly established the motive for the killings. "The why and the ideology and the motivation — that's what we're investigating," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. Law enforcement sources identified the suspects as David Anderson, a one-time follower of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, and Francine Graham.

The Associated Press

6. Israel heads toward 3rd election in a year

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, moved to disband itself on Wednesday after a deadline passed to agree on forming a new government. Israeli voters now will head to the polls for the third election in less than a year, seeking to break an impasse over who should put together and lead the country's next government. Lawmakers set March 2 as the probable date for the next balloting. The last election in September left the ruling Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, virtually tied with the new Blue and White faction, headed by former military chief Benny Gantz. Neither won enough seats in the 120-seat Knesset to form a government, and so far there is no indication voter preferences have shifted enough to end the stalemate.

The Washington Post

7. U.K. votes in election called to settle Brexit stalemate

British voters went to the polls Thursday in an election Prime Minister Boris Johnson called to break the impasse over Brexit. Johnson, who was a leader in the push for the U.K. to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum, campaigned under the slogan "Get Brexit Done." He also promised to increase spending on health, education, and police. His main rival, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, urged voters to "shock the establishment" and vote "for hope," warning that Johnson and his Conservative party would open Britain's National Health Service "to takeover by American mega-corporations and carry on with more cuts." Polls suggested Johnson would win, with anything from a narrow margin leading to a hung Parliament to a massive landslide.

The Guardian Reuters

8. Trump signs executive order against anti-Semitism on college campuses

President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order designed to fight anti-Semitism at colleges and universities by barring federal funding for schools if they don't do enough to fight it. "This is our message to universities: If you want to accept the tremendous amount of federal dollars that you get every year, you must reject anti-Semitism. It's very simple," Trump said at a White House Hanukkah reception. The order extends protections from discrimination based on race, color, and national origin under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Anti-Defamation League praised the order. J Street, a liberal Jewish-American lobbying group, criticized the order by saying it appeared to be "designed less to combat anti-Semitism than to have a chilling effect on free speech and to crack down on campus critics of Israel."

Reuters

9. Weinstein reaches $25 million settlement with sexual-misconduct accusers

Harvey Weinstein and the board of his bankrupt film studio have reached a tentative $25 million settlement with dozens of women who sued the disgraced Hollywood producer for alleged sexual misconduct. Under the settlement agreement, Weinstein would not admit to any wrongdoing, nor would he personally pay the accusers. It was not immediately clear how many of the 30 actresses and former Weinstein Company employees would accept the payout for the alleged offenses, which range from sexual harassment to rape. A court would have to approve the agreement, and all of the parties would have to sign off. Lawyers for some of the women objected to the settlement on Wednesday. Weinstein faces trial in January on charges of sexual assault against two women.

The New York Times NPR

10. Time names Greta Thunberg Person of the Year

Time on Wednesday named teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg its Person of the Year. The 16-year-old Swede is the youngest person ever to receive the honor. Time said Thunberg was chosen for "sounding the alarm about humanity's predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads." Thunberg said as she left a United Nations climate conference in Madrid that she was "a bit surprised" to receive such recognition. "It should be everyone in the Fridays for Future movement because what we have done, we have done together," she said.

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