Everyone wants to see the Mueller report. Yes, literally everyone.
Attorney General William Barr has so far refused to promise to make the contents of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe public — an issue that led most Senate Democrats to oppose his confirmation in the first place. Yet it seems even Republicans are fed up with the secrecy, as the House voted unanimously Thursday on a resolution demanding the report be made public.
Both sides of the aisle teamed up, voting 420-0 to make Mueller's report on potential ties between President Trump's campaign and Russian election interference available to Congress and the public. Eight members of Congress didn't vote and four Republicans voted "present," but no one voted against the non-binding resolution. The decision can't force Barr to release the entire report to the public or even Congress, prompting some Republicans to say it was a "waste of time," The Washington Post notes. There's also no indication that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will bring it for a vote.
Still, the resolution serves as an overwhelming reminder to Barr of what many lawmakers want from him. House Democrats have already started their own probe into the Trump campaign and administration, potentially to duplicate and expand on Mueller's or provide what Barr may withhold. Mueller has reportedly been wrapping up his investigation, and is expected to release it to Barr in the next few months. Kathryn Krawczyk
Caroll Spinney, the actor and puppeteer who made Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch come alive on Sesame Street, died Sunday. He was 85.
The Sesame Workshop said Spinney, who died at his home in Connecticut, lived with dystonia for many years. Spinney began working on Sesame Street in its earliest days in 1969, before retiring in 2018.
As Big Bird, Spinney traveled around the world, conducted symphony orchestras, danced with the Rockettes, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress.
In a statement, Sesame Workshop said Spinney's "enormous talent and outsized heart were perfectly suited to playing the larger-than-life yellow bird who brought joy to generations of children and countless fans of all ages around the world, and his loveably cantankerous grouch gave us all permission to be cranky once in a while." Catherine Garcia
North Korea is at it again. But this time no one is exactly sure about what they're up to.
North Korean state media reported Sunday that Pyongyang conducted a "successful test of a great significance" Saturday at its Sohae satellite launch site, a rocket testing ground, but did not reveal what was tested. U.S. officials have said North Korea promised to close the testing ground, but it appears that won't be the case any longer as Pyongyang's year-end deadline to reach a denuclearization agreement with Washington nears after talks stalled earlier this year.
It likely wasn't a missile launch, since Japan and South Korea can usually detect those. Instead, missile experts said it's possible North Korea tested a solid fuel rocket engine, which could allow the country to field intercontinental ballistic missiles that are easier to hide and faster to deploy. "If it is indeed a static engine test for a new solid or liquid fuel missile, it is yet another loud signal that the door for diplomacy is quickly slamming, if it isn't already," said Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "This could be a very credible signal of what might await the world after the New Year."
North Korea has promised to adopt a "new path" if the U.S. does not offer sanctions relief, which analysts believe could include launching a satellite that would allow Pyongyang to continue testing missiles more covertly. Read more at BBC and Reuters. Tim O'Donnell