President Trump touted the strength of his border wall at a campaign rally in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Friday night. He told the crowed that Army wall engineers wanted to use concrete, steel, and rebar, and he told them even though it would cost more, use all three materials. "I did all three because it's a different form of cutting," Trump said. "You can get through steel, but you can't through the concrete, and then, you can't through the hardened rebar."
Hours later, The Washington Post reported Saturday that Mexican smugglers were actually cutting through the new replacement barrier Trump has erected near San Diego using cordless reciprocating saws you can purchase for about $100 at hardware stores. Specialized blades can slice through the steel-plated, rebar-reinforced concrete bollards in minutes, border agents told the Post.
"After cutting through the base of a single bollard, smugglers can push the steel out of the way, creating an adult-size gap," the Post reports. "Because the bollards are so tall — and are attached only to a panel at the top — their length makes them easier to push aside once they have been cut and are left dangling."
On Saturday evening, reporters asked Trump if he's concerned that people are able to cut though his new border wall. "I haven't heard that," Trump replied. "We have a very powerful wall. But no matter how powerful, you can cut through anything, in all fairness. But we have a lot of people watching. You know, cutting — cutting is one thing, but it's easily fixed. One of the reasons we did it the way we did it — it's very easily fixed to put the chunk back in. But we have a very powerful wall. But you can cut through any wall."
You can read more about Trump's $10 billion border wall, its strengths and weaknesses, and how Mexican smugglers are cat-and-mousing U.S. border patrol agents at The Washington Post. Peter Weber
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) shared his grievances with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during Tuesday's public hearing, saying it upsets him when Schiff accuses Republicans of trying to out the whistleblower whose complaint about President Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sparked the impeachment inquiry.
It is "unfair for you to make that accusation," Conaway said. The whistleblower does not deserve "absolute right" to anonymity, he told Schiff, and Republicans must know this person's identity. "This is about leveling the playing field between our two teams," Conaway said. "Your team knows the whistleblower, they have intimate knowledge of who he or she is."
Conaway also brought up a letter Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent to colleagues on Sept. 22, in which she discusses the whistleblower speaking to Congress. Schiff responded by saying he was happy to enter into the record the statute that allows whistleblowers to remain anonymous and Rep. Devin Nunes' (R-Calif.) past remarks about the importance of providing anonymity to whistleblowers. Catherine Garcia
At least 106 protesters are feared dead in Iran, after the government gave security forces authority to use firearms, water cannons, tear gas, and batons against demonstrators, Amnesty International reports.
The protests began on Nov. 15 in response to the government's decision to raise fuel prices, spreading across 100 cities. Amnesty International says it has reviewed video and spoken with eyewitnesses and activists who say Iranian security forces are using excessive and lethal force against protesters. The demonstrations have largely been peaceful, although there are reports fires have been set at banks and seminaries.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has called the protesters "villains," and the government has severely limited internet access to the public. State media has reported that only a few protesters and four members of the security forces have died, but Amnesty International believes the actual death toll could be close to 200. "The authorities must end this brutal and deadly crackdown immediately and show respect for human life," Amnesty International's Philip Luther said in a statement. Catherine Garcia
Former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker has one big revision to his first impeachment testimony.
In his original closed-door testimony, when asked if there was any talk of investigating the Bidens in a July 10 meeting with a Ukrainian defense leader, Volker repeatedly answered "no." But when appearing publicly before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, Volker reversed that statement.
In his lengthy opening statement Tuesday, Volker mentioned meeting with then-National Security Adviser John Bolton, Ukraine's then-National Security and Defense Chief Alex Danylyuk, and other leaders. "I remember, the meeting was essentially over when Ambassador Sondland made a generic comment about investigations," Volker's new statement read, referring to U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland and Trump's desired political investigations. "I think all of us thought it was inappropriate; the conversation did not continue," Volker added.
Flash back to last month when Volker was asked if there was any talk of Rudy Giuliani's desired Biden probe in that meeting. Volker didn't even let the questioner finish before answering "no" three times in a row.
Volker also made another change to his previous testimony, saying that while he didn't tell Ukraine there were conditions to receive U.S. aid, he "did not know" if others "were conveying a different message to them around that same time." Kathryn Krawczyk
It's been a busy day for Congress.
In between public impeachment hearings, House lawmakers voted 231-192 to pass a continuing resolution that will postpone a government shutdown fight until Dec. 20. That's good news in the sense that there won't be a shutdown in two days, which was the initial deadline, but The Hill notes that broader spending negotiations were stalled.
Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over funding for President Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats are trying to avoid providing Trump with the $5 billion he's requested for the wall by allocating that amount to the Homeland Security bill. If that were to happen, it could potentially mean that the amount would come out of other bills that they're prioritizing such as the Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education bill.
The continuing resolution did include provisions providing funding for U.S. census efforts and a 3.1 percent military pay raise, The Hill notes, so it wasn't purely a stopgap.
The Senate is expected to pass the measure quickly, The Hill reports, and Trump reportedly supports the action. Read more at The Hill. Tim O'Donnell
Two federal workers have been indicted in connection with Jeffrey Epstein's death, with several other workers implicated in their testimony.
A Tuesday indictment from the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan has charged Tova Noel and Michael Thomas each with five counts of false entries in official records and one count of conspiracy. The charges detail how they allegedly neglected to check in on Epstein the August night he hanged himself in New York City's Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, was in prison after decades of allegations of sexual abuse involving minors. Guards were supposed to check on his unit twice an hour throughout the night, but video footage apparently shows no one entered Epstein's wing of the building from 10:30 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. when his body was found. Noel and Thomas allegedly spent that time surfing for furniture sales and sports news, their indictments say.
Both Noel and Thomas have allegedly admitted to skipping their rounds, implicating other guards who say they conducted those rounds with them. If convicted, Noel and Thomas could spend up to 30 years in prison.
Epstein's death has been the source of numerous conspiracy theories, with even Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) suggesting Epstein didn't actually hang himself on Tuesday. Epstein's brother has also fanned the flames surrounding his death in recent weeks, though an autopsy has said Epstein died by hanging. Kathryn Krawczyk