The Overnight News Digest is a nightly series chronicling the eschaton.
Donald Trump's conduct with Ukraine was far worse than the behavior that led to Richard Nixon's downfall, the head of the congressional impeachment probe said Thursday as he summed up the case for the US president's removal. […]
"What we've seen here is far more serious than a third-rate burglary of the Democratic headquarters," said House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, referring to the infamous 1972 Watergate break-in that Nixon ordered, eventually leading to his resignation.
"What we're talking about here is the withholding of recognition in that White House meeting (and) the withholding of military aid to an ally at war. This is beyond anything Nixon did."
Rep Schiff’s remarks begin at 8:30 after the Duma’s spokesperson concludes his statement.
Monsanto pleads guilty to using banned pesticide on research crop
Monsanto on Thursday agreed to plead guilty to illegally using a banned and highly toxic pesticide on research crops at one of its facilities on the Hawaiian island of Maui and to pay $10 million in fines.
The company admitted in court documents filed in US District Court in Honolulu that it sprayed the pesticide known as Penncap-M on corn seed and other crops at its Valley Farm facility in 2014, even though it knew the chemical had been banned by the Environmental Protection Agency the year before.
"The illegal conduct in this case posed a threat to the environment, surrounding communities and Monsanto workers," said Nick Hanna, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, whose office handled the case. "Federal laws and regulations impose a clear duty on every user of regulated and dangerous chemicals to ensure the products are safely stored, transported and used."
The Washington Post
Impeachment witness warns that conspiracy theories advance Russia’s agenda as they divide Americans
For two months, the impeachment inquiry has focused on … Trump and whether he abused the power of his office for his own political advantage.
On Thursday, the inquiry seemed to broaden into a bracing examination of the insidious forces — including the spread of conspiracy theories — infecting American politics.
The final day of scheduled public testimony in this phase of the impeachment investigation was dominated by the warnings of a former White House adviser that the country’s susceptibility to baseless allegations and partisan infighting are more than unfortunate byproducts of this political era.
Instead, Fiona Hill, who served as Trump’s top adviser on Russia for much of the past two years, testified that these tendencies pose a growing security threat that Russia, among other adversaries, is exploiting.
Graham launches probe of Bidens, Burisma and Ukraine
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday requesting documents related to former vice president Joe Biden and his communications with Ukrainian officials, a step seen as a GOP effort to counter the House impeachment investigation of … Trump. […]
Graham’s document request suggests he is seeking to legitimize Trump’s accusations that Biden, then vice president, put pressure on Ukraine to fire its lead prosecutor to protect his son, a claim without evidence that has been disputed by officials familiar with the investigation.
Bloomberg
Democrats Leave Trump in Suspense on Where Impeachment Goes Next
The Democrats head into a recess week trying to figure out if they can meet their tentative target of holding any impeachment vote before the end of the year. Here are some of the important decisions ahead:
The two weeks of public hearings featured 12 career diplomats, civil servants and political appointees who described how Trump, through his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, tried to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation into potential Democratic opponent Joe Biden.
But the testimony also repeatedly drew attention to the senior figures that Trump has blocked from appearing, including Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton.
“We aren’t finished yet,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday. “As I said to the president, if you have any information that is exculpatory, please bring it forward, because it seems that the facts are uncontested as to what happened.”
Amtrak CEO Has a Plan for Profitability, and You Won’t Like It
[…] Amtrak’s board of directors also broke with tradition. In 2017, rather than recruiting from the public-transit sphere, it hired a chief executive officer from the private sector: Richard Anderson, who’d become CEO of Delta Air Lines Inc. after it emerged from bankruptcy and restored it to profitability.
Working without a salary or an annual bonus—he probably doesn’t need the money, having left Delta with $72 million in company stock—Anderson is determined to move Amtrak toward self-sustainability. He’s vigorously cutting costs and vows it will break even on an operating basis next year. That, he says, will enable Amtrak to spend its annual congressional subsidies to buy new trains and fix up its tracks and stations. Anderson will need all the money he can get. The Northeast Corridor has been underfunded for decades and needs an estimated $41 billion to keep its bridges and tunnels, some of which were built more than a century ago, from collapsing.
He also wants to reconfigure Amtrak’s long-distance routes so they’re no longer money sops. He says several, including the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr, which transport passengers from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, respectively, could be turned into luxe excursions for rail enthusiasts who want to cross the Continental Divide in style. Others, he argues, should be broken up into shorter, faster routes between cities, enabling travelers to bypass congested highways and airports with their time-sucking security requirements. Amtrak already operates 28 such routes in states like Virginia and California. These state-supported lines lost $91 million in 2018, but they accounted for 15 million passenger trips—almost half of Amtrak’s total ridership.
The Guardian
Impeachment testimony takeaways: Fiona Hill says Ukraine scheme 'very clear'
The fifth, and possibly final, day of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump was one of the most explosive. Here are five key takeaways:
In perhaps the most meticulous testimony yet, Fiona Hill, a former National Security Council official and former top Russia expert in the White House, testified on Thursday that it was “very clear” that US officials had made a White House meeting for the Ukrainian president contingent on an announcement of investigations into Joe Biden and 2016 election interference.
“It became very clear the White House meeting itself was being predicated on other issues, namely investigations and the questions about the election interference in 2016,” she said.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu indicted for bribery and fraud
Israel’s attorney general has indicted Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, in a damning blow to the prime minister as he fights for his political survival.
Avichai Mandelblit charged the 70-year-old leader on Thursday in all three major corruption cases for which he was investigated. It was the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime.
In the 63-page indictment, Netanyahu was accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of pounds in luxury gifts from billionaire friends and for trading valuable favours with Israeli media and telecoms moguls for positive news coverage.
Los Angeles Times
House attorneys say Trump’s tax returns are needed for impeachment inquiry
Lawyers for the House, citing the “rapidly advancing impeachment inquiry,” urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to reject … Trump’s bid to shield his tax returns and financial records from congressional investigators.
The new focus on impeachment came as the justices were set to meet Friday to decide how to proceed in two cases involving Trump’s taxes. In both, judges rejected the president’s claim of “absolute immunity” and upheld subpoenas that would require Trump’s accountants to turn over eight years of records to a House oversight panel and to a New York grand jury.
Last week, Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to review those rulings and to put the cases on hold. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a temporary order to preserve the status quo while the justices consider what to do.
White House, Republicans embraced ‘fictional narrative’ on Ukraine, witness warns as impeachment hearings wrap
Two weeks of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry against … Trump closed Thursday with a collective warning from witnesses: Russia is again trying to sow political discord in the U.S. and interfere in the presidential election in a repeat of its success in 2016. […]
The one Republican member of the intelligence panel who was seen as a possible vote in favor of impeachment made clear Thursday he would not break ranks.
Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) criticized Trump’s request that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “do us a favor” by investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, calling it “inappropriate.” And he termed the administration’s foreign policy “bungling.” But, he said, he had not seen evidence of an impeachable offense.
“An impeachable offense should be compelling, overwhelmingly clear and unambiguous. And it’s not something to be rushed or taken lightly,” Hurd said. “I have not heard evidence proving the president committed bribery or extortion.”
Deutsche Welle
Fossil fuel output to greatly exceed Paris climate pledges
The world is on track to produce far more fossil fuels than permissible to meet its target of limiting global warming to at most 2 degrees Celsisus, and ideally 1.5 degrees C.
That's the conclusion of the Production Gap Report, created from leading research institutions together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
"This report shows, for the first time, just how big the disconnect is between Paris temperature goals and countries' plans and policies for coal, oil, and gas production," said Michael Lazarus, lead author of the report from the Stockholm Environment Institute. The report proposes solutions to close this gap, he added.
Serbia's president confirms Russian spy operation after bribe video
Serbia's president confirmed Thursday a video of a Russian spy bribing a former Serbia officer is authentic, but said that the espionage scandal would not impact close bilateral relations.
President Aleksandar Vucic's remarks to reporters came after he convened a National Security Council meeting over a video posted on November 18 on YouTube that shows Lt. Col. Georgy Kleban, a former assistant military attache at Russia's embassy in Belgrade, handing a bag to a retired Serb officer.
The video shows the Serbian officer, identified by Vucic as only Z.K., take an envelope out of the bag and count money in his car.
Reuters
Handful of Hong Kong protesters surrender as university siege staggers on
At least eight protesters who had been holding out at a trashed Hong Kong university surrendered to police in the early hours of Friday, while others desperately searched for escape routes as riot officers surrounded the campus.
The siege at the Polytechnic University on the Kowloon peninsula appeared to be nearing an end with the number of protesters dwindling to less than 100, days after some of the worst violence since anti-government demonstrations escalated in June.
The mood on the near-deserted campus was calm as the sun rose after a night where some protesters roamed the grounds in search of undercover officers. Others hid, terrified they would be arrested by infiltrators.
Russian parliament backs law to label journalists foreign agents
Russia’s lower house of parliament passed legislation on Thursday that will allow individual journalists to be labeled foreign agents, a move that critics say will tighten curbs on the media.
Russia adopted an initial foreign agent law in 2012 which gave the authorities the power to label non-governmental organizations and human rights groups foreign agents.
The legislation that was approved on Thursday, and which now goes to the upper house and then President Vladimir Putin for approval, extends the legislation to cover individuals.
NPR News
Jury Acquits Aid Worker Accused Of Helping Border-Crossing Migrants In Arizona
A federal jury in Tucson, Ariz., has acquitted a humanitarian aid worker who was charged with harboring a pair of migrants from Central America after Border Patrol agents reported seeing him provide food and shelter in the Arizona desert.
It was the second time federal prosecutors had put Scott Warren of the faith-based border aid group No More Deaths on trial.
A jury deadlocked during his first trial on whether offering food, water and shelter to two young men who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border makes Warren a criminal. This time, the jury unanimously agreed that he should be found not guilty of harboring undocumented immigrants — prosecutions that have been on the rise under … Trump's hard-line immigration policies.
"The government failed in its attempt to criminalize basic human kindness," Warren said after the verdict was read Wednesday.
Hitler's Birth Home In Austria Will Become A Police Station
The home where Adolf Hitler was born will be turned into a police station, Austrian officials announced Wednesday, putting an end to a years-long debate over what to do with it.
The yellow, three-story building sits on a street in Braunau am Inn, a small medieval town on the northern border with Germany. A memorial stone sits outside with the inscription "For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again fascism. Millions dead are a warning."
The decision to convert the building into a police station was meant as a deterrent to those who would make it a neo-Nazi shrine.
Ars Technica
Renewables are not making electricity any more expensive
One of the arguments that's consistently been raised against doing anything about climate change is that it will be expensive. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, there have been dire warnings about plunging standards of living due to skyrocketing electricity prices. The plunging cost of renewables has largely silenced these warnings, but a new report from the Department of Energy suggests that, even earlier, renewables were actually lowering the price of electricity in the United States.