James Comey indicted on two counts
Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies. Donald Trump forced out the U.S. Attorney in Virginia who refused to indict Comey because there wasn’t evidence against him and replaced the U.S. attorney with a woman who did want Trump wanted. Trump has told U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute people that Trump sees as his political enemies, including Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff. Trump’s grievances against Comey trace back to the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. Comey has been charged with giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, and could face up to five years in prison if convicted. As Trump celebrated the news on social media Thursday, Comey shared in a defiant video response that he is innocent and “not afraid,” adding that his “heart is broken for the Department of Justice.”
Trump says he’ll impose more tariffs
Donald Trump has announced that some imported pharmaceutical products will be subject to a 100% tariff starting October 1 — unless the drugmaker is building a manufacturing plant in the U.S. Trump views tariffs as a means to pressure drug manufacturers into increasing production in the US and to strengthen the supply chain for essential medicines. He has also pointed to tariffs as a way to fulfill his vow to lower drug costs, though experts say that is unlikely to happen. Thursday’s pharmaceutical tariff announcement came the same day as Trump declared a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and a 25% tariff on heavy trucks built outside the U.S.
Medical professionals warn of Trump cuts to Veterans Affairs
Hundreds of current and former VA doctors, nurses and other caregivers have issued a warning to the Department of Veterans Affairs about the negative impacts of the staffing cuts and other policy changes under the Trump administration. In their letter sent to VA Secretary Doug Collins, the agency’s inspector general and congressional leaders, the group warns that workforce reductions and moves to outsource care to private sector doctors and health care facilities will harm veterans. The letter does not mention President Donald Trump by name, but it references recent staff cuts and other policies undertaken at the VA since Trump took office in his second term. In response to the letter, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said, in an email to CNN, “VA is serving Veterans much better under the Trump Administration than it was under the Biden Administration.”
Woman thrown to ground by ICE agents in NY courthouse
Congressman Dan Goldman and New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani are among those who have spoken out against practices by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents under Donald Trump’s administration following yesterday’s assault on a women at the immigration courthouse at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. They have called for the agents involved to be disciplined. Several videos exist of the incident. One shows a woman and a girl clinging with locked arms to a man, reportedly the woman’s husband, who is being detained. One masked agent grabs her hair as someone says, “Just grab her, grab her and pull her away.” She was then pushed into a nearby room and later removed, then thrown into a wall and then to the floor. The woman was taken to a hospital. Goldman called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “implement measures to prevent this from happening again.”
Netanyahu detours on way to New York
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane bringing him to New York for the U.N. General Assembly meeting had to detour around the airspace of some countries that threatened to honor the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court. Ahead of Netanyahu’s speech to the General Assembly today, Israel launched a campaign in New York around the U.N. headquarters and in Times Square featuring signs on the October 7 attacks. In his speech, Netanyahu said Hamas intends to repeat its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. France and several other Western nations formally declared their recognition of a Palestinian state at the U.N. earlier this week in a move that deepens Israel’s international isolation.
Fiber cable cuts cause 911 outages
Service has been restored after Louisiana and Mississippi experienced widespread outages of 911 emergency calling systems for several hours on Thursday afternoon. The disruptions were caused by damage to AT&T fiber optic cables, the carrier and officials said. The outages impacted multiple parishes in Louisiana, including the state’s three largest cities, as well as several Mississippi counties and the capital city of Jackson. “We understand how important these services are and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” AT&T told CNN. A Louisiana official said there is no indication or reason to suspect the fiber cuts were malicious
