U.S. and world news for Jan. 19

Uvalde report: Families of the children killed in the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, met with reporters and called for charges to be filed against the law enforcement personnel who failed to perform their duties properly. A 600-page report by the Department of Justice that was released yesterday cited numerous law enforcement officers by name for failing to perform as expected. The report detailed how local and state law enforcement officers failed to take action that might have stopped the gunman sooner or saved children who had been wounded. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland described the police response as being a failure.

Trump’s request to Supreme Court: Attorneys for Donald Trump have filed papers asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that Trump should be allowed to remain on the ballot in Colorado. Colorado’s courts have ruled that Trump is not eligible to run for president because the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment forbids people who have participated in or supported an insurrection from holding office. Trump’s lawyers deny he had anything to do with an insurrection. In addition to the 14th Amendment restriction, the Constitution specifically sets other requirements to be president, such as being at least 35 years old and having been a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

Speedy trial: In an interview with CNN, Attorney General Merrick Garland said there should be a speedy trial of Donald Trump on charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and remain in power. Garland said he agrees with the contention of Special Counsel Jack Smith that the public interest requires that Trump stand trial before the next election. Garland said that the Department of Justice has kept politics out of its handling of the cases against Trump and disputed Trump’s allegations that the indictments brought by grand juries were political.

Wayfair’s cutback: The home goods supplier Wayfair is laying off 13% of its workforce, amounting to 1,650 people. Wayfair, which is based in Boston, expects to save about $280 million a year through the layoffs. The company’s CEO Niraj Shah in a memo to employees that was issued today said that the company hired too many people in the past. This is the company’s third layoff in the past two years. It has annual sales of about $18 billion.

Emergency landing: An Atlas Air cargo Boeing 747 made an emergency landing in Miami shortly before midnight following an engine failure. Atlas Air is headquartered in Westchester. Sparks were seen shooting from the engine shortly after the airplane took off on its planned flight to Puerto Rico. An investigation is underway which should help determine whether the incident was a result of a mechanical issue with the engine or something external such as a bird strike. The flightcrew radioed Air Traffic Control that one of the airplane’s four engines was on fire.

 Missile overrun: The Air Force has notified Congress that the Sentinel Ballistic Missile program, designed to replace the Minuteman missiles now in use, is going to cost 37% more than the $95 billion planned cost. The Air Force also said that the program is running two years behind schedule. Some of the cost overrun is attributed to inflation. The Sentinel program is planned to put 634 missiles into service, many replacing the Minuteman missiles now deployed in silos.