NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Federal execution: The U.S. government executed a former soldier who said an obsession with witchcraft led him to kill a Georgia nurse he believed had put a spell on him. William Emmett LeCroy, 50, was pronounced dead Tuesday after receiving a lethal injection at the same U.S. prison in Terre Haute, Ind., where five others have been executed in 2020 following a 17year period without a federal execution. Critics say the resumption of executions is a cynical bid to help Trump claim the mantel of law and order leading up to the election. Supporters say Trump is bringing longoverdue justice to the victims.
_2 Bolton book: White House aides improperly intervened to prevent a manuscript by President Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton from becoming public, a career official said in a letter filed in court Wednesday, accusing them of making false assertions and trying to coerce her to join their efforts, and suggesting that they retaliated when she refused. In an extraordinary 18page document, a lawyer for the official who oversaw the book’s prepublication review, Ellen Knight, portrays the Trump administration as handling its response to the book in bad faith. Her account implied that the Justice Department may have told a court that the book contains classified information — and opened a criminal investigation into Bolton — based on false pretenses. An aide to Trump also “instructed her to temporarily withhold any response” to a request from Bolton to review a chapter on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
_3 Grizzly attack: A hunter has been killed by a grizzly bear in Alaska’s WrangellSt. Elias National Park and Preserve. It’s the firstknown grizzly attack death in the nation’s largest national park. The hunter’s identity has not been released pending an investigation.
_4 Bobcat fire: Federal investigators are looking into whether a huge wildfire near Los Angeles was sparked by Southern California Edison utility equipment, according to the company. Edison has turned over a section of an overhead conductor from its transmission facility in the area where the Bobcat Fire started more than two weeks ago, company spokesman David Song said Wednesday. The initial report of fire was near Cogswell Dam in the San Gabriel Mountains at 12:21 p.m. on Sept. 6. Edison said its nearby equipment experienced an issue five minutes earlier. Firefighters were finally starting to tame the blaze, with containment on Wednesday hitting 38% — a jump from just 17% a day earlier. _5 Trump probe: Eric Trump must testify in a N.Y. investigation into the family’s businesses before the November presidential election, a judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting lawyers’ claims that Trump’s travel schedule on the campaign trail warranted a delay. State Judge Arthur Engoron said Eric Trump must comply no later than Oct. 7. Attorney General Letitia James went to court to enforce the subpoena after Trump’s lawyers canceled a July interview in a probe about whether the Trump Organization lied about its assets in order to get loans or tax benefits.