Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
In break with Trump, McConnell stresses passage of defense bill
WASHINGTON — In a rare break with President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging passage of a wide-ranging defense policy bill that Trump has threatened to veto.
McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday that it was important for Congress to continue a nearly 60-year streak of passing the National Defense Authorization Act, which affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes billions in military programs and construction.
“This NDAA will unlock more than $740 billion for the training, tools and cutting-edge equipment that our service members and civilian employees need to defend American lives and American interests,” McConnell said. “It will give our troops the 3% pay raise they deserve. It’ll keep our forces ready to deter China and stand strong in the Indo-Pacific.”
Sen. Rand Paul objected to the measure and delayed the vote.
The Democratic-controlled House approved the defense bill Tuesday, defying Trump’s veto threat and setting up a possible showdown with the Republican president in the waning days of his administration.
A total of 140 Republicans joined 195 Democrats in backing the bill, which received support from more than 80% of the House — well above the two-thirds support required to override a potential veto.
Trump has vowed to veto the bill unless lawmakers clamp down on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election. Trump also wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases that now honor Confederate leaders.
No-fly list ruling: A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Muslim men who were placed on the government’s no-fly list because they refused to serve as FBI informants can seek to hold federal agents financially liable.
The justices continued a string of decisions friendly to religious interests in holding that the men could sue the agents under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act for what it calls “appropriate relief.”
“The question here is whether ‘appropriate relief’ includes claims for money damages against Government officials in their individual capacities. We hold that it does,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote.
The three foreign-born men claim in the lawsuit that their religious convictions led them to rebuff agents who wanted them to inform on people in their Muslim communities.
The men claim the agents then placed or kept them on the list of people prevented from flying because they are considered a threat. The men have since been removed from the no-fly list.
A trial court dismissed the suit once their names had been dropped from the list, but they argued that the retaliation they claimed “cost them substantial sums of money: airline tickets wasted and income from job opportunities lost,” Thomas wrote.
Bombers in Middle East:
In a new show of military might, two American bomber aircraft flew from the United States to the Middle East on Thursday, in a round-trip mission that U.S. officials said covered a wide swath of the region and was a direct message of
deterrence to Iran.
The flight of the two massive B-52H Stratofortress bombers, the second such mission in less than a month, was designed to underscore America’s continuing commitment to the Middle East even as President Donald Trump’s administration withdraws thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The long-range heavy bombers, which are capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, are a formidable sight and are flown less frequently in the Middle East than smaller combat aircraft, such as American fighter jets. Adversaries often complain about bomber flights in their region, deeming them a provocative show of force.
The troop cuts coupled with the impending departure of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group in the Gulf have fueled allies’ concerns that the U.S. is abandoning the region. Those worries are
compounded by fears that Iran may strike the U.S. or allies in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
The Lebanese prosecutor probing last summer’s port explosion in Beirut filed charges Thursday against the caretaker prime minister and three former ministers, Lebanon’s official news agency said.
Judge Fadi Sawwan filed the charges against Hassan Diab and former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, as well as Ghazi Zeiter and Youssef Fenianos, both former ministers of public works.
All four were charged with negligence leading to deaths over the Aug. 4 explosion at Beirut port, which killed more than 200 people and injured thousands. The explosion was caused by the ignition of a large stockpile of explosive material that had been stored at the port for
Lebanon port blast:
years, with the knowledge of top security officials and politicians who did nothing about it.
The four are the most senior individuals to be indicted in the probe, which is being conducted in secrecy.
About 30 other security officials and port and customs officials have been detained in the probe.
Pompeo’s wife cleared: An independent probe into the travel of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s wife has concluded that the trips with her husband on official business did not violate federal ethics rules.
But, in a report released Thursday, the department’s acting inspector general, Matthew Klimow, also determined that the State Department did not secure proper written approval or documentation for six of Susan Pompeo’s eight trips covered by the investigation. In addition, the inspector general angrily rebutted accusations
by Secretary Pompeo’s aides that the investigation was a “waste of time.”
The IG report was released just hours after the State Department took aim at the watchdog, Democratic members of Congress and media outlets for raising questions about Susan Pompeo’s travel and suggesting it may have been inappropriate.
DeGeneres tests positive:
Ellen DeGeneres says she has tested positive for COVID-19 but is “feeling fine right now.”
Production on her daytime talk show has been paused until January, producer Telepictures said in a statement that followed DeGeneres’ Thursday announcement.
In an Instagram post, DeGeneres said anyone who was in close contact with her has been notified, adding she’s following “all proper CDC guidelines,” a reference to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.