BROWNBACK APPOINTED TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM POST
WASHINGTON» The Republican-led Senate narrowly approved Sam Brownback’s bid to be U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom Wednesday, setting the stage for him to resign the governorship in Kansas after seven contentious years in office.
With two Republican senators absent, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Capitol Hill to cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm Brownback, a favorite of Christian conservatives for his views on same-sex marriage and abortion. The vote was along party lines, 50-49, underscoring the narrow margin Republicans hold. Pence’s vote also was needed earlier in the day to get Brownback’s nomination over a procedural hurdle.
Fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer will be elevated to governor in Kansas once Brownback submits his resignation. That could come as early as next week.
Grand jury convened in police killing of Australian woman.
MINNEAPOLIS»
A Minnesota prosecutor has convened a grand jury as he weighs whether to charge a police officer in the July shooting of an Australian woman, attorneys said Wednesday, just a month after he pushed back a charging decision and said more investigation was needed.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman declined to confirm the grand jury, citing the secrecy of any such proceeding, but said he still intends to make his own decision on whether to charge the officer.
Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old life coach, was killed by Minneapolis Officer Mohamed Noor just minutes after she called police to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home.
Richardson resigns from Rohingya refugee panel.
MYANMAR» Former YANGON, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has resigned from an advisory panel on the massive Rohingya refugee crisis, calling it a “whitewash and a cheerleading operation” for Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The sudden resignation Wednesday of probably the panel’s most prominent member, a former senior U.S. politician and diplomat who considered Suu Kyi a close friend, raises serious questions about international efforts to deal with the calamitous fallout of Myanmar military operations since August against the Rohingya Muslims that the United Nations has called “textbook ethnic cleansing.”
Trump’s 24-year-old drug policy appointee quits amid controversy.
WASHINGTON»
A 24-year-old former Trump campaign worker who rose rapidly to a senior post in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will step down by the end of the month because of controversy surrounding his appointment, the White House said late Wednesday.
Taylor Weyeneth, who graduated from college in May 2016, was named a White House liaison to the drug office in March and then promoted to deputy chief of staff in July, at age 23.
His only professional experience after college and before becoming a political appointee was working on the Trump presidential campaign.