US Rep. Walorski and 3 others killed in Ind. car crash, police say
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski was killed Wednesday in a car crash in her northern Indiana district along with two members of her congressional staff and another person, police said.
The crash happened about 12:30 p.m. when a car crossed the center line on a state highway and collided head-on with the SUV Walorski was riding in, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office said. Three people in the SUV, including Walorski, 58, were killed, as was a woman driving the other car, authorities said.
Walorski, who served on the House Ways and Means Committee, was first elected to represent Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District in 2012. She previously served six years in the state’s Legislature.
“Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers,” Walorski’s chief of staff Tim Cummings said in a statement.
Walorski and her husband were previously Christian missionaries in Romania, where they established a foundation that provided food and medical supplies to impoverished children. She worked as a television news reporter in South Bend before turning to politics.
Also killed in the crash were Zachery Potts, 27, of Mishawaka, Indiana; Emma Thomson, 28, of Washington, D.C.; and Edith Schmucker, 56, of Nappanee, Indiana, according to the sheriff ’s office.
Cummings confirmed that Potts and Thomson were members of Walorski’s congressional staff. Thomson was Walorski’s communications director, while Potts was her district director and the Republican chairman for northern Indiana’s St. Joseph County.
Schmucker was driving the other car, according to the sheriff ’s office. The crash, which occurred near the town of Wakarusa, is still under investigation.
Pelosi in Taiwan: After weeks of silence before a high-stakes visit to Taiwan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was anything but understated Wednesday during a day of high-profile meetings, in which she offered support for Taiwan and irked China.
Pelosi, D-Calif., met with Taiwanese lawmakers and then with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, offering assurances of U.S. support for the island democracy that China claims as its own during a whirlwind day of events.
In her wake, she left a crisis, setting the stage for new brinkmanship between China and the U.S. over power and influence in Asia. Taiwan is bracing for Beijing to begin live-fire military drills Thursday.
Pelosi’s husband pleads:
The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pleaded not guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor driving under the influence charges related to a May crash in Northern California wine country.
Paul Pelosi, 82, did not appear in person at Napa County Superior Court. His attorney, Amanda Bevins, entered not guilty pleas on his behalf on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and
driving with a .08% blood alcohol level or higher causing injury.
Paul Pelosi was arrested following a May 28 crash in Napa County, north of San Francisco, after a DUI test showed he had a blood alcohol content of .082%. He was released on $5,000 bail.
If convicted, Pelosi faces up to a minimum of five days in jail and up to five years of probation.
Britain politics: Britain’s governing Conservative Party said Wednesday that it has delayed sending out ballots for the party’s leadership election after a warning from the U.K. intelligence services about the risk of fraud.
Ballots had been due to be mailed out this week to about 180,000 party members, who are selecting a new leader for the party and the country.
The party said it decided to “enhance security” on the advice of the National Cyber Security Center, part of U.K. electronic spy agency GCHQ.
The party’s intention was to let members vote online or by mail, with an option to change the vote up until Sept. 2. It now says each member will get a unique code that allows one, unchangeable vote, either online or by post.
Tory members are choosing between Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The winner will be announced Sept. 5.
Abducted girl: A man accused of abducting a 12-year-old who escaped by chewing her way out of restraints after a week in captivity at a rural mobile home in Alabama was charged with killing a woman and juvenile found dismembered inside the residence, authorities said Wednesday.
Already charged with first-degree kidnapping in connection with the girl, Jose Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, also was charged with capital murder and corpse abuse in the deaths of a
woman and a boy who were found inside the mobile home in central Alabama, according to Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett and court documents.
The woman, identified as Sandra Vazquez Ceja, was smothered with a pillow and the boy, identified only by initials, was hit and kicked to death, documents showed. Both bodies were cut into small pieces to hide evidence.
Authorities haven’t released information about the surviving girl, a motive or whether any of the victims and Pascual-Reyes were related.
Election worker threats:
The Justice Department has charged five people for making threats of violence against election workers amid a rising wave of harassment and intimidation tied to the 2020 presidential election, a top official told U.S. senators Wednesday.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite said one charge has led to a
conviction so far through a task force launched last year as reports of threats to election officials, workers and volunteers raised concerns about safety and the security of future elections.
Overall, the department has investigated over 1,000 harassing and threatening messages directed at election workers. Roughly 100 of those have risen to the level of potential prosecution.
Polite estimated at least three more people have been charged for such threats at the state level.
Water shortage: The Dutch government declared a national water shortage Wednesday caused by the hot, dry summer that is parching much of Europe, and formed a national team to draw up measures to manage supplies, while asking the public to help.
Very little rain has fallen in the Netherlands over the summer, and dry conditions further north and east in Europe mean less water is streaming into the country in rivers.