In our news wrap Friday, a federal judge blocked a set of Justice Department subpoenas related to its investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, federal prosecutors charged a man who they believe sold the weapon used in a shooting at Old Dominion University and TSA workers missed their first full paychecks amid the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
Geoff Bennett:
In the day’s other headlines: The Justice Department charged a man identified as Kenya Chapman, who they believe sold the weapon used in yesterday’s shooting at Old Dominion University. The alleged gunman, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was barred from owning a firearm after pleading guilty back in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State group.
He had been released from prison early after completing a drug treatment program. Authorities say the gun’s serial number was partially obliterated, making it hard to trace. The FBI says Jalloh shot and killed Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah and wounded two others. The gunman was subdued and killed by ROTC students, who are being hailed as heroes.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked a set of Justice Department subpoenas today related to its investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. In his decision, Judge James Boasberg wrote that prosecutors presented essentially zero evidence of a crime, adding that a mountain of evidence suggests that the government served these subpoenas on the board to pressure its chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning.
Last year, the U.S. attorney’s office issued subpoenas believed to be related to Powell’s testimony to Congress about the Fed’s renovation of its headquarters. He has denied any wrongdoing. Speaking at a news conference today, U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro said she would appeal the ruling.
A range of weather extremes is hitting areas clear across the country, starting in the West, where it’s looking like summer in places like Los Angeles, even with one week technically left in winter. Angelenos have been flocking to the beaches and to Santa Monica Pier, with temperatures climbing to 90 degrees there.
Next week, we could see records in the triple digits from Southern California to Phoenix. Even those more accustomed to the heat say this is not normal.
Dee Richardson, Los Angeles Resident:
Especially in L.A., this is not typical. I’m from Texas originally, so I’m always appreciative of the heat, but this is definitely different from L.A. So, even for me, this is like, oh, this is kind of hot, right? Like, we’re sweating. Why are we sweating in early March? This is weird.
Geoff Bennett:
Meantime, from Washington state to the Great Lakes, more than 24 million Americans are under winter storm alerts, and a polar vortex will bring another wallop of winter for much of the Eastern half of the country, including areas like Washington, D.C., that just saw record heat a few days ago.
Cuba’s president confirmed today that his government has held talks with the Trump administration as a U.S. oil blockade further cripples the island nation’s economy. At a political meeting today, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the talks were, as he put it, aimed at finding solutions through dialogue.
His comments confirmed prior us media reports that such discussions were taking place. Last week, Cuba was plunged into darkness as a blackout left millions of people without power. At a press conference broadcast on state TV, the Cuban president blamed that on the ongoing U.S. blockade.
Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuban President (through Interpreter):
We are generating electricity during daytime hours with domestic crude and our thermoelectric plants. The fault is not the government’s. The fault lies with the energy blockade that has been imposed on us.
Geoff Bennett:
Diaz-Canel also said a decision to release more than 50 prisoners in the coming days was not, as he said, imposed by another country, even though yesterday’s announcement was seen by some outsiders as an effort to win favor with the Trump administration.
There was new evidence today that the U.S. economy is showing signs of strain even before the start of the war with Iran. For one, the GDP grew at a slower pace at the end of last year than initially thought, growing just 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter.
Separately, the latest reading on core inflation came in at 3.1 percent. That’s well above the Fed’s 2 percent target. But there was a bit of good news from the labor market, with job openings rising more than expected in January.
That mixed economic picture only added to the downbeat mood on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 120 points to end the week. The Nasdaq dropped more than 200 points. The S&P 500 also ended in negative territory.
And John Burns, an award-winning foreign correspondent for The New York Times, has died. Over a 40-year career, he reported on far-flung corners of the globe, from South Africa to the Soviet Union, China and the Middle East. Burns won the first of his two Pulitzer Prizes for his coverage of the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s.
He was also a frequent guest here on the “News Hour,” including this appearance in 2003 to discuss the Iraq War.
John Burns, The New York Times:
Life under Saddam is a life lived constantly in terror, in fear, and consequence of which, for correspondents like myself, finding true voices in Iraq itself is not easy. It’s not impossible, but they have a tremendous yearning to tell their truth, and the truth is a terrible truth.
Geoff Bennett:
John Burns died of pneumonia while under care in his native England. He was 81 years old.
