Friday morning news: December 13, 2019

Judiciary Committee to vote on impeachment today after surprise delay » The House Judiciary Committee will vote this morning on articles of impeachment against President Trump. 

After 14 hours of debate Thursday that stretched late into the night, Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler surprised Republicans by pushing the vote back one more day.

NADLER: Therefore, the committee will now stand in recess until tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at which point, I will move to divide the question so that each of us will have the opportunity to cast up or down votes on each of the articles of impeachment and to let history be our judge. The committee is adjourned…

That angered Republicans, who said both sides had agreed on the process and the timetable and that Nadler made the change without warning and without consulting minority leaders. GOP members howled as Nadler turned and walked out of the hearing room. 

AUDIO: This is the kangaroo court that we’re talking about. It’s more Stalinesque … It’s more Stalinesque — not even consult — unbelievable. 

Ranking Member Doug Collins called the delay a stunt to hold the vote in front of more TV viewers in the morning. 

If the vote passes today in committee as expected, the full House will likely vote on impeachment before Christmas. 

U.K. exit poll projects majority for Conservatives in Parliament » Election officials in Britain were still counting ballots this morning after Thursday’s election. But an exit poll last night projected that Conservatives have likely won a majority in Parliament. 

If that holds up, it would give Prime Minister Boris Johnson the backing he needs to deliver Brexit ahead of a January 31st deadline. 

The survey predicted the Conservatives would get 368 of the 650 House of Commons seats—compared to 191 for the Labour Party. That would be the biggest Tory majority for several decades, and a major setback for Labour.

The poll is conducted for a group of UK broadcasters and is widely regarded as a reliable, though not exact, indicator of the likely result. The poll also projects 55 seats for the Scottish National Party and 13 for the Liberal Democrats.

Official results are expected today. 

Israel preps for third election in less than a year » Meantime, voters in Israel are now gearing up for another election. WORLD Radio’s Leigh Jones reports. 

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: Israel’s deadlocked parliament this week failed to meet a deadline to form a coalition government. That triggers an unprecedented third election in less than a year to be held March 2nd.    

Voters went to the polls just three months ago, but no party came out with a majority. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried and failed to bring parties together to form a governing coalition. His chief rival Benny Gantz then tried his hand, but he also failed.  

Then, during a final three-week window that ended Wednesday, they were unable to reach a power-sharing agreement or find an alternative leader.

The country now enters what is sure to be a bitter three-month political campaign.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Leigh Jones. 

Regulators to set up 3-digit suicide hotline » Federal regulators are setting up a new three-digit number, similar to 911 to reach a suicide prevention hotline.  

Once it’s implemented, people will just need to dial 988 to seek help. Currently, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline uses a 10-digit number, 800-273-TALK. Counselors answered 2.2 million calls last year.

The next step is a comment period before the FCC moves to an order.

Boeing Max jets to remain grounded into 2020 » The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Stephen Dickson, said this week that it’s still unclear when Boeing Max jets will be cleared to fly again. But it won’t be this year. He told CNBC…

DICKSON: There are about 10 or 11 milestones left to complete. We’re in the portion of the process right now where we’re looking at the validation of how the software was developed. 

On Capitol Hill this week, members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure panel grilled Dickson and other officials. Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio revealed a troubling warning that he said the FAA ignored. 

After the first Boeing Max jet crashed last year, safety officials said Boeing needed to fix a critical flight-control system. And they estimated that if Boeing did not fix it, 15 more Max jets could crash over the next few decades. Still, the FAA did not ground the plane until a second deadly crash five months later.

DEFAZIO: Despite its own calculations, the FAA rolled the dice on the safety of the traveling public and let the Max continue to fly until Boeing could overhaul its MCAS software. 

Dickson declined to call that a mistake. He said—quote—“The decision did not achieve the result that it needed to achieve.”

(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) A woman votes at a polling station in Rosh Haayin, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019. 

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