Friday morning news - June 10, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

1. House panel investigating Capitol riot holds public hearing »

SOUND: [gavel] The select committee to investigate the Jan. 6th attack on the United States Capitol will be in order.

After nearly a year of investigation, the House panel probing the Capitol riot began laying out its findings last night in its first public hearing.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards testified, describing the Capitol breach as “chaos” and “something out of a movie.”

EDWARDS: I can’t even describe what I saw. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that as a police officer, as a law enforcement officer, I would find myself in the middle of a battle.

In video footage played during the hearing, some rioters could be heard responding to Vice President Mike Pence’s certification of the election by chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.”

SOUND: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!

Vice chair of the investigating panel, Congresswoman Liz Cheney read an account asserting the following,

CHENEY: The president responded with this sentiment—quote—‘Maybe our supporters have the right idea.’ Mike Pence—quote—‘deserves it.’

The committee said former Trump White house staff heard the remarks.

The panel laid the blame for the riot firmly at the feet of Donald Trump. They said the siege was hardly spontaneous but a “attempted coup” and part of his effort to overturn the election.

They played numerous recordings of Capitol rioters who said they believed President Trump asked them to be there.

Republicans on Thursday dismissed the primetime public hearing as a political theater and a distraction from pressing problems. House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik:

STEFANIK: This committee is not about seeking the truth. It is a smear campaign against President Donald Trump, against Republican members of Congress, and against Trump voters across this country.

The House panel will reconvene for further hearings next week.

2. Lawmakers debate legislation to better protect Supreme Court justices » Hours earlier on Capitol Hill, GOP lawmakers again called for a new law to better protect Supreme Court justices and their families.

This comes after police arrested an armed man near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday. The man said he planned to break into Kavanaugh’s home and kill him.

The Senate has passed a bipartisan security bill, but lawmakers in the House say they want to make some changes. Democratic Congresswoman Cheri Bustos …

BUSTOS: We want to protect our Supreme Court justices. It’s incredibly important that we do that. However, the bill that was sent over by the Senate, we are actually looking to broaden that.

She said the Democrat-led House wants to make sure the bill would also protect others who work at the Supreme Court.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee is accusing the Justice Department of not enforcing laws already on the books. He said protesting outside the Supreme Court is perfectly appropriate, but demonstrating at the homes of high court justices is illegal.

LEE: You should go to prison for years for that, and yet not one criminal prosecution has been brought under that.

One day after the threat on Justice Kavanaugh’s life, protesters were back outside his home on Thursday.

3. Iran removing UN surveillance at nuclear sites » Iran has started ripping down dozens of cameras that allow the UN to at least partially keep watch on the country’s nuclear program.

Rafael Grossi leads the International Atomic Energy Agency—IAEA for short. That’s the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

He said Iran is removing 27 cameras that track Tehran’s uranium enrichment.

GROSSI: This of course poses a serious challenge to our ability to continue working there.

Iranian leaders said 40 cameras will remain active.

But Grossi said the country’s stockpiled uranium could be used to make reactor fuel or nuclear weapons. And Iran’s uranium enrichment is just weeks away from weapons-grade levels.

Iranian leaders have been withholding the camera footage since last year. Some analysts believe that is to add pressure in negotiations.

Talks with Western leaders to reforge the 2015 nuclear deal have been stalled for months.

4. US Military: 5 Marines killed in aircraft crash in desert » A U.S. Marine Osprey aircraft has crashed in the California desert, killing all five Marines on board. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The Pentagon confirmed the crash on Thursday. It happened during a training exercise in a remote area near the Arizona border.

The Osprey is a hybrid airplane and helicopter. It flew in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but some have criticized it as unsafe.

It is designed to take off like a helicopter and then rotate its propellers to face forward and cruise like an airplane.

The aircraft was based at Camp Pendleton in Southern California.

Officials say they have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

5. Biden administration orders millions of vaccine doses for young children » The Biden administration has ordered millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses for small children.

That comes as officials expect the FDA and CDC to sign off as soon as next week on vaccine shots for children under 5.

White House virus response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Thursday,

JHA: This would mark an important moment in the pandemic. It would mean that for the first time, essentially every American, from our oldest to our youngest, would be eligible for the protection that vaccines provide.

The government allowed pharmacies and states to start placing orders last week, with 5 million doses initially available—half of them shots made by Pfizer and the other half the vaccine produced by Moderna.

Jha said shots could be available for young children as early as the week of June 20th.

I’m Kent Covington.

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