Friday morning news: September 29, 2023

Government funding » House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to address reporters this morning to provide an update on efforts to avert a government shutdown over the weekend.

McCarthy said yesterday …

MCCARTHY: I believe we need a stopgap measure to keep the government open, and that’s what we’ll propose on Friday.

The temporary funding bill the House will consider today would largely keep current funding levels in place. It also includes measures to help strengthen border security.

The Senate, meantime, has its own funding proposal to keep the government open.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wants McCarthy to consider that bill.

JEFFRIES: Put the bipartisan continuing resolution on the floor of the House.

The speaker says the Senate bill is a nonstarter. While Democratic leaders say the proposed House bill is unacceptable.

Current funding will expire at midnight tomorrow night.

Impeach inquiry » Hours earlier on Capitol Hill …

AUDIO: The Committee on Oversight and Accountability will come to order.

House Republicans launched their first hearing as part of an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

Chairman James Comer said his committee:

COMER: Has uncovered a mountain of evidence revealing how Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.

The panel’s top Democrat Jamie Raskin shot back, suggesting that Republicans are drumming up a phony scandal.

RASKIN: If Republicans had a smoking gun, or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today. But they've got nothing on Joe Biden.

Republicans say they’re not laying out their evidence yet, as the point of the inquiry is to gather more information.

Comer announced new subpoenas for Biden family banking records.

Maui hearing » Meantime, in a different House hearing room lawmakers pressed the CEO of Hawaiian Electric for answers about last month’s deadly wildfire in Maui.

Shelee Kimura told members of the Energy and Commerce Committee:

KIMURA: We are absolutely reexamining our protocols.

But what role downed power lines might have played in the tragedy is unclear.

The company has acknowledged that a power line caused an initial fire, but firefighters believed they had extinguished that blaze.

The wildfire incinerated thousands of homes and businesses, killing more than a hundred people.

Stoltenberg/Zelenskyy » NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says failure in Ukraine is not an option.

STOLTENBERG: Ukraine’s surrender would not mean peace. It would mean brutal Russian occupation. Peace at any price would be no peace at all.

The secretary-general heard there in a surprise visit to Kyiv where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the state of the war and what Ukraine’s forces need to win it.

Stoltenberg is urging NATO member nations to send more air defense systems to Ukraine to protect power plants and infrastructure.

He also condemned Russia’s recent airstrikes near the Romanian border as “reckless.”

STOLTENBERG: We are therefore significantly [stepping] up our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance with more troops, with more surveillance.

Romania is a NATO member nation.

GDP » Americans are tightening their purse strings … as the government says spending slowed down in the second quarter of this year. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher:

JOSH SCHUMACHER: A newly revised government report said spending was weaker than originally thought in the quarter that ended in June.

Consumer spending grew at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 0.8%. That was the slowest pace in a year.

On the other hand, some analysts say that’s not a bad number in the face of high inflation.

Chris Zaccarelli is chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance. He said he still thinks a recession is lurking. But he added, “we have been surprised by the resilience of the consumer.”

Overall, the U.S. economy grew at just over 2% in the second quarter.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Michael Gambon obit » Actor Michael Gambon has died. The British actor was best known for his portrayal of Albus Dumbledore in six Harry Potter movies.

AUDIO: Demontors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way.

But by that time, he had already enjoyed a storied career on screen and stage.

Queen Elizabeth II knighted Gambon in 1998 for his contributions to the film industry.

He starred in movies including “Gosford Park” and “The King’s Speech.”

Gambon died following “a bout of pneumonia” at the age of 82.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, a new sci-fi movie with an old storyline.

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