Monday morning news: September 30, 2019

Democrats working on impeachment inquiry through recess » With Congress in a two-week recess, most lawmakers are at home today, but not all of them. Some Democrats on key House committees are staying put to continue work on impeaching President Trump. 

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries told Fox News…

JEFFRIES: This is a matter of urgent national security concern, and that is why we’re compelled to act. 

Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff is leading the impeachment effort. He said “it’s going to be a very busy couple of weeks ahead” as they work to schedule hearings and witness interviews. He said they’ll also “be working on subpoenas and document requests.”

On Friday, Schiff and chairmen of two other committees subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding documents linked to Ukraine. 

And Schiff told ABC’s This Week his panel will interview the whistleblower who filed that complaint about Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine. He said that should happen “very soon.” 

SCHIFF: It will depend probably more on how quickly the direction of national intelligence can complete the security clearance process for the whistleblower’s lawyers. But we’re ready to hear from the whistleblower as soon as that is done. 

The White House would like to know who that whistleblower is, but also how it is that he could file the complaint without firsthand knowledge of the phone call.  

Records show the intelligence community recently changed the rules for filing a whistleblower complaint. Government employees no longer have to witness perceived wrongdoing. They can file a complaint based secondhand information. It’s not clear when or why that rule changed. 

Meantime, the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani spoke to Sky News on Sunday. He said the focus should be on investigating any potential wrongdoing by former Vice President Joe Biden regarding Ukraine. 

GIULIANI: If a vice president of the United States goes somewhere and extorts the president of that country or bribes the president of that country to get his son out of trouble, I’d find it extraordinary if they didn’t investigate.  

Asked if he would testify during impeachment hearings, if House panels call him to appear Giuliani said that would be up to the president. 

Police, protesters clash in Hong Kong ahead of holiday » AUDIO: [Sound of Hong Kong protests]

In Hong Kong, protesters and police clashed once again on Sunday—the latest in 17 straight weekends of pro-democracy protests. 

Riot police used a water cannon truck to repeatedly fire blue liquid—used to identify protesters. 

Some demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails at officers and targeted the city’s government office complex. Police responded with multiple volleys of tear gas.

Protesters are planning to march again tomorrow despite a police ban—as China’s ruling Communist Party marks 70 years since taking power. October 1st is a Chinese national holiday. But demonstrators are taping up posters calling it “A Day of Grief.” 

Judges block Trump administration immigration policies » A federal judge has blocked new Trump administration rules that would have let the government indefinitely detain immigrant children with their parents.

U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee said the rules conflict with the 1997 Flores Agreement. That agreement requires the government to release immigrant children caught at the border as quickly as possible, generally within 20 days. Gee said the rules will remain in place.

Also, on Friday another federal judge blocked the Trump administration from expanding so-called fast-track deportations. The change would have allowed immigration officers to deport anyone in the country illegally for less than two years without appearing before a judge. Right now that fast-track process is largely limited to people arrested right after crossing the southern border.

The decision blocks expansion of the policy while a lawsuit proceeds.

MLB playoff matchups set » The Major League Baseball postseason starts this week, beginning with two Wild Card games. 

Yesterday the St. Louis Cardinals clinched a division title on the final day of the season. 

AUDIO: The St. Louis Cardinals, champions in 2019 National League Central Division. 

The call heard there on Fox Sports Midwest. 

They edged out the Milwaukee Brewers for the title, sending the Brewers to Washington for tomorrow’s NL Wild Card game. The winner will face the Dodgers in a five-game National League Division Series.  

The Dodgers are one of a record four teams with more than 100 wins—joining the Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, and the New York Yankees. 

Other playoff teams include the Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays.

Abominable tops the box office » At the weekend box office, the latest DreamWorks animated feature Abominable took the top spot. 

TRAILER: He escaped. I want my yeti back! Is that your home? No way.

Abominable hauled in an estimated $21 million in its opening weekend. That bumped Downton Abbey into second place with another $15 million. 

You can find WORLD’s reviews of current films—along with ratings and content information—at WNG.org/movies.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire takes his seat before testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. 

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.