Thursday morning news - April 15, 2021

CIA, FBI leaders warn lawmakers of mounting threats » Testifying on Capitol Hill top intel and law enforcement officials warned lawmakers on Wednesday about growing threats to the United States.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said number one on the list is China.

WRAY: I don’t think there is any country that presents a more severe threat to our innovation, our economic security, and our democratic ideas.

CIA Director William Burns told the Senate Intelligence Committee that we must work with partners to combat Beijing as the United States competes with China technologically.

Burns also said the origin of COVID-19 remains an open question. He said it’s clear that China has not been honest, open, or cooperative and has not provided the data that might clear up questions about its origin.

Burns also answered questions about new threats that could emerge in Afghanistan after the president’s planned troop withdrawal over the summer.

BURNS: We have to be clear-eyed about the reality, looking at the potential terrorism challenge both al Qaeda and ISIS in Afghanistan remain intent on recovering the ability to attack US targets, whether it’s in the region in the West or ultimately in the homeland.

He said “after years of sustained counterterrorism pressure” neither of those terror groups have that capacity right now.

Iran supreme leader dismisses Vienna nuclear talks » Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday dismissed initial offers at talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said—quoting here—”The offers they provide are usually arrogant and humiliating (and) are not worth looking at.”

The White House says it remains hopeful that renewed nuclear talks will bear fruit. Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the president believes “the diplomatic path is the only path forward.”

PSAKI: And that having a discussion, even indirect, is the best way to come to resolution. It doesn’t mean that we hold back on concerns we have and don’t encourage our P5+1 partners to [express] those same concerns.

And European allies are expressing concerns over Tehran’s recent announcement that it is stepping up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent.

In a joint statement, Britain, France and Germany called that announcement “particularly regrettable” and “dangerous.”

Iran announced its ramped up enrichment following a cyberattack that damaged its underground Natanz nuclear facility. Leaders in Tehran have accused Israel of orchestrating that attack.

Minnesota cop will be charged in shooting of Black motorist » A white police officer who resigned this week after fatally shooting a black man in suburban Minneapolis will face criminal charges over the shooting. WORLD’s Leigh Jones reports.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: A prosecutor said Wednesday that he will charge former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter with second-degree manslaughter.

The fatal shooting happened on Sunday during a traffic stop. Officers pulled over 20-year-old Daunte Wright for expired tags and discovered an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

Police body camera footage appears to show Wright struggling with police. And Potter can be heard repeatedly shouting “I’ll tase you” before firing a single shot from her handgun.

Police say it appears 48-year-old Potter intended to fire her taser instead of her gun.

The incident has sparked days of both peaceful and violent protests just miles from the courthouse where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for the death of George Floyd.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

Harris planning trip to Mexico, Guatemala » Vice President Kamala Harris is planning a trip to Mexico and Guatemala. It’s part of the Biden administration’s effort to examine the root causes of a surge on the U.S. southern border.

HARRIS: looking forward to traveling, hopefully as my first trip, to the Northern Triangle, stopping in Mexico and Guatemala sometime soon.

She said she would go as soon as possible, depending on restrictions put in place for the pandemic.

President Biden last month put Harris in charge of addressing the border surge.

But when asked if she would visit the U.S.-Mexico border, Harris suggested she had no plans to do so.

That drew criticism from GOP House Minority Whip Steve Scalise.

SCALISE: Vice President Harris needs to go down the border and see this for herself, because maybe she would then encourage President Biden to reverse his policies that have failed.

The Biden administration said a broken immigration system is to blame, not the president’s policies.

Last month, a record number of unaccompanied children attempted to cross the border. And the Border Patrol saw its largest number of encounters overall with migrants in two decades — just under 170,000 in total.

Bernie Madoff dies » Bernie Madoff, the infamous architect of the largest ponzi scheme in US history has died. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has that story.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: Madoff died behind bars on Wednesday of natural causes at the age of 82.

He received a 150-year prison sentence in 2009 for an epic securities swindle that burned thousands of investors.

A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, he attracted a devoted legion of investment clients — from Florida retirees to celebrities like Steven Spielberg.

But his investment advisory business was exposed in 2008 as a Ponzi scheme that wiped out people’s fortunes and ruined charities.

Court-appointed trustees have spent years laboring to unwind the scheme. They have so far recovered more than $14 billion of an estimated 17-and-half billion dollars that investors poured into Madoff’s business.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

 (Stuart Ramson/Associated Press) In this Jan. 14, 2009 file photo, Bernie Madoff leaves Federal Court in New York.

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