Thursday morning news: April 18, 2024

Mayorkas impeachment latest » Republicans are blasting Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats after they voted to dismiss impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

AUDIO: On this vote, the yeas are 51. The nays are 49. The motion is agreed to. The Senate, sitting as the court of impeachment, stands adjourned …

Schumer argued that the House’s impeachment of Mayorkas was unwarranted.

But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell:

MCCONNELL: It doesn’t make any difference whether our friends on the other side thought he should have been impeached or not. He was. And by doing what we just did, we have ignored the directions of the House which were to have a trial. This is a day — It’s not a proud day for the Senate.

Senate Republicans said the chamber just shirked its constitutional duty to convene a full and fair trial.

Foreign aid funding » President Biden says that he supports a proposal from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. His backing betters the odds of bipartisan support in the House.

Johnson is taking growing heat from his right flank particularly over a measure to fund more aid for Ukraine. But the speaker said the House will demand answers.

JOHNSON: We’re going to require within 45 days the White House to deliver to Congress a meaningful plan. What is the endgame here? And how are we going to accomplish this and bring this conflict to an end?

Still, Johnson could lose his job over this. A small group of House Republicans has threatened a push to vacate the speakership for the second time in less than a year. Speaker Johnson said his philosophy is to “do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may.”

Boeing hearings » Boeing is under the microscope on Capitol Hill as Senate committees held back-to-back hearings on recent safety problems with its airplanes.

Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour testified that when the company fell behind on aircraft production it started taking dangerous manufacturing shortcuts.

SALEHPOUR: I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align. I call it the Tarzan effect, among other improper methods.

But he says when he brought these concerns to Boeing management …

SALEHPOUR: I was sidelined. I was told to shut up. I received physical threats.

No Boeing representatives were at the hearing, but the company disputes those claims, saying employees with safety concerns are encouraged to speak up.

Venezuela sanctions » The White House is putting the squeeze back on Venezuela’s government amid fears that the country’s disputed president is rigging another election. WORLD’s Mark Mellinger has the story.

MARK MELLINGER: The White House re-imposed sanctions on Venezeula’s oil and gas sector Wednesday. The move comes after disputed President Nicolas Maduro’s regime barred top opposition candidates from running against him.

He has also maintained tight control over the country’s electoral council. And he’s accused of threats and violence against critics.

Maduro has scheduled elections for July, and polls show he could very well lose a fair election, but there’s no indication that voters will get one.

The Biden administration eased sanctions against Venezuela in 2022, saying it hoped the move would spur democratic reforms.

Some Republicans accused Biden of working to open access to Venezuelan oil to relieve political pressure over supply shortages.

For WORLD, I’m Mark Mellinger.

RAISI: [Speaking Farsi]

Iran president warns of ‘massive’ response » Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is threatening a larger attack against Israel if Israeli forces retaliate over last weekend's air assault with “the slightest act of aggression” on Iranian soil.

President Biden and some other world leaders have urged Israel not to respond militarily for fear of a widening war in the Middle East.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israel’s allies on Wednesday.

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

He said he appreciates the advice, but—his words—“I want to clarify that we will make our own decisions.”

Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend.

Israel says it will respond but has not said when or how.

Hawaii fires report » As Maui burned last year, the island’s emergency management director was slow to respond and communications broke down, adding to the chaos. That’s according to a new report from Hawaii’s attorney general, Anne Lopez.

ANNE LOPEZ: A few days after the wildfire, I was speaking with the governor, and he and I were asking the same questions that everybody else was, which is- How could something like this have ever happened?

Last August, the worst U.S. wildfires in more than a century killed more than 100 people and incinerated the once picturesque town of Lahaina.

Lopez says that the day the fires broke out, emergency management director Herman Andaya was off the island and opted not to return until the next day. He resigned 10 days later.

Additionally, the report said leaders did not use Hawaii's extensive network of emergency sirens to sound warnings.

LOPEZ: The underlying foundation of this report is not to place blame on anybody. This is about never letting this happen again.

It also described cell networks going down, cutting off communication for first responders and emergency alerts to local residents.

NPR Editor Resigns » A longtime editor at National Public Radio has resigned after the network suspended him following his public criticism of what he said was a worsening liberal bias at NPR. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: After 25 years on the job, Uri Berliner is walking away. In his resignation letter, he called the network a “great American institution.”

He added that he does not support calls to defund NPR, which gets a portion of its revenue from taxpayer dollars.

He said he respects the integrity of his colleagues, but added “I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cited.”

Berlinger did not expound on how he feels CEO Katherine Maher has disparaged him or which of her views he finds divisive.

Maher was politically outspoken and critical of Donald Trump before joining the network.

NPR says it does not comment on individual personnel matters. But the outlet’s top editorial executive disagreed with Berliner's assessment.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: mail-order hormones. Plus, finding hope and peace after a Texas wildfire.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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