Tuesday morning news: December 17, 2019

Schumer calls for Mulvaney, Bolton and others to testify in likely Senate impeachment trial » Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that if and when the impeachment trial moves to the Senate, he wants to hear from four new witnesses. 

SCHUMER: These are the four who have the most direct contact of the facts that are in dispute, most particularly, why was the aid to Ukraine delayed? 

Schumer wants to hear from White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and his top aide, a budget official who handled Ukraine affairs and former national security adviser John Bolton. 

SCHUMER: His attorney stated publicly that he has additional relevant information to share, information that has not yet become public. How on such a weighty matter could we avoid hearing this?

But the Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham is pushing for a short Senate trial. He told CBS’ Face the Nation…

GRAHAM: I don’t need any witnesses. The president can make a request to call witnesses. They can make a request to call Mike Pence, and Pompeo, and Joe Biden, and Hunter Biden. I am ready to vote on the underlying articles. I don’t really need to hear a lot of witnesses. 

With both parties digging in their heels, tomorrow’s impeachment vote in the House is on track to be a starkly partisan roll call.

Boeing to halt production of 737 Max airliner » Boeing is temporarily shutting down production of its grounded 737 Max jet as it struggles to get approval to put the plane back in the air. WORLD Radio’s Leigh Jones reports. 

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: The company said Monday that it will stop producing the jets in January at its Renton, Washington plant near Seattle. 

Boeing employs 12,000 workers at that plant, but said it does not expect any layoffs “at this time.” Employees who build the Max will keep working on the 737 or could be assigned to other teams in the Seattle area. 

The Max is Boeing’s most important jet, but it has been grounded since March after two deadly crashes overseas. And federal regulators told the company last week that it had an unrealistic timetable for getting the plane back into service.

In a statement, Boeing said it will determine later when production can resume.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Leigh Jones.

At least 9 people dead in weather-related crashes » At least nine people have died in weather-related crashes in several Midwestern states. That amid a storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow in places. 

But Brian Hurley with the National Weather Service said some of the most treacherous roads don’t appear to be buried under heavy snow and ice. 

HURLEY: A lot of these areas aren’t necessarily seeing the heaviest snow or the heaviest ice, but the combination of the two is certainly making for some tricky travel. 

The wintry weather was part of a storm system that hit parts of the Midwest and was expected to extend into the Northeast through tonight. 

At least four people died in Missouri, where the storm dumped 3 to 9 inches of snow across the state. The state’s highway patrol also responded to more than 500 other traffic crashes. 

Thousands protests in streets of New Delhi » Thousands of university students flooded the streets of India’s capital Monday… 

AUDIO: [India protests]

Part of a widespread protest over a new law giving citizenship to non–Muslims who entered India illegally to flee religious persecution in neighboring countries. The measure will fast-track the naturalization of migrants who fled Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh because of religious persecution before 2015.

The protests in New Delhi followed a night of violent clashes between police and demonstrators at a university. Some protestors who student organizers said were not students set three buses on fire. Police then stormed the university library, firing tear gas at students crouched under desks.

Supreme Court declines street-sleeping case » The Supreme Court allowed a lower court ruling to stand on Monday. That ruling effectively blocks a city from punishing people for sleeping on the sidewalk or in public parks if no other shelter is available. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin reports. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The justices did not comment on why they refused to review the matter. It stems from a case in Boise, Idaho where prosecutors convicted six homeless people of violating the city’s camping ban. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the city. It said prosecuting people for sleeping in public places constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

The ruling covers all nine Western states in the 9th Circuit, including California. Lawyers for the city of Boise argued that allowing homeless people to live on sidewalks and in parks—quote—“cripples the ability of more than 1,600 municipalities in the 9th Circuit to maintain the health and safety of their communities.”

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Kristen Flavin.

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) In this photo taken with a fish-eye lens on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, the distinctive winglet on the second Boeing 737 MAX airplane being built is shown on the assembly line in Renton, Wash.

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