Wednesday morning news: February 14, 2024

AUDIO: On this vote, the yeas are 214 and the nays are 213. The resolution is adopted.

Mayorkas impeachment push » House Republicans last night voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a historic rebuke of a sitting cabinet member.

Republicans say he betrayed the public trust by not enforcing border and immigration laws.

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds:

BYRON DONALDS: We need him removed. We need somebody in that job that’s gonna secure the nation.

Democrats call the impeachment a political stunt.

Hours before the vote, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters …

PIERRE: They want to continue in this shameful process of impeaching him. It’s baseless. It is baseless.

The charges against Mayorkas next go to the Senate for a trial, but the Democrat-led chamber has shown little interest in the matter. And it may be indefinitely shelved to a committee.

Foreign aid package » President Biden is ramping up political pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson over a bipartisan Senate bill that would fund aid Ukraine, Israel, and others.

BIDEN: The United States Senate, as you all know, voted overwhelmingly, to move forward with a bipartisan national security bill. And I urge Speaker Johnson to bring it to the floor immediately.

The Senate bill passed in the overnight hours Tuesday morning on a vote of 70 to 29, but Republicans were divided on the bill.

And those same divisions are present in the House where the speaker is signaling that he’s unlikely to take up the bill.

Many Republican critics of sending more aid to Ukraine say America must secure its own borders first. Some are critical of supplying the aid altogether.

Congressman Chip Roy:

CHIP ROY: Those 22 Republicans who voted for that bad bill, abomination of a bill, should be ashamed.

And some GOP lawmakers altogether oppose sending more aid to Ukraine, seeing it as expensive charity.

But other Republicans argue that helping allies to weaken America’s adversaries like Russia is a wise strategic move.

Estonia warns of Russian threat » Meantime, in eastern Europe Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service is warning that Russia is preparing for a military conflict with the West within the next decade.

The chief of the intelligence service said Russia is planning to double its forces near its western border.

He said European and NATO countries could counter that threat by beefing up their own armed forces.

Canada arms guilty plea » A Canadian-Russian woman is facing up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to send drone and missile components to Russia. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Prosecutors say Kristina Puzyreva, her husband, and another man purchased American-made electronic components and shipped them to their co-conspirators in Russia.

She pleaded guilty to multiple charges in a Brooklyn court Tuesday.

U.S. authorities in November charged her and the other suspects with smuggling, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and wire fraud conspiracy.

Puzyreva and her husband are from Montreal, and their co-defendant is a dual Russian-Tajikistan citizen who lives in Brooklyn.

The U.S. Justice Dept. says the group was connected to U.S.-sourced missile components that were later found in Russian weapons in Ukraine.

The investigations into Puzyreva’s husband and the other man are ongoing.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Inflation » Borrowing money might get a little less expensive in the months ahead.

A new Labor Dept. report shows prices were up 3-point-1 percent last month compared to a year ago.

But market analyst and WORLD contributor David Bahnsen says that doesn’t tell the whole story. He says more current indicators, not reflected in that report, shows that rents are no longer rising, year over year….

BAHNSEN: Rents year over year according to National Apartment list according to Zillow, according to realtor.com, there's about six different private sector real time metrics that I use show year on year rent, growth and 0%.

And when you factor that in, Bahnsen says inflation may actually be a lot closer to 2 percent which is the Federal Reserve’s target rate.

And with that mind, he believes the Fed might be in the mood to start cutting interest rates as soon as May.

SOUND: [Shoveling Snow]

Weather » Parts of the northeastern U.S. are digging out from up to a foot of snow.

Officials say the first nor’easter of the year brought plenty of the white stuff to states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York…along with up to 60 mile-per-hour winds.

Rhode Island resident Richard Foley was out in the street shoveling snow.

FOLEY: This is very wet, heavy snow. You can’t use a snow blower. You have to shovel. It’s not fun.

Foley didn’t have much time to talk though. He said he had to take his children…sledding.

New York special election » The GOP’s already narrow lead in the House will soon shrink by one seat.

Tom Suozzi won Tuesday’s special election in New York.

The Democrat campaigned on helping to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, which has become an important issue to voters there amid a migrant crisis in New York City.

SUOZZI (campaign ad): Close the routes used for illegal immigration, but open paths to citizenship for those willing to follow the rules.

Souzzi will replace scandal-ridden former Congressman George Santos who was expelled from Congress in December.

Suozzi represented the district before Santos. He gave up the seat to launch an unsuccessful campaign for governor.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Republicans divided over foreign aid on Washington Wednesday. Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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