Wednesday morning news: October 2, 2019

U.S. and North Korea set to resume nuclear talks » North Korea and the United States will resume nuclear talks this weekend.

A North Korean diplomat said Tuesday that the two nations will have preliminary contact on Friday and then hold working-level talks on Saturday. U.S. officials have confirmed the talks. 

No word on where the meetings will take place.

Pompeo accuses Democrats of bullying in impeachment probe » Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said House Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry are trying to “bully” State Department officials. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin reports. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel and Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings recently sent a letter to the State Department. It instructed five current and former officials to appear for depositions related to Ukraine. 

Pompeo fired off a letter of his own on Tuesday. He accused the lawmakers of trying to step on the rights of those officials and the “legitimate constitutional interest” of the Executive Branch to protect privileged information. He also said the panels are trying to “intimidate” and “bully” officials, and added, “I will not tolerate such tactics.”

The secretary wrote that the officials subject to the letter “may not attend any interview or deposition without counsel from the Executive Branch.” 

Democratic leaders fired back on Tuesday, saying it’s Pompeo who is intimidating witnesses to obstruct their investigation.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Kristen Flavin. 

Dallas jury finds former police officer guilty of murder » A jury in Dallas, Texas delivered its verdict on Tuesday in the murder trial of a former police officer who fatally shot her neighbor inside his apartment. 

KEMP: We the jury unanimously find the defendant, Amber Guyger guilty of murder as charged in the indictment. [reaction] No outbursts!

District Court Judge Tammy Kemp heard there. 

31-year-old Amber Guyger said she returned home tired after a long shift and parked on the wrong level of her apartment complex parking garage. She then mistook Bothan Jean’s apartment for her own and shot him thinking he was an intruder. 

Her attorney Robert Rogers argued that Guyger is no murderer. 

ROGERS: She’s an ordinary and prudent person who made a mistake. 

Prosecutors said she acted with extreme negligence and gave Jean minimal life-saving aid. 

Jean was African American. Guyger is white. And Jean family attorney Lee Merritt called the verdict “a huge victory.” 

MERRITT: Not only for the family of Botham Jean, but as his mother, Allison, told me a moment ago, this is a victory for black people in America. 

Guyger faces 5 to 99 years in prison. 

Judge rules Harvard does not discriminate against Asians » A federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case that has reignited the national debate over affirmative action.

U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled that Harvard University does not discriminate against Asian Americans in its admissions process. She said there is “no evidence of any racial animus” and found no evidence that the process negatively affects Asians. 

Students for Fair Admissions is the group that sued Harvard over the process. It says it will appeal. It argued that the school gave preference to black and Hispanic students with poorer grades. 

Both sides are gearing up for a possible Supreme Court review. The high court last examined affirmative action in 2016 and upheld the practice at the University of Texas.

Judge upholds 2 Virginia abortion laws, overturns others » A federal judge has upheld two Virginia laws designed to better inform pregnant women and protect the unborn. WORLD Radio’s Anna Johansen reports. 

ANNA JOHANSEN, REPORTER: U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson this week upheld a state law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound and wait at least 24 hours before having an abortion.

He also upheld the state’s “physician-only law.“ It bars nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants from performing abortions.

The ruling came in a lawsuit that challenged several Virginia laws. And while the judge upheld two of them, he overturned others. 

One of the laws he overturned stated that abortionists can only perform second-trimester abortions at a licensed outpatient hospital. 

The other required facilities for first-trimester abortions to meet the same standards as general and surgical hospitals.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Anna Johansen. 

Hong Kong police shoot teenage protester » In Hong Kong on Tuesday…

AUDIO: [Sound of tear gas]

The now familiar sound of tear gas canisters hurtling toward protesters, who took to the streets on China’s National Day. But protesters also heard a different sound on Tuesday—that of a gunshot. 

A police officer fired on a teenage protester with a handgun at close range, striking him in the chest. This was the first time in months of protests that police have shot a demonstrator. 

Hong Kong’s hospital authority said the 18-year-old activist was one of two people in critical condition. At least 66 people suffered injuries.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks in New York, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. 

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