Midday Roundup: Congress shames Obama for Bergdahl blunders

State secret. A new report by House Republicans states the Obama administration misled Congress about the effort to swap five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the militant group for nearly five years. Bergdahl is the subject of the new season of the popular podcast Serial, which premiered Thursday. Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee released a 98-page report Wednesday providing behind-the-scenes details about the prisoner exchange. Lawmakers have expressed outrage that the Obama administration did not give Congress a 30-day notice about transferring the detainees to Qatar, as required by law. The report revealed detainees were informed they would be released two days before the administration told Congress. Meanwhile, a suspected terrorist released from Gitmo three years ago appeared in a video for the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda this week. The former detainee is now a leader in the group.

Critical condition. Robert George, a Princeton professor who chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, is hospitalized with what was at first though to be a life-threatening tear in his aorta. The 60-year-old George, who goes by “Robby,” has received get-well tweets from other prominent Christian conservative leaders and even former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Aortic arterial dissection is often fatal, but George is alert, awake, and hopeful the physicians at Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan can treat him, friends report. After further evaluation, doctors determined the problem did not involve George's main aorta and likely would not endanger his life.

Intercollegiate debate. Student leaders at Wheaton College published an open letter Thursday condemning Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr.’s call for students to arm themselves after last week’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. A week ago at a Liberty convocation, Falwell said: “I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed.” Though Liberty later clarified Falwell’s remarks were directed at Islamic terrorists and not all Muslims, the Wheaton students still took Falwell to task for ostracizing Muslims and making broad accusations of terrorism. “Despite his later clarifications—which were only offered after media backlash—a higher standard is expected of leaders in our country and our community, particularly among Christians in leadership,” the letter stated.

Abuse of power. A jury convicted a former Oklahoma City police officer Thursday on 18 charges of sexual assault for attacks on women in a low-income neighborhood he patrolled. Officer Daniel Holtzclaw’s crimes first came to light when a grandmother reported he forced her to perform oral sex on him during a traffic stop. A dozen other women, all African-American, then came forward and accused him of similar crimes. He was convicted of assaulting eight women, the youngest of whom was 17. She testified at trial that Holtzclaw raped her on her front porch. The teen’s mother praised the jury for convicting Holtzclaw, but said the problem isn’t confined to Oklahoma City. “It’s a problem for the nation,” she said. An investigation by the Associated Press recently found about 1,000 law enforcement officers around the country lost their licenses during a six-month period over allegations of sexual abuse.

Chemical compounds. Chemical giants Dow Chemical and the DuPont Co. announced today a $130-billion megamerger. The two companies sell agricultural products to farmers around the world and make chemicals for consumer and industrial products ranging from electronics, automobiles, and household goods to building materials and safety equipment. The two companies will form DowDuPont, then separate into three independent, publicly traded companies focused on agriculture, material science, and specialty products. DuPont said Friday it expects sales to be “challenging” in 2016, so it is cutting 10 percent of its global workforce, including employees and contractors, a move expected to cut costs by $700 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.