It’s the Midday Newswrap.
It’s been quite a week. Yesterday, at the behest of the president, a federal grand jury indicted former FBI Director James Comey, alleging he lied to a Senate Committee in 2020. Comey posted a video on Instagram last night asserting his innocence.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show returned to the air on Tuesday after a week-long suspension by Disney, the parent company of ABC, which had bowed to pressure from the Trump administration. Kimmel's return was announced after Disney’s stock value plunged by more than 3% -- a loss of more than 4 billion dollars. ABC affiliates owned by conservative media companies Sinclair and Nexstar have not yet resumed carrying Kimmel’s show.
Hundreds of generals and admirals in the US military have been ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to come to the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia next week. Hegseth has not stated the reason for the highly unusual meeting.
President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled a new report this week that warns, without conclusive scientific evidence, that use by pregnant women of the pain killer acetaminophen is linked to autism in their developing children. Their remarks were condemned by many medical experts.
President Trump addressed the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting on Tuesday in a rambling, hour-long address. Later, in a post on Truth Social, he appeared to adopt a more supportive position on aiding Ukraine in its three-year long war with Russia.
Our news partner, The Baltimore Banner, has announced that Audrey Cooper will be its new Editor-in-Chief. Cooper is the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President of News at New York Public Radio. She previously led the newsroom at The San Francisco Chronicle, for nearly six years. She begins her tenure at the Banner on October 13.
Alex Mann of the Banner reports that yesterday, Annapolis elections officials audited the results of the primary election that took place September 16th., by hand-counting every ballot cast.Officials had incorrectly reported unofficial election day results for two candidates.Another racewas decided by four votes,
And, like Americans across the country, federal employees in the Baltimore-Washington area are bracing for a partial government shutdown, as the Tuesday deadline fast approaches.
Annie Karni, a Maryland native, covers the US Congress for the New York Times. She joins us on Zoom from Washington DC.
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(Audio for this program will be posted early this afternoon.)