Greta Thunberg Arrested in London

LONDON (AP) – Activist Greta Thunberg was arrested in central London Tuesday while supporting pro-Palestinian activists who are staging a hunger strike. Correspondent Bernie Bennett has detials.

VERBATIM:
The protest group Prisoners for Palestine shared a video showing the 22-year-old Swede holding a sign supporting the hunger strikers and their organization, known as Palestine Action. The British government earlier this year banned Palestine Action as a terrorist organization.

The activists were protesting their imprisonment while awaiting trial on charges related to a series of earlier demonstrations.

Thunberg has repeatedly been fined in Sweden and the U.K. for civil disobedience in connection with protests.

Bernie Bennett reporting.

Bondi Beach Hero

SYDNEY (AP) – A bystander seen in a widely circulated video disarming a gunman during a deadly shooting rampage at a popular Australian beach is being heralded as a hero who saved lives. Reporter Bernie Bennett explains.

VERBATIM:
Video footage posted to social media shows a passerby dressed in a white T-shirt and dark pants crouching behind a parked car before sneaking up behind a gunman, grabbing him and wrestling away his firearm. The bystander then points the weapon at the gunman, who falls to the ground.

The intervention drew wide praise, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called it the “most unbelievable scene.”

Minns said in a statement, “A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, that man is a genuine hero.”

Bernie Bennett reporting.

Hamas Leader Killed

JERUSALEM (AP) – Hamas on Sunday confirmed the death of a top commander in Gaza, a day after Israel said it had killed Raed Saad in a strike outside Gaza City. Reporter Bernie Bennett has detials.

VERBATIM:
The Hamas statement described Saad as the commander of its military manufacturing unit.

Israel had described him as an architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in Gaza, and asserted that he had been “engaged in rebuilding the terrorist organization” in a violation of the ceasefire that took effect two months ago.

Israel said it killed Saad after an explosive device detonated and wounded two soldiers in the territory’s south.

Hamas also said it had named a new commander but did not give details, adding that it had the right to “respond to the occupation’s aggression.”

Bernie Bennett reporting.

Conservative Wins in Chile Election

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Chile’s governing coalition candidate concedes defeat to ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast in their presidential election. Bernie Bennett has this report.
VERBATIM:
Chile’s conservative opposition candidate, José Antonio Kast, has secured a thumping victory in the presidential runoff election. He defeated the candidate of the left-wing governing coalition by over 15 percentage points on Sunday.

According to electoral results with over 95% of the vote counted, Kast won more than 58% of the vote as Chilean voters overwhelmingly embraced his pledge to crack down on increased crime, deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status and revive the sluggish economy of one of Latin America’s most stable and prosperous nations.

Bernie Bennett reporting.

House Republicans Vote on Health Care

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate failed to get anywhere on the health care issue this week. Now it’s the House’s turn to show what it can do. Correspondent Bernie Bennet has details.

VERBATIM:
Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a Republican alternative late Friday, a last-minute sprint as his party refuses to extend the enhanced tax subsidies for those who buy policies through the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, which are expiring at the end of the year. Democrats say those subsidies help lower the cost of coverage.

Johnson said in a statement announcing the package, “House Republicans are tackling the real drivers of health care costs to provide affordable care.” The Speaker said it would be voted on this week.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A shooter dressed in black killed at least two people and wounded eight others at Brown University on Saturday during final exams on the Ivy League campus, authorities said, as police searched for the suspect. Reporter Bernie Bennett has this developing story.

(POSSIBLE OUTCUE:
President Donald Trump told reporters that he had been briefed on the shooting and “all we can do right now is pray for the victims.”)

VERBATIM:
The Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island, issued an active shooter alert and urged students and staff to take shelter Saturday, the second day of final exams.

Police say the suspect is a male in dark clothing who was last seen leaving the building. Police did not immediately release details about the victims’ conditions.

Mayor Brett Smiley agencies across the region are helping with the investigation.

BROWN UPDATE-smiey-a1-SATpm (:15)

Bernie Bennett reporting.

White House Brokers Ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand

President Donald Trump said Friday that Thai and Cambodian leaders have agreed to renew a truce after days of deadly clashes had threatened to undo a ceasefire the U.S. administration had helped broker earlier this year.

VERBATIM:
President Trump announced the agreement to restart the ceasefire in a social media posting following calls with the Prime Ministers of Thaliand and Cambodia.

The Republican President said that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim played an important role in helping him push Thailand and Cambodia to once again agree to cease fighting.

The original ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Mr. Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

Treasury Department Looks into Fraud in Minnesota

WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday his Department is targeting businesses that people use to wire money to family members abroad as the Trump administration rachets up investigations into fraud within Minnesota’s Somali community. Details from Correspondent Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM:
President Donald Trump has targeted the Somalian diaspora in Minnesota with immigration enforcement actions and has made a series of disparaging comments about the community. He has said the state is “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

The new action was prompted in part by a series of fraud cases, including a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future accused of stealing pandemic aid meant for school meals. Prosecutors have put the losses from that case at $300 million.

Bessent has pointed to a report by conservative news outlet City Journal, which claimed that taxpayer dollars from defrauded government programs flowed to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group that controls parts of Somalia.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

ACLU Sues Trump Administration on Venezuela Boat Strikes

The Trump administration is facing a lawsuit seeking the immediate release of a memo providing the legal justification for U.S. military strikes on drug boats. Reporter Bernie Bennett has more.

VERBATIM:
The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the Center for Constitutional Rights. The Department of Justice, including its Office of Legal Counsel, Department of State and the Department of Defense, now named the Department of War, are listed as defendants.

In the lawsuit, the ACLU said it was “seeking the immediate release of a legal opinion authored by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), a component of the Department of Justice (DOJ), concerning the U.S. military’s authority to carry out lethal strikes on civilians in boats that the U.S. government asserts are carrying drugs.”

Bernie Bennett in Washington.

Supreme Court May Expand Presidential Control

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court seems likely to expand presidential control over independent federal agencies, signaling support for President Donald Trump’s firing of board members. Bernie Bennett has details.

VERBATIM: The court’s conservative majority suggested it would overturn a unanimous 90-year-old decision that has limited when presidents can fire agencies’ board members, or leave it with only its shell intact.

Chief Justice John Roberts referred to the decision known as Humphrey’s Executor as “a dry husk.”

Liberal justices warned that the decision sought by the administration would concentrate vast power in the president’s hands, robbing the agencies of expertise.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer defended Trump’s decision to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter without cause and called on the court to jettison Humphrey’s Executor.

Bernie Bennett in Washington.

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Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett Runs for Senate

Democrat Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett launched a campaign Monday for the U.S. Senate in Texas, bringing national attention to a race that may be critical to Democrats’ hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections. More on this from Correspndent Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM:
Crockett, one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks, jumped into the race on the final day of qualifying in Texas. She is seeking the Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn, who is running for reelection in the GOP-dominated state.

Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to wrest control from Republicans next November, when most of the seats up for reelection are in states like Texas that President Donald Trump won last year. Democrats have long hoped to make Texas more competitive after decades of Republican dominance.

Bernie Bennett reporting.

President Trump Invites National Guard Parents to White House

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he’s invited the family of a National Guard member fatally shot last week to the White House, saying he spoke to her parents and they were “devastated.” Reporter Bernie Bennett has details.

VERBATIM:
U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died after the shooting on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., while her seriously injured colleague, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remained in critical condition.

The president said Sunday he’s discussed a White House visit for the parents of both members of the West Virginia National Guard. Both were deployed as part of Mr. Trump’s crime-fighting mission that federalized D.C. police.

In recent days, local vigils in West Virginia have honored the soldiers, including one Saturday evening at Webster County High School, where Beckstrom attended classes.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

Republican Troy Nehls Retiring from Congress

Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas announced Saturday that he will retire from Congress after his term ends in 2026 to focus on family. Reporter Bernie Bennett has details.

VERBATIM:
The Texas Republican is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. He said on the social platform X that he called the President to inform him of his plans. Nehls added that he was endorsing his twin brother to succeed him in Congress.

Trever Nehls said on Facebook that he would run for the seat and “stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Trump.” Troy Nehls entered Congress in 2021 after about three decades in law enforcement and more than two decades in the Army Reserve.

Bernie Bennett reporting.

Netanyahu Asks for a Pardon

TEL AVIV (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked the country’s president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges, seeking to end a long-running trial that has bitterly divided the nation. Details from Correspondent Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM:
Netanyahu said the request would help unify the country at a time of momentous change in the region. But it immediately triggered denunciations from opponents, who said a pardon would weaken democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that he’s above the rule of law.

The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Netanyahu had submitted a request for a pardon to the legal department of the Office of the President, His office called it an “extraordinary request,” carrying with it “significant implications.”

The request comes weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly urged Israel to pardon Netanyahu, turning to President Isaac Herzog during his speech to Israel’s parliament last month.

Bernie Bennett reporting.

Trump Wants Normalized Relations Between Israel and Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has not been subtle about how badly he wants to see Saudi Arabia and Israel normalize relations. Correspondent Bernie Bennett has details.

VERBATIM:
The President has talked up his push to extend his first term Abraham Accords – the project that formalized commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and a trio of Arab nations – as key to his plan for bringing long-term stability to the Middle East as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues to hold.

The normalization push is expected to be high on the agenda when Mr. Trump hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday for talks during a pomp-filled White House visit.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

Border Patrol Arrests in North Carolina

A top Border Patrol commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city on Sunday as Charlotte residents reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores. Reporter Bernie Bennett has details.

VERBATIM:
The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and downtrending crime rates.

Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, took to X to document a few of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made.

Bovino, head of a Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, and other Trump administration officials have called their actions appropriate for growing threats on enforcement agents.

Bernie Bennett reporting.

Simpson Estate Settles Suit with Fred Goldman

The O.J. Simpson estate has taken a key step toward paying Fred Goldman nearly 58 million dollars – nearly three decades after Goldman won a wrongful death judgment in a civil case against Simpson. More from Correspondent Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM:
Malcolm LaVergne, executor of Simpson’s estate, has accepted Goldman’s creditor claim for $57,997,858.12, plus 30 years of accumulated interest, TMZ first reported Saturday.

Goldman’s son, Ron, was killed alongside Nicole Brown Simpson – O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife – on June 12, 1994. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in what became known as the “Trial of the Century.”

Bernie Bennett reporting.

The Dolphins Beat the Commanders

MADRID (AP) – Jack Jones had a fitting celebration after his overtime interception in the first NFL regular-season game in Spain. More from Correspondent Bernie Bennett.

(POSSIBLE OUTCUE: It was the seventh – and final – international game this season, the most in one year for the NFL as it continues to expand globally.

VERBATIM:
The Miami Dolphins cornerback ran toward the sideline and stretched his arms wide after a twisting jump in front of his teammates. Jones was imitating Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer great who used to celebrate like that at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when he played for Real Madrid.

Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on the first offensive play of overtime and Riley Patterson kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a 16-13 victory over the Washington Commanders.

Bernie Bennett reporting.

Senate Votes to End the Shutdown

WASHINGTON – The Senate has voted 60 to 40 to end the longest running government shutdown in U.S. history. This update from Correspondent Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM: ((STORY BEGINS WITH THE VOTE ANNOUNCEMENT))
The shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation. President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”

The Senate voted 47-53 along party lines not to extend “Affordable Healthcare Act” subsidies for a year. Majority Republicans allowed the vote as part of a separate deal with Democrats to speed up votes and send the legislation to the House.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

—————-

The Senate Plans a Vote to End the Shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate is drawing closer to a vote on legislation to end the shutdown on Monday.
Correspondent Bernie Bennett explains.

VERBATIM:
It is unclear when the Senate will hold final votes on the bill, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hopes passage will take “hours not days.”

Thune said Monday morning as the Senate opened, “The American people have suffered for long enough. Let’s not pointlessly drag this bill out.”

The legislation would still need to clear the House before the government could reopen. Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington “right now” given travel delays, but he said he would issue an official notice for the House’s return once the Senate passes the legislation.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

Syrian President Visits White House

WASHINGTON – Ahmad al-Sharaa (ahk-MAWD al SHAH-rah) will be the first Syrian president to visit Washington since the country’s independence in 1946. Reporter Bernie Bennett has details.

VERBATIM:
Since rebel forces ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December, al-Sharaa has gone on a charm offensive to establish new ties with countries that had shunned Assad’s government after its brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011 spiraled into a 14-year civil war.

Al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia in May, where Mr. Trump announced that he would lift decades of sanctions.

The two men will meet again on Monday in Washington, where Syria is widely expected to officially join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group.

Bernie Bennett in Washington.

Senate Advances Procedural Vote to End the Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON – The Senate voted 60-40 to proceed to a House-passed continuing resolution to reopen the government, taking a big first step toward ending the government shutdown. Details from reporter Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM:
Democrats are coalescing around a bipartisan agreement to fund the government. Some, however, are still resisting.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer emerged from an evening caucus meeting telling reporters, “I’m voting no” on the new shutdown deal, as he walked on the Senate floor.

SENATE VOTE-schumer-a3-SUNpm (:03) “vote no”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says the time has come to put the shutdown behind us.

SENATE VOTE-thune-a2-SUNpm (:13) “is now”

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

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President Trump Attends Regular Season NFL Game

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) – President Donald Trump has become the first sitting president in nearly a half-century at a regular-season NFL game when he attended the Washington Commanders’ contest against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Details from Reporter Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM:
House Speaker Mike Johnson was among those who joined President Trump in a suite at Northwest Stadium. Before the president’s arrival, he flew over the stadium in Air Force One. Only two other times did a president go to an NFL game during the regular season while in office: Richard Nixon in 1969 and Jimmy Carter in 1978. Mr. Trump became the first president at a Super Bowl while residing in the White House last February.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.

Speeding Car in Tampa Kills Pedestrians

A speeding car fleeing police slammed into a crowded bar early Saturday, killing four people and injuring 11 in a historic district of Tampa, Florida.

OUTCUE: Correspondent Bernie Bennett with that report.

VERBATIM:
The Florida Highway Patrol attempted to stop the vehicle but failed. The driver fled and eventually lost control and slammed into people outside the bar. Three people died at the scene, and a fourth died at a hospital. A 22-year-old suspect was arrested and faces multiple charges including vehicular homicide.