US News Roundup: Mueller report in Capitol hearing room; college admissions bribery scandal

House Democrats to read Mueller report aloud in Capitol hearing room

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives will read aloud on Thursday the redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 448-page assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, one of the top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, will, along with nearly two dozen of her colleagues, begin reading the Mueller report at 12 p.m. (1700 GMT) in a Capitol hearing room.

New York City Mayor de Blasio to announce a bid for Democratic presidential nomination

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, an unapologetically progressive Democrat who has been a frequent critic of the Trump administration's policies, has decided to go after the president's job. De Blasio, 57, will announce his candidacy for president on Thursday, a campaign spokeswoman confirmed, after months of speculation that he would add his name to a growing list of Democrats eager to take on President Donald Trump in 2020.

Georgetown to expel two students over U.S. college admissions bribery scandal

Georgetown University said on Wednesday it plans to expel two students in connection with the sweeping U.S. college admissions bribery scandal. The expulsions were announced several hours after one of the students, Adam Semprevivo, sued Georgetown over his treatment, including its refusal to let him transfer to another school and keep his academic credits.

Republican Alabama governor mulling nation's strictest abortion law

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday was mulling whether to sign the United States' strictest abortion law, part of a multistate effort to get the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider women's constitutional right to abortion. The state's Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would outlaw nearly all abortions, including in the cases of pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest, allowing exceptions only to protect the mother's health.

Trump administration opens up Minnesota wilderness area to copper mining

The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday renewed two long-mothballed leases near the Boundary Waters Wilderness area in Minnesota, a key step in opening up the popular wilderness and recreation area to copper mining despite heavy opposition from local and national conservation groups. The department's Bureau of Land Management granted the hardrock mineral leases inside the Superior National Forest to Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Chile's Antofagasta, with the aim of expanding domestic mining of "critical minerals" used in common appliances and products, saying it is beneficial to national security because it reduces foreign imports.

Democrat Warren targets Pentagon contractors, calls industry corrupt

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat seeking her party's presidential nomination, on Thursday called for new rules governing Pentagon contractors, saying the industry has become too close to Defense Department officials. Warren wants to limit the ability of former Pentagon officials to work for contractors or foreign governments and to make public the documents of private companies working with the Defense Department, she outlined on Thursday in post on Medium.

U.S. Democratic hopeful Inslee unveils second climate change plan

Washington Governor Jay Inslee, a 2020 Democratic presidential contender whose campaign is focused on climate change, unveiled a plan to invest $9 trillion in 10 years in modern manufacturing and green infrastructure to "revitalize America's economy for the 21st century." This is the second plank of Inslee's broader "Climate Mission" agenda, which sets a goal of achieving 100 per cent zero-emission electricity by 2035.

Tennessee to execute man convicted for wife's murder three decades ago

A 68-year-old man who was convicted three decades ago of suffocating his wife with a large plastic garbage bag, a crime he blamed on an inmate on work release, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday in Tennessee. Donnie Johnson is set to be put to death by lethal injection at 7 p.m. (0000 GMT) at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

Helicopter crashes into Hudson River in New York, injuring two

A helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York City on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Manhattan, causing minor injuries to the pilot and a dockworker, police and fire officials said. Dramatic video footage of the incident shot by witnesses and posted on social media showed the helicopter spinning seemingly out of control over the Hudson near 30th Street, before plummeting into the water.

PG&E lines blamed for deadliest wildfire in California history

State fire investigators have formally determined that Pacific Gas & Electric Co transmission lines caused the deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record in California, a blaze that killed 85 people last year, officials said on Wednesday. The wind-driven blaze, dubbed the Camp Fire, erupted in the drought-parched Sierra foothills 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco in November 2018 and raced with little warning through the town of Paradise, incinerating much of that community.