Republicans — some Dems — reject impeachment talk
WASHINGTON — The day after President Donald Trump was implicated in a federal crime, members of both parties dismissed talk of impeachment, with some Democrats expressing fears Wednesday about such a politically risky step, and Republicans shrugging off the accusations or withholding judgment.
The legal entanglements surrounding Trump — the guilty plea by former lawyer Michael Cohen and the fraud conviction of one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort — delivered a one-two punch that left lawmakers struggling for an appropriate response ahead of the midterm campaigns.
Trump’s strongest supporters echoed his “no collusion” retorts, suggesting that, absent any evidence that he worked with Russia to influence the 2016 election, there is just no high-crimes-and- misdemeanors case for impeachment.
Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to tamp down expectations from their liberal base of taking on the president for fear that impeachment talk will cause GOP voters to rally around Trump in November.
The dynamic underscored the political difficulty of impeachment proceedings on Capitol Hill, especially for Republicans who have been reluctant to criticize the president but now face a new chapter in what has been a difficult relationship.
New drone shots show isolated Amazonian tribe in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO — New aerial images give a rare glimpse of an isolated tribe in Brazil’s Amazon, showing 16 people walking through jungle as well as a deforested area with a crop.
In a clip released Tuesday night, one of the tribespeople appears to be carrying a bow and arrow.
Brazil’s agency for indigenous affairs, Funai, said it captured the drone shots during an expedition last year to monitor isolated communities, but only released them now to protect their study.
Researchers monitored the tribe in Vale do Javari, an indigenous territory in the southwestern part of the state of Amazonas. There are 11 confirmed isolated groups in the area – more than anywhere else in Brazil.
The agency has been studying the community in the images for years, but this was the first time it was able to catch it on camera.
Study: Many teens — and parents — feel tethered to phones
NEW YORK — Parents lament their teenagers’ noses constantly in their phones, but they might want to take stock of their own screen time habits.
A study out Wednesday from the Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of parents are concerned about the amount of time their teenage children spend in front of screens, while more than a third expressed concern about their own screen time.
Meanwhile, more than half of teens said they often or sometimes find their parents or caregivers to be distracted when the teens are trying to have a conversation with them. The study calls teens’ relationship with their phones at times “hyperconnected” and notes that nearly three-fourths check messages or notifications as soon as they wake up. Parents do the same, but at a lower if still substantial rate — 57 percent.
Big tech companies face a growing backlash against the addictive nature of their gadgets and apps, the endless notifications and other features created to keep people tethered to their screens.
Many teens are trying to do something about it: 52 percent said they have cut back on the time they spend on their phones and 57 percent did the same with social media.
Aftershock strikes Venezuela after biggest earthquake since 1900
CARACAS, Venezuela — A strong aftershock jolted Venezuela’s northeastern coast Wednesday following the most powerful earthquake to hit the area in more than a century.
The magnitude-7.3 quake Tuesday was the largest to strike Venezuela since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But at a depth of some 76 miles, it appeared to cause only limited damage. The magnitude-5.8 aftershock Wednesday morning was at a depth of 61 miles. It was felt lightly in the capital.