Nation and world news in brief for July 18
Top Republicans call for Secret Service chief to step down
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Top Republicans in the U.S. Congress called on Wednesday for the head of the Secret Service to resign after an assassination attempt wounded former President Donald Trump on Saturday, and the House launched a bipartisan probe into the security failures.
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House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said his chamber would launch a bipartisan task force with subpoena power, as lawmakers received private phone briefings from security officials before expected public hearings next week.
Giuliani spent on condo, RNC trip instead of bankruptcy fees
NEW YORK (Reuters) — A U.S. judge criticized Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday for spending money on his Florida condominium and travel to the Republican National Convention while he avoids paying bankruptcy fees.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane ruled last week that Giuliani should be kicked out of bankruptcy over his failure to make required financial disclosures, but the decision did not immediately take effect.
Giuliani, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, still owes bankruptcy expenses of about $350,000 to creditors who were forced to hire investigative accountants to fill gaps in his financial reports.
Man who smuggled military tech to Russia sentenced to 3 years
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A Russian man who had pleaded guilty to U.S. charges that he smuggled large quantities of American-made military-grade microelectronics to Russia was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department said. Maxim Marchenko, 52, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release after he gets out, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira to face trial by court martial
BOSTON (Reuters) — Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who has pleaded guilty in federal court to a massive leak of classified U.S. national security documents online, will face a court-martial on charges that he also violated military laws.
Teixeira, 22, will face a trial on military charges that he obstructed justice following the discovery of one of the largest leaks of classified documents in years and failed to obey a lawful order, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Those charges were officially referred to trial on July 2, the spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Brian Wagner, said in a statement. The trial, to take place at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, has yet to be scheduled, Wagner said.
Israel pounds central Gaza, sends tanks into north of Rafah
CAIRO (Reuters) — Israeli forces hit areas in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least nine Palestinians, according to health officials, while Israeli tanks carried out a limited advance further into Rafah in the south.
Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes have killed at least 81 Palestinians and wounded 198, the Gaza health ministry said. The ministry does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its casualty count.
