AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Democrats’ impeachment charges say Trump ‘betrayed’ US

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, declaring he “betrayed the nation” with his actions toward Ukraine as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election.

The specific charges aimed at removing the 45th president of the U.S.: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, flanked by the chairmen of impeachment inquiry committees at the U.S. Capitol, said they were upholding their solemn oath to defend the Constitution. Trump responded angrily on Twitter: “WITCH HUNT!”

Voting is expected in a matter of days by the Judiciary Committee, which begins deliberations Wednesday, and by Christmas in the full House. The charges, if approved, would then be sent to the Senate, where the Republican majority would be unlikely to convict Trump, but not without a potentially bitter trial just as voters in Iowa and other early presidential primary states begin making their choices.

In the formal articles announced Tuesday, the Democrats said Trump enlisted a foreign power in “corrupting” the U.S. election process and endangered national security by asking Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including Democrat Joe Biden, while withholding U.S. military aid as leverage. That benefited Russia over the U.S. as America’s ally fought Russian aggression, the Democrats said.

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Trump mocks impeachment effort, talks up trade deal at rally

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump mocked the Democratic impeachment effort as he sought to rally supporters Tuesday in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, calling the process “impeachment lite” and promising it would lead to his reelection in 2020.

Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania followed a momentous day at the U.S. Capitol, where Democrats unveiled articles of impeachment and shortly thereafter signalled their support for the president’s long-sought United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats are trying to show they can pass legislation and pursue an impeachment inquiry at the same time, but Trump said, “It plays down the impeachment because they’re embarrassed by the impeachment.”

He insisted, “And our poll numbers have gone through the roof because of her stupid impeachment.”

And he added: “The silver lining of impeachment and this witch hunt: That’s the reason they approved USMCA. So that’s OK with me.”

Trump listed some of his achievements while in office, ticking off the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a deal to create the Space Force and a strong economy.

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6 killed in New Jersey gunbattle, including police officer

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Six people, including a police officer and three bystanders, were killed in a furious gun battle Tuesday that filled the streets of Jersey City with the sound of heavy fire for hours, authorities said.

The dead included the two gunmen, Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly said.

The slain officer, Detective Joseph Seals, 40, was credited by his superiors with having led the department in the number of illegal guns removed from the streets in recent years, and might have been trying to stop an incident involving such weapons when he was cut down by gunfire that erupted near a cemetery, authorities said.

The shooting then continued at a kosher supermarket about a mile away, where five more bodies were found, Kelly said.

Authorities believe the Jewish market was targeted by the gunmen, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop tweeted Tuesday night. Fulop, whose public safety director said earlier in the day that terrorism wasn’t suspected, did not elaborate on why authorities now believe the market was targeted.

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Takeaways: Democrats make case in articles of impeachment

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, setting up a historic vote in the days before Christmas. The articles charge the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and argue that he is a “threat to national security and the Constitution.”

After internal debate in their caucus, Democrats opted to focus narrowly on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, leaving out any direct mention of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Takeaways from the articles of impeachment:

TWO ARTICLES

The two articles released by the House Judiciary Committee total nine pages. They are entirely focused on Trump’s efforts to have Ukraine investigate Democrats as the U.S. also withheld military aid to the country and denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a White House meeting.

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Barr: FBI’s Russia investigation based on ‘bogus narrative’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr levelled blistering criticism at how the Russia investigation was conducted, saying Tuesday that it was based on a “bogus narrative” that the Trump campaign might have conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

Barr spoke to NBC News one day after the release of a Justice Department inspector general report that found problems with the FBI’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, but also concluded that there was a proper basis for opening the probe and that it was free of political bias.

Barr, a vocal defender of President Donald Trump, said he disagreed with the inspector general that the FBI had enough information to open the investigation and particularly to use surveillance on a former Trump campaign aide. He said that law enforcement officials involved in applying for those warrants had withheld from judges what he said was key exculpatory information that they had received.

He also blamed the Obama administration for telling Russia not to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and not sharing the same warnings or concerns with the Trump campaign. The FBI discussed whether to give a so-called “defensive briefing” to the Trump campaign, but ultimately concluded that if someone in the campaign was working with Russians they could be tipped off and coverup their potential criminal behaviour, the report said.

“I think our nation was turned on its head for three years based on a completely bogus narrative that was largely fanned and hyped by an irresponsible press,” Barr said.

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Buttigieg discloses ex-clients as fundraising swing begins

NEW YORK (AP) — Facing intense pressure to answer questions about his work in the private sector, Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday disclosed a roster of former consulting clients that include a major health insurance provider, a nationwide electronics retailer, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defence.

He also opened a big-dollar fundraiser for the first time to the media, a change of heart he later admitted “took a little getting used to” but was “the right thing to do.”

Buttigieg’s campaign released the details while the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, attended an evening fundraiser on Park Avenue in Manhattan. It was the first event on a five-day fundraising swing that features 10 meetings with big donors, and the first time he allowed the media to cover fundraising events that had previously been kept secret.

Speaking on MSNBC later Tuesday night, Buttigieg said that the decision to open his fundraisers — which he had previously resisted — took some “getting used to because traditionally campaigns haven’t generally done this.” Former Vice-President Joe Biden has opened his fundraisers to the press, while neither Sens. Elizabeth Warren nor Bernie Sanders holds big-dollar fundraisers.

Buttigieg added: “I think it makes sense. We’re talking a lot about transparency in this campaign. We’ve got a president who’s moved in the exact wrong direction in terms of transparency.”

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New Zealand volcano vents steam, stymies recovery of bodies

WHAKATANE, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand island volcano vented more steam and mud Wednesday in an increase of geothermal activity that again delayed the recovery of victims’ bodies from a deadly eruption two days ago.

Volcanic tremors on White Island rose in the morning, accompanied by releases of more steam and mud, the GeoNet seismic monitoring agency said.

“We interpret these signals as evidence of continued high gas pressures within the volcano,” the agency said. “The situation remains highly uncertain as to future activity. Eruptions in the next 24 hours are still likely to occur.”

Six deaths have been confirmed in Monday’s eruption, which sent a tower of steam and ash an estimated 12,000 feet (3,660 metres) into the air. The bodies of eight other people are believed to remain on the ash-covered island. And 30 people remain hospitalized, including 25 in critical condition. Many of the injured suffered severe burns.

Bruce Bird, an acting assistant police commissioner, said they were monitoring the situation hour by hour.

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Democrats, White House forge new North American trade deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats and the White House announced a deal Tuesday on a modified North American trade pact, handing President Donald Trump a major Capitol Hill win on the same day that impeachment charges were announced against him. Both sides hailed the deal as a win for American workers.

They said the revamped U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement was a significant improvement over the original North American Free Trade Agreement, with Democrats crowing about winning stronger provisions on enforcing the agreement while Republicans said it will help keep the economy humming along.

“There is no question of course that this trade agreement is much better than NAFTA,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in announcing the agreement, saying the pact is “infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration.”

Trump said the revamped trade pact will “be great” for the United States.

“It will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA. Good for everybody – Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions – tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!,” the president said in a tweet.

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Photo of sick boy on floor roils British election campaign

LONDON (AP) — A photo of a sick boy sleeping on a hospital floor because no beds were available has become one of the defining images of Britain’s bruising election campaign.

It forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson onto the defensive and ignited a fierce online debate over whether it was real or fake.

The boy, 4-year-old Jack Williment-Barr, had been admitted to Leeds General Infirmary last week with suspected pneumonia. He eventually was diagnosed with flu and tonsillitis and then discharged, but not before he was photographed lying on the floor cushioned by a coat with an oxygen mask nearby. A red coat served as a blanket.

The story was splashed across Monday’s front page of the left-leaning national tabloid Daily Mirror, including the photo of Jack in his Spider-Man top under the headline, “Desperate.”

The photo and subsequent posts swept through British social media like a firestorm, injecting an unpredictable and explosive jolt into the intensifying political war of information just days ahead of Thursday’s election.

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Facebook rebuffs US AG over access to encrypted messages

Facebook is rebuffing efforts by U.S. Attorney General William Barr to give authorities a way to read encrypted messages.

The heads of Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Messenger services told Barr and his U.K. and Australian counterparts that Facebook is moving forward with plans to enable end-to-end encryption on all of its messaging services. End-to-end encryption locks up messages so that not even Facebook can read their contents.

WhatsApp already uses end-to-end encryption. Facebook plans to extend that protection to Messenger and Instagram Direct.

Barr and other officials had asked the company in October to hold off. In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, they insisted that precluding access by law enforcement could hinder efforts to prevent or investigate crimes. The letter repeatedly emphasized the dangers of child sexual exploitation to justify their stance.

Barr reiterated his concerns in a speech Tuesday, calling the encryption fight “one of our highest priorities” and describing “an increasing number of horror stories about how people are dying, or being molested or whatever, but we cannot get in.”