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

Lawyer: Whistleblower willing to take written GOP questions

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for the whistleblower who raised alarms about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine said Sunday his client is willing to answer written questions submitted by House Republicans.

The surprise offer, made to Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, would allow Republicans to ask questions of the whistleblower, who spurred the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry, without having to go through the committee’s chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Attorney Mark Zaid tweeted that the whistleblower would answer questions directly from Republican members “in writing, under oath & penalty of perjury,” part of a bid to stem escalating efforts by Trump and his GOP allies to unmask the person’s identity. Only queries seeking the person’s identity won’t be answered, he said.

“Being a whistleblower is not a partisan job nor is impeachment an objective. That is not our role,” Zaid tweeted. “So we have offered to @DevinNunes.”

“We will ensure timely answers,” he said.

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Democrats prep for open hearings, seek Bolton testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — For only the fourth time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has started a presidential impeachment inquiry . House committees are trying to determine whether President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his family, and to investigate the country’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A quick summary of the latest news and what’s to come:

MOVING INTO PUBLIC VIEW

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, told The Associated Press on Friday that the three committees leading the impeachment investigation plan to begin releasing transcripts of closed-door interviews as soon as early this week. The committees have interviewed current and former officials from the State Department and White House who have expressed concerns about Trump’s efforts to urge Ukraine to investigate Biden and his family.

California Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democratic member of the Intelligence Committee, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that she expects one more week of closed-door interviews before committees move into open hearings. It’s so far unclear who will be asked to testify or how many hearings will be held. Leaders of the investigation say the hearings will be crucial to explain their inquiry to the American people.

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AP-NORC poll: Interest in campaign is growing, as is anxiety

WASHINGTON (AP) — A year out from the 2020 general election, there already is significant interest in the presidential campaign. But a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds a growing share of Americans feeling anxious and frustrated compared with early in the summer.

Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to say they have been paying close attention, but the poll finds feelings of anxiety and frustration more concentrated among Democrats.

A look at how Americans are feeling about the campaign with one year to go until the 2020 general election:

SIMILAR INTEREST, UNEVEN ANXIETY

The poll finds widespread interest in the campaign, including among 82% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans. Overall, 73% of Americans say they’re interested, up slightly from 66% in June.

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Flames, gear and risks of photographing California wildfires

SANTA PAULA, Calif. (AP) — It’s ironic, but momentarily forgetting some of my safety gear ended up saving my life.

It happened as I drove late Thursday into the heart of a wildfire that had erupted near the city of Santa Paula, a two-hour drive west of Los Angeles. This was one of the dozens of blazes that have been springing up daily in Northern and Southern California the last couple weeks, an indication that we are now in the middle of wildfire season.

Dressed in flame-resistant clothes, heavy boots and carrying my two cameras, I spent a few minutes walking around and surveying the scene before starting to shoot photos. To get the best shots, you first need to fully understand a situation, everything from where firefighters are working to the winds.

After a few minutes, I realized I had forgotten my helmet and fire shelter, essentially a tarp that can be deployed to cover and protect your body if you can’t escape flames.

So I began walking back to my car, and a few minutes later two large burning branches crashed in the exact place where I had been standing.

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Attacker bites politician’s ear, others slashed in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AP) — A knife-wielding man slashed several people and bit off part of the ear of a pro-democracy politician in Hong Kong on Sunday, as riot police stormed several malls to thwart protesters who have been demanding government reforms for nearly five months.

The bloody attack erupted outside one of those shopping complexes, Cityplaza on Hong Kong Island. Local media said the attacker told his victims that Hong Kong belongs to China.

Television footage showed the man biting the ear of district councillor Andrew Chiu, who had tried to stop him from leaving after the stabbings. The attacker was then badly beaten up by a crowd before police arrived.

The government, condemning the attack, said five people were hospitalized including two in critical condition and appealed to people to stay rational and set aside their political differences. “They should abide by the law and not to resort to vigilantism,” a government spokesman said in a statement.

The attack came late Sunday, a day in which protesters had been urged online to gather at seven locations, including malls, to sustain a push for political reform.

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McDonald’s CEO pushed out after relationship with employee

NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald’s chief executive officer has been pushed out of the company after violating company policy by engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee, the corporation said Sunday.

The fast food giant said former president and CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrated poor judgment, and that McDonald’s forbids managers from having romantic relationships with direct or indirect subordinates.

In an email to employees, Easterbrook acknowledged he had a relationship with an employee and said it was a mistake.

“Given the values of the company, I agree with the board that it is time for me to move on,” Easterbrook said in the email.

McDonald’s board of directors voted on Easterbrook’s departure Friday after conducting a thorough review. Details of Easterbrook’s separation package will be released Monday in a federal filing, according to a company spokesman. He will also be leaving the company’s board. Easterbrook was CEO since 2015.

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Warren, Buttigieg circle each other in Iowa as caucuses near

DECORAH, Iowa (AP) — Gaining momentum in the final three months before the Iowa caucuses, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg offered sharply different messages this weekend as they inched closer to a confrontation over the direction of the Democratic Party.

Warren, a Massachusetts senator, positioned herself as a bold progressive fighter while Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said he could unite the party — and the country.

During a frenetic three-day stretch of campaigning in Iowa, two other top contenders sought to prove their staying power. Former Vice-President Joe Biden argued he’s the sole Democrat who doesn’t need “on-the-job training” and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders reminded Iowans he’s still the outsider whose call for “political revolution” upended the nominating process four years ago.

The packed weekend offered a preview of the political and policy fights that face the leading candidates ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses, and suggested a shift that for the first time put Warren and Buttigieg at sharp rhetorical odds.

It also highlighted the glaring vulnerabilities of the top White House hopefuls, ensuring a fluid home stretch as candidates and caucusgoers navigate fault lines on everything from ideology to age.

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Colorful Columbia Sportswear Co. chairwoman Gert Boyle dies

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gert Boyle, the colorful chairwoman of Oregon-based Columbia Sportswear Co. who starred in ads proclaiming her as “One Tough Mother,” died Sunday. She was 95.

Company spokeswoman Mary Ellen Glynn did not disclose the cause of death. Boyle, who was chairwoman of the company board of directors, died at a Portland, Oregon, assisted living facility, Glynn said.

Boyle took over the small outdoor clothing company in 1970 after her husband died from a heart attack. At the time, she was a 46-year-old housewife and mother of three with no real business experience. But she helped build the struggling company into a national brand and retailer.

“Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise,” Boyle often said, among other pet phrases.

It was her role in an advertising campaign in the 1980s that gave her national exposure.

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Krispy Kreme orders student to halt doughnut resale service

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An enterprising Minnesota college student who drove to Iowa every weekend to buy hundreds of Krispy Kreme doughnuts that he then sold to his own customers in the Twin Cities area has been warned by the confectionary giant to stop.

There have been no Krispy Kreme stores in Minnesota for 11 years.

Jayson Gonzalez, 21, of Champlin, Minnesota, would drive 270 miles (430 kilometres) to a Krispy Kreme store in Clive, Iowa, pack his car with up to 100 boxes, each carrying 12 doughnuts, then drive back up north to deliver them to customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

He charged $17 to $20 per box. He said some of his customers spent nearly $100 each time. Gonzalez said he did not receive a discount from the store in Iowa where he bought the doughnuts.

But less than a week after the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on his money-making scheme, Gonzalez received a phone call from Krispy Kreme’s Nebraska office telling him to stop. The senior studying accounting at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul said he was told his sales created a liability for the North Carolina-based company.

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Former President Jimmy Carter is back teaching Sunday school

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter taught a Bible lesson on life after death Sunday less than two weeks after breaking his pelvis in a fall.

Using a walker, the 95-year-old Democrat slowly entered the crowded sanctuary at Maranatha Baptist Church in the southwest Georgia town of Plains.

“Morning, everybody,” he said cheerfully.

With help, Carter sat on a motorized lift chair at the front of the room to teach a 45-minute lesson based on the Old Testament book of Job.

Referring to a cancer diagnosis that resulted in the removal of part of his liver in 2015, Carter said he was is “at ease” with the idea of dying and believes in life after death.