William Barr confirmation hearing, Brexit future, California storms: 5 things to know Wednesday
Trump's attorney general gets grilled ... again
Attorney General nominee William Barr continues his confirmation hearing with a lineup of character witnesses Wednesday in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his testimony Tuesday, Barr asserted that President Donald Trump exacted no promises of favoritism and that he would not direct the Justice Department as an extension of the White House. He also said he would seek the advice of Justice ethics officials on whether he should recuse himself from overseeing Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, but he would not commit to following their recommendation. However, when the subject of immigration came up, Barr sounded very much like the president. If confirmed as the head of the Justice Department for a second time, – Barr served as attorney general under George H.W. Bush's administration in 1991, he will replace ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Andrew Wheeler gets his turn under the lights
Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Andrew Wheeler is expected to face scrutiny during his confirmation hearing Wednesday from Democrats irate over the agency's environmental record. Wheeler, a former EPA bureaucrat, Capitol Hill aide and energy lobbyist, has been the agency's acting administrator after Scott Pruitt left in July. Over the past several months, Wheeler has angered environmental and public health advocates, especially through the EPA'S proposal last month to roll back mercury emissions standards applied to power plants. "We're going to have a lot of questions as you might imagine," Delaware Sen. Tom Carper, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told USA TODAY. "I'm a big one for accountability and we're going to hold Andrew Wheeler and those that work for him accountable."
May's government faces no-confidence vote after Brexit plan crushed
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's government will face a no-confidence vote Wednesday after British lawmakers rejected her plan to take the nation out of the European Union, an outcome that could derail Brexit and threatens her leadership. On Tuesday, May's plan lost by 230 votes, one of the largest parliamentary defeats in nearly 100 years. In a post-vote statement, May said Parliament should hold a confidence vote in her leadership, pre-empting an expected move by opposition parties to seek her ouster. The U.K. is scheduled to depart the EU in less than two months, but negotiations have dragged on for months, and little has been achieved to solve the U.K.'s main existential crisis over Brexit — half the country wants in, the other half out. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, said the confidence vote would allow Parliament to "give its verdict on the sheer incompetence" of May's government.
Strong California storm brings mudslide fears, blizzard warning
A "much stronger storm" is expected to hit California Wednesday after heavy rains and snow threatened wildfire-scorched areas with mudslides and blowing snow.Tuesday's rain and snow already forced the closure of sections of the picturesque Pacific Coast Highway and Interstate 5. Rainfall totals for the storms could reach 4-8 inches along the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the northern Coast Ranges, as well as some mountains surrounding Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. In Los Angeles County, a section of the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu was closed for several hours this because of what the state Transportation Department described as "significant mud flow and runoff in various areas." On the central coast, a section of the highway was also closed near Big Sur.
Today in weed: Medical marijuana sales begin in Ohio
Sales of medical marijuana will begin in Ohio Wednesday at a handful of locations. If you're looking to party, however, forget it: Dispensaries will only be open to physician-certified patients and caregivers and will initially carry only products for vaporization.Ohio law forbids smoking marijuana or growing it at home. More than 3,575 patients have registered in the program since the registry went live in December.
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: William Barr confirmation hearing, Brexit future, California storms: 5 things to know Wednesday
