VOA NEWS

May 7, 2019

This is VOA news. I'm Liz Parker.



The United States is speeding up the arrival of [an aircr...] a naval aircraft carrier strike group to the Arabian Sea. This comes after concerns Iran may be planning an attack against American or allied targets.

Here is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking to reporters from Finland. "We have continued to see activity that leads us to believe that there's escalation that may be taking place, and so we're taking all the appropriate actions, both from a security perspective as well as our ability to make sure the president has a wide range of options in the event that something should actually take place."

An Israeli journalist, Barak Ravid, reports the Mossad intelligence agency alerted the U.S. that Iranian elements may be preparing to strike American or allied targets.



The U.S. House Judiciary Committee moved Monday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. The reason for refusing to turn over an unredacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports it's unlikely that Barr would face criminal contempt charges.

If the House Judiciary Committee approves the contempt resolution, it would go to the full House and if approved there, a criminal referral would go to the U.S. attorney here in Washington, a Justice Department official likely to defend the attorney general.

The House held then-AG Eric Holder in contempt in 2012. The department took no steps to prosecute him.

That was the AP's Sagar Meghani reporting.

The House panel's chairman said the committee would vote Wednesday on the contempt citation.



Congressional Democrats said Monday they are reviving their investigation into the Trump administration's response to Hurricane Maria.

The September 2017 storm tore through the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.



This is VOA news.



The stock market took a hit at the start of the trading week in response to President Trump threatening more tariffs against China.

AP correspondent Jackie Quinn has more.

Investors were hoping the Trump administration was on the verge of resolving the long-running trade war with China and then the president warned of imposing tariffs as high as 25 percent.

Jacob Parker with the U.S.-China Business Council says this makes it tough for China's negotiators who are supposed to come to the U.S. for talks later this week.

"They have to contend with a domestic audience in China that would view this as a capitulation to the United States."

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett tells CNBC he is a little surprised President Trump took such a tough stance, but "with some people in negotiations, a, a, a, the best technique is to act half crazy. The very fact that it's sort of a nuclear threat is what brings people to the table."

I'm Jackie Quinn.



A pilot of the Russian passenger plane which erupted in flames during an emergency landing in Moscow Sunday said he believed that lightning led to the crash. That crash killing 41 people.

The pilot said the lightning strike caused the aircraft to lose radio communication. The pilot did not specify whether the plane was struck directly.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal investigation.



A United Nations report says one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction because of human activity, many within decades.

The report issued Monday draws on the work of 450 researchers from dozens of countries.

Thomas Brooks is the International Union for Conservation of Nature's chief scientist.

"On average, about a quarter of all species across very many of vertebrate and plant groups are threatened with a high risk of extinction."

The 1,800-page report said fixing the problem will require transformative changes.



Reuters reports a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck in the east of Papua New Guinea early on Tuesday morning local time, that according to the U.S. Geological Survey.



It's a boy for [Prince Bri..., Pri...] Britain's Prince Harry, rather, and his wife, Meghan. The baby was born Monday morning.

"Buckingham Palace proudly announced the birth of a newly born royal baby boy to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. God bless America and God save the Queen!"

That was a town crier outside Windsor Castle in England. A message from the palace read that they are pleased to announce the baby was born early morning May 6.

The Royal Highness's son weighs seven pounds three ounces.



I'm Liz Parker. VOA news.