VOA NEWS

October 3, 2019

This is VOA news. I'm David Byrd.



President Donald Trump is keeping up his attacks on a whistleblower at the heart of the impeachment inquiry and the Democrats are warning him to stop.

We get details from AP correspondent Sagar Meghani at the White House.

The president says he agrees a whistleblower should be protected if he or she is legitimate. He says this person either got the story of his phone call with Ukraine's leader totally wrong or made it up.

"... or the person giving the information to the whistleblower was dishonest. And this country has to find out who that person was because that person's a spy."

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff says the president needs to back off.

"This is a blatant effort to intimidate witnesses. It's an incitement of violence."

Democratic leaders say the administration should expect a subpoena demanding documents of the president's dealings with Ukraine. They're warning refusing to comply could be considered an impeachable offense.

Sagar Meghani, at the White House.

Meanwhile, at an afternoon news conference with Finland's president Wednesday, Trump again repeated his assertion that the impeachment investigations are a hoax and a witch hunt.



Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is leaving the campaign trail "until further notice" after undergoing surgery for a blocked blood vessel near his heart.

AP's Mike Hempen reports.

Sanders' campaign says the candidate has had two stents successfully inserted after experiencing discomfort during an event Tuesday. A medical evaluation shows he had a blocked artery.

The 78-year-old Sanders is said to be "conversing and in good spirits." He recently canceled some appearances in South Carolina when he lost his voice. Campaign officials said at the time he felt fine.

Sanders' campaign manager says the state of his campaign remains strong.

Mike Hempen, Washington.



For more, visit our website voanews.com. This is VOA news.



Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was remembered near Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on the one-year anniversary of his horrific death at the hands of Saudi agents.

AP's Ed Donahue has details.

A memorial started at the time one year ago. The Washington Post columnist walked into the consulate never to return.

Post owner Jeff Bezos pointed out Khashoggi was getting documents so he could marry Hatice Cengiz.

"... you are in our hearts. We are here and you are not alone."

Cengiz was waiting for Khashoggi outside the consulate on that day.

"After the worst year in my life, I stand here broken but proud."

One year later, she wants answers.

"... what happened to his body."

Saudi Prince Mohammed says he takes full responsibility for Khashoggi's death but denied he ordered it.

I'm Ed Donahue.



British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delivered what he says is the U.K.'s "final offer" for a Brexit deal to the European Union.

AP's ??? reports the offer comes as Britain's departure from the bloc is less than a month away.

Johnson says the proposal is a "fair and reasonable compromise," but it's likely to face deep skepticism from EU leaders, who doubt the U.K. has a workable plan to avoid checks on goods or people crossing the border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland after Brexit.

Johnson says there would be some customs checks between Northern Ireland and Ireland -- an idea vehemently opposed by the government in Dublin.

Johnson says he will walk away from the Brexit talks if the EU refuses to "engage" with the U.K. plan.

???, London.



A private survey says U.S. companies added a modest 135,000 jobs in September.

AP's Shelley Adler has details.

Payroll processor ADP says hiring is slowing as the trade war takes a toll on the economy and employers grow cautious.

While they say there are few signs of widespread layoffs, companies' demand for labor, which pushed average monthly hiring to 225,000 last year, has waned in the past six months.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which compiles the data, said that about one-fifth of the U.S. economy is essentially in recession that includes manufacturing, farming and transportation.

Shelley Adler, Washington.

That report sent stock prices plummeting on Wall Street, with all three major indices in the red just before the close. The Dow was off 1.8 percent, the S&P had lost 1.61 percent and the NASDAQ was down by 1.48 percent.



For more, visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.