VOA NEWS

October 10, 2019

This is VOA news. I'm David Byrd.



Turkish troops began attacking Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria on Wednesday. But President Donald Trump says the U.S. does not endorse Turkey's assault.

AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani has more.

The offensive started days after the president pulled U.S. forces out of the area and after he said this morning the U.S. needs to stop fighting "endless, senseless wars."

He says he's made clear to Turkey it's a bad idea but also specified no American troops are in the area.

Turkey is going after the Syrian Kurd militia that fought with the U.S. against Islamic State militants. Even top GOP backers say the president abandoned an ally to be slaughtered.

Officials say the militia as now suspended operations against Islamic State militants to focus on fighting off the assault.

Sagar Meghani, at the White House.



Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday for the first time that President Donald Trump must be impeached for abusing the powers of his office to help his own reelection.

Biden said that Trump is shooting holes in the Constitution by asking foreign powers to interfere in the 2020 election.

"To preserve our Constitution, our democracy and our basic integrity, he should be impeached."

President Trump responded Wednesday afternoon, saying that Biden's campaign was falling like a stone.

"So Biden is dropping like a rock. I don't think he's gonna make it. I didn't think he was gonna make it for a long time. I don't think he's gonna make it. And I guess this is one way he can do it. You know he didn't say that until right now and he sees what's happening to him. I guess he's no longer the front runner."

President Trump said that his dispute with House Democrats is likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The White House calls the impeachment inquiry unconstitutional.



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A heavily armed assailant ranting about Jews tried to force his way into a synagogue in Germany on Wednesday Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day.

As Reuters Emily Wither reports, the man then shot two people to death nearby in an attack that was livestreamed online.

The shooting happened in the eastern German city of Halle.

According to German media, a hand grenade was also thrown onto a Jewish cemetery and shots fired into a kebab bistro.

Police say they are looking for suspects who fled the scene and asking citizens to remain in their homes.

A second shooting incident was reported in neighboring Landsberg. The attack happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism when Jews fast for more than 24 hours seeking atonement.

That's Emily Wither of Reuters.



Three scientists won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their invention of rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

Reuters correspondent Gracie Jerome has details.

Their rechargeable battery laid the foundation of wireless electronics like mobile phones and laptops. It's also used in electric cars for storing energy from renewable sources, making a fossil-free world possible.

British scientist Stanley Whittingham made the world's first functioning lithium battery in the 1970s, then the following decade America's John Goodenough doubled its power.

Japan's Akira Yoshino then removed any pure lithium from the battery, making it much safer.

They've been awarded nearly nine million dollars for their discoveries.

It's not the first science prize John Goodenough has won, but at 97 he's now the older winner in Nobel Prize history.

That's Gracie Jerome.



Electricity was shut off to hundreds of thousands of California homes and businesses Wednesday as Pacific Gas & Electric imposed a plant power outage of unprecedented scale to reduce the risk of wildfires.

AP's Ed Donahue reports.

The reason: strong Santa Ana winds. The fear is electrical equipment could set off a wildfire.

PG&E's Mark Mesesan says they are on this.

"We have helicopters, ground crews, people on the ground that will be inspecting every foot of our wires and our electric components to make sure that there's no damage."

This means lights are out, traffic lights are out, which can make driving through an intersection a challenge.

Deputy City Manager Kip Harkness in San José says this may not be over even when the wind threat is over.

"Then at that point, it can take up to five days for the last customer to be restored."

Flashlights, candles and coolers are among the hard-to-find items.

I'm Ed Donahue.



And a U.S. counterterrorism analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested for allegedly leaking top secret documents to two journalists.



I'm David Byrd, VOA news.