Jan. 6 committee begins televised hearings tonight – National & International News – THU 9Jun2022

Jan. 6 committee begins televised hearings tonight. Abbott, FDA were warned about formula plant a year before the recall. Nigeria: Over 80 feared dead in church shooting.

NATIONAL NEWS

Jan. 6 commission televised hearings begin tonight

After more than a year spent interviewing over 1,000 witnesses and reviewing 100,000 documents, the Congressional commission investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol will share its findings with the public in the first of at least 6 televised hearings, starting tonight at 8p.m. EST/7p.m. CST tonight. Tonight’s presentation will be an ‘opening statement’ of sorts. Committee members will share their initial findings, and preview some of the contents of future hearings. 

The mission of the commission has been to reconstruct the events of Jan. 6 and what led up to it. To that end, tonight’s hearing will share never-before-seen footage and images from the day itself, as well as testimony from two people (a Capitol Police officer and a film-maker) who were present that day. We don’t know yet what will be presented in future hearings.

In previous statements, both Republican and Democratic committee members have shared their conclusions that the Capitol Riot was a planned and coordinated attack on democracy, and that former President Trump and high-ranking members of his staff had a hand in that planning and coordination. However, starting tonight, the public will have the chance to view and evaluate the evidence for themselves and reach their own conclusions.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Abbott, FDA were warned about formula plant a year before the recall

Although the Abbott Nutritionals plant in Sturgis, MI, has resumed operation, it will still be weeks before parents will see relief from the baby formula shortage. The plant has prioritized production of special formulas for babies with metabolic conditions, but those products won’t hit shelves for another couple of weeks. After that, the plant will start production of its less-specialized formulas.

Reports have now surfaced that both Abbott and the FDA received warning and complaints about unsanitary conditions in the Sturgis factory as far back as Feb., 2021- a whole year before Abbott issued a voluntary recall. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) received a whistleblower complaint on Feb. 16, 2021, which OSHA then forwarded copies on to the FDA and Abbott. In recent hearings on Capitol Hill, lawmakers posed questions both to Abbott executives and FDA officials about the delays in responding to these complaints. It had previously been reported that the first complaints were made in Oct. 2021. 

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Related: FDA’s long record of food safety failures.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Nigeria: Over 80 feared dead in church shooting

During church services on Sunday, several gunmen disguised as congregants opened fire on worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church in the town of Owo in Ondo state. Police also found remnants of exploded improvised explosive devices and pellets from expended AK-47 ammunition. Initial reports said about 50 people were dead, but now gave the number of dead seems to be around 80. However, two anonymous sources (one connected with the local investigation and one familiar with US intelligence assessments) have said that the death toll is likely over 80.

Local officials have yet to verify this. Police have offered little information on their ongoing investigation. They have not said yet how many assailants there were, nor has any terror organization claimed responsibility. Authorities have only speculated that the assailants were “bandits”.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Please share any thoughts, comments or questions in the Comments section below!