First Lady Melania Trump headed to a primary school in Lilongwe, Malawi, an area locals call the “warm heart of Africa” as part of the third day of her week-long solo trip to the continent.
The White House said Malawi was chosen because of the high poverty rate and the difficulties children—especially girls—have in accessing education. Trump is advocating for children’s welfare as part of her “Be Best” campaign during her first international solo tour as first lady.
The school is struggling with only 75 teachers looking after around 8,000 enrolled children. According to the White House, the average class has 110 students.
Following the school visit, Trump arrived at the statehouse, home to Peter Mutharika, the President of Malawi.
The American and Malawian first ladies posed for a photo in front of their country flags and joined in a private tea together at the statehouse.
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Kavanaugh Probe by FBI Found ‘No Hint of Misconduct,’ Grassley Says
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said that the FBI investigation of allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh found “no hint of misconduct.”
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was one of several Republicans who reviewed the FBI report early on Oct. 4, after the White House forwarded the document to the Senate.
“This investigation found no hint of misconduct and the same is true of the six prior FBI background investigations conducted during Judge Kavanaugh’s 25 years of public service,” Grassley said Oct.4. “I trust that the career agents of the FBI have done their work independent of political or partisan considerations. That’s exactly what senators from both sides asked for.
It’s time to vote,” Grassley added. “I’ll be voting to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.”
Senate Republicans and Democrats will take turns reviewing the report, which is the result of a supplementary investigation the bureau started over the weekend. The first procedural vote on the confirmation is set for Oct. 5.
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Pence Says China Is Meddling in US Democracy, and US Won’t Back Down
Vice President Mike Pence delivered a strong message: The Chinese Communist Party is employing an unprecedented approach to meddle in the United States’ democracy and to influence public opinion, but President Donald Trump won’t back down because his leadership is working.
In a speech on U.S. policy toward China at the Hudson Institute on Oct. 4, Pence outlined in detail the intensive and sophisticated influence operations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the United States.
“Beijing is employing a whole-of-government approach, using political, economic, and military tools, as well as propaganda, to advance its influence and benefit its interests in the United States, ” Pence said.
“Worst of all, China has initiated an unprecedented effort to influence American public opinion, the 2018 elections, and the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections, ” he said. “To put it bluntly, President Trump’s leadership is working, and China wants a different American president.”
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Tolleson Recalls 6.5 Million Pounds of Meat Due to Salmonella
Arizona-based meat-packing corporation JBS Tolleson is recalling of 6.5 million pounds of raw beef products that may be contaminated with Salmonella.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on Oct. 4 that “raw, non-intact beef items” shipped by Tolleson to both retail stores and institutions nationwide.
The beef in question was packaged between July 26, 2018, and Sept. 7, 2018, and bears the marking “EST. 267” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
FSIS investigations have turned up 57 cases of exposure to the Salmonella Newport bacteria from 16 states,with illness onset dates ranging from Aug. 5 to Sept. 6, 2018.
The possibly infected beef has been found at various retail outlets, sold under a variety of brand names, including Walmart, Cedar River Farms Natural Beef, Showcase, Showcase/Walmart, and JBS Generic.
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Expedition 56 lands back on earth from ISS
A Soyuz space capsule carrying two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut touched down safely in Kazakhstan on Oct. 4 after a three-hour, 48-minute trip back to Earth from the International Space Station.
Commander Oleg Artemyev, flight engineer Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold were extracted from the craft almost immediately after landing, smiling but physically weak after 197 days in space.
The mission included spacewalks and research but was most notable for a controversial leak that required emergency repairs.
NASA sought on Wednesday to tamp down speculation that sabotage caused a tiny hole found last month in the side of a Russian module docked at the International Space Station, but the mystery remained unsolved.
NASA stressed in a brief statement issued from its Washington headquarters that Dimitry Rogozin, general director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, had in public comments this week ruled out a manufacturing defect as the cause.
However, NASA added, “This conclusion does not necessarily mean the hole was created intentionally or with mal-intent,” as some media outlets interpreted Rogozin’s remarks as suggesting.
Rather than giving greater credence to foul play, the elimination of a manufacturing defect as causing the hole “indicates that this is an isolated issue which does not categorically affect future production,” NASA said.
Roscosmos and NASA have each opened their own investigations of the 2 millimeter-wide hole detected in late August on the exterior wall of a Russian Soyuz capsule docked to the space station after ground operators reported slight dips in pressure levels.
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