Impeachment Process Vote, Biden and Israel, AL Nitrogen Gas Execution
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Republicans vote today on an impeachment inquiry. Enter president biden.

According to the house speaker, we have no choice.

though some republicans have said they found no wrong doing by the president what .

the lawmakers hope to accomplish. I keep this is up first from npr news. President biden has some words of caution for israel. He says israel is starting to lose their allies support through what he called in discriminate bombing of gaza. What does that assessment mean from israel's closest ali?

Also, alabama plans to use nitrogen gas to execute death row inmate, and N, P, R, investigation finds risks to the .

other people in the death chAmber. They're not being .

realistic about what exactly we have art.

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republicans .

have spent months on a presidential impeachment investigation. They found no direct evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

but that doesn't match the picture painted in conservative media. And now the house prepares to move forward with an impeachment inquiry. Lawmakers say it's about corruption and political influence peddling, how speaker mike Johnson told reporters yesterday that this is the only way forward .

we've come to this impasse where, following the facts where they lead is hitting a stonewall because the White house is impeding the investigation now they're not allowing witnesses to come forward and thousands of pages of documents, so we have no choice. N, P, R.

Congressional reporter erik mcDaniel, with this here in studio of thirty one in washington, D. C. area.

Good morning. Why are republicans voting now? Good question.

After I, like you guys mentioned, they've been investigating for a months, says this is about legal leverage. Republicans went records. The president hasn't turned over the White houses, cited a lack of a formal vote on an impeachment inquiry, and republicans want to talk to some people who have been ignoring them.

But Johnson is also under tremendous political pressure to moving ahead on impeach men from hardliners ers, by which, in the most ideological of an anti compromise set of republicans. And thanks, Johnson been unable to do the other seemingly impossible thing that those folks want, namely uniting republicans behind huge spending cuts with socially conservative policy writers. This is a way to maybe secure a win and impune biden at a time when the face of the republican party, Donald trump faces criminal charges across the country in connection to, among other things, attempting to severe the results of the twenty twenty .

presidential election. Okay, so so he can't deliver other things. He can't perhaps deliver an impeachment inquiry. But what do republicans, at least alledge the president did?

So let me say again, there is no direct evidence that implicates president biden in any wrong doing, but the substance of the allegation is that latent to biden tenure as vice president and after he left office, his son hunter, who did give up a lucrative lobby in career when his dad became my president, was surfed on the board of the directors for ukrainian oligarchs. Energy company helped a chinese energy company, both million dollar plus payout ts, where republicans say the Younger biden appears to have been selling influence or the appearance of influence and the ledge so far, again, without direct evidence that, and was somehow involved.

I was the way house responding well.

They categorically deny any allegation that job and did anything illegal or even improper. They say geo p. Investigators have access to tens of thousands of pages of financial records, thousands of pages of reports from the treasury department, dozens of hours of witness views, as well as material from the FBI, doj and international archives. Republicans, though, are frustrated. They haven't gotten everything they asked for.

I just want to note a number of republicans in different ways of acknowledged, you know, we don't actually have any direct evidence against the president and now comes as impeachment vote. And republicans can only lose a handful of votes if they're going to prevail. Can they prevail?

maybe? Maybe not. As far as I can tell, there's only one public no vote that can back of colorado, and republicans have a three seat majority if everyone shows up to vote.

So this is going to be a ask for folks who we're in really competitive seats. The context though is that this is a vote on the inquiry, not a vote to actually impeach the president. And that might give folks away to say, look, there's enough suspicious activity here to keep digging. And that's why I voted to support the investigation.

In any case, this investigation, I guess, would continue into the election year of twenty twenty four.

right? So they've already been investigating for months. They're supposed to continue today. As a matter of fact, the president, sun hunter biden, is scheduled to appear for a closed door deposition, but the Younger biden says he only wants to testify publicly, and I don't expect that he'll show up. My understanding is that republicans will attempt move ahead with an actual articles of impeachment vote in january, which is also, I should say, when they attempt to keep the government fed.

OK and pr. Congressional reporter eric cmic, Danielle.

thanks so much. Thank you.

Some other news, president biden offered words of caution for israel and its war against homos.

Since the october seven of homes attack on israel, biden has strongly supported israel's right to defend itself, especially publicly. That hasn't changed. But in some off camera reMarks, he said israel is losing support over its quote in discriminate bombing of gaza. p. His comments reflected the divide between the us and the israeli governments over what should happen once the fighting in gaza comes to an end.

Mp R Y S. Correspondent Franko ordas is in our study Franko. Good to see.

Good to see. see. Thanks for coming, guys. So i'm trying to think about this.

President biden from the beginning is that I support israel. But listen, guys, be careful. Don't overreact.

Don't be emotional. Now he's saying something. Well, a little bit further along the same lines.

What is he saying and why? Well, I mean, Steve biden is reiterating that israel still has the right to go after homos, and he's emphasizing that. But he's also think as long as that follows the rules of war and that they try to protect civilians and emphasize that the us. And europe still have the supporter or our supporting either but bin said, quote, they're starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place and that's the end of the quote .

um that's really interesting so he's essentially saying you're doing the thing that I cautioned you not to do some weeks ago um I should say that you are reading these quotes from an official White house transcript are not going to hear the sound of the president's voice because IT was not on cameras at a fundraiser. How is this different? What he said, more public said.

well, I mean, he and his officials have been very careful not to give an evaluation of how the military campaign is going. They have said that the us. Is telling israel privately to protect innocent civilians, but binds description at that fundraiser as quote, in discriminate bombing, is pretty blunt.

And is there a chance this is what they would call a gaff, that the president did not intend to go this far?

I mean, no, I mean, this was not a throw away line. He talked about this kind of in depth. I mean, he not only talked about bb, he talked about other officials and basically said that this this is he's dealing with the most government of in israel's history.

I know is interesting when you say baby Benjamin netting yahoo here, long time friend of the president of the united states, has been involved in foreign policy for decades. But now biden is saying to nett yahoo, you're being pushed too far by your right wing government and nett yahoo yesterday is saying he disagrees with the united states over the future who should be running gaza once this war is stopped. What is the president saying about that?

Well, biden didn't address net yahoo's statements directly, but he acknowledge that they are not on the same page right now. He said that nya, who has to get a tough choice to make, and he's been pushing by in that, is for a revitalized palestinian authority to take over and govern gaza as well as the west bank know he's long been an advocate for a two state solution.

And he says, net yahoo is in a bind because of the right kind of his government, and that they oppose any type of role for the palestinian authority in gaza. And according to the transcript, bin said, you cannot say there's no palestinian state at all in the future. And that's really going to be the hard part of.

which is something that a lot of right wingers have said that they can allow a full palestinian state hasn't bit even single israel's national security minister by name.

And some of these reMarks, yes, he has. He says that the minister not only wants to go against her mos, but I not wants retribution against .

all palestinian and franco janius. Thanks so much. Thanks, Steve.

Alabama plans to use nitrogen gas to execute a death row prisoner in january is the second .

time the state has tried to execute kana smith, and this method of execution has never been used in the united states. A document obtained by epr has found the alabama's department of corrections cannot guarantee the safety of witnesses during the execution.

Our investigator reporter kr isonna in the student to share more on this. Good morning. Good morning.

welcome. Thanks for coming by. What have you learned?

So I spoke with the spirit al, adviser of alabama death row prisoner Kenneth smith. His name is robyn jeff hood. Hood shared a document with me that was essentially a waiver from the department of corrections acknowledging that he could be in danger by being close to Smith when they administer the .

night gas and he would be close to Smith during the actual execution as spiritual advisory. Be standing right there. Could standing right there he'd in the room. Okay, so how would I be that he would be endangered by the execution itself?

Smith will have a mass gone, and that's they're going to give him the gas that mass could detach and the gas could get to other people in the room at that way. This document that he signed, IT, says that even if Smith mask stays on, gas could still leak above Smith head. So hoo'd had to agree to stay at least three feet away from the gas.

But nitrogen, as is older, less, and it's invisible. So expert told me that rule would be pretty hard to follow, and I could be difficult for anyone else in the room to even know they're being exposed. And nsc theologists, I spoke with doctor jos of IT said people exposed to I to drink gas like that could start to hyper v.

and that severe hyper ation can lead to a stroke. So there is some injury that could happen to you. You know, as just being in the proximity of that. It's all very concerning. They're not being realistic about what exactly that stake here.

And your reporting tells us alabama knows this is a risk. That's why they're making hood sign. This waver form is the spiritual advisor rebinding. Od, okay, with that.

well, he told me he signed the form under jess because I was the only way he felt he would be allowed to be there with Smith and do his job he is preparing for the worst.

Here is when I first got in touch with kinking, one of the first things that he asked me was, are you prepared to die to be my spiritual adviser? And it's something that i've definitely had to meditate and prayer, just clinging to a real knowledge that greater love has no one in this then they who would give their life for their friend.

He was quoting scripture there. And there's also a question of whether this could violate the religious liberty of both men. Hood has been a minister during multiple other executions in alabama.

In other states in in those cases, he needed to be close to inmates to annoy them with oil and administer last rights. But he says that won't be possible here if he has to stay. Three feedback for safety reason.

What's obama saying?

I asked them for comment. I haven't heard back from them yet. Two weeks ago, I tried to get this document directly from them, along with any others that workers might have signed, but the department of corrections responded then that that would be great, detrimental to the public interest, and they did not release those forms. To me. The agency does say on the form that they believe gas escaping would be highly unlikely, and there will be gas monitors in the room.

What are you hearing from the prisoner test smith?

He called me from the prison in alabama last week, and I should say the state has already tried to execute him once before. By lef injection last year, he was on the journey for four hours as they tried to find a ain.

I'm so Carried formal from the last time, so everybody is sell me that i'm going myself well, that lutely terrified.

The execution is scheduled for january twenty fith, and reborn hood is planning .

to be their regardless. Thank you, Steve.

Here's one of the big story we're following today.

Nearly every nation in the world has agreed for the first time to transition away from fossil fuels. That is the outcome of the cup twenty eight climate summit that ended in dubai today.

Some countries wanted more than this agreement, which stopped short of urging the world to completely face out coal, oil and gas. Some blue poles will allow countries to keep exploiting and using these fossil fuels.

Tune morning edition for the latest news on .

this developing story.

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