Gunmen Attack Jewish Grocery – Two gunmen attacked a Jewish grocery store in Jersey City, NJ shortly after shooting and killing Detective Joseph Seals in a nearby cemetery. Two Jews, one man and one woman, were killed in the attack, which has since been labeled an anti-Semitic act by NJ AG Gurbir Grewal and other law enforcement officials. Officials say the gunmen, who held anti-Semitic and anti-war enforcement views, were members of the Black Israelite Movement, a group over which there have been concerns of extremism in the past. Officials believe that the attackers acted alone.
Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Anti-Semitism – At this year’s annual White House Chanuka party, President Trump an executive order targeting colleges and universities who don’t work to suppress anti-Semitism on their campuses. The Department of Education will now be required to use the International Holocaust Remembrance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which includes calling Israel racist, when determining whether a discriminatory act has taken place.
Democrats Unveil Articles of Impeachment – Flanked by Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would move forward with two articles of impeachment against President Trump – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The abuse of power allegations stem from the alleged withholding of military aid to Ukraine until they investigated Trump political rival Joe Biden, while the obstruction of Congress charge is due to Trump’s blocking of key aides from testifying in the impeachment inquiry.
IG Report Find FBI Investigation Into Trump Justified – The DOJI Inspector General released a replace which showed that the FBI’s investigation into President Trump’s 2016 campaign was justified based on the circumstances. However, the report also outlines several ways in which some FBI investigators used underhanded tactics to get the investigation underway and portray Trump as a bad actor.
USMCA Signed – Representatives from the Unites States, Canada, and Mexico joined this week to sign the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which is seen as perhaps a minor improvement over NAFTA, the trade deal signed in the 1990s which was incessantly attacked and derided by President Trump.
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged – The Federal Reserve announced this week that it would keep interest rates stable at 1.5%-1.75% and indicated that it would not change them again through 2020. The announcement shows the Fed’s confidence that the US economy can withstand the global economic slowdown and the ongoing US-China trade war.
US, China Near Deal – President Trump announced via Twitter that the US was close to finalizing a trade deal with China over the trade war that has been brewing for months. His administration also said that they would not be raising tariffs on Chinese goods on December 15, a date that was set as a deadline to get a deal done. A Chinese official on Friday confirmed Trump’s announcement, saying that negotiators from both sides were having very productive meetings.