Wyo. GOP rebukes Liz Cheney over impeachment vote

Rawlins, Wyo. (ap) — The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Only eight of the 74-member state GOP’s central committee stood to oppose censure in a vote that didn’t proceed to a formal count. The censure document accused Cheney of voting to impeach even though the U.S. House didn’t offer Trump “formal hearing or due process.”

“We need to honor President Trump. All President Trump did was call for a peaceful assembly and protest for a fair and audited election,” said Darin Smith, a Cheyenne attorney who lost to Cheney in the Republican U.S. House primary in 2016. “The Republican Party needs to put her on notice.”

Cheney in a statement after the vote said she remained honored to represent Wyoming and will always fight for issues that matter most to the state.

“Foremost among these is the defense of our Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees. My vote to impeach was compelled by the oath I swore to the Constitution,” Cheney said.

Inmates at jail in St. Louis set fires, break out windows

Inmates at a St. Louis jail set fires, caused flooding, broke out fourth-floor windows and tossed a stationary bike, chairs, mattresses and other things outside Saturday in the latest disturbance over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions that have limited visits and stalled court proceedings, officials said.

Dozens of law enforcement officers worked for hours before bringing the riot at the St. Louis City Justice Center under control shortly before 10 a.m., a spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson, Jacob Long, said. About 115 inmates were involved, said Long, who described the group as “extremely violent and noncompliant” in an interview with The Associated Press.

One corrections officer was attacked and treated at a hospital for his injuries before being released, Long said. No detainees were hurt, he said.

Video posted on social media by passersby showed inmates standing near three windows on the fourth floor that had been smashed out. Some carried signs or tossed items, some ablaze, to the sidewalk below. Firefighters used a hose to put out the fires.

Long didn’t have a cost estimate for the damage but described it as “fairly extensive.”

Justices: Calif. can’t enforce indoor church service ban

Washington (ap) — The Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t bar indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it can keep for now a ban on singing and chanting indoors.

The high court issued orders late Friday in two cases where churches had sued over coronavirus-related restrictions in the state.

The justices said the state can cap indoor services at 25% of a building’s capacity.

Israeli protesters call on Netanyahu to step down

Jerusalem (ap) — Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, demanding his resignation.

The protesters have been gathering each week in central Jerusalem for over seven months, saying Netanyahu should step down because of his corruption trial and what they say is mismanagement of the country’s coronavirus crisis.

The protesters say Netanyahu cannot serve as prime minister when he is on trial for charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. His trial is set to resume this week.

They also blame him for damage to the economy, with unemployment in double digits after a series of nationwide lockdowns.

The country is to begin easing its third nationwide lockdown today. But most restrictions will remain in place, with coronavirus infections continuing to soar despite one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns.

Israel is preparing to hold new elections March 23.

Police shooting sets off fiery protests in southern Chile

Santiago, Chile (ap) — The shooting of a street juggler has set off protests over alleged police violence in southern Chile, with several buildings set ablaze and an officer held in custody for investigations on Saturday.

Local news media showed about 10 buildings set ablaze in the southern tourist town of Panguipulli following the shooting on Friday, and authorities reported other protests in Santiago, the capital.

Police said 27-year-old Francisco Martínez Romero resisted police at a routine identity check.

A video circulated widely on social media showed an officer shooting toward the feet of the man, who was carrying and sometimes waving what appeared to be two blunt machetes used in his performance. After a moment, he leaped out and rushed toward the officer. Several shots were fired and the man collapsed in the street.

A local judge ordered the officer, who was not identified, held for investigation for two days.

Report: Trump campaign listed payment to legislator’s firm

Phoenix (ap) — Former President Donald Trump’s unsuccessful reelection campaign reported it paid over $6,000 to a business belonging to an Arizona legislator who sought to have the Legislature overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state.

The campaign’s latest financial disclosure includes a Dec. 18 payment of $6,037 to a professional limited liability corporation belonging to Republican Rep. Mark Finchem for an expense labeled as “recount: legal consulting,” the Arizona Republic reported Saturday.

Finchem, a Tucson-area Republican who is not a lawyer, told the newspaper the payment was reimbursement for “crowd control and security costs” for a Nov. 30 post-election meeting he convened at a Phoenix hotel for presentations by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and others.

Attempts Saturday by The Associated Press to obtain comment from Finchem were not immediately successful. His phone’s mailbox was full and he did not immediately responded to emailed questions.

The corporation listed in the campaign’s disclosure was not disclosed in Finchem’s most recent financial disclosure, which covered all of 2020, the Republic reported.

Accountable.US, a progressive watchdog group, called for an explanation of the reported payment to Finchem’s firm “and how it influenced his official work as a legislator to try and overturn a free and fair election.”

1 dead, several hurt in shooting at Chicago-area hotel

Bloomingdale, Ill. (ap) — A shooting early Saturday during a large gathering at a suburban Chicago hotel left one man dead and several other people wounded, police said.

The shooting occurred during “some type of large get-together” among guests at the Indian Lakes Hotel in Bloomingdale, according to Bloomingdale Public Safety Director Frank Giammarese. Investigators were still piecing together what happened, he said, but “it appears that there were a couple of different groups attending different events at the hotel” when “something transpired and that’s when the shooting took place, mostly in the hallways at the hotel.”

James McGill Jr., 27, of Chicago, was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

As many as six other people were hit by gunfire, but the exact number was unknown because several people fled — including one or more possible suspects, Giammarese said. No police officers were shot, he said.

He said there have been “ongoing concerns” about large gatherings at the hotel in the recent past.

Myanmar junta blocks internet access as coup protests expand

Yangon, Myanmar (ap) — Myanmar’s new military authorities appeared to have cut most access to the internet on Saturday as they faced a rising tide of protest over their coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.

Numerous internet users noted a slow disappearance of data services, especially from mobile service providers, that accelerated sharply late Saturday morning. Broadband connection also later failed, while there were mixed reports on whether landline telephone service and mobile voice connections were still working.

NetBlocks, a London-based service that tracks internet disruptions, said Saturday afternoon that “a near-total internet shutdown is now in effect” in Myanmar, with connectivity falling to just 16% of normal levels.

The broad outage followed Friday’s military order to block Twitter and Instagram because some people were trying to use the platforms to spread what authorities deemed fake news. Facebook had already been blocked earlier in the week — though not completely effectively.