JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news, an early morning bus crash in Ecuador killed
at least 24 people, and injured 22. Officials said the bus struck an oncoming vehicle at
high speed, and flipped. It happened southeast of the capital, Quito, in an area known as
"dead man's curve". Many of the passengers were Colombian and Venezuelan.
A car plowed into pedestrians in London today,
outside the Houses of Parliament, injuring three people. It was the latest such incident
in the city. Police labeled it a terrorist act. The crash came during the busy morning
rush hour. The driver was taken into custody, but investigators said he had refused to talk.
Back in this country, President Trump escalated
his war of words with former White House senior adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman. In her
new book she claims there is an audio recording of Mr. Trump using a racial slur.
On Twitter today the president called her a, quote, crazed, crying low life and referred to her as "that dog".
Later, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked to guarantee that there is no tape
of Mr. Trump using the n-word.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can't guarantee anything, but
I can tell you that the president addressed this question directly. I can tell you that
I’ve never heard it.
REPORTER: Just to be clear, you can't guarantee it?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: Look, I haven't
been in every single room. I can tell you the president has addressed this directly.
He's addressed it directly to the American people. And I can tell you what the focus
and the heart of the president is, and that's helping all Americans.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, the Trump campaign
says it’s suing Manigault Newman, accusing her of violating a non-disclosure agreement.
We’ll focus on that issue later in the program.
The defense for former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort rested its case today, without
calling any witnesses. Manafort faces charges of bank and tax fraud from the years before
he joined the Trump campaign. Closing arguments will begin tomorrow morning.
A scathing grand jury report in Pennsylvania today
describes decades of Catholic priests sexually abusing children. The panel found that at
least 1,000 children were molested by more than 300 clergy, over many years. But, it
claims a conspiracy of silence extended all the way to the Vatican.
JOSH SHAPIRO: The cover-up was sophisticated, and all the while,
church leadership kept records of the abuse and the cover-up. These documents, from the diocese' own
secret archives formed the backbone of this investigation.
JUDY WOODRUFF: That was Pennsylvania State Attorney General Josh Shapiro. He and a
journalist with a Catholic publication will join us after the news summary.
Authorities in Chile raided the offices
of a major Catholic church organization today. They are investigating accusations that members
of the Marist Brothers religious order molested children. The raid targeted the church's
episcopal conference headquarters in Santiago. It comes after Pope Francis denounced a culture
of abuse and cover-up in the Chilean church.
In Afghanistan Taliban fighters overran a military base killing at least 17 soldiers.
They attacked the site in northern Faryab Province, and claimed dozens of soldiers surrendered.
But in the east Afghan troops said they pushed Taliban forces back from Ghazni after
a five- day battle. Hundreds have been killed and hundreds more have fled.
The president of Turkey called today for
boycotting U.S. electronic and other goods, in a growing diplomatic dispute. Last week,
the U.S. doubled tariffs on Turkish metals, because Ankara is holding an American preacher
on terror charges. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted today to members of his ruling
party that Turkey will not give way.
TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT: We need to maintain a firm political stance.
Since the economic attack we are being exposed to has nothing to do
with our economic realities, there are other intentions behind this. We need to take
our position accordingly. We will produce every products we are importing from abroad
with foreign currency here and we will be the ones exporting these products.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The Turkish lira fell to
record lows against the dollar earlier this week, over tensions with the U.S. and Erdogan's
economic policies.
Back in this country, the California wildfires have claimed another firefighter's life, the
sixth one this year. A Utah firefighter died last night battling the huge Mendocino
complex fire, north of San Francisco. Separately, most of Yosemite National Park reopened
after fires forced it to close for nearly three weeks.
A West Virginia Supreme Court justice announced
her retirement today, after being impeached. Robin Davis is one of four justices accused
of misspending more than $3 million on office renovations. The state house impeached all
four on Monday. Davis said she will let a special election choose her replacement.
And on Wall Street small company stocks and retailers
led the way. The Dow Jones industrial Average gained 112 points to close near 25,300.
The Nasdaq rose 51, and the S&P 500 added 18.
Still to come on the NEWSHOUR: hundreds of
Catholic priests named in another sex abuse scandal. Can White House employees be bound
by non-disclosure agreements?
An impassioned look inside the opioid crisis and its hold on the nation. Plus, much more.