 | Tuesday 10.8.19 Astronomers found 20 new moons around Saturn. You can help name them. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
By Doug Criss | |  | | US, Turkey and Syria
President Trump is experiencing something he rarely has so far during his first term: GOP criticism. Republican lawmakers have joined in with their Democratic counterparts to condemn Trump's decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria ahead of an expected invasion by Turkey. It's widely assumed that Turkey will launch a military offensive against Kurdish troops. The Kurds are US allies who helped in the fight against ISIS. But Turkey considers them to be a threat and has called one Kurdish militia a terrorist group. Turkey also plans to resettle two million Syrian refugees in a safe zone in that part of northern Syria. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the decision only benefits "Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime." Nikki Haley, Trump's former UN ambassador, says the US is leaving its Kurdish allies "to die." South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called it a "shot in the arm to the bad guys." Trump pushed back on all of that, saying he wasn't on anybody's side in the conflict and warning Turkey that he would "obliterate" its economy if it did anything he considered "off limits." | |  | | Impeachment inquiry
Extreme measures are being considered to protect the identity and safety of the whistleblower who filed a complaint against President Trump. It's still not clear if the whistleblower will end up talking to the committee, but in case that does happen, the House Intelligence Committee and the lawyers for the whistleblower are making plans. Those plans include using an off-site location, limiting Hill staff and members who would be present and even disguising the individual's image and voice, sources told CNN. Meanwhile, Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, is set to appear before three House committees today. He's a key player in the nexus between Trump, Rudy Giuliani and the new Ukraine administration. | |  | | US and China
The US is hitting back against Chinese entities allegedly involved in facilitating human rights abuses in camps in China's Xinjiang region. Twenty-eight Chinese companies, government offices and security bureaus have been added to a US blacklist which bars them from buying US products or importing American technology. For the past couple of years, China has detained hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in what Beijing alternately describes as "voluntary de-radicalization camps" and "vocational training centers." Former detainees have called them internment camps, however, and allegations of abuse are rampant. | |  | | California power outage
Almost two million people could be without power for as long as a week in Northern California, if utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric goes ahead with a plan to switch off electricity. PG&E is considering doing this tomorrow in response to strong and dry winds that pose a fire threat in the area. PG&E equipment started the deadly 2018 Camp Fire, a state investigation found, after a power line touched nearby trees. So the extreme measure of shutting off the power is being used to prevent future blazes. | |  | | Joshua Brown killing
Who killed Joshua Brown? And why? Mystery surrounds the killing of Brown, who testified in the murder trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger. He was gunned down Friday at his apartment complex in Dallas, just 10 days after he was a key witness in Guyger's trial. Brown lived across the hall from Botham Jean, the man Guyger killed after she walked into his apartment and claimed she thought she was in her own home. Brown, who had been shot before, was a reluctant witness. Police haven't made an arrest in Brown's killing. It's not clear whether the killing is related to Brown's court testimony or his previous shooting. | |  |  People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. | | $13 million
That's how much Oprah Winfrey donated to Morehouse College. Her endowment is now the largest in the Atlanta school's history. | | |  Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy. "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, hitting back at China with a sarcastic apology after the government pulled all traces of the show from the Chinese internet | | |  | Can't I take it?
It's time for a walk, but Henrik the dog doesn't want to put down his fave stuffed animal. (Click to view) | | before we go
I got a little ahead of myself in yesterday's newsletter in the item about Canadian Thanksgiving. The holiday is next Monday (October 14). Thanks to the many readers who pointed out that mistake to me. | | | | | |
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