Dec 1, 2019

Malta's prime minister to resign in wake of murdered journalist scandal

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli/AFP via Getty Images

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced Sunday that he would resign next month in the wake of a crisis triggered by an investigation into the 2017 death of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a prominent anti-corruption journalist, AP reports.

The backdrop: Prosecutors on Saturday charged well-connected businessman Yorgen Fenech on suspicion that he paid contract killers to murder Caruana Galizia, a fierce critic of Muscat and his associates, according to the New York Times. Fenech had offered to give information linking Muscat's chief of staff and others to the murder plot in exchange for immunity, but the government turned down the offer.

The big picture: The fallout from the 2017 murder has shone a light on corruption in the European Union's smallest country, denounced by Caruana Galizia's son as a "mafia state," per the Times.

Go deeper: The free press is getting squeezed, even in democracies

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Fadel Allassan
14 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Senate advances Amy Coney Barrett nomination, setting up final confirmation vote

Photo: Xinhua/Ting Shen via Getty Images

The Senate voted 51-48 on Sunday to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, setting up a final confirmation vote for Monday.

Why it matters: It's now virtually inevitable that the Senate will vote to confirm President Trump's third Supreme Court nominee before the election, which is just nine days away.

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Felix Salmon, author of Capital
2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Wall Street is living up to its bad reputation

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Recent headlines will have you convinced that Wall Street is hell-bent on living up to all of its stereotypes.

Driving the news: Goldman Sachs is the biggest and the boldest, paying more than $5 billion in fines in the wake of the 1MDB scandal, in which billions were stolen from the people of Malaysia.

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Axios
2 hours ago - Health

Ex-FDA chief: Pence campaigning after COVID exposure puts others at risk

Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said "the short answer is yes" when asked whether Vice President Mike Pence is putting others at risk by continuing to campaign after several aides tested positive for COVID-19, stressing that the White House needs to be "very explicit about the risks that they're taking."

Why it matters: The New York Times reports that at least five members of Pence's inner circle, including his chief of staff Marc Short and outside adviser Marty Obst, have tested positive for the virus. Pence tested negative on Sunday morning, according to the VP's office, and he'll continue to travel for the final stretch of the 2020 campaign.

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