A federal judge ruled Friday that the Justice Department must hand over grand jury evidence from the Mueller investigation to the House Judiciary Committee by Oct. 30, citing the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Trump, per CNBC.
Why it matters: Grand jury information is typically kept secret, but Judge Beryl Howell said in her opinion that the disclosures are in "the public’s interest in a diligent and thorough investigation into, and in a final determination about, potentially impeachable conduct by the President described in the Mueller Report.”
China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday that Vice President Pence's speech which criticized U.S. companies wary of disrespecting Chinese policies was "full of arrogance, prejudice, critical biases and lies," per NBC News.
The big picture: Hua added that Pence's speech, which also included words of support for pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, was meant to "smear" China in an attempt to distract from U.S. domestic issues like gun control and economic inequality.
A federal investigation into the Trump-Russia probe — which is essentially looking into claims that the FBI's probe into President Trump's 2016 campaign was influenced by anti-Trump sentiments — has evolved into a full-fledged criminal inquiry, two people familiar with the matter said, per the New York Times.
Why it matters: The Justice Department's investigation now has the authority "to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges," per the Times.
Vladimir Putin is signaling to the world this week that Russia has returned to Africa, hosting representatives of all 54 African nations, including 43 heads of state or government, at his retreat in Sochi.
The big picture: Russia is already Africa’s top arms supplier and is deepening relationships in areas like mining and security. But Putin’s primary objective with the inaugural Russia-Africa Summit was to “rattle the U.S. and Europe, which have taken Russia’s decades-long absence from Africa for granted,” contends Paul Stronski of the Carnegie Endowment.
The pomp and circumstance of this week's Sochi summit, where President Vladimir Putin hosted 43 senior African leaders, furthers a narrative Russia is crafting about its return to the continent.
The big picture: Putin's main goal was to rattle the U.S. and Europe, which have taken Russia’s decades-long absence from Africa for granted. Despite his hype, however, cash-strapped Russia’s reach on the continent is still a far cry from what China, the West and many lesser powers can muster when it comes to financing, trade, investment and even influence.
In a speech about America's biggest adversary on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence saved some of his sharpest words for U.S. companies.
What he's saying: The VP steered clear of the uber-hawkish wing of the Trump administration, saying the U.S. does not want to "decouple" with China and "does not seek open confrontation."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday that he would grant members of Parliament an extended timetable to debate his Brexit deal, provided they back a general election on Dec. 12, per the BBC.
The state of play: Johnson's offer significantly ups the stakes in the ongoing Brexit tumult, but there's no guarantee that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party will agree to the offer.
Hackers targeting nongovernmental humanitarian groups, including UN groups like UNICEF, sought to steal login credentials using sophisticated phishing sites, according to a new report by mobile security firm Lookout.
Why it matters: Lookout doesn't attribute attacks to specific actors, but the lures used to draw targets to the phishing sites were links only of interest to workers following North Korea issues. That suggests North Korea is a likely suspect here.
Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) asked U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday to determine whether TikTok, a Chinese social media app that has seen a massive spike in popularity among young people, poses any "national security risks," the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The app already has more than 110 million downloads in the United States alone, and could become a Chinese vacuum for coveted American data as tensions between the countries continue to escalate.
