Trump seeks to have Georgia election case dismissed

ATLANTA (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is trying to get the Georgia election interference case against him dismissed. He claims the state’s courts will not have jurisdiction over him once he returns to the White House next month. The Georgia case against Trump and others is mostly on hold pending a pretrial appeal of an order allowing Willis to remain on the case despite what defense attorneys say is a conflict of interest. Trump’s attorneys on Wednesday filed a notice with the Georgia Court of Appeals saying a sitting president is “completely immune from indictment or any criminal process, state or federal.”

Powell: Fed’s independence from politics is vital to its interest rate decisions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve’s ability to set interest rates free of political interference is necessary for it to make decisions to serve “all Americans” rather than a political party or political outcome. Speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook summit, Powell addressed a question about President-elect Donald Trump’s numerous public criticisms of the Fed and of Powell himself. During the election campaign, Trump had insisted that as president, he should have a “say” in the Fed’s interest rate policies. Despite Trump’s comments, the Fed chair said he was confident of widespread support in Congress for maintaining the central bank’s independence.

WH says US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official says at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered the new details Wednesday about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that a number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could still grow.

Two students wounded and gunman dead after shooting at Northern California school

PALERMO, Calif. (AP) — Two students were wounded in a shooting Wednesday at a small religious school in Northern California and the shooter died from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot, sheriff’s officials said.The wounded students were taken to hospitals in unknown condition after the shooting at the small religious school and the shooter’s motive was unknown, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Megan McMann said. The Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists is a private, K-8 school in Palermo — home to about 5,500 people.