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Trump Son-in-law Jared Kushner Testifies in Capitol Riot Probe

President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)
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Trump Son-in-law Jared Kushner Testifies in Capitol Riot Probe

President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)

Former US president Donald Trump's son-in-law and top White House aide Jared Kushner answered questions Thursday from the House panel investigating last year's assault on the Capitol.

Kushner, the highest-ranking Trump advisor and the first family member to testify so far, appeared in private by video link voluntarily and was not subpoenaed, said AFP.

The House of Representatives committee is piecing together a detailed account of the events of the January 6 insurrection itself, but also of the plot by Trump allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the misinformation campaign falsely claiming widespread fraud that led to the violence.

Kushner was returning from Saudi Arabia on the day of January 6, 2021, and did not spend the night at the White House upon his return to the United States.

Committee member Elaine Luria told MSNBC after Kushner's appearance that he "was able to voluntarily provide information to us, to verify and substantiate his own take" on the election.

"It was really valuable to have the opportunity to speak to him," she said.

Kushner's testimony caps an intense period of almost daily revelations from the investigation.

It was revealed last week that conservative political activist Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent more than two dozen texts pushing wild conspiracy theories and urging then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to help overturn the 2020 election.

Kushner's name appeared in a message from Thomas dated November 13, 2020, when she told Meadows: "Just forwarded to yr gmail an email I sent Jared this am... improved coordination now will help the cavalry come and Fraud exposed and America saved."

It also emerged that White House logs given to investigators from the day of the insurrection show a gap of nearly eight hours in Trump's the records of calls, including the period covering the violence.

The committee is investigating whether it has the full record and if Trump communicated that day through phones of aides or personal disposable "burner" phones.

The select committee has also asked for testimony from Kushner's wife, former first daughter Ivanka Trump, who was in the White House on January 6 and pleaded with her father to speak out against the violence, according to reports.

The White House said on Tuesday it would reject any assertion of "executive privilege" -- which allows presidents to keep certain work-related conversations with aides private -- from Kushner or Ivanka Trump.

The committee is approaching the end of its investigative phase and is planning public hearings this spring.

The parallel but separate Department of Justice probe "has expanded to examine the preparations for the rally that preceded the riot," including those who "assisted in planning, funding and executing" the event, The Washington Post reported.

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World

Typhoon Dolphin’s Remnants Brings Torrential Rain to Beijing

Communal workers sweep water in the street after morning flood caused by flash rain in the wake of typhoon Dolphin, in Changping district of Beijing, China, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Communal workers sweep water in the street after morning flood caused by flash rain in the wake of typhoon Dolphin, in Changping district of Beijing, China, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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Typhoon Dolphin’s Remnants Brings Torrential Rain to Beijing

Communal workers sweep water in the street after morning flood caused by flash rain in the wake of typhoon Dolphin, in Changping district of Beijing, China, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Communal workers sweep water in the street after morning flood caused by flash rain in the wake of typhoon Dolphin, in Changping district of Beijing, China, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Typhoon Dolphin's ‌remnants channeled vast amounts of moisture into Beijing and the central province of Henan on Wednesday, as the capital braced to receive more than one-third of its average annual rainfall in 24 hours.

Dolphin, the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, has weakened after travelling more than 6,000 km (3,728 miles), but its remnants are drawing ‌tropical moisture ‌deep inland, raising the risk of ‌flooding.

Rainfall ⁠records were shattered ⁠in parts of the central provinces of Henan and Hubei on Monday and Tuesday, state media reported.

The city of Wugang, home to one of China's largest steel companies, received 209.5 mm (8.2 inches) of ⁠rain, while Xiangyang received 169.1 mm (6.6 ‌inches). Both totals ‌broke single-day August precipitation records.

China, the world's second-largest ‌economy, is increasingly exposed to destructive weather ‌events that scientists link to climate change. This year is proving particularly tough due to the emergence of the El Nino weather pattern ‌that is driving up temperatures and fueling more frequent and intense typhoons.

Beijing ⁠has ⁠put in place an orange rainstorm warning, its second-highest level, and suspended six bus routes as the deluge disrupted the morning rush hour.

Chinese meteorologists are reaching for a new generation of artificial intelligence weather models to bolster traditional forecasting systems to improve the country's resilience to extreme weather.

Each year, extreme rainfall causes billions of dollars in economic losses as manufacturing is disrupted and crops are washed away.

World

Tropical Storm Hits Tokyo Area, Leaving Thousands without Power Before Moving West

Passengers line up in front of an All Nippon Airways counter at Haneda airport in Tokyo following flight cancellations due to Tropical Storm Chan-hom Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (Katsuya Miyagawa/Kyodo News via AP)
Passengers line up in front of an All Nippon Airways counter at Haneda airport in Tokyo following flight cancellations due to Tropical Storm Chan-hom Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (Katsuya Miyagawa/Kyodo News via AP)
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Tropical Storm Hits Tokyo Area, Leaving Thousands without Power Before Moving West

Passengers line up in front of an All Nippon Airways counter at Haneda airport in Tokyo following flight cancellations due to Tropical Storm Chan-hom Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (Katsuya Miyagawa/Kyodo News via AP)
Passengers line up in front of an All Nippon Airways counter at Haneda airport in Tokyo following flight cancellations due to Tropical Storm Chan-hom Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (Katsuya Miyagawa/Kyodo News via AP)

Tropical storm Chan-hom moved westward Wednesday after making landfall in the greater Tokyo region the night before, knocking down trees and leaving thousands of homes without power. Five people suffered minor injuries.

Chan-hom was significantly weakened after making landfall in southern Ibaraki prefecture late Tuesday. It was near Gifu, in central Japan, early Wednesday as it headed toward Wakasa Bay on Japan's north-central coast. The storm was packing sustained winds of 64 kph (40 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Chan-hom hit Japan days after typhoon Dolphin created havoc in parts of southern Japan, paralyzing traffic and sending hundreds to take shelter. After weakening to a storm, Dolphin killed 10 people in the Philippines and caused flooding in China, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to relocate.

In Tokyo, commuter trains and flights were operating normally and business was almost as usual, but the agency warned residents in northern and western Japan of heavy rain and thunder throughout the day.

Five people were injured slightly — two men in the northern prefecture of Iwate and three women in Ibaraki — according to prefecture officials.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 3,000 homes were without electricity in Ibaraki and its neighboring Tochigi prefecture, according to TEPCO Power Grid.

The storm knocked down trees at several locations in Tokyo, including one in the posh shopping area of Omotesando, though nobody was injured, according to NHK public television.

It affected many holiday travelers during Japan’s “bon” Buddhist holiday week.

About 60 flights departing and arriving at Tokyo’s Haneda airport were canceled Tuesday. In Ibaraki, the popular Oarai beach was empty after closing due to the storm.

Tuesday’s landfall was a first by a tropical storm or typhoon in Ibaraki since the agency started keeping records in 1951.

World

Colombia Rescuers Find Woman Alive as Quake Death Toll Passes 200

A rescuer sits on the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Cali, Colombia on August 11, 2026. (AFP)
A rescuer sits on the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Cali, Colombia on August 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Colombia Rescuers Find Woman Alive as Quake Death Toll Passes 200

A rescuer sits on the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Cali, Colombia on August 11, 2026. (AFP)
A rescuer sits on the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Cali, Colombia on August 11, 2026. (AFP)

Colombian rescuers pulled a 32-year-old woman alive from the rubble of a collapsed building Tuesday, sparking cheers and applause as exhausted crews raced to find more survivors from the country's strongest earthquake in a century.

Daniela Largo was carried from the wreckage wrapped in a blue blanket as rescuers embraced and relatives shouted out with joy.

Soldiers, firefighters and volunteers continued to scour collapsed buildings across western Colombia after Monday's 7.4-magnitude quake.

Authorities revised the death toll down to 216 after local officials in Cali corrected earlier figures.

"We were losing hope and then we received a call," said her mother Sandra Milena Perez in Pereira.

Perez said a local resident heard cries for help beneath the rubble and joined neighbors in removing debris before professional rescuers arrived.

"Thanks to him, today we're happy," she said. "At home her 12-year-old son is waiting for her."

In Pereira and in Cali, emergency crews used cranes, dogs and heavy machinery to search ruined buildings while volunteers formed human chains to clear debris by hand, hoping to reach people still trapped beneath collapsed structures.

As darkness fell, families prepared to sleep in parks as aftershocks rattled damaged neighborhoods where entire blocks had been reduced to rubble.

The quake overwhelmed parts of the health system, turning the rescue effort into one of Colombia's largest disaster responses in years.

"The house came down on top of us. I wasn't able to get out," said Beatriz Arcos, who was trapped with her husband and mother beneath their collapsed condominium.

"It took about an hour to get us out." Arcos said she was hospitalized after a concrete block fell on her back. Her husband and mother were also injured.

In Cali, residents armed with picks, shovels and their bare hands joined firefighters in digging through collapsed buildings.

Rescuers stopped every few minutes to call into the rubble and listen for any response.

"We're doing this with our hands, with gloves," said volunteer Pablo Cesar Ruiz. "It's sad to see time slipping away."

In Pereira, army units and sniffer dogs combed through twisted concrete and exposed steel.

At one site, a rescue squad leader abruptly raised his fist, stopping workers so they could listen for signs of life.

Volunteers formed human chains, passing bricks and chunks of masonry hand-to-hand to clear paths into collapsed structures.

- 'So much effort' -

For many families, the desperate search was becoming a vigil.

"My aunt lived there. She's under the rubble," said Jorge Gonzalez, standing beside a collapsed building in Pereira.

"I arrived yesterday and I haven't left, and until they find her body I don't intend to leave here."

While some families waited for news of missing relatives, others were grappling with the loss of homes, possessions and livelihoods.

"We lost everything," said Stella Galvis, fighting back tears after escaping the collapse of her home.

"We survived by a miracle, since I managed to get my little boy out and my partner managed to get out too."

From the air, neighborhoods in Cali appeared flattened, with piles of grey rubble replacing entire blocks of homes and apartment buildings.

Nearby, cars lay crushed beneath fallen walls and concrete slabs.

On one mound of debris, a young couple climbed over broken masonry searching for belongings.

They recovered a box from inside a child's bright red bedside table.

Many survivors spent the night outdoors, either because their homes were damaged or because they feared aftershocks.

One park in Pereira was transformed into a makeshift shelter with tents and mattresses.

"We lost everything, but we're alive," said 23-year-old John Tabasco, who was camped there with his wife and seven-month-old son.

"We've never had to do this before, to depend on someone else to help us. It's amazing how life can change."

Others struggled to come to terms with losing homes built over decades.

"You buy a little house with so much effort, spending 40, 50 years struggling to get yourself that house, you finally get it and in just a few days it all goes down the drain," said 79-year-old Jaime Alzate.

In Cali, part of the Hospital Universitario del Valle collapsed during the quake, forcing doctors to move patients into a parking lot and treat some in the open air.

Yet amid the destruction, many Colombians mobilized to help.

Thousands brought water, food and supplies to affected neighborhoods, while long lines formed outside blood donation centers.

"It's about wanting to help your community, your city and your country," said blood donor Ferney Cabrera.

President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a state of emergency and promised rent subsidies for affected families Tuesday during a visit to Pereira.

The United States announced $15.5 million in emergency aid, while messages of support and offers of assistance arrived from around the world.

As aftershocks continued to rattle damaged cities, rescue crews pressed on through the ruins, hoping more voices, taps or whistles might still emerge.