A.M. Links: Driver Plows Car Into Melbourne Crowd, Congress Faces Government Shutdown Deadline, North Korean Soldier Defects

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  Gage Skidmore / Flickr.com

  A driver plowed his car into a crowd of holiday shoppers in Melbourne, Australia, injuring at least 19. Authorities there are calling it a "deliberate act."

• "Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that the firing of Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller would be a 'gross abuse of power' and called for Congress to respond with 'significant consequences' if President Donald Trump took that step."
• Tomorrow is the deadline for a government shutdown.
• A North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea, prompting gunfire at the DMZ.
• The rapper Nelly is being sued for sexual assault and defamation.
• U.S. life expectancy has declined for a second straight year.

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