The first criminal trial of a former U.S. president is officially underway. Former President Donald Trump's New York hush money trial began on Monday with jury selection, which ended on Friday with the seating of 12 jurors and six alternates. The trial itself is expected to last approximately six weeks. Opening statements are set to begin tomorrow.
President Joe Biden's campaign is highlighting abortion access as a key issue this election cycle, with Biden set to deliver a speech in Florida on Tuesday denouncing the state's new six-week abortion ban. By contrast, Trump and the Republican Party, still fixated on non-existent election security issues, announced a plan to deploy 100,000 volunteers to swing states to "safeguard the integrity of the electoral process."
The House on Saturday passed a $95 billion aid package that includes two long-awaited bills with $60.8 billion of Ukraine aid and $26 billion in aid to Israel. The bills now head to the Senate alongside two others — one to provide aid to Taiwan and another that will ban TikTok in the U.S. if it doesn't divest from its China-based owner. And putting an end to House Republicans' fact-free farce, the Senate dismissed all impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has found two allies in her effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Iran's foreign minister said Iran will not escalate after Israel's retaliatory strike on Thursday night,, suggesting that the response "was not a strike" and likening Israel's weapons to children's toys.
Swifties celebrated the release of Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department" — but it appears Trump may not be among them.
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