Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 House Passes Aid To Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan...And A TikTok Ban
The House of Representatives took action on the foreign aid package Saturday…with an addition. The House approved a $95-billion aid package that included bills sending $60.8-billion to Ukraine, $26-billion to Israel, $8.2-billion to Taiwan, and a bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok or see it banned in the US. While the foreign aid packages have been in the works for six months and, according to all parties, are important to the country and its allies, the TikTok bill seems to be drawing at least as much attention as the rest of the package. The bill as passed by the House would force TikTok’s parent company to sell it within nine months of the bill becoming law or be banned in the US, with the president having the ability to extend the deadline three more months to a full year. The bill has Senate buy-in, and President Joe Biden said last month that if a TikTok ban was passed he would sign it. The last major hurdle in front of the proposed ban is the fact that it’s being bundled with the three aid packages and sent to the Senate, where they’ll have to approve all of it or none of it.
2 NY Attorney General Asks Court To Reject Trump's $175-Million Bond
Lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James asked on Friday for Judge Arthur Engoron to reject former President Donald Trump’s $175-million bond for his civil judgment and require him to post a new one within seven days. James says Trump failed to demonstrate that Knight Specialty Insurance Company had the resources to pay the bond if Trump’s appeal failed among other complaints. Judge Engoron is scheduled to hold a hearing on the request today.
3 Officers Killed In Illinois, Indiana Over The Weekend
Two law enforcement officers lost their lives in very different circumstances over the weekend in Illinois and Indiana. Officer Luis M. Huesca was headed home from a duty shift early yesterday when he was shot multiple times and his car was stolen, according to Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling. Detectives are trying to figure out if it was a carjacking or something else, and no arrests were announced in the case yesterday. Ada County Deputy Tobin Bolter pulled a vehicle over around 9 pm Saturday night in Boise, Idaho, but as he approached the car’s window the driver allegedly opened fire, killing Bolter, and then left the scene. The suspect’s name wasn’t released, but authorities said the man who was shot in an exchange of gunfire after being found by Boise police was 65-years-old and had an active warrant for a misdemeanor.