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1 WikiLeaks Julian Assange Strikes Plea Deal
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is headed home. The Justice Department reached an agreement with Assange to plead guilty to one felony count of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information, and in exchange, his charges are being resolved in the US and he will spend no more time in prison. Assange has spent over ten years in some form of confinement, including spending the past five years in London’s Belmarsh prison while he fought US attempts to extradite him back to America to face espionage charges. Assange is expected to appear in court at 7 pm ET today in the Northern Mariana Islands District to plead guilty to the charge, after which he’s expected to return to his native Australia to be reunited with his wife and children. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement last night “This was an independent decision made by the Department of Justice and there was no White House involvement in the plea deal decision.”
2 Severe Flooding In Midwest, Dam Breached In Minnesota
Torrential rains over the weekend led to severe flooding in the Midwest that’s continuing to cause major problems, including causing at least two deaths. An Illinois man died in Iowa on Saturday when he tried to go around a barricade. The Little Sioux River swept his truck away, and while the truck was found in the treeline officials weren’t able to retrieve his body until yesterday because of conditions. The other death happened in South Dakota, according to Kristi Noem, but no other details were given yesterday Authorities in Minnesota said yesterday that the flooded Blue Earth River had cut around the sides of the Rapidan Dam, and announced an “imminent failure condition” for the dam. An energy substation at the dam was washed away early yesterday. Minnesota governor Tim Walz said yesterday that the state received around 18-inches of rain over the last few weeks, and more is on the way. The flooding in parts of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota affected over three million people, leading to evacuations and damage to an unknown number of buildings. The railroad bridge connecting North Sioux City, South Dakota, and Sioux City, Iowa collapsed into the floodwaters of the Big Sioux River late Sunday. Gov. Noem said in a press conference that the bridge was an important connection between the two states.
3 Hunter Biden Requests New Trial In Federal Gun Case
Hunter Biden was convicted almost two weeks ago on three felony gun crimes, but now he wants another chance in court. Attorneys for the president’s son filed court papers yesterday arguing that his “convictions should be vacated” on a procedural claim. In a separate filing, his team referred to last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding a federal ban on firearms for people under domestic violence restraining orders, saying he was never violent or misused his gun, so his Second Amendment rights should be intact.