The Pentagon accepts a luxury jet from Qatar. Infighting among Republican lawmakers stalls President Donald Trump's massive tax and policy bill. And a civil suit was thrown out against Diddy after false allegations. |
👋 Hi! Rebecca Morin here. It's a rainy Wednesday here in Washington, and we've got a downpour of news! |
But first: Sardine girl summer. 🐟 Apparel and products – from hair accessories to earrings to pillows – are featuring the petite fish all over the internet right now. |
Pentagon accepts luxury Qatar plane |
President Donald Trump may soon be riding in what has been dubbed a "palace in the sky." The Pentagon has accepted a luxury $400 million Boeing 747 from Qatar that will be used as Air Force One, the Defense Department said Wednesday. The plane will require extensive renovations to serve as the flying White House when the president travels. The Air Force said in a statement that it is preparing to award a contract to modify the plane for "executive airlift." During the president's trip to the Middle East last week, Qatar offered Trump the plane, drawing immediate condemnation from Senate Democrats. ✈️ Trump called questions about the plane "fake news." |
DOJ abandons police reform settlements |
A need for police reform? President Donald Trump's administration doesn't think so. The Justice Department said Wednesday that it is dropping negotiations for court-approved settlements with police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky. Federal authorities also are closing investigations and retracting findings of wrongdoing against six other police agencies. The announcement came just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, after then-officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck as Floyd pleaded that he couldn't breathe. In Louisville, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed on March 13, 2020, by police executing a no-knock warrant. |
Why it matters: The move underscores the administration's broader efforts to upend the DOJ's civil rights division's traditions of pursuing cases to protect the civil rights of some of the country's most vulnerable and historically disenfranchised populations. 👉 Why negotiations were dropped. | Protesters march with a painting of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd on June 5, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Brett Carlsen/Getty Images |
Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' hits a hurdle |
Republican lawmakers can't come to an agreement, and progress on President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and policy bill has stalled. Ultraconservative members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding further changes to the legislation, which includes tax cuts, major changes to Medicaid and food benefits, increased border security, defense funding and more. On Tuesday, Trump met with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill and told them to stop negotiating and pass the bill. |
Heading to the White House: Several of the GOP holdouts planned to visit the White House with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday afternoon to find a path forward for the legislation – despite little wiggle room. 👉 What to know about the Trump's meeting with lawmakers. | House Speaker Mike Johnson leaves Capitol Hill for a meeting at the White House as progress stalled on President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill. Nathan Howard, REUTERS |
'Diddy' civil suit thrown out amid criminal trial |
Claims by a Michigan prison inmate of a sexual assault and a backlogged rape kit that resulted in a $100 million default judgment against Sean "Diddy" Combs are not true, USA TODAY has confirmed. The civil award has been thrown out as the rap mogul's criminal trial unfolds in New York. The inmate, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, claimed that Combs sexually assaulted him in 1997 and that his rape kit − like hundreds of thousands of others across the country − had sat untested for years. 👉 USA TODAY exclusively confirmed the allegations were false. |
Diddy's federal sex crimes trial: Back in New York, several witnesses took the stand, including a Homeland Security special agent who described the massive raid on Combs' Miami mansion last year where agents found illegal drugs, weapons and more. A psychologist also testified. 👉 See the top moments from the trial. | More witnesses took the stand May 21 in New York for Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial. Jane Rosenberg, Reuters |
Rebecca Morin is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY. Got thoughts or feedback? Reach out to her at rdmorin@usatoday.com. | | Is there such a thing as "gay voice"? And if so, what constitutes it? A student at Oxford investigated this − and went viral. | | The world's two gigantic ice sheets are in greater peril from global warming than previously thought, a study published May 20 says. | | | | After years of study by the NFL's competition committee and input from coaches, the "Tush Push" lives on. It's time to declare winners and losers. | | | | The R&B singer and ex-husband of Whitney Houston talked to Jennifer Hudson about the sudden deaths of his two children and how grief "doesn't stop." | | | | The planeload of men, all convicted of serious crimes, was stopped en route to the war-torn African nation | | | | By June, shoppers at the budget-friendly retailer may start to see higher prices on the shelves for these goods. | | | | Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger and Rhea Perlman honored their old "Cheers" co-star after George Wendt died at 76 on May 20. | | | | Jeal Sutherland pleaded guilty after being charged in a murder-for-hire scheme in which he planned to kill the father of his then-girlfriend's child. | | | | The Federal Aviation Administration is cutting the number of departures and arrivals at Newark Liberty International Airport. | | | | Tragedies like those that Joe Biden has endured throughout his life can often change one's sense of identity. | | | | | Brighten your day with one of our games. | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment