Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed legislation that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that’s expected to face legal challenges and disrupt the lives of content creators who rely on the short-form video app for income. The TikTok legislation was included as part of a larger $95 billion package that provides foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel. It now goes to President Joe Biden, who said in a statement immediately after passage that he will sign it on Wednesday.
Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The bill passed the Senate on Tuesday after the House had approved the package Saturday. Biden is expected to quickly sign the legislation and start the process of sending the money to Ukraine. The legislation would also send $26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza, and $8 billion to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.
Tabloid publisher says he pledged to be Trump campaign's 'eyes and ears' during 2016 race
NEW YORK (AP) — A veteran tabloid publisher has testified that he pledged to be Donald Trump’s “eyes and ears” during his 2016 presidential campaign, recounting for a jury how he promised the then-candidate that he would help suppress harmful stories and had even arranged to purchase a doorman’s silence. The testimony on Tuesday from David Pecker was designed to bolster prosecutors’ assertions of a decades-long friendship between Trump and the former publisher of the National Enquirer that culminated in an agreement to give the candidate’s lawyer a heads-up on negative tips and stories so they could be quashed.
It began with defiance at Columbia. Now students nationwide are upping their Gaza war protests
NEW YORK (AP) — What began last week when students at a New York Ivy League school refused to end their protest against Israel’s war with Hamas has turned into a much larger movement. Students across the nation set up encampments, occupied buildings and ignored demands to leave Tuesday. Protests against Israel’s war with Hamas had been bubbling for months. They kicked into a higher gear after more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia University’s upper Manhattan campus were arrested last week. Dozens more protesters have been arrested at other campuses since. Many now face charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct.
UN calls for investigation into mass graves uncovered at two Gaza hospitals raided by Israel
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations is calling for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. A U.N. spokesman said Tuesday that credible investigators must have access to the sites. The U.N. human rights chief also said he was “horrified” by the destruction of the hospitals and the reported discovery of mass graves in and around the facilities. He also called for independent investigations, saying that “given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators.” The Israeli military said its forces exhumed bodies that Palestinians had buried earlier as part of its search for the remains of hostages captured by Hamas.
Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to allow armed teachers, a year after deadly Nashville shooting
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican lawmakers have passed a bill that would let some teachers and staff carry concealed handguns on public school grounds. If Republican Gov. Bill Lee signs the bill into law, it would be the biggest expansion of gun access in the state since last year's deadly shooting at a private elementary school in Nashville. Protesters loudly chanted “Blood on your hands” after Tuesday's vote, leading the House speaker to order the galleries cleared. The bill would bar disclosing which employees are carrying guns to anyone other than school administrators and police, meaning parents and other teachers wouldn't know. A principal, school district and law enforcement agency would have to agree to let staff carry guns.
Casey and McCormick to face each other as nominees in Pennsylvania's high-stakes US Senate contest
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick will face each other in Pennsylvania’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest this fall. Tuesday’s primary election put the men on track for an expensive race that's expected to help decide Senate control in the Nov. 5 election. Casey is seeking a fourth term, while McCormick is a two-time Senate challenger and a former hedge fund CEO who lost narrowly in 2022’s seven-way GOP primary. McCormick’s candidacy is shaping up as Casey's strongest challenge in his three reelection bids. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won their parties' nominations easily.
What's EMTALA, the patient protection law at the center of Supreme Court abortion arguments?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that could determine whether doctors can provide abortions to pregnant women with medical emergencies in states that enact abortion bans. The Justice Department has sued Idaho over its abortion law, which allows a woman to get an abortion only when her life, not her health, is at risk. The Idaho law has raised questions about when a doctor is able to provide the stabilizing treatment federal law requires. The federal law is called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA. EMTALA requires doctors to stabilize or treat any patient who shows up at an emergency room.
New federal rule would bar 'noncompete' agreements for most employees
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by a federal agency, though the rule is sure to be challenged in court. The Federal Trade Commission voted to ban measures known as noncompete agreements, which bar workers from jumping to or starting competing companies for a prescribed period of time. According to the FTC, 30 million people — roughly one in five workers — are now subject to such restrictions. The Biden administration has taken aim at noncompete measures, which are commonly associated with high-level executives at technology and financial companies but in recent years have also ensnared lower-paid workers, such as security guards and sandwich-shop employees.
US government agrees to $138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is paying a $138.7 million to settle more than 100 claims that it badly mishandled allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016. It was a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue preying on victims before his arrest. Nassar worked at Michigan State University and at USA Gymnastics. He’s serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including Olympians. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against Nassar but apparently took no action.
