A previously rejected bipartisan border bill will be back on the Senate floor. Elvis Presley’s granddaughter fights to stop the sale of Graceland. And a passenger is dead after severe turbulence on a flight from London to Singapore.
Here’s what to know today.
Senate Democrats go on the offensive on immigration
The bipartisan border security legislation that Republicans blocked earlier this year is expected to return to the Senate floor Thursday as Democrats attempt to flip the script on immigration politics ahead of the general election.
Republicans have already vowed to filibuster the legislation, including Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who negotiated the original package. House Republicans have also made it clear they won’t support the legislation.
That lack of support is exactly what Democrats want.
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Bringing the bipartisan bill back to the floor is part of Democrats’ broader election year strategy to go on the offense on immigration, an issue that has vexed the party in past cycles and is currently a vulnerability for President Joe Biden. In recent weeks, key administration officials and top Democratic lawmakers have discussed holding votes on bills that the GOP would oppose and weighed various executive actions that Biden could take.
On Thursday, it would require 60 votes to advance. The legislation is designed to reduce border crossings by raising the bar for migrants to qualify for asylum and quickly turn away those who fail to meet it. It also empowers the president to shut down the border if certain triggers are met. Biden has endorsed the bill.
Robert Costello is back on the stand in Trump’s trial
Lawyer Robert Costello is back on the witness stand today in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial a day after his fiery clash with Judge Juan Merchan. During the explosive exchange, Merchan booted the jury and the public from the Manhattan courtroom to scold Costello, who had visibly and audibly reacted to the prosecution’s objections and Merchan’s rulings.
Costello is an attorney who former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen said had offered him a “back channel” to Trump after federal authorities searched Cohen’s home, office and safe-deposit box in 2018. Costello, along with another defense witness, were part of the Trump legal team’s efforts to discredit Cohen, who was the prosecution’s final witness. Trump attorney Todd Blanche landed a blow in his effort to discredit Cohen when Cohen admitted that he swindled Trump and his company out of $30,000. Here are more highlights from Day 19.
Costello is possibly the last witness the defense will call, though Trump’s lawyers left open the possibility of more witnesses. Here’s what else to know today.
More Trump coverage:
- Trump’s so-called “surrogates” are attacking the people he can’t because of a gag order, stoking questions about whether the remarks count as a violation.
- Trump shared a video on social media that included reference to a “unified Reich” among possible developments if he were to win re-election in November, drawing criticism from the Biden campaign.
Elvis Presley’s granddaughter sues to halt sale of Graceland
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is all shook up over the sale of Graceland, the late singer’s compound in Memphis, Tennessee. The sale, scheduled for Thursday, should be halted, she argued. In a lawsuit filed last week, she alleged that the creditor’s paperwork on a $3.8 million loan is fraudulent. The loan never happened and the creditor does not exist, the lawsuit claims. And Lisa Marie Presley — Elvis’ only daughter and Keough’s mother, who died last year — never gave her signature, according to the lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled tomorrow. Here’s what else we know.
Biden calls ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders ‘outrageous’
Biden denounced the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Biden said yesterday afternoon that the U.S. rejected the ICC’s application for arrest warrants against them. The prosecutor also sought warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other officials from the militant group.
If the arrest warrants are issued, they likely won’t result in prosecution, but they make it difficult for people to travel abroad, experts say. Netanyahu blasted the decision to seek the warrants as “absurd.” Read the full story.
The decision to seek war crimes charges came after the ICC prosecutor convened a panel of advisors that included Amal Clooney, a prominent human rights lawyer and George Clooney’s wife.
Meanwhile, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien said he and two other Trump administration foreign policy officials have met with top Israeli government officials, including Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz.
One person dead after ‘severe turbulence’ on flight from London to Singapore
At least one person has died and several more were injured on board a plane that experienced “severe turbulence” on a flight from London to Singapore yesterday, Singapore Airlines said in a statement.
The plane was diverted to Thailand’s capital Bangkok, landing there at 3:45 p.m. local time. The company provided no detail on how many passengers were injured nor how seriously.
The company offered its “deepest condolences to the family of the deceased” and said it was working with local authorities in Thailand to “provide the necessary medical assistance,” while also sending the company’s own team to Bangkok to assist.
Politics in Brief
Elections to watch: A special election in California will determine a replacement for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Meanwhile, primaries in Kentucky, Idaho, Georgia and Oregon include critical House races. Here’s what to watch for today.
Alito under scrutiny: A key Senate Democrat said the Senate Judiciary Committee is not planning to investigate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito after a report that an upside-down U.S. flag hung outside his home mid-January 2021.
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Staff Pick: The lunch rush is dead
I sometimes pitch personal finance stories based on what I’ve seen in group chats, on someone’s Instagram story or in my own money habits. This time, “the death of the lunch rush” and how it has played out in my own life hit me retroactively. As a remote worker, I had never considered how many $15 Sweetgreen salads I had come to forgo. Nor had I realized how much of my money had started to shift toward happy hour karaoke or Saturday brunch. When I do the math, I’m probably spending less for food and drinks on the weekends than I had when buying lunch every weekday. It turns out many working adults are doing the same. But on some days I wish I could pay the premium for a meal with my team. — J.J. McCorvey, business reporter
In Case You Missed It
- An eighth person died following severe storms in Houston, and nearly 200,000 homes and businesses remain without power.
- Ivan Boesky, who partially inspired the character of Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street,” has died at the age of 87.
- Scarlett Johansson said she was ‘’shocked’’ upon hearing OpenAI’s new ChatGPT 4o chatbot that used an “eerily similar” voice to hers despite having declined the company’s request to provide her voice.
- Bicycling, whether outdoors or in spin class, protects against knee pain or arthritis, according to a new study.
- A New York man with ties to European royalty has disappeared in California, authorities said.
Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Have summer travel plans? The Select team rounded up over 43 problem-solving travel accessories worth using on your next trip. Plus, our editors tested more than 135 moisturizers and ranked their favorites. Here are their top 20.
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