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There’s a lot happening today. Let’s catch up:
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What’s happening: President Joe Biden will deliver a speech focusing on reproductive rights in Florida on Tuesday. The president’s remarks come about one week ahead of the state’s six-week abortion ban taking effect. He is expected to blame the state’s abortion laws on former President Donald Trump, who appointed the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Biden’s campaign said the president will “forcefully advocate for reproductive freedom and call out Donald Trump’s abortion bans” in his speech. Details >
Florida Supreme Court ruling: Tuesday will mark Biden’s first visit to Florida since the state’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this month there is no right to an abortion in the state, upholding a 15-week abortion ban in a decision that automatically triggered a six-week ban to take effect 30 days later. What to know >
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What’s going on: The jury in the trial of 75-year-old Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly was unable to reach a verdict Monday, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial after the state requested it. Kelly was on trial in connection to the deadly shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, an unarmed migrant, on Kelly’s property near the U.S.-Mexico border. The latest >
Background: Kelly was charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault for the Jan. 30, 2023, killing. Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who lived south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, and had previously entered the U.S. illegally multiple times, was in a group of men that Kelly encountered on his 170-acre cattle ranch in Nogales, Arizona. Prosecutors said Kelly recklessly fired a rifle toward the group that was about 100 yards away. Kelly said he fired warning shots in the air, but he didn’t shoot directly at anyone, explaining that he feared for the safety of himself and his wife. Kelly discovered Cuen-Buitimea’s body on his property after authorities searched the area, and a bullet was never recovered. The other migrants on Kelly’s ranch are believed to have returned to Mexico. In earlier court proceedings, Kelly declined an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced his charges to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty. Details >
What’s next: A status hearing is scheduled for Monday. Prosecutors can retry the case if they choose. Latest on the case >
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What’s going on: Senators returning to Washington on Tuesday are expected to vote on $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The vote marks the aid package’s final steps in Congress before being sent to President Joe Biden’s desk. The $95 billion in war aid includes $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief for Gaza, and $8 billion to counter China in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. Full breakdown >
TikTok tossed in: Republicans in the House added a bill to the foreign aid package that could ban TikTok in the U.S. The measure would require ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest in TikTok within a year. The company would have to sell the app or risk it being banned entirely in the U.S. House lawmakers voted on the TikTok ban bill as stand-alone legislation back in March, but it stalled in the Senate. The TikTok legislation that passed the House in March would have given TikTok roughly six months to sell to a new owner. In the modified version, the congressional timeline calls for ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months, but there could be a three-month grace period if a sale is in progress. See what’s going on with the future of TikTok here >
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What to know: Several new details have emerged about the killings of two Kansas mothers whose suspected killers had a violent history of plotting to kill and went to extreme lengths to conceal the crime, according to new court documents that reveal why the defendants were denied bail. Tifany Adams, 54; her boyfriend Tad Cullum, 43; Cora Twombly, 44; and her husband Cole Twombly, 50, have each been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39. Full report >
New details: A source close to the investigation told NewsNation’s “Banfield” that Butler, the mother of Adams’ grandchildren, fought back against her attacker while still inside the car before her death, and her alleged assailant, Cullum, was found with crescent-moon-shaped scratches on his face resembling fingernail marks when arrested. When he was arrested, court documents reveal Cullum allegedly had a rifle, ammunition, body armor and a “go-bag” at his home. According to the documents, Adams and Cullum previously plotted to kill Butler by “dropping an anvil through her windshield.” And in a previous custody case involving Butler’s children, the suspects allegedly made statements they “knew the path the judge walked to work.” What we know >
Exclusive: The suspects are being kept apart from one another at Oklahoma’s Texas County jail, the county sheriff told “Banfield.” Cullum and Cole Twombly are deliberately held on opposite sides of the men’s section, separated by four pods, to prevent any potential contact between them. Similarly, one of the women, either Tifany or Cora, is housed in a holding cell typically reserved for temporary stays during processing, while the other resides in a designated women’s pod, ensuring they do not interact. Details >
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What to expect: Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker is expected Tuesday to tell jurors in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial about a so-called “catch-and-kill” strategy to buy up and then spike negative stories about Trump during the 2016 campaign. Pecker briefly testified Monday and will return to the stand Tuesday. Prosecutors are also expected to tell a judge that Trump should be held in contempt over a series of posts on his Truth Social platform they argue violated an earlier gag order barring him from attacking witnesses in the case. Trump’s attorneys deny that he broke the order. The latest >
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We’re keeping an eye on these topics today. Make sure you tune in to our latest coverage and share your thoughts with us on social media!
Tuesday marks the 200th day of the Israel-Hamas conflict following the Oct. 7 attack.
The U.S. Supreme Court hears a case surrounding the firing of Starbucks workers during unionization efforts.
A court hearing is scheduled for Duane “Keefe D” Davis, the former Los Angeles-area gang leader accused of killing music legend Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996.
Pennsylvania is holding its presidential primary election Tuesday.
A court hearing will be held in former President Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial, with prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office expected to argue that he violated a gag order and should be held in contempt of court.
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The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a case brought by Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem over the use of voting machines in Arizona elections. The latest >
A program in Texas says the therapeutic and community-building benefits of playing music are helping people who’ve transitioned out of homelessness. A closer look at the nonprofit >
Yale University police in Connecticut arrested at least 45 people during a pro-Palestinian protest that began over the weekend and continued Monday. What to know >
An Indiana man is claiming self-defense after police said he shot his neighbor who was mowing grass near his property line. What investigators are saying about the case >
The family of Noah Presgrove, who was found dead along an Oklahoma highway, told NewsNation’s “Banfield” on Monday that the teen had a caved-in skull, road rash on his hip, a gravel rash on his shoulder, multiple bruises and scattered teeth. The interview >
While there are more than two months left before a Utah law creating a pathway for school book bans goes into effect, several school districts in the state have already begun removing books from their shelves. Details >
An alligator caused some trouble at an Air Force base in Florida after wandering onto the tarmac and settling down underneath a tanker plane. Photo >
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A tale of two tigers connected to the underworld of big cat breeding and a murder-for-hire case has concluded with a happy ending. Despite past abuse, the two tigers rescued from Tiger King Park are now “living their best lives in their forever home,” an exotic animal rescue said. Read more >
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This NewsNation email is written by Caitlyn Shelton and NewsNation staff. |
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