A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
Day 1191: "Everyone knows it."
Today in one sentence: Biden signed the $95 billion national security package into law, overcoming months of opposition and infighting by Republicans in Congress; Biden signed legislation forcing TikTok's Chinese parent company to divest from its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban; the Arizona House repealed a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions – two weeks after the state’s Supreme Court upheld the 1864 law; the Supreme Court appeared divided over whether Idaho’s abortion ban is constitutional; and Trump, Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani were named as "unindicted co-conspirators" in the Michigan attorney general’s case against the state's 15 "fake electors" in the 2020 election.
1/ Biden signed the $95 billion national security package into law, overcoming months of opposition and infighting by Republicans in Congress. The package includes $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian relief in Gaza, and $8 billion for security in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. Biden said the package is “going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world, and everyone knows it.” He said shipments to Ukraine would start “in the next few hours.” The Pentagon added that it would rush the first $1 billion in aid to Ukraine, which includes more than 20 different types of weapons and military equipment. (NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / NPR / Associated Press / Axios)
- The U.S. provided Ukraine with long-range ballistic missiles for the first time earlier this month that Ukrainian forces immediately used the weapons to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea. The Army Tactical Missile Systems armed with cluster munitions that can travel nearly 200 miles. The Pentagon will include additional long-range ATACMS in the $1 billion package of military aid Biden approved. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News)
2/ Biden signed legislation forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest from its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. U.S. officials and lawmakers have cited national security concerns with TikTok’s ownership structure, which could allow the Chinese government to obtain U.S. user data or influence content on the app with its algorithms, including interfering in American elections. ByteDance now has 270 days to sell TikTok, though Biden can extend the deadline another 90 days if he determines the company’s made progress toward a sale. It’s the first time the U.S. has passed a law that could ban a social media platform. TikTok’s CEO, meanwhile, said: “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.” (Axios / Politico / NPR / Washington Post / CNN)
3/ The Arizona House repealed a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions – two weeks after the state’s Supreme Court upheld the 1864 law. Three state House Republicans joined Democrats in repealing the law that made abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one. The measure now heads to the state Senate and the Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs would need to sign it to reinstate a 2022 law, which permitted abortions through 15 weeks of pregnancy. (Washington Post / Associated Press / NBC News / Politico / Axios)
4/ The Supreme Court appeared divided over whether Idaho’s abortion ban is constitutional. Idaho’s Defense of Life Act prohibits nearly all abortions, with exceptions for reported cases of rape or incest or when “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” The Biden administration, however, sued the state, arguing that the law conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986, which requires emergency rooms that receive Medicare funds to offer “stabilizing treatment” to all patients whose health is in jeopardy regardless of the patients’ ability to pay. The court’s conservative majority framed the case as federal overreach into state power, while the court’s liberals focused on medical emergencies that were not covered by the limited life-of-the-woman exemption in Idaho’s ban. A decision is expected by the end of June. (CNN / ABC News / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
5/ Trump, Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani were named as “unindicted co-conspirators” in the Michigan attorney general’s case against the state’s 15 “fake electors” in the 2020 election. Prosecutors believe the three participated in the scheme to commit forgery by attempting to replace Michigan’s electoral votes for Biden with electoral votes for Trump at the certification of the vote on Jan. 6. It’s unclear what legal jeopardy Trump, Meadows, and Giuliani face in Michigan. (ABC News / New York Times / The Detroit News)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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