The Florida Board of Education has approved a set of academic standards for African American social studies classes in K-12 schools, which has been met with criticism from Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is expected to travel to Florida on Friday to deliver remarks in response, and the trip will highlight efforts to protect the freedom to learn and teach America's true history. Critics of the standards argue that it fails to make it necessary for students to learn about each of the contributions, challenges and stories of famous Black people.
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The House Oversight and Accountability Committee has scheduled a hearing on UFOs, or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), for next Wednesday. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) announced the hearing at a news conference Thursday, and the committee will hear testimony from three witnesses, including a former U.S. intelligence official and two former Navy servicemen who have claimed to have spotted UAPs. The hearing is the second on the topic held by the House Intelligence Committee, and it is unclear what new information the committee may uncover.
Protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq in response to a planned burning of the Quran in Stockholm, Sweden. Iraq's prime minister has since cut diplomatic ties with Sweden in protest, and the Swedish government has condemned the burning and stated it does not condone any acts of hatred or intolerance. The status of the asylum-seeker responsible for the burning remains unknown.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced legislation that would require the Supreme Court to adopt an ethics code, tighten financial disclosures, and bolster recusal requirements for justices. This bill, sponsored by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, is seen as a crucial first step in restoring confidence in the court and addressing the “steady stream of reports of justices’ ethical failures”. If passed, it would be the first time the Supreme Court has been required to adopt an ethics code.
Russian air strikes on the port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv in Ukraine have caused extensive damage and injured at least two people. Ukraine's air defenses shot down some of the missiles, but the damage indicates that not all of them were stopped. The attack follows Moscow's withdrawal from a deal allowing Ukraine's cargo ships safe passage and its vow of "retribution" for an attack on a bridge between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. The Ukrainian government has condemned the strikes and the United Nations Security Council is expected to meet to discuss the situation.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) spoke at a press conference on Wednesday, urging the Supreme Court to "get their house in order" and for Congress to stay out of the Court's business. The bill proposed by Democrats would impose new ethics rules and transparency standards on the Supreme Court, but Republicans are strongly opposed to it. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on the bill Thursday, and the implications of the bill remain to be seen.
On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with veteran U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger to celebrate his historic contribution to promoting China-U.S. relations. President Xi praised Kissinger's role in the 1972 trip to China, which laid the groundwork for the formalization of relations between the two countries in 1979. Kissinger expressed his appreciation for the friendship between the two countries, emphasizing the importance of maintaining friendly relations.
A federal judge has denied Donald Trump's bid to move his hush-money payments case from New York state court to a federal venue, ruling that the payments were not related to his duties as president. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, and the ruling is the latest development in the ongoing criminal case against him. It is unclear how the ruling will affect the case going forward.