Ryan Kelley, a former Republican front-runner in the 2022 Michigan governor's race, was sentenced to 60 days in prison for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His sentencing comes after news of fraudulent signatures from other candidates, and he pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor of entering and remaining on restricted grounds. His sentence serves as a reminder of the consequences of participating in the attack, and the importance of ensuring qualified candidates for public office.
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President Joe Biden is set to visit Israel on Wednesday to demonstrate America's commitment to Israel's security, while the planned summit between Biden and Arab leaders in Amman, Jordan, was called off after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas withdrew in protest of the attacks. The U.S. and Israel have agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid from donor nations to reach the Palestinians in Gaza, in the wake of a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital.
Republican presidential candidates have come out against the U.S. welcoming Palestinian refugees, claiming their culture is incompatible with American values and that they could be terrorists. However, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has not called for raising the number of Palestinians admitted to the U.S., and they remain committed to providing support to refugees entering the U.S., regardless of their nationality or religion. Palestinians may be coming from other parts of the world while they retain their Palestinian citizenship, or they may have been referred as refugees to the U.N. refugee agency by nongovernmental organizations.
President Joe Biden has postponed his planned trip to Jordan and meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Sisi of Egypt, and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority due to days of mourning announced by President Abbas. President Biden will still be traveling to Israel on Tuesday night, but the White House has not yet announced a new date for the President's trip to Jordan or the meeting with the three leaders.
Former President Donald Trump is appealing a court order issued by Judge Tanya Chutkan that restricts him from making public statements about certain individuals involved in the special counsel's case against him. Trump's legal team filed the appeal on Tuesday, which will now head to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Fox News host Jesse Watters has argued that the gag order is an attempt to imprison Trump for "talking". The outcome of the appeal is yet to be seen, but it could set a precedent for how the courts handle similar cases in the future.
The House of Representatives held a roll call vote to elect a new speaker, with Democrat Hakeem Jeffries receiving 212 votes and Republican Jim Jordan receiving 200. Twenty Republicans voted for someone other than Jordan, indicating deep divisions within the party. The House will now move to a second ballot, where the Republican Party will have to decide whether to rally around Jordan or to back one of the other candidates. It is unclear whether Jordan will be able to secure the majority of votes needed to win the speaker position.
Alec Baldwin is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with a fatal shooting on the set of his movie "Rust" in December 2021. Prosecutors initially dismissed charges against Baldwin, but have since found new evidence that they believe connects him to recklessness around safety standards on the set. A plea deal has been discussed and the case will be presented to a grand jury next month, sparking debate over safety standards on movie sets and actor responsibility when handling firearms.
Leonard Cure, a Black man wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 2003 and exonerated in 2020, was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop in Georgia. He had been released from prison after over a decade and was working in security, hoping to go to college and work in broadcast radio production. Seth Miller of the Innocence Project of Florida has expressed his devastation at the news and called for an investigation into the shooting.