5 things to know for April 16: Trump trial, Funding fight, Baltimore bridge, ‘Rust’ sentencing, Tesla

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Due to budget constraints, NASA is rethinking its original plan to return rare samples from Mars to Earth. The Perseverance rover has been gathering specimens since 2021 to help scientists better understand whether life ever existed on the red planet. Now, the space agency is soliciting proposals for a sample-return mission with less complexity, cost and risk. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Former President Donald Trump is set to return to a New York City courtroom for a second day as jury selection continues in his criminal hush money trial. A total of 96 New Yorkers were brought in Monday as prospective jurors but 50 were immediately dismissed when they said they couldn’t be fair and impartial. The swift dismissal of the prospective jury pool underscores the difficulty in finding a jury when the defendant is a former president who elicits strong feelings on both sides of the aisle. A panel of 12 people and six alternates will ultimately be selected for a trial that could last six to eight weeks. The case stems from state charges related to a hush money payment to an adult film star in 2016. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied all wrongdoing. Speaker Mike Johnson announced Monday evening that the House will take up separate bills this week to provide aid for Israel and Ukraine, heeding demands from the far right to keep the issues separate as the threat of a vote to oust him from the speakership looms. In the wake of Iran’s unprecedented retaliatory strikes on Israel, Democrats have called on Johnson to bring up a Senate-passed foreign aid package that includes aid to Israel and Ukraine, but hardline conservatives have urged the Louisiana Republican against attaching Ukraine funding to any Israel aid package. Johnson predicted the House will vote Friday evening on the separate bills. But Republican leaders could still take procedural steps to send all those pieces as one package to the Senate, which could enrage the right-wing of the House GOP conference. Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into last month’s ship crash that destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and killed six people, according to a US official familiar with the matter. The bridge collapsed on March 26 after a massive cargo ship lost power, veered off course and struck the bridge. The ship’s owner and manager have since filed a court document in an attempt to limit their financial liability. The FBI and the US Coast Guard are leading the probe to determine whether the crew failed to report an earlier issue with the ship that delayed its departure, the official said. Also on Monday, authorities confirmed the body of a fourth victim had been recovered from the collapse. Officials have not released the victim’s identity, at the request of his family. Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer of the film “Rust” was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday, the maximum possible punishment. She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month for the 2021 on-set fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The verdict comes more than two years after Hutchins, 42, was killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin. The film’s director was also injured in the shooting. During the trial, prosecutors argued Gutierrez Reed, 26, repeatedly violated safety protocols and acted without caution in performing her duties, leading to Hutchins’ death. Baldwin has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter and is expected to stand trial in July.