5 things to know for April 18: Capitol Hill, Plane safety, Abortion, 911 outages, Volcano eruption

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Ford is recalling more than 450,000 vehicles because they might lose drive power resulting from a battery issue. In January, the automaker also recalled more than 100,000 F-150 pickup trucks for an axle issue that could increase the risk of a crash. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. House Republicans released the text of three bills Wednesday that would provide aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with the latter intended to protect US allies in the region from Chinese aggression. Despite opposition from hardline conservatives, House Speaker Mike Johnson advanced the foreign aid plan that, taken together, adds up to about $95 billion in aid. The House is expected to vote on the bills Saturday. Meanwhile, in the Senate, Democrats were quick to dismiss articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday as the historic trial barely got underway. House Republicans had voted to impeach Mayorkas in February over his handling of the southern border by a narrow margin. Boeing’s battered reputation took another hit at two Senate committee hearings Wednesday, with witnesses questioning how the company builds its airplanes and the safety of those planes. A former Boeing engineer said he’s been threatened for bringing safety concerns to his managers over several years, but that he was testifying due to his belief that “they are putting out defective airplanes.” Boeing did not have any witnesses at the hearings Wednesday, but defended its company standards earlier this week, saying that the 787 fleet has safely transported more than 850 million passengers in the last 13 years of service. The Republican-controlled Arizona House of Representatives once again failed to advance a repeal of the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban. The vote on Wednesday came just days after Arizona lawmakers revived a controversial Civil War-era law that almost completely halts access to the procedure. The vote is a blow to reproductive rights as well as to GOP candidates in competitive races who have been scrambling to distance themselves from the court’s decision. Across the US, Democrats are hoping that voter frustration over draconian abortion laws advanced by Republicans will help them win elections up and down the ticket in November. Law enforcement agencies in at least four states reported 911 service interruptions on Wednesday evening. Authorities in South Dakota, Texas, Nebraska and Nevada announced outages in multiple cities, but details about what was causing them weren’t immediately available. Service has been restored in some areas, though it remains unclear how the restoration came about. In Las Vegas, 911 calls from landlines were also impacted for a short period and residents were told they could text 911 instead for life-threatening emergencies. All who called during the outage have been called back and provided assistance, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.