5 things to know for April 23: Trump trial, Gaza, Ukraine, Health care privacy, Dubai floods
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NASA has regained communication with Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after a five-month computer glitch. The mission team was thrilled to receive the signal from interstellar space — an uncharted cosmic territory about 15 billion miles away. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Prosecutors delivered opening statements Monday in former President Donald Trump’s historic and unprecedented criminal trial. The prosecutors told jurors that the reimbursement of hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels was part of a larger conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election. The former president’s attorneys responded by telling the jury that Trump was innocent and not involved in the creation of the 34 business records he’s charged with falsifying. On another legal front, the Supreme Court is set to hear Trump’s claim that he should have presidential immunity from prosecution. The move puts the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination on track for another high-stakes battle that could have a sweeping impact on his legal challenges. The US State Department’s annual report on human rights raises sharp concerns about the conflict in Gaza, noting allegations of war crimes by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. The report details widespread disparities between Israelis and Palestinians and the “degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees in prison facilities after October 7.” A UN expert separately warned that the psychological terror of Israel’s offensive in Gaza could manifest years from now in the form of increased mental health illnesses among Palestinians there. Meanwhile in the US, heightened tensions around pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University have led the school to keep almost all classes hybrid until the end of the semester. Similar protests have prompted arrests at other campuses, including Yale and New York University. A $60 billion military aid package for Kyiv is due to go to the Senate today as Ukrainian officials struggle to fend off Russia’s advance. “To win, we need ammunition … our artillery is starving,” an artillery reconnaissance commander told CNN. For months, Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines have spoken of being badly outgunned by Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said the ratio was 10 to 1 in Russia’s favor. If the legislation is passed in Congress’ upper chamber, President Joe Biden has said he will sign it into law immediately, so that “we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs.” The Biden administration has issued a new rule to protect patients’ privacy when it comes to their medical information. The rule specifically prohibits the disclosure of a patient’s health records, even when they travel to another state for an abortion, IVF, birth control or other types of reproductive health care. “No one should have to live in fear that their conversations with their doctor or that their medical claims data might be used to target or track them for seeking lawful reproductive health care,” Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the Office for Civil Rights, said in a news conference. The new rule comes at a time when 14 states have total abortion bans.
Venezuela has passed an amnesty law to free hundreds of political prisoners, in what the government calls a step toward reconciliation after the US ousted President Nicolás Maduro.
The Department of Homeland Security is doubling down on the administration’s ongoing investigations into potential voter fraud — reviewing cases involving US citizens and whether they registered to vote, or voted, prior to being naturalized, according to an internal memo reviewed by CNN.
After six skiers were rescued from the “horrific” aftermath of an avalanche near California’s Lake Tahoe, the family members of nine remaining skiers received crushing news. The bodies of eight had been left on the icy mountainside, and a final member of the group was still missing, presumed dead among the blanket of snow.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is halting enforcement of a new rule for determining disability payments after veterans across the US expressed outrage for what they said would likely reduce benefits for many.
A large banner of Donald Trump was hung outside of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, Thursday, emphasizing the White House’s control over the nation’s top law enforcement branch that once pursued criminal prosecutions against the president.
A federal judge in Minnesota held a Trump administration attorney in civil contempt for “flagrant disobedience of court orders” in the case of a noncitizen swept up in the immigration crackdown there earlier this year.
A controversial pastor who supports repealing women’s right to vote and believes homosexuality should be a crime led a worship service at the Pentagon this week, saying he was invited by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Commission of Fine Arts fast-tracked approval for President Trump’s East Wing renovation plans Thursday, bringing the president’s quest for his new ballroom one step closer to reality.
As the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown in cities across the US, health care providers warn the impact of federal agents in health care settings – and the looming threat of immigration enforcement they’ve instilled nationwide – is presenting a barrier to care that could have a lasting impact on the health of communities.
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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt arrived in Washington this week with invitations to two White House meetings and an angry President Donald Trump.
The Department of Homeland Security is broadening federal immigration authorities’ ability to detain legal refugees who have not yet obtained green cards, citing national security concerns and the need to ensure refugees undergo additional screening, according to a DHS memo obtained by CNN.
President Donald Trump is preparing to make health care a central focus of his midterm sales pitch, despite weak polling and misgivings among some of his own advisers.