Biden signs order making sexual harassment an offense under military code
CBSN
President Biden has signed an executive order to make sexual harassment an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and to improve the military's response to domestic violence and the unlawful distribution of intimate images.
Establishing sexual harassment as an offense under the code was called for by the I Am Vanessa Guillén Act in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Guillén was only 20 when she was murdered in April 2020, allegedly by a fellow soldier. A U.S. Army report said officers at Fort Hood ignored her complaints of sexual harassment in the time leading up to her death.
Mr. Biden has said he supports the military removing the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases from commanders' control, which would be a big change for the military criminal justice system.
Firefighters across California are working to extinguish blazes that broke out over the weekend and continued to grow on Monday, as the state contends with a mix of hot, dry weather and powerful, gusty winds. The Post Fire, burning near Gorman, northwest of Los Angeles, spread to more than 14,600 acres, while the Point Fire, in Sonoma, covered 1,190 acres.