U.S. and world news for June 22
Federal fuel tax suspension: Biden President Biden is moving ahead with a plan to suspend the federal gasoline tax and the federal tax on diesel fuel. The tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon and the tax on diesel is 24.4 cents per gallon. Suspension of the federal taxes would be for three months.
Gun control bill passes Senate test: A preliminary vote in the Senate last night has set the stage for a final vote on the bipartisan gun control bill. The preliminary vote was 64 in favor and 36 against moving the bill forward. Fourteen Republicans voted in favor of going ahead with the legislation, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump led pressure campaign: The House committee on the Jan. 6 attempted coup yesterday presented evidence that Donald Trump led a campaign to exert pressure on Republican state election officials to illegally overturn their states”™ results in the 2020 presidential election. Some of those state officials testified at the televised hearing. The committee also showed evidence that Trump falsely accused election workers in Georgia of tampering with ballots and led a campaign of intimidation and violence against them.
Cosby guilty in civil trial: A Los Angeles County jury found comedian Bill Cosby guilty of sexually abusing a woman in 1975. She was then 16 years old. The abuse took place at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. It was a civil trial and the jury awarded the woman $500,000. Cosby is now 84 years old.
Airliner accident in Miami: The front landing gear on an MD-82 jet airliner collapsed and a fire broke out as the airplane was landing at Miami International Airport yesterday. None of the 128 people on board suffered serous injuries. The airplane was operated by Red Air and was on a flight from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Miami.
Earthquake on Afghanistan: An earthquake struck a rural area of Afghanistan today, killing an estimated 1,000 people and injuring an additional 1,500. The earthquake registered 6.1 on the Richter scale and was centered near the Afghan city of Khost.