U.S. and world news for April 17

Trump jurors: There’s a day off today in the Trump hush money trial, with progress is being made in jury selection. Seven jurors were selected yesterday. Five more are needed plus six alternates. On Monday, the first day of jury selection, no jurors were seated and there was speculation that the process could drag on for a couple of weeks. After yesterday, it is anticipated that the process could be completed by Friday with opening arguments taking place on Monday. During yesterday’s session, Donald Trump appeared to fall asleep a couple of times, as he had during Monday’s court session. He also was admonished by the judge not to try to intimidate jurors when he said something while a juror was within a few feet of him.

Supreme Court: The six conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court indicated during oral arguments that they may rule that the Justice Department went too far in charging about 350 of the people who were involved in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol with obstruction of an official government proceeding. One of the men who invaded the Capitol is challenging the conviction. If the court rules against the government, then the convictions on that charge would be overturned. The obstruction charge could not be used in the case brought against Donald Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The justices expressed concern that the charge is overly broad and could be used against people who merely are demonstrating against a government action.

Iran’s attack: Israel’s war cabinet delayed until today its meeting that had been scheduled for yesterday. The cabinet has been debating how and when to respond to the missile and drone attack on Israel by Iran. President Biden and other western leaders have urged Israel not to retaliate and to consider as a victory the fact that Israeli and U.S. forces were able to shoot down almost all of the Iranian missiles and drones. Iran undertook the attack as retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on one of its consulate buildings in Damascus, Syria.

Ukrainian soldiers: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has signed legislation that requires all Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 to register for the draft. The new law does not specify how many additional men will be pressed into military service as the war that Russia started with its invasion shows no signs of ending. Language that would allow soldiers who have been on duty for a long time to be discharged after a certain length of service was removed from the legislation. Relatives of Ukrainian soldiers on active duty had demonstrated last week saying soldiers should know in advance how long they’ll have to remain on active duty when called up.

Interest rates: During a panel discussion in Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that interest rate cuts this year likely will be delayed because inflation shows signs of being more stubborn that was previously thought. Powell pointed to recent data showing that the Fed’s target rate of 2% inflation is not likely to be reached as soon as was hoped. He said the Fed’s higher interest rates need to be given more time to work to further reduce inflation.

Whitey Herzog dies: Whitey Herzog, the manager who led the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennant wins and also the World Series title in 1982, has died at age 92. Herzog was in the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his career, he managed the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and also was with the New York Mets. Herzog played for the Washington Senators, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers. His family said he had been ill recently.