Trump in court:Â History will be made in the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse at 100 Centre St. this afternoon when Donald Trump goes before a judge and is arraigned on charges contained in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan Grand Jury last week that was hearing about the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Trump is the first president or ex-president to be criminally indicted in U.S. history. Trump spent the night at Trump Tower and a motorcade is due to take him downtown, where the area around the courthouse has been turned into a secure zone.
ISIS leader killed:Â The U.S. Central Command this morning said that a drone strike in Syria has killed ISIS senior leader Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri. The U.S. says that he is responsible for various ISIS attacks in Europe and he developed the leadership structure for the terrorist organization. The U.S. said it expects al-Jabouri’s death to at least temporarily disrupt the ability of ISIS to stage attacks.
Finland is in NATO:Â As expected, this morning Finland joined NATO. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Finland asked for NATO membership because it was concerned about possible further attempts by Russia to expand its territory. NATO says that Finland’s membership is not a threat to Russia.
FBI shooting:Â Roy McGrath, who served as chief of staff for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, has died in a hospital after being shot and wounded by an FBI agent who was trying to take him into custody. McGrath had failed to appear in court on corruption charges and a manhunt for him had been underway. He had been tracked to a town near Knoxville, Tennessee. The FBI did not immediately provide details of what happened in the shooting.
A Branson rocket company files bankruptcy:Â Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company launches rockets into space from a modified Boeing 747 airliner. The rockets boost satellites into orbit. The company announced last week it was laying off three-quarters of its 750 employees. Virgin Orbit is based in Long Beach, California, and made the bankruptcy filing in federal court in Delaware.
UConn’s champions:Â The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team the Huskies has won the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies defeated the San Diego State Aztecs by a score of 76 to 59. This is the Huskies’ fifth national championship since 1999.
