U.S. and world news for Feb. 29

Supreme Court: In a victory for Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued an order saying it will hear Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution for crimes committed when he was in office. The Supreme Court’s involvement means that the case brought in a District of Columbia federal court by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith cannot move forward for now. Part of Trump’s strategy is to delay the start of a trial to at least after the November election. The court said it would hear oral arguments on or about April 22. A federal appeals court ruled that Trump can be prosecuted for trying to overthrow results of the 2020 election and stay as president even though Joe Biden was elected.

Tom Suozzi: Former Congressman Tom Suozzi, a Democrat ,is back in Congress, having been sworn in last night to fill the seat vacated by Republican George Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives. Suozzi’s district includes Queens and Nassau County. Suozzi will need to run for a full term next year. Santos is facing federal charges related to conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud.

Gaza deaths: The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, says that Israel troops fired on a crowd in Gaza City today killing about 100 people and wounding more than 700. The crowd was waiting for aid to be distributed and started taking food off of trucks. The Health Ministry originally claimed that Israeli air strikes had caused the deaths and injuries. It was reported that truck drivers deliberately drove into people. Israeli military officials initially declined comment about what happened.

Texas wildfires: The wildfires in the Texas panhandle have burned more than one million acres and some of the fires continue to intensify. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he is sending more state firefighters to the area. The Smokehouse Creek fire, which is the largest one, was only 3% contained as of this morning. High winds continue to help spread the fires.

Putin’s threat: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin today warned western nations that they would be risking nuclear war if they send troops to Ukraine to help the Ukrainians fight the Russian military. Putin made the threat during his State of the Nation address, which lasted about two hours. Putin’s threat of nuclear war came in apparent response to a suggestion by French President Macron that NATO could send troops to Ukraine rather than just supplying money, guns and ammunition.

Teamsters contract: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Anheuser-Busch have reached a five-year tentative agreement significantly raising pay, improving health care and retirement benefits, and providing job security for all 5,000 Teamsters at Anheuser-Busch breweries nationwide. The agreement includes wage increases of $8 per hour, including an immediate $4 per hour raise in the first year. Average wage increases total 23% over the five years of the agreement. If and when the union members ratify the contract, they’d each receive a $2,500 bonus. The contract would end two-tier health care, providing all workers with the same health care coverage.