Trump does not have immunity: A federal appeals court in Washington has rejected Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution on charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The three judge panel released its decision this morning. It was expected that Trump would file an appeal with the full appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court after that if the the full appeals court ruled against him. Trump’s attorneys had argued that a president is immune from prosecution for any crime committed when that person holds office. They argued that the president could order a group of Navy Seals to assassinate political opponents and the president could not be prosecuted for the murder.
One-fifth of hostages believed dead: The New York Times reports this morning that it has seen a confidential report saying that 32 of the remaining hostages in Gaza who were captured by Hamas on Oct. 7 are dead. That represents one-fifth of the hostages. Hamas was said to still be holding 136 hostages. The report was prepared by Israel’s military for internal use, according to the Times. The Times said that the families of hostages have been told about the report.
McConnell flip-flops on the border: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has done a flip-flop and come out against the bipartisan bill that would fix border issues and provide new aid to Ukraine and Israel. McConnell had made a speech on the Senate floor yesterday in which he expressed support for the bill and urged his Republican colleagues to vote for it. Donald Trump has been pressuring Republicans on Capitol Hill to scuttle the bill because he wants the border situation to become worse so he can continue using it as a campaign issue. The conservative newspaper The Wall Street Journal, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., this morning editorialized against Trump’s efforts to kill border reforms.
King’s cancer: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today that the cancer affecting King Charles was caught early but Sunak did not say what type of cancer it is or what treatment King Charles is receiving. When Buckingham Palace revealed the cancer diagnosis yesterday it did not provide those details. It did say that King Charles does not have prostate cancer. The cancer diagnosis was made when King Charles was hospitalized for treatment of an enlarged prostate.
Flood alerts continue: At least 28 million people in California, Arizona and Nevada are under flood alerts today as the unprecedented rains continue. Approximately 300 mudslides have been reported in California. In some parts of Los Angeles County, up to a foot of rain has fallen since Sunday. More than 150,000 customers were without power today. Two people were killed by falling trees. In mountain areas, snow has been falling with up to three feet forecast for today in some areas.
Toby Keith dies: Country music star Toby Keith has died at age 62. He had been battling stomach cancer. Keith had 32 songs reach number one on the country music charts. His songs have been streamed an estimated 10 billion times. Keith performed on stage in Las Vegas in December. Keith performed at Donald Trump’s inauguration and in 2020 he was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by Trump.
Cover photo courtesy Toby Keith’s Instagram page
