Trump filing: Lawyers for Donald Trump have made a new filing with Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida who is presiding in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Trump’s attorneys are asking her to vastly expand the scope of materials that the government has to turn over to Trump as part of the discovery process. If Cannon does what Trump’s attorneys want, it could delay the start of Trump’s trial until long after the scheduled May 20 start date. Cannon has previously ruled favorably for Trump.
Grassley ill: Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has been hospitalized with an infection and is on intravenous antibiotics. Grassley, who is 90 years old, is the oldest member of the U.S. Senate. His office did not reveal details about the nature of the infection nor how it might have been acquired. A statement said that Grassley is expected to return to work in the Senate as soon as possible but did not hint when that might be.
Medicine deal: The country of Qatar has worked out a deal between Israel and Hamas under which Israel will provide medicine and other humanitarian aid to Palestinians and Hamas will allow Israel to send medicine to the remaining hostages held by Hamas. About a third of the hostages being held by Hamas are said to require medications. The International Committee of the Red Cross told CNN that it does not currently know where the hostages are being held and has not been allowed to visit them recently.
Airline merger blocked: Boston U.S. District Court Judge William Young has ruled in favor of the Biden Administration and blocked the proposed merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. JetBlue was prepared to spend $3.8 billion in the acquisition. Young decided that the government had proven its claim that a merger of the two low-cost carriers would hinder competition and result in higher fares. In a joint statement, JetBlue and Spirit said they are reviewing the court’s decision and evaluating what to do next.
Senate resolution: The Senate last night voted to table a resolution proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders that would have required the State Department to let Congress know about any evidence of human rights violations by Israel in Gaza. The vote was 72 to 11. Sanders criticized Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. He said that Israel does have the right to defend itself, but it does not have the right to go to war against all Palestinians in Gaza. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Ben Cardin of Maryland had warned the Senate that passing the resolution would be a gift to Hamas.
Mass shooting: A plea agreement has been reached by the federal government and the man who shot and killed five people at the Club Q in Colorado Springs. He will plead guilty to 74 counts of federal hate and gun crimes. The federal government agreed not to seek the death penalty. The shooter, 23-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich will receive sentences totaling 190 years in prison. He already is serving five life sentences plus more than 2,200 years after having been convicted on state charges in the mass shooting.
