Foreign Aid, DOJ Settlement, and a Gull-Screeching Champ

Foreign Aid Approved 

The Senate last night voted 79 to 18 to pass a long-awaited package that combines $95B of foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan with other national security measures, including a possible TikTok ban. The Senate's approval of the package comes after the House passed it as four separate bills Saturday. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the package into legislation. 

The foreign assistance consists of $61B for Ukraine, $26B for Israel (including humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza), and $8B for Taiwan. Other national security measures include requiring China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok's US operations within nine months or else face a national ban on the video-sharing app (see overview). TikTok, which has roughly 170 million monthly active users in the US, has reportedly been under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission over its data and security practices that allegedly violate federal law.

See what else is included in the package here.

DOJ Settles Nassar Case

The US Justice Department announced yesterday it will pay nearly $139M to settle claims by 139 women over the FBI's mishandling of sexual abuse allegations against former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.  

The settlement comes more than two years after a group of women, including Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and McKayla Maroney, filed lawsuits against the FBI. Their lawsuits followed a 2021 Justice Department report that found the FBI's offices in Indianapolis and Los Angeles failed to adequately respond to allegations against Nassar in 2015 and 2016. Nassar, now 60, was arrested in 2016 after a separate investigation by Michigan State University, where he was employed. Nassar has been serving a de facto life sentence for multiple convictions for sexually abusing athletes under his care. 

Nearly $1B has been paid out in total by various institutions to settle claims against Nassar, including $500M from Michigan State University and $380M from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. See a timeline of events here.

Trump Trial's First Witness

Former President Donald Trump's New York criminal trial over alleged falsified business records continued yesterday, featuring testimony from a former longtime head of the National Enquirer. Publisher David Pecker detailed a 2015 agreement he made with then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to purchase and not publish negative stories about Trump amid the 2016 presidential campaign. The trial pauses on Wednesdays and will resume tomorrow. 

Earlier in the day, Judge Juan Merchan considered whether Trump should be fined for allegedly violating an updated April 1 gag order barring him from making public statements about court staff or witnesses. Trump could be jailed for up to 30 days for repeatedly violating the order. A decision on the issue is expected at a later time.

Separately, the Supreme Court will weigh arguments tomorrow on whether Trump can claim presidential immunity for his actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol. A favorable decision toward Trump could see charges in three of his four criminal trials dropped.

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