Monday, Aug.
8
- President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden
traveled to Kentucky to survey damage caused by the stateÕs worst flooding
in its history. The disaster, which was caused by upwards of 10 inches of
rain in 48 hours, has caused the deaths of at least 37 people. Biden
pledged continued support from the federal government for the people of
Kentucky.
- Former President Donald Trump said federal agents
raided his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. The FBI later revealed the
action was part of an investigation into TrumpÕs alleged removal of
presidential records from the White House.
- A federal judge sentenced father and son Gregory and
Travis McMichael to life in prison for a federal hate crime in the 2020
murder of Ahmaud Arbery,
a Black man whom the McMichaels shot while he
was jogging in a suburban Georgia neighborhood. The McMichaelsÕ
neighbor and co-defendant William ÒRoddieÓ Bryan was sentenced to 35
years. These sentences are in addition to life sentences each is serving
from their conviction in state court.
- The Pentagon announced another round of aid to
Ukraine with $1 billion in military support. Separately, the World Bank
said it would provide another $4.5 billion in budgetary assistance to the
Ukrainian government, also financed by the U.S. government,.
- The Treasury Department announced sanctions against
the virtual currency ÒmixerÓ Tornado Cash, which is under suspicion of
laundering at least $7 billion in virtual currency, over $455 million of
which was allegedly done for a hacking organization called the Lazarus
Group that is associated with North Korea. A ÒmixerÓ is a service for
virtual currency transactions that is purported to increase privacy but is
often used for laundering.
Tuesday,
Aug. 9
- The Department of Homeland Security announced that it
is ending the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols policy, informally
known as the Òremain in MexicoÓ rule, that required asylum seekers to wait
in Mexico for hearings on their immigration status.
- Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law, a bill providing
$52.7 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and
research to boost the domestic chip-making industry so it can compete with
its East Asian counterparts, especially China, Taiwan and South Korea.
ÒThe future is going to be made in America,Ó Biden said, calling the law
Òa once-in-a-generation investment in America itself.Ó
- A federal appeals court ruled that the House Ways and
Means Committee has the right to see TrumpÕs tax returns. Trump argued
that the request was politically motivated; the appeals court concluded
that the request was consistent with the committeeÕs legislative work.
- The Food and Drug Administration announced emergency
use authorization for a monkeypox vaccination
method that could expand the availability of doses: A dosing technique
that allows healthcare providers to extract more doses of the vaccine per
vial, which the FDA says could increase vaccine availability Òby up to
five-fold.Ó
Wednesday,
Aug. 10
- Biden signed into law the PACT Act, which expands
healthcare for about 3.5 million impacted veterans who were exposed to
toxins during their service, including smoke from burn pits used to burn
waste such as plastic tires, batteries, explosives, human feces and
chemicals in Iraq and Afghanistan. The law will provide more than $280
billion over a 10-year period for expanded healthcare and disability
benefits.
- Trump sat for hours giving a deposition to the New
York Attorney General in which he refused to answer questions over 400
times, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
- Zhang Hanhui, the Chinese
ambassador to Moscow, called the United States the Òmain instigatorÓ of
the war in Ukraine, saying that the U.S.Õs Òultimate goal is to exhaust
and crush Russia with a protracted war and the cudgel of sanctions.Ó
- The Justice Department accused Shahram
Poursafi, an alleged member of IranÕs Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps, of plotting to assassinate former National
Security Advisor John Bolton, likely in retaliation for the U.S. killing
of IranÕs General Qassem Soleimani
in 2020. The department claims Poursafi offered
someone $300,000 to carry out the killing.
- Biden again implored the Syrian government to come to
an agreement to release photojournalist Austin Tice and send him home 10
years after his abduction. Tice was abducted in the Syrian capital of
Damascus in 2012. ÒWe know with certainty that he has been held by the
Syrian regime,Ó Biden said. ÒWe have repeatedly asked the government of
Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home.Ó
Thursday, Aug.
11
- Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the FBI
search of TrumpÕs Mar-a-Lago estate, saying he had personally approved it.
ÒThe [Justice] Department filed the motion to make public the warrant and
receipt in light of the former presidentÕs public confirmation of the
search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest
in this matter,Ó Garland told reporters.
- Thomas Robertson, a former Virginia police sergeant,
was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for his involvement
in the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
directed the IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig
against using new Congress-approved resources to increase audits for
households making below $400,000 annually, following Republican pressure
to do so. ÒSpecifically, I direct that any additional resources —
including any new personnel or auditors that are hired — shall not
be used to increase the share of small business or households below the
$400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels,Ó Yellen said.
- An armed man wearing body armor was killed by state
and federal law enforcement officials after he tried to breach the
Cincinnati FBI office. The shooting occurred after a motor vehicle chase
on an interstate highway, followed by an hours-long standoff. Officials
did not identify the armed man.
Friday, Aug.
12
- The FBI revealed that it had recovered 11 sets of top
secret classified records from TrumpÕs Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida during
its raid on Monday. It did not provide a lot of specific details about the
documents or what information they might contain except that some are in
the highest level of classification for U.S. government documents.
- Congress passed the Democratic PartyÕs $430 billion
climate and healthcare bill with a 220-207 vote in the House. The bill
includes $375 billion to encourage a shift away from fossil fuels and $64
billion to help people cover health insurance premiums. The bill had
already been passed by the Senate.
Saturday,
Aug. 13
- American spy agencies released an intelligence
assessment that shows Al Qaeda has not reconstituted its presence in
Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal last August and that only a few
members remain in the country.
Sunday, Aug.
14
- A five-person delegation of U.S. lawmakers arrived in
Taiwan for a two-day visit that included a meet with President Tsai Ing-wen. The delegations was led by Massachusetts
Democratic Sen. Ed Markey and included Democratic Reps. John Garamendi and
Alan Lowenthal of California, Don Beyer of
Virginia, and Aumua Amata
Coleman Radewagen of American Samoa. ÒThe
delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan
relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains,
climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest,Ó said the
American Institute, the U.S.Õs de facto Taiwan embassy.