Monday, Oct. 17

The Justice Department asked a federal judge to sentence former President Donald Trump’s advisor Steve Bannon to six months in prison after failing to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Prosecutors said Bannon’s refusal to comply was “a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt.”
The House committees on Homeland Security and Oversight and Reform launched a joint investigation into the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis, which left 150,000 people in the state capital without running water for several days in August and September. The investigation includes a request for information on how the state plans to spend billions in federal funds that were “specifically allotted to enhance the state’s water infrastructure.”

Tuesday, Oct. 18

President Joe Biden gave a speech saying that he would sign legislation in early 2023 codifying Roe v Wade into law if Democrats retain control of the House and expand their majority in the Senate in the November election.
French cement maker Lafarge pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to a charge of providing “material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization” when it made payments to these groups, including ISIS, to protect its plant in Syria.
Homeland Security announced that it would start accepting applications for a new parole program for Venezuelan asylum seekers that will let 24,000 Venezuelans come into the U.S. by air.
Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Jeffrey Quinones said park rangers working for the Puerto Rico Department of Environment and Natural Resources found a group of over 100 Haitian migrants on an uninhabited island near Puerto Rico who were abandoned in a “maritime smuggling event.”

Wednesday, Oct. 19

Biden announced the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic reserve, completing the release of 180 million total barrels that his administration approved in March. “With my announcement today, we’re going to continue to stabilize markets and decrease the prices at a time when the actions of other countries have caused such volatility,” Biden said.

Thursday, Oct. 20

Biden spoke at the partially rebuilt Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which collapsed in January, to underscore the importance of investing in infrastructure. “We should be ranked number one,” Biden said. “So instead of ‘infrastructure week,’ which was a punch line for four years under my predecessor, there is ‘infrastructure decade.’”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused Iran of being “directly engaged on the ground” in Russian-occupied Crimea by allegedly helping train Russian forces to operate Iranian-made drones that have been used in attacks in Ukraine.
The Pentagon announced new support services for military personnel who seek abortions, including privacy protections, non-interference guidelines for local commanders, and coverage of travel expenses for anyone based in states where the procedure is now banned.

Friday, Oct. 21

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued a subpoena to Trump demanding “testimony and records relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation into the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol and its causes.”
District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced Steve Bannon to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with a congressional subpoena. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $6,500.
The Treasury Department reported that the 2022 fiscal budget deficit dropped by half from a year earlier, down to $1.4 trillion, which it described as the largest-ever, single-year improvement in the U.S. fiscal position.
The Department of Homeland Security extended temporary protected status for Ethiopian nationals living in the U.S. for 18 more months as the armed conflict in the African country continues. The status allows them to get work permits and keeps them shielded from deportation.
The Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, though it did not describe specifics. “Topical issues of international security including the situation in Ukraine were discussed,” said Russia’s defense ministry.
A federal judge ruled that relatives of the 346 people killed in the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia should have been informed of a settlement that spared Boeing from criminal prosecution for the incidents.

Saturday, Oct. 22

Sunday, Oct. 23