Tuesday, June 18, 2024

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1/ Biden announced executive actions to protect some 500,000 immigrants without legal status in the U.S. from deportation. The new policy will shield undocumented individuals if they’ve lived in the U.S. for 10 or more years and are married to a U.S. citizen. The protection also provides a streamlined path to citizenship. About 500,000 undocumented spouses and 50,000 undocumented stepchildren of U.S. citizens are expected to be eligible to apply. Biden also announced a policy that makes DACA recipients and so-called “Dreamers” eligible for work visas, rather than temporary work authorization. “Today’s a good day,” Biden said. (New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / NBC News / Bloomberg / Washington Post / ABC News / CNN)

2/ The New York Court of Appeals rejected convicted felon Trump’s appeal of the gag order in the election interference case involving falsified business records, in which he was convicted last month. The court wrote that Trump’s appeal was dismissed because “no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.” As a result, Trump’s gag order, which bars him from speaking about jurors, witnesses and other parties involved in the Manhattan Supreme Court case, remains in effect. After Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts, his lawyers argued that the order should be lifted because the trial was over. (Associated Press / NBC News / CNN / Politico / Axios / CNBC)

3/ The House Ethics Committee is expanding its investigation into Matt Gaetz amid allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The bipartisan committee said its investigation was paused in deference to the Justice Department’s investigation, but reopened it after the DOJ declined to bring charges. “There has been a significant and unusual amount of public reporting on the Committee’s activities this Congress. Much of that reporting has been inaccurate,” the committee said. The investigation is reportedly focused on whether Gaetz “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privil...

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