Thursday, November 21, 2024
It is Thursday, November 21, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.
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Gaetz withdraws from bid for attorney general
Matt Gaetz, who was Donald Trump’s pick to become the next attorney general, announced he is withdrawing from the process.
Gaetz was under investigation by the Department of Justice and lawmakers in the House of Representatives for allegedly having sex with an underage girl.
The New York Times recently revealed a document from investigators that showed a web of payments from Gaetz to many of his friends and various women who allegedly were involved in “sex parties.”
Two women who received money testified that they were paid by Gaetz for sex with amounts in the thousands.
Gaetz said he is withdrawing because he doesn’t want to become a distraction to the upcoming Trump administration.
It is a quick turnaround for Gaetz, because just yesterday, he was at the Capitol with Trump’s VP, JD Vance, to try and get support of Senate Republicans. Now, Gaetz is out.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/11/21/us/trump-gaetz-news
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/us/politics/matt-gaetz-venmo-payments-sex.html
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ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC also issued a warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, but Israel said they killed him in an airstrike in July.
The ICC’s judges said the warrant is because they believe that the Israeli leaders intentionally deprived the Gaza population of food, water, and medicine for months, as well as cutting off its supply to electricity and fuel.
The ICC also said Hamas’ leader is responsible for murder, torture, rape, and taking hostages.
Netanyahu’s office responded by saying the ICC is antisemitic and a biased political body.
Hamas said the ICC’s decision is an important step towards justice for the Palestinian cause. They didn’t comment about their leader’s warrant.
CBS News explained that the ICC does not have a police force so it can’t go out to arrest people, but countries around the world that are parties of the ICC, such as the Netherlands, could make arrests if those under warrants visit their countries.
The U.S. is not a member of the ICC and several members of the upcoming Republican administration criticized the ICC, so the U.S. will most likely not do anything about the ICC’s warrants.
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Alec Baldwin film “Rust” premieres
The film, “Rust,” starring Alec Baldwin, had its world premiere at a film festival in Poland. There was a dedication to honor Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer who was shot and killed in an accident three years ago when Baldwin fired a prop gun that had a live bullet in it.
Baldwin did not attend the premiere. The director, Joel Souza, who was wounded in the same accident three years ago, said he initially couldn’t have imagined continuing with the production but went back on set after Hutchins’ husband said he wanted the film to be finished because it was Hutchins’ “final work.”
The film may be released in the U.S. sometime in the future.
https://apnews.com/article/poland-film-premiere-rust-baldwin-7479e578096359df46251c262e4f9d3d
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/11/20/alec-baldwin-not-invited-to-rust-premiere/
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Musk wants to force federal employees to stop remote work
Elon Musk, who is going to be a co-leader of the upcoming Trump administration in a new nongovernmental entity called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) along with Vivek Ramaswamy (who once ran for president), said they want to see federal employees to no longer have remote work privileges and be required to return to offices five days a week.
The two said if federal employees don’t want to return to offices daily, then they welcome their resignations because it would save money for the U.S. government.
The two leaders hopes to eliminate $2 trillion from the U.S. budget and would encourage mass layoffs across the federal bureaucracy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/us/politics/elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-doge-rto.html
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Jussie Smollett’s conviction overturned
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction that he faked a hateful attack against himself in Chicago in 2019 and lied to police about it.
CNN explained that the state Supreme Court said a special prosecutor shouldn’t have been allowed to get involved in the case and escalate it after a state attorney decided to drop charges against Smollett in exchange for him forfeiting his $10,000 bond and conducting community service.
The state Supreme Court said it wouldn’t be good if an agreement between the state and a person was not honored. So this decision means that Smollett has already served his punishment (he did 18 hours of community service) and will face no more criminal consequences.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/entertainment/jussie-smollett-conviction-overturned/index.html
https://www.tmz.com/2024/11/21/jussie-smollett-conviction-overturned-by-illinois-supreme-court/
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.