Today's recap
Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Joe Biden at the White House, and with Kamala Harris. The Ukrainian leader is also expected to meet with Donald Trump tomorrow – amid an escalating feud between the two. Trump has suggested that Ukraine should have made concessions to Russia before it invaded, and accused Zelenskyy of making “aspersions” toward him.
Here’s what else is going on:
As part of the US’s “surge” in security assistance to Ukraine, Biden has directed the defense department to allocate all of its remaining security assistance funding that has been appropriated for Ukraine by the end of his term.
Biden and Harris introduced a new executive order to tackle gun violence, creating a task force to investigate the threats of machine-gun conversion devices and 3D-printed guns, and instructing the federal government to create guidelines on school active shooter drills, which can be traumatizing to students.
New York City mayor Eric Adams was charged in a 57-page federal indictment with crimes relating to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery and receiving campaign contributions by foreign nationals, wire fraud, solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national and bribery. He has maintained his innocence.
Federal prosecutors called Adams’s alleged misconduct a grave breach of public trust. The US attorney for the southern district of New York, Damian Williams , strongly criticized the mayor at a press conference. Charges against Adams also include acceptance of illegal foreign campaign contributions including from Turkish government officials. Williams said the mayor “kept the public in the dark”.
The voting machine company Smartmatic and the conservative outlet Newsmax have settled a closely watched defamation lawsuit days before it was scheduled to go to trial in Delaware.
In a characteristically rambling news conference, Trump ripped into Harris for planning a visit to the US border – and unleashed a slew of fiction and fear-mongering about the border and immigrants.
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Meanwhile, back at the White House, Joe Biden outlined the grave necessity of programs to address gun violence.
His new executive order entails:
The creation of federal taskforce to evaluate the threats posed by machine gun conversion devices, which can alter handguns or other semi-automatic firearms to match the rate of fire of military machine guns. The taskforce will also investigate further the threats posed by 3D-printed firearms that are impossible to trace.
Orders to develop new guidelines for schools, colleges and universities on how to conduct active shooter drills. Most schools conduct these drills, but evidence suggests they can be traumatic to students.
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