After former President Donald Trump predicted he would be arrested Tuesday, law enforcement agencies began preparing for protests. So where does the investigation currently stand? Plus, the second-largest school district in the country will be closed today as their employees go on strike. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Latest on potential Trump indictment
Former President Donald Trump expressed renewed hope on his social media platform, Truth Social, following the testimony of former attorney Robert Costello. But the country is still bracing for potential protests after the president previously predicted an indictment would come down Tuesday and encouraged his supporters to protest.
Sources close to the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into allegations of hush money paid to former porn star Stormy Daniels have told the media there’s no indictment coming Tuesday. CBS said it could come by the end of this week, but Fox News reported the indictment would most likely come down next week.
Costello went before the grand jury Monday in an effort to discredit Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, whose testimony against Trump holds a significant role in the DA’s case.
Following Robert Costello’s testimony, Trump posted to social media that “the DA will do the right thing.”
Increased security in case of protests
Steel barricades now surround the Manhattan courthouse and District Attorney’s office. New fencing has also been installed around the U.S. Capitol amid concerns Trump’s potential indictment could bring a repeat of Jan. 6. High level local and federal law enforcement officials met Monday to further coordinate security plans in preparation for a possible Trump arrest.
Our Washington correspondent Ray Bogan sat down for an extended interview with an attorney to discuss what happens next if Trump is charged. And whether he would be treated differently as a former U.S. president. You can find that report here.
L.A. schools closed due to strike
Tens of thousands of L.A. Unified School employees will go on strike Tuesday. All classes have been canceled in all the district’s schools, but child care and cafeterias will remain open. The employees on strike range from bus drivers, custodians, to teachers and teacher-aides. The main issue comes down to pay. Employees want a 30% raise.
Over the weekend, the district came up to a 23% hike and a 3% bonus, but it wasn’t enough to avoid an employee strike and close the district down. Approximately 420,000 students will miss school for up to three days if no deal is reached, and the district is at risk of losing tens of millions of dollars. A similar strike in 2019 cost the district $97 million.
Fox, Dominion seek pretrial wins
Fox and Dominion will be in court today for a pre-trial hearing. They are expected to ask the judge to rule in their favor, without the need for the case to go to trial next month.
Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems will ask the judge to find Fox liable for defamation over its 2020 election coverage on voter fraud. While Fox will argue the network is constitutionally protected by freedom of the press.
The high-profile defamation lawsuit is scheduled to begin April 17.
Biden defends ESG investments in veto
President J0e Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday. He killed a Republican-led bill that would have banned ESG considerations when making investments for people’s retirement plans.
Republicans argued that by making investment decisions based on ESG’s puts political agendas over best-returns for savers. The president said the bill put retirement savings at risk.
Round 2 of job cuts for Amazon
A major tech giant is gearing up for another round of layoffs. Amazon says it plans to cut 9,000 jobs in the next few weeks. This comes after the company announced 18,000 lay-offs last January.
Amazon’s CEO said the company had not yet identified who would be laid off and that those decisions would be made next month.
AI creates potential cancer treatment
Artificial Intelligence has significantly picked up steam. We know it can write sophisticated essays and solve math problems. But what if it becomes our pathway to finding a cure for cancer?
According to a new study, researchers at the University of Toronto say it’s done just that by revealing a previously unknown treatment pathway. A drug discovery platform called Pharma.AI has developed a potential treatment for the most common type of liver cancer.
The experiment uncovered a novel hit molecule that can target tumors on the liver. The drug will have to go through clinical trials before widespread use. Researchers say the potential drug was discovered by AI in just 30 days, leaving them hopeful for medical breakthroughs through AI.
