WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

1/ The Senate advanced a bill to repeal the congressional authorization used to attack Iraq in 1991 and 2003 – nearly 20 years to the day that the U.S. began its “shock and awe” campaign to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime. The bipartisan legislation would repeal the 2002 authorization for the use of military force that Bush used for the 2003 invasion, as well as the 1991 authorization for the first Gulf War under H.W. Bush. Although Obama formally ended the war in 2011 and ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops, Trump used the 2002 authorization to justify the airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020. It’s unclear, however, if Kevin McCarthy will bring the legislation up for a vote in the House. “Repealing this [Authorization for Use of Military Force] is a necessary step towards putting the final remnants of the Iraq War squarely behind us,” Chuck Schumer said. (CBS News / NPR)

2/ The Pentagon will accelerate the training and delivery of Abrams tanks and Patriot missile defense systems for Ukraine. The U.S. will send 31 older M1-A1 models instead of the more modern version of the tank in order to get them to Ukraine this fall. A group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers, meanwhile, are scheduled to complete their training on the Patriot missile system in the coming days. Two Patriot systems are expected to be deployed to Ukraine in the coming of weeks. (CNN / Politico / Associated Press)

3/ The Minnesota House of Representatives advanced legislation that would shield patients who travel to the state for an abortion and the providers that treat them. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act would prevent state courts or officials from complying with extraditions, arrests or subpoenas related to reproductive health care that a person receives in Minnesota. The bill now goes to the state Senate, where Democrats hold a thin majority. (Minnesota Public Radio / Associated Press / Washington Post)

4/ Missouri’s Republican attorney general filed an emergency regulation to limit access to gender-affirming treatments for minors. Andrew Bailey’s new rules will require an 18-month waiting period, 15 hourlong therapy sessions, and treatment of any mental illnesses before Missouri doctors can provide that kind of care to transgender children, Bailey’s office said. The Missouri Senate, meanwhile, advanced a pair of bills to prohibit gender-affirming health care for minors and restrict them from competing in sports. Both bills, which sunset in 2027, need a final vote from the Senate before heading to the House. (Associated Press /