WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

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1/ Biden signed the $95 billion national security package into law, overcoming months of opposition and infighting by Republicans in Congress. The package includes $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian relief in Gaza, and $8 billion for security in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. Biden said the package is “going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world, and everyone knows it.” He said shipments to Ukraine would start “in the next few hours.” The Pentagon added that it would rush the first $1 billion in aid to Ukraine, which includes more than 20 different types of weapons and military equipment. (NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / NPR / Associated Press / Axios)

• The U.S. provided Ukraine with long-range ballistic missiles for the first time earlier this month that Ukrainian forces immediately used the weapons to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea. The Army Tactical Missile Systems armed with cluster munitions that can travel nearly 200 miles. The Pentagon will include additional long-range ATACMS in the $1 billion package of military aid Biden approved. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News)

2/ Biden signed legislation forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest from its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. U.S. officials and lawmakers have cited national security concerns with TikTok’s ownership structure, which could allow the Chinese government to obtain U.S. user data or influence content on the app with its algorithms, including interfering in American elections. ByteDance now has 270 days to sell TikTok, though Biden can extend the deadline another 90 days if he determines the company’s made progress toward a sale. It’s the first time the U.S. has passed a law that could ban a social media platform. TikTok’s CEO, meanwhile, said: “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.” (Axios / Politico / NPR / Washington Post / CNN)

3/ The Arizona House repealed a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions – two weeks after the state’s Supreme Court upheld the 1864 law. Three state House Republicans joined Democrats in repealing the law that made abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one. The measure now heads to the state Senate and the Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs would need to sign it to reinstate a 2022 law, which permitted abortions through 15 weeks of pregnancy. (