#1: January 6 Committee Explosive Testimony:
Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, offered explosive testimony on Tuesday at the House Committee’s January 6 hearings. She said that former President Trump wanted to join his followers at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, grabbed the steering wheel of his limo and lunged at his head of security, Robert Engel, when he was told he could not go.
Trump had been told that the demonstrators at the rally at the Ellipse near the Capitol had guns and other weapons. She testified that Trump said “something to the effect of, ‘I don’t f____ care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me. Take the f_____ mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Take the f____ mags away.’” He was referring to the magnetometers, or metal detectors. Many in the crowd had refused to go through the screening and were known to be carrying weapons, including rifles.
Her testimony included other explosive details about the events that led up to January 6 and what followed. She had a front row seat in the West Wing.
#2: Murder of Hindu Tailor in India:
Religious tensions are heating up in India, where a Hindu man was killed, allegedly by two Muslims. The video of the murder is circulating online. To stop the viewing and avoid violence, officials in the city of Udaipur announced a curfew and blocked internet access.
The two Muslim suspects allegedly killed the Hindu tailor, after he wrote political statements on his social media account.
#3: R. Kelly Sentence:
R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 years in prison. He was the head of a scheme to recruit women, as well as underage girls and boys, for sex. R. Kelly, now 55, could spend the rest of his life there.
R. Kelly was found guilty of racketeering and other counts in court in 2021. He has been detained without bail since 2019.
#4: NATO Welcomes Finland and Sweden:
NATO officially invited Finland and Sweden to join. Turkey dropped their objection and the US expressed a new willingness to sell them F-16 fighter jets. NATO now has 32 member states, including Sweden and Finland.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, praised the summit developments on Twitter: “We welcome a clear-eyed stance on Russia, as well as accession for Finland and Sweden,” he wrote. “An equally strong and active position on Ukraine will help to protect the Euro-Atlantic security and stability.”
#5: Election Day June 28:
The June 28 primaries are in the news, with eight states voting: Colorado, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and Utah. Mississippi and South Carolina held runoff elections, and Nebraska had a special election.
In the Illinois Republican governor’s primary, Democrats got the candidate they wanted – a Trump supported candidate, conservative State Senator Darren Bailey easily won.
In Colorado, Republican primary voters rejected nominees Trump had supported.
Nebraska held a special election to replace former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. Republican Mike Flood won.
In New York, Kathy Hochul, who had taken over when Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned, won the Democratic nomination. In the New York Republican primary, Congressman Lee Zeldin beat Andrew Giuliani, son of Rudy Giuliani.
In Utah, Mike Lee won the US Senate race and all congressional incumbents won their races.
In Colorado, Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was perhaps the highest-profile election denier running in Colorado, lost her bid for the Republican nomination for secretary of state.
Many candidates who supported the “big lie” claim of Donald Trump about the 2020 election still won their Republican primaries.
