Friday morning news: April 19, 2024

Trump jury » A jury of 12 people has been seated in the so-called hush money case against Donald Trump in New York.

And the court has turned its attention to filling out its slate of alternates.

Arthur Aidala is a defense attorney not associated with the case. He pointed out …

AIDALA: The judge is asking for a lot more alternates. Normally it’s 12 jurors and 2 alternates. Here it’s 12 jurors and 6 alternates. But I guess the judge doesn’t want to take the risk of having a mistrial if you lose the jury.

The court lost two jurors on Thursday. One was dismissed over concerns about whether he was truthful about whether he had ever been accused or convicted of a crime. And the other backtracked on whether she could be impartial.

The first-ever trial of a former American president will unfold in the middle of this year’s race for the White House.

Trump maintains he’s done nothing wrong and that the trial is election interference … engineered to help President Biden.

TRUMP: I'm supposed to be in a lot of different places campaigning, but I've been here all day on a trial that really is a very unfair trial.

Biden campaigning » President Biden, meantime, campaigned in Pennsylvania where he accepted the endorsements of more than a dozen members of the Kennedy family.

Kerry Kennedy is the niece of former President John F. Kennedy.

K. KENNEDY: I’m joined here today with my sisters Kathleen and Rory, with Joe and Chris and Max. And with my hero, President Joe Biden.

Kerry Kennedy is the sister of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And the appearance of much of the family alongside Biden was a clear attempt to deflate RFK Jr’s candidacy which many Democrats worry will hurt Biden in November.

Iran sanctions » The United States and the UK are hitting Iran with another round of economic sanctions after Iran’s large-scale airstrike against Israel over the weekend.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron:

Cameron: Iran's behavior is unacceptable, and it's right that countries come together here at the G7 and make those points, not just because of what Iran has been doing, but also as a message to Israel.

Cameron heard there at a meeting of so-called G7 nations in Italy.

The U.S. and UK are targeting more than a dozen people and entities tied to Iran’s military.

House foreign aid/Johnson job threat » House Speaker Mike Johnson says he won’t push for a change that would make it harder to remove him as speaker even as he fights to keep his job and pass a foreign aid package.

Under current rules, it only takes one person, any single member of the House can introduce a motion to vacate the speakership, forcing a full vote on the House floor on whether to keep or oust the House speaker.

Just six months ago, Congressman Matt Gaetz used the rule to oust then-speaker Kevin McCarthy.

And now Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is threatening to do it again.

GREENE:  I don't know how much longer our members are going to tolerate the Republican speaker that we elected, uh, to pass our agenda in the House. Uh, we, we don't know, I don't know how long people are going to tolerate this because he's doing nothing but serving the Democrats.

Johnson says the current rule allowing a single member to force a vote has harmed the office. has harmed this office.”

But he does not have the votes he’d need to change the rule.

GOP Congressman Mike Turner thinks Johnson’s job is safe anyway.

TURNER: To remove Speaker Johnson, you have to do so with Democrat votes, and they’re not going to be able to garner the Democratic votes this time, because they have really bullied the House and caused chaos in the House. I think people see where this path goes.

Meantime, Johnson is still working to pass the four bills that have upset some of his fellow Republicans. The bills provide funding for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel.

Columbia University protests, anti-semitism » The NYPD arrested more than 100 people Thursday as officers moved onto Columbia University’s campus to break up a pro-Palestinian protest.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams…

ADAMS: This was in violation of the university’s rules. Columbia University has an obligation to protect their students, and the university’s president reached out to the NYPD in writing and asked for support.

Some of the protesters illegally camped out on Columbia’s campus. Others set fires.

Those who wouldn’t leave face criminal trespass charges. Among them: Irsa Hirsi, the daughter of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

In the past, Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg has not prosecuted similar cases.

The protests began Wednesday as Columbia’s president, Minouche Shafik, testified on Capitol Hill about the school’s response to antisemitism… after last year’s Hamas massacre in Israel.

Critics say the school didn’t respond strongly enough to several incidents, including when a pro-Israel student was beaten with a stick.

Florida school chaplains, education about communism » Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Thursday that will allow chaplins in public schools.

He said interacting with a chaplain on campus will be entirely voluntary, but he added …

DESANTIS: If these students have the ability to get mentorship, to get counseling from faith leaders, that is something that they should have the right to pursue if that is what they want. And this bill ensures that.

Also, under a new measure, outside organizations, like the Boys and Girls Club and Future Farmers of America will be able to address students on campus, with parental consent.

Under another new Florida law, K-through-12 education will include teaching about the history and the—quote—“dangers and evils of communism.”

DeSantis said that will include teaching about the “current threat” of the ideology in the United States as many students prepare for college.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, a review of Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office.

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