Tuesday, June 28 top stories
It is Tuesday, June 28. Here are today’s top stories.
Jan 6. Committee: Cassidy Hutchinson testifies
The Jan 6. Committee held a hearing today to hear the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aide to the Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Hutchinson testified that on the morning of January 6th, President Trump knew that some people who had gathered in D.C. to hear Trump’s rally and march to the Capitol had weapons such as pepper spray, knives, or long flagpoles. Police had already confiscated several weapons. Some had firearms. Many rally-goers didn’t go through metal detectors and preferred to watch Trump’s speech from a distance, causing the crowd size to appear smaller. Hutchinson said Trump was annoyed by this and asked that the metal detectors be taken away because he knew the people weren’t there to hurt him. Trump wanted the people to be let in to be near him and then march on to the Capitol.
Hutchinson testified that another staffer told her that after Trump finished his speech and told the audience that he would be going to the Capitol with them, he went inside of his presidential limo and was told by his Secret Service detail that they wouldn’t be going to the Capitol. Trump became angry, screamed, “I’m the f—— president,” and tried to grab the steering wheel and lunged at an agent.
Hutchinson testified that when rioters stormed the Capitol, a White House counsel burst into Meadows’ office to demand a meeting with Trump, but Meadows said Trump didn’t want to do anything about it. The counsel said the rioters were calling for Mike Pence to be hanged, but Meadows said Trump thinks he deserves it and that Trump didn’t think the rioters were doing anything wrong.
Hutchinson said after January 6th, Meadows wanted Trump to give him a pardon, and that Rudy Giuliani also wanted a pardon.
The committee ended with Rep. Liz Cheney stating that Trump allies have been intimidating several of their witnesses.
Dozens of dead people found in tractor-trailer
In the San Antonio area, at least 46 bodies were found in and around a tractor-trailer that was abandoned on a road. The deceased were migrants who were trying to get into the U.S.
There were 16 survivors who were hospitalized, but two of them died. So the death toll has increased to at least 48.
Authorities said the victims appeared to be suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion, that their deaths were due to heat-related injuries.
The tractor-trailer did not have working air conditioning and there was no signs of water. That means temperatures could have been about 125 degrees F inside.
Authorities said the survivors were so weak to the point that they couldn’t get out of the truck by themselves.
Three people were detained in connection to the trailer.
KENS 5 News in San Antonio said this could be the deadliest human smuggling attempt in U.S. history.
Amtrak train derailment kills four
On Monday afternoon, an Amtrak train traveling in a rural area in Missouri crashed into a dump truck and derailed. At least four people died and over 150 people were injured. The driver of the dump truck also died.
The exact location is Mendon, which is 84 miles away from Kansas City.
Pictures and videos on the internet showed the Amtrak train and several of its cars flipped on its side with passengers walking on the top of the other side.
The dump truck was on a gravel road at an intersection with no traffic lights or electronic controls.
It is the second fatal crash involving an Amtrak train in the past few days.
On Sunday in Northern California, an Amtrak commuter train crashed into a car at a similar rural intersection. Three people in the car were killed. There were 80 people on the Amtrak train but none of them were injured.
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23 million Californians to get $1k checks for inflation relief
About 23 million California residents will get “inflation relief” checks of up to $1,050.
CBS News said the state approved a $17 billion relief package that would also suspend the state’s sales tax on diesel fuel and provide additional relief to help people with rent and utility bills.
Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced 20 years for aiding Epstein
Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping Jeffrey Epstein to recruit, groom and sexually abuse underage girls for over 10 years. Maxwell was also fined $750,000, the maximum amount.
In December, a federal jury found Maxwell guilty of five counts including sex trafficking of minors.
The judge in the case, at the sentencing, said they want to make it clear that Maxwell was not being punished in place of Epstein or as a proxy for Epstein, that Maxwell was being sentenced for her actions.
Epstein died of suicide in a jail cell in 2019 when he was awaiting court action on sex trafficking charges.
Turkey agrees to allow Sweden and Finland join NATO
Turkish President Erdogan lifted his objection against Sweden and Finland joining NATO, which means the two countries now have a clear path forward to become NATO members.
It is a big deal because much of Finland’s eastern side borders Russia. Sweden is a neighbor of Finland. If both become NATO members, then there’s more capability for the military alliance to watch over Russian aggression. The NATO has a commitment to defend any of its member countries if it is under attack.
Erdogan had a problem with Sweden and Finland because he believed they provided a home to Kurdish organizations that he considered to be terrorists. But the three countries were able to reach an agreement during the NATO summit in Madrid.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stimulus-check-california-inflation-relief-payments/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/26/us/amtrak-crash-brentwood.html
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/06/28/nyregion/ghislaine-maxwell-news-epstein
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/january-6-hearings-june-28/index.html
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/28/turkey-sweden-finland-nato-objections