5 things to know for March 22: Trump bond, Shutdown countdown, Border tensions, Ukraine, Apple
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Three crew members are safe after their launch to the International Space Station was automatically aborted 20 seconds before liftoff, according to a NASA broadcast. Engineers are trying to determine the cause of the problem and resolve it before the next launch window on Saturday morning. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Former President Donald Trump is quickly approaching a deadline to secure a nearly half-billion-dollar bond to appeal his civil fraud case in New York. If the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is unable to find the money by Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James may begin seizing some of Trump’s assets to finance his obligation to the state. Filings show New York officials are first preparing to try to seize Trump’s golf course and private estate north of Manhattan, known as Seven Springs. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers acknowledged this week that he was struggling to find an insurance company willing to underwrite the massive amount. The bond stems from a ruling last month that ordered Trump to pay millions in disgorgement, or “ill-gotten gains,” for issuing false financial statements and false business records to inflate the value of his assets. Congress released a massive $1.2 trillion bill on Thursday to fund the rest of the federal government. However, it’s not yet clear if lawmakers will be able to pass the legislation ahead of the midnight deadline today, raising concerns on Capitol Hill that there could be a short-term lapse in government funding over the weekend. Several critical government operations need to be funded by the end of the day, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State and the legislative branch. If a temporary lapse in funding were to occur, it would likely have only a limited impact on government operations. Top lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing to prevent another shutdown but acknowledged several challenges lie ahead. Mexico is warning a federal US court that if its judges permit a controversial Texas immigration law to take effect, the two nations would experience “substantial tension” that would have far-reaching consequences for US-Mexico relations. Senate Bill 4, signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, makes entering Texas illegally a state crime and allows Texas officials to order immigrants to be deported. US immigration enforcement, generally, is a function of the federal government. “Enforcement of SB 4 would also interfere with Mexico’s right to determine its own policies regarding entry into its territory, undermine U.S.-Mexico collaboration on a legal migration framework and border management, and hinder U.S.-Mexico trade,” attorneys for Mexico said. Ukraine’s capital came under a heavy missile attack Thursday for the first time in six weeks just hours after a visit to the city by US national security adviser Jake Sullivan. More than 25,000 people took shelter in the city’s metro stations while the attack was ongoing. Officials said Russia fired two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles at the Kyiv region — all of which, they said, had been shot down. Tests will confirm exactly what missile types were fired, but a statement from the air force suggests it is possible the ballistic missiles were of North Korean origin. Authorities say about a dozen people were injured from falling debris; there were no reports of any fatalities.
Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening before flights after her overseas travel patterns and foreign connections triggered a government algorithm earlier this year, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.