In our news wrap Wednesday, a Democrat has won the special election for a Florida state House district that’s home to Mar-a-Lago, police in the United Kingdom arrested two men in connection with the arson attack that destroyed four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity and the Justice Department settled a lawsuit with President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
John Yang:
In the day’s other headlines, a Democrat has won the special election for a Florida Statehouse district that’s home to President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
(Cheering)
John Yang:
Emily Gregory flipped the seat from Republican control. It was her first time running for elected office. President Trump endorsed her opponent, Jon Maples, and urged voters to turn out Tuesday to vote. He voted by mail, a practice he repeatedly criticizes. National Democrats say the upset win is a further sign of the party’s momentum in this midterm election year.
Police in the United Kingdom have arrested two men in connection with the arson attack that destroyed four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity. Police called the arrest an important breakthrough, but noted that the security footage of the incident from early Monday morning showed three people.
Officials are investigating the attack as an antisemitic hate crime and are also looking into a claim of responsibility by a group with potential ties to Iran.
Russia says it shot down nearly 400 Ukrainian drones in a massive overnight attack across its regions and occupied Crimea. Fires broke out at several major Russian Baltic ports, leading them to suspend crude oil production. The drone attacks were one of the war’s largest strikes on Russian oil facilities.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russian drones hit residential areas in Kharkiv, injuring at least nine people. In the past 24 hours, more than 1,000 drones and missiles struck Ukrainian cities. The back-and-forth attacks come as the United States mediated peace talks have stalled and as Ukraine anticipates a Russian ground offensive this spring.
A unanimous Supreme Court cited with Cox Communications today, ruling that the Internet service provider is not liable for the copyright violations of its customers, namely illegally downloading music. More than 50 music labels led by Sony Music Entertainment banded together in 2018 to sue Cox.
They claimed the company didn’t do enough to deter piracy or cut off Internet access for bad actors. The court’s decision said Cox did not induce its users to break the law and didn’t provide a service tailored to infringement.
The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit with President Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn pleaded guilty during Mr. Trump’s first term to lying about the FBI about conversations he had with a Russian diplomat. Trump later pardoned him.
The settlement was not disclosed, but Flynn had sought $50 million in a lawsuit against the Justice Department, claiming a malicious prosecution. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been a vocal critic of the Russia investigation in which Flynn was charged.
Two federal agencies are taking steps in response to higher fuel prices. One of them is the Environmental Protection Agency. Today, the EPA announced it will allow gas stations to sell higher ethanol fuel temporarily this summer in hopes of bringing down gas prices. The slightly cheaper blend is usually reserved for winter because it evaporates easily in the summer heat and makes air pollution worse.
Separately, the U.S. Postal Service says it’s placing a temporary 8 percent price hike on some deliveries effective next month to cover higher fuel costs. The post office will join other carriers like FedEx and UPS that have already imposed fuel surcharges.
And, on Wall Street, hope for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks higher again today. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 300 points, while the Nasdaq advanced by nearly 0.8 percent and the S&P 500 rose by half-a-percent.
