NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Abortion bill: Most lateterm abortions would be outlawed under legislation Republicans pushed through the House on Tuesday, a major priority of the GOP and conservative groups that won’t reach an eager President Trump because it faces certain Senate defeat. The House approved the measure by a near party-line 237-189 vote. Though the bill’s fate is sealed, the push for abortion restrictions remains a touchstone issue for most Republicans, even as the party splinters between traditionalist conservatives and antiestablishment voters looking to roil Washington. Trump was ready to sign the measure, and White House officials sent lawmakers a letter saying the measure “would help to facilitate the culture of life to which our nation aspires.”
2 Flight probe: The Treasury Department’s office of the inspector general said Tuesday it is looking into a trip a top Treasury official took on a plane owned by a wealthy hedge fund operator. Eli Miller, chief of staff for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, flew with Nelson Peltz, a founding partner in Trian Fund Management, on a trip to Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this year. Treasury confirmed the trip but said that Miller had gotten clearance to take the flight. Rich Delmar, counsel to the department’s inspector general, said that the IG’s office was looking into the travel. The investigation was the latest development in an ongoing controversy over the use of government and private planes by top Trump aides.
3 Bombing trial: A jury in New York City watched video footage of a man dragging two small suitcases and a backpack down a Manhattan street before a bomb went off last year. Prosecutors summoned witnesses to describe the videos on Tuesday, a day after promising jurors in Manhattan federal court they would see Ahmad Khan Rahimi carrying bags containing bombs. The bomb injured 30 people. Rahimi has pleaded not guilty.
4 Pot claims: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may start cracking down on claims that marijuana has health benefits that haven’t been proven, the agency’s commissioner said Tuesday. “I see people who are developing products who are making claims that marijuana has antitumor effects in the setting of cancer,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. It’s time to start looking at rules around the plant, which some states have legalized for medicinal or recreational use, he said.
5 Prostitution suit: Three women who alleged they were sold for sex on Backpage.com as teenagers have settled their lawsuit against the website. Their lawyers announced the confidential settlement Tuesday. The case had been scheduled for trial in Pierce County Superior Court in Washington state next week. In the 2012 lawsuit, the three said they were 13 to 15 years old when they were advertised on Backpage.com. They argued the website knowingly marketed commercial sex. Backpage.com confirmed the settlement but declined to comment further. The site shut down its “escort” section this year. Other cases against Backpage remain pending in Washington, California and Texas.