SHERO on Sunday
What Happened Was...a lightning fast comprehensive recap of the week's biggest events for April 22nd-28th, 2024.
Recently, I made a big decision to make all of my posts here on SHERO free and available for everyone. My goal is to grow SHERO into a place where anyone can go to check in on what they may have missed, or what they need to know. I want this newsletter to be a first stop for everyone who needs answers they can trust. We can grow now if we work together — your involvement in helping to provide independent journalism for everyone is essential.
I’d like to welcome everyone to my Sunday Recap, which was previously behind a paywall, but will now be free to everyone. This is where you can quickly check-in to review the week with a minimal time commitment, and make sure you did not miss anything. I also provide several links to more detail on each issue from credible and free sources if you want to dive deeper on any issue. SHERO on Sunday is the place to get caught up with all of the major events of the week before we are on to next week. Welcome!
Quick reminder: this kind of newsletter model, which will now provide free, reliable independent journalism that connects the political and legal dots to everyone, only works if subscribers support our work with paid subscriptions. Consider upgrading your weekend by investing in SHERO today.
Gun Violence This Week
There were five separate mass shooting incidents in the United States this past week, where five people were killed and 17 were injured. Here at SHERO, we document all mass shooting incidents for the week every Sunday, so please take a moment to review them and remember to keep up the fight for sensible gun reform.
Sunday, April 21, 2024: Oak Forest, Illinois
Monday, April 22, 2024: Yukon, Oklahoma
Monday, April 22, 2024: Petersburg, Pennsylvania
Friday, April 26, 2024: Washington, DC
Saturday, April 27, 2024: Daytona Beach, Florida
In case you missed it, I made you a playlist that you can find here:
Testimony by former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial this week has revealed an astonishing level of corruption at America’s best-known tabloid. Pecker explained the arrangement he made to boost Trump’s presidential candidacy in 2016, and tear down his rivals and to silence any revelations that may have damaged him.
Newly unsealed filings from November 2022, in the Trump stolen documents criminal case, reveal that Trump’s valet Walt Nauta was told that if he was charged with lying to the FBI, Trump would pardon him when he won in 2024.
I read an incredibly moving essay by Philip Seymour Hoffman's sister, that was published this week in The Paris Review to honor him ten years after his death — you can read it here.
On Monday, President Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low-and middle-income communities, and by criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies on climate change.
The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide the legality of a federal regulation aimed at reining in homemade "ghost guns," as President Joe Biden's administration combats the escalating use of these largely untraceable weapons in crimes nationwide.
Police arrested at least 47 protesters on Monday evening at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale University in Connecticut and New York University in Manhattan, as student protests over Israel’s war in Gaza continue to roil US campuses.
The Biden administration issued a nationwide ban on Tuesday regarding the ability of employers to make their workers sign noncompete agreements — a move regulators said would help boost employee pay, which is set to be challenged in court by business groups.
The US Supreme Court appeared to side with Starbucks on Tuesday in a case that could make it harder for the federal government to seek injunctions when it suspects a company of interfering in unionization campaigns.
Protesters chanted "Blood on your hands" at Tennessee House Republicans on Tuesday after they passed a bill that would allow some teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds, and bar parents and other teachers from knowing who was armed. The 68-28 vote in favor of the bill was sent it to Republican Gov. Bill Lee for consideration. If he signs it into law, it would be the biggest expansion of gun access in the state since last year's deadly shooting at a private elementary school in Nashville.
On Tuesday, the Senate passed $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden, after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
Tabloid publisher David Pecker testified on Tuesday that he pledged to be Donald Trump‘s “eyes and ears” during his 2016 campaign, recounting how he promised Trump that he would help suppress harmful stories and how he arranged to purchase the silence of a doorman.
The Biden administration finalized a new rule on Wednesday, which will make millions more salaried workers eligible for overtime pay. Starting July 1, of this year, employers will be required pay overtime to salaried workers who make less than $43,888 a year in certain roles.
The United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case on Wednesday that will impact the future of abortion bans and their legitimacy, and determine whether Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion is so strict that it violates a federal law requiring emergency care for any patient, including providing abortions for pregnant women in dire medical emergency situations.
The Biden administration issued final rules on Wednesday to require airlines to automatically issue cash refunds for things like delayed flights and to better disclose fees for baggage or canceling a reservation.
Arizona State House lawmakers voted on Wednesday to pass a bill that would repeal the near-total ban on abortion from 1864, after three state House Republicans joined Democrats in the vote. The vote on repeal is close in the Arizona Senate, but has a chance to pass.
On Wednesday, an Arizona Grand Jury indicted seven attorneys or aides affiliated with Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, as well as 11 Arizona Republicans, on felony charges related to their alleged efforts to subvert Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes confirmed that five of the Trump officials charged in the Arizona fake electors scheme, whose names were redacted in the original indictment, are: John Eastman; Boris Epshteyn; Christina Bobb; Jenna Ellis; and Mike Roman.
On Thursday morning, a divided New York State Court of Appeals overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for sex crimes and ordered a new trial. The 4–3 ruling turned largely on the original judge’s decision to let in evidence of alleged crimes other than the ones for which jurors had been asked to assess Weinstein’s guilt or innocence.
In the wake of a controversy surrounding the valedictory address and pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus, the University of Southern California on Thursday announced its main graduation ceremony will not be held.
“With the new safety measures in place this year, the time needed to process the large number of guests coming to campus will increase substantially,” the school wrote in an announcement.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard more than two hours of arguments on the landmark question of whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. While the Justices appeared likely to reject Trump’s absolute immunity claim, it seems likely he could still benefit from a lengthy trial delay, possibly beyond November’s election.
On Friday, Judge Juan Merchan signed an Order to Show Cause compelling Donald Trump to attend a hearing on three new alleged gag order violations, even though Merchan has yet to rule on the prosecution's earlier motion alleging ten violations.
Donald Trump’s longtime assistant, Rhona Graff, was called to the witness stand in Manhattan on Friday, and a key moment in prosecutor Susan Hoffinger’s questioning of Graff revealed that Trump’s contacts contained an entry for Karen McDougal, along with that of someone else named “Stormy.”
Conservative pundits have condemned the South Dakota governor and possible Trump running mate Kristi Noem on Saturday, amid widespread horror over her admission in a new book that she killed both an “untrainable” dog and an unruly goat during a single day in hunting season.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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That Tenneessee bill is handcrafted to be as dangerous as possible. SECRETLY armed teachers?
Tell me this is anything other than the NRA trying to encourage another shooting to sell more guns and I'll look at you like a dog that's just been shown a card trick.