10 things you need to know today: July 6, 2022

1. Lindsey Graham, Giuliani among Trump allies subpoenaed in Georgia

A Georgia grand jury investigating possible criminal interference by then-President Donald Trump and his allies in the state's 2020 presidential election count subpoenaed Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported, citing documents it obtained. The Fulton County special grand jury also issued subpoenas for Trump legal advisers Kenneth Chesebro, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Cleta Mitchell, all of whom participated in Trump's effort to overturn President Biden's victories in Georgia and other battleground states. Giuliani's subpoena mentions his December 2020 testimony to Georgia lawmakers claiming he had evidence of widespread voter fraud. Giuliani likely has "unique knowledge" of Trump's "multi-state, coordinated efforts" to influence the election results, the grand jury said.

The Washington Post

2. Russia shifts offensive into Ukraine's Donetsk province

After declaring victory in Ukraine's Luhansk Province, Russia has shifted the focus of its most violent assaults onto neighboring Donetsk, the other province in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Russian forces increased their shelling on the supply hub of Bakhmut and the city of Sloviansk, one of the urban centers now in the Russian Army's path. The city's mayor, Vadym Lyakh, urged residents to flee on Tuesday, a day after heavy shelling destroyed 40 houses. "Artillery is already hitting the city," he said on Ukrainian television. In a Facebook post, Lyakh said one person was killed and seven wounded in strikes on the city's central market.

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The New York Times

3. 7th victim dies after Chicago-area July 4th parade shooting

A seventh person died Tuesday of wounds sustained in the mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, local officials said. The gunman fired more than 70 rounds from a rooftop with an AR-15 semiautomatic assault-style rifle, and hit 45 people. The suspect, Robert Crimo III, was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder Tuesday. A family member reportedly had called police in September 2019, saying Crimo "threatened to kill everybody." A coroner identified the first six victims to die as: Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35; Kevin McCarthy, 37; Jacqueline Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88, all of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo, 78, of Morelos, Mexico.

Chicago Sun-Times

4. Mississippi judge rejects request to block abortion ban

A Mississippi judge on Tuesday rejected a request by the state's only abortion clinic to temporarily block a state ban on most abortions. Barring new developments, the clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, plans to close at the end of business Wednesday, before the ban takes effect Thursday. "People in Mississippi who need abortions right now are in a state of panic," said one of the clinic's attorneys, Hillary Schneller of the Center for Reproductive Rights. Mississippi's "trigger" law was set up to take effect when the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

The Associated Press

5. DOJ sues to block Arizona voting law requiring proof of citizenship

The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to block an Arizona law requiring people to provide proof of citizenship to vote in presidential elections or to cast mail-in ballots in any federal election. The department said the law, set to take effect in January, violates the National Voter Registration Act. Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said the lawsuit aims "to protect all Americans' right to vote and to ensure that their voices are heard in our democracy." Former President Donald Trump and some of his supporters have claimed that voter fraud gave President Biden a narrow win in the state, although a Republican-led review affirmed Biden's victory and found no evidence of irregularities.

Reuters

6. DOJ settles suit by 6 men detained after 9/11 attacks

The Justice Department on Tuesday settled a lawsuit filed by six men detained after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks who said they were subjected to restrictive conditions and in some cases abused. The settlement calls for the men — Ahmer Iqbal Abbasi, Anser Mehmood, Benamar Benatta, Ahmed Khalifa, Saeed Hammouda, and Purna Raj Bajracharya — to split a $98,000 payout for the time they were held without terrorism charges at New York's Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. The settlement came even though the Supreme Court and lower courts had thrown out large parts of the complaint. The Justice Department admitted no guilt, but prison officials acknowledged the men were held in "unduly harsh conditions."

The Associated Press

7. 2 U.K. Cabinet members resign in setback for Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government took a major blow on Tuesday with the resignation of two of its most senior Cabinet members, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. The two officials announced their departures within minutes of each other after Johnson was forced to acknowledge that, contrary to previous denials, he had known about sexual misconduct allegations against another senior member of his government. Javid wrote in his resignation letter that he could "no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government." Sunak wrote that "the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently, and seriously." Johnson is expected to face intense questioning in Parliament.

NPR Bloomberg

8. Biden awards 4 Medals of Honor for Vietnam service

President Biden on Tuesday awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor, to four Vietnam-era soldiers, praising their "acts of incredible heroism." Edward Kaneshiro, an Army staff sergeant who was killed in a later operation, single-handedly cleared an enemy trench using hand grenades and his rifle when his infantry squad was ambushed. Army specialist Dwight Birdwell, using his tank's machine gun and his M16 rifle, helped to repel hundreds of enemy troops during an assault on a Saigon base. Dennis Fujii, an Army specialist, waved off rescue helicopters after his helicopter ambulance was shot down, staying to tend to wounded soldiers. John Duffy, an Army major, risked his life to direct airstrikes as a base was overrun.

The New York Times

9. Report: Red state economies recovering faster from pandemic

Many workers and employers have relocated to red states as pandemic-era remote work policies spurred migration from more expensive and crowded blue states like New York, California, and Illinois. As a result, Republican-leaning states have recovered economically faster than Democratic-leaning states by some measures, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The newspaper cited a Moody's Analytics index with 13 metrics, including employment, retail sales, and the value of goods and services produced, and found that 11 of the 15 states with the highest readings were red, and eight of the lowest 10 were blue. Since the pandemic started, red states have added 341,000 jobs, while blue states have lost 1.3 million.

The Wall Street Journal

10. Recession concerns drive down oil prices

Crude oil prices plunged on Tuesday, falling below $100 per barrel for the first time in nearly two months. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate dropped by as much as 10 percent to touch a low of $97.43 before closing down 8 percent at $99.50. International benchmark Brent crude closed at $102.77 after falling by more than 10 percent to a low of $101.10 a barrel. Wholesale gas futures also fell by 36 cents a gallon, a drop of nearly 10 percent on the day. The nationwide average for a gallon of gas has fallen to $4.80, down a penny since Monday and 8 cents since a week ago, according to AAA. Analysts said fears of a recession, which could reduce demand for fuel, have prompted a sell-off in oil and gas futures.

CNN