1. Travel ban begins: President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel to the United States from six predominantly Muslim countries goes into effect Thursday night. Foreign nationals who want to come into the U.S. must have a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship" with either a person living in the United States or an entity such as a school. US citizens, green card holders, those with current visas and dual nationals are exempt from the ban.
2. Fatal YouTube stunt: In a stunt aimed at getting more views on YouTube, a Minnesota woman shot and killed her boyfriend Monday after he urged her to shoot at a book he was holding in front of his chest. Monalisa Perez, 19, was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz III, 22. According to Perez, Ruiz wanted her to shoot into the book to show it would stop a bullet. Perez fired a .50 caliber handgun from about a foot away from the book Ruiz was holding over his chest. "Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE," Perez tweeted Monday night, likely referring to the stunt. The couple has a 3-year-old daughter who was in the room at the time of the shooting. Perez is pregnant with her second child.
Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever
😳😳 HIS idea not MINE🙈— Monalisa Perez (@MonalisaPerez5)
3. FBI agent indicted: An FBI agent involved in a standoff last year at an Oregon wildlife refuge has been charged with failing to report that he fired his gun during the encounter. FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita was charged with making false statements to investigators. Astarita allegedly fired shots during the incident where one of the occupiers at the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was killed by Oregon police. Astarita pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday. He has a trial date of August 29. Astarita is a member of the FBI's hostage rescue team.
4. Senate health care bill: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Kentucky), said Wednesday he will amend the draft of the health care bill by Friday to send it home with Republican senators over the July 4 recess in hopes of coming to a consensus over the legislation. "Senator McConnell's goal is to finish our work by this week so we can get an estimate from the CBO about the final cost of the bill, then we'll be able to vote on it in July," Sen. Lamar Alexander, (R-Tennessee), told reporters on Wednesday. Nine GOP senators have said that they oppose the bill. McConnell can afford to lose only two Republican votes.
5. Cardinal accused of sexual assault: A senior adviser to Pope Francis has taken a leave of absence from the Vatican after he was accused of sexual assault. Cardinal George Pell will be returning to Australia to face "multiple complaints" of sexual abuse. Pell is the pope's chief financial adviser. "I'm innocent of these charges, they are false," Pell said in a press conference from Rome early Thursday. "The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me."
And one more
Clinton Portis, a former Washington Redskins running back, said in an interview published in Sports Illustrated that he considered killing a former financial manager who lost him millions of dollars. Portis said he sat outside a Washington D.C. building several nights in 2013 holding a gun waiting for the man to come out so he could shoot him. A friend, Portis said, talked him out of killing the financial adviser. Portis lost most of the more than $40 million he made during his NFL career.
In case you missed it
Sometimes, you just gotta dance.
About the Author