Author: CNN

Here’s what lawmakers on Capitol Hill are saying after the Democratic-controlled Senate voted to kill both articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

House GOP leadership: House Speaker Mike Johnson, Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer and Chairwoman Elise Stefanik said that Democrats have “issued their full endorsement of the Biden Administration’s dangerous open border policies” through this vote. “Secretary Mayorkas alongside President Biden has used nearly every tool at his disposal to engineer the greatest humanitarian and national security catastrophe at our borders in American history,” the statement said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: The trial was “frivolous and political,” he said, adding that “impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements.”

Vulnerable Democratic Sen. Jon Tester: “Montanans want real solutions that secure the border, not partisan games from D.C. politicians,” he said. “It’s time for President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas to use their remaining executive authorities to help secure our border, and for Congress to pass bipartisan border security legislation to give law enforcement the resources and policy changes they have said they need to get the job done.”

Sen. Steve Daines: The chair of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm warned that the GOP will use vulnerable Senate Democrats’ votes in the impeachment trial against them.“I don’t think this is the last time that voters in these key states have heard about this,” Daines told CNN.

CNN’s Haley Talbot and Morgan Rimmer contributed to the report.

This post was updated with Schumer’s statement.

Fifteen bodies were recovered Monday from around Al-Shifa Hospital following the withdrawal of the Israeli military from the area two weeks ago, Gaza residents and medical crews told CNN.

Health workers and residents in northern Gaza have been searching for what they believe are mass graves and looking for their loved ones after they said Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians and left their bodies to decompose during their two-week siege of the complex.

Hundreds of bodies have been recovered from areas around the hospital complex since the siege ended April 1, a Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson told CNN last week.

Video filmed by CNN Monday shows medical workers, some wearing UN-marked vests walking around the site over mounds of sand, digging up bodies. White body bags can be seen on the side of the excavation site, some marked with text that read “unidentified body” and some with names of people on them.

 Al-Khateeb’s mother, Khawala Al-Khateeb, was 75 years old when she was brought to the hospital three days before the Israeli military siege on the complex and surrounding neighborhood of Al-Rimal, and was killed three days after, he said.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on these allegations but has not received a response.

Waleed Abu-Laila told CNN he had been searching for his mother since the Israeli siege on the hospital ended on April 1. On Monday, he said he found her body and was only able to identify her “from the specific markings on her feet and hands” from when she had a toe and finger amputated back in November.

Video shows Abu-Laila opening a white body bag, revealing his mother’s decomposed body.

Khadr Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed to this report.

CNN
 — 

Here is a look at the life of former AIG Chief Executive Officer Hank Greenberg.

Birth date: May 4, 1925

Birth place: New York, New York

Birth name: Maurice Raymond Greenberg

Father: Jacob Greenberg

Mother: Ada (Rheingold) Greenberg

Marriage: Corinne (Zuckerman) Greenberg (1950-March 17, 2024, her death)

Children: Jeffrey, Evan, Scott and Cathleen

Education: University of Miami, B.A., 1948; New York Law School, LL.B., 1950

Military: US Army, Captain

Recipient of the Bronze Star for his service during the Korean War.

Awarded the Legion of Honor from France.

Chairman of the Board of The Starr Foundation.

Vice chairman of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

Member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

1952-1960 – Works for Continental Casualty Company.

1960 – Is hired as a vice president for the insurance-holding company C.V. Starr & Co., Inc.

1968 – C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. begins distributing some the firm’s subsidiaries in order to raise capital to establish American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Greenberg becomes the Chairman and CEO of AIG.

1988-1995 – Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

1994-1995 – Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

March 2005 – Greenberg resigns as CEO and chairman of the board of AIG.

May 2005 – New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer files a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court against Greenberg on behalf of the state, charging him with engaging in fraud to exaggerate AIG’s finances.

2005-present – Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and Starr International Company, Inc.

September 16, 2008 – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announces an emergency $85 billion loan to AIG to rescue the company, on the condition that the federal government own 79.9% stake in the company. Greenberg is AIG’s largest individual shareholder before the bailout, with 11% ownership in the company.

April 2009 – The loan expands to $184.6 billion. The government eventually owns a 92% stake in the company.

August 2009 – The Securities and Exchange Commission charges Greenberg for his involvement in the fraudulent accounting transactions that inflated AIG’s finances. Without conceding or denying the SEC charges, Greenberg agrees to pay $15 million in penalties, and AIG settles the charges by repaying $700 million plus a fine of $100 million.

November 21, 2011 – Greenberg and his Starr International Company sue the federal government for $25 billion, claiming the 2008 takeover was unconstitutional. Starr International also sues the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in federal district court in Manhattan.

November 2012 – Greenberg and Starr International’s lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is dismissed. The ruling is upheld in appeals court in January 2014.

January 2013 – Greenberg’s book, “The AIG Story,” is released.

May 2013 – Greenberg’s lawsuit against the federal government achieves class action status. Three hundred thousand stockholders, including AIG employees and retirees, would share the reward if they win the lawsuit.

June 25, 2013 – A New York appeals court rules that the 2005 fraud lawsuit, filed by Spitzer, against Greenberg, will not be dismissed.

July 2013 – Greenberg files a lawsuit against Spitzer in New York’s Putnam County Supreme Court, alleging defamation related to statements he made between 2004 and 2012.

June 25, 2014 – After granting a request by Spitzer to dismiss most of his statements, a judge rules that Greenberg’s defamation lawsuit against him will go to trial.

October 6, 2014 – Greenberg and Starr International’s class action lawsuit against the government officially begins in the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC. Closing arguments take place on April 22, 2015.

June 15, 2015 – Starr International wins its lawsuit against the federal government “due to the Government’s illegal exaction,” but the court awards no monetary damages.

February 10, 2017 – Greenberg and the New York attorney general’s office reach a settlement in the 2005 civil fraud lawsuit. Greenberg agrees to pay $9 million, and former AIG Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith agrees to pay $900,000.

September 13, 2017 – The Supreme Court of New York Appellate Division denies summary judgment for several of Greenberg’s defamation charges against Spitzer.

January 15, 2020 – St. John’s University’s presents Greenberg with a Lifetime Leadership Award at its Annual Insurance Leader of the Year Award Dinner. The school also announces that it has voted to rename its School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science in his honor. It is now the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.

November 12, 2020 – A judge in New York’s Putnam County Supreme Court rules to dismiss Greenberg’s defamation case against Spitzer.

January 2023 – The Starr Foundation gifts Georgia State’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business $15 million. Georgia State University announces they will rename its Department of Risk Management & Insurance to the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science in recognition of the donation.

A jury of 12 New Yorkers has been seated in former President Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial in Manhattan. It comes after two empaneled jurors were dismissed Thursday morning and seven new jurors were chosen by the afternoon.

The jury is made up of seven men and five women.

Now, the court is working to pick up to six alternates. One has been seated so far. Judge Juan Merchan said he is hopeful the process will be finished on Friday.

Here’s what to know to get up to speed:

Seated jurors dismissed:

Lawyers continue their questioning:

Jurors excused for cause:

Trump in court: The former president turned his chair and faced the jury box while lawyers asked questions. He craned his neck to look at the jury pool as several prospective jurors said they disagreed with Trump’s policies or generally disliked him.

Tomorrow: Merchan swore in a new panel of potential jurors who will return on Friday when the selection of alternates will continue.

Gag order: Meanwhile, prosecutors say Trump violated his gag order seven more times, pointing to posts online and calling the situation “ridiculous.” The order was issued to stop Trump from making statements about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or the family members of prosecutors and court staff in late March. Merchan will have a hearing about the matter next Tuesday.

CNN
 — 

Here’s a look at the Masters, one of golf’s four major tournaments, along with the US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. It is held annually at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

April 11-14, 2024 – The 88th Masters tournament takes place. Scottie Scheffler wins, claiming his second Masters title.

April 6-9, 2023 – The 87th Masters tournament takes place. Jon Rahm wins, claiming his first green jacket and second career major at Augusta National.

Par at Augusta National is 72 and the course is 7,475 yards.

Dr. Alister MacKenzie of Scotland was the architect of the course.

The winner is presented with a green blazer. He can wear the “Green Jacket” home, but must return it to the club the next year.

Jack Nicklaus has won six Masters tournaments (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986), more than any other golfer. Tiger Woods has five Masters wins.

Three players have won consecutive Masters titles: Nicklaus (1965, 1966), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990) and Woods (2001, 2002).

Sergio Garcia played in 19 Masters before he won in 2017. The average number of attempts before a first victory is six.

Woods is the youngest player ever to win the Masters. (21 years, 3 months and 14 days old)

Nicklaus is the oldest player ever to win the Masters. (46 years, 2 months and 23 days old)

January 1933 – The Augusta National Golf Club formally opens in Augusta, Georgia, after being founded by golfer Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts.

March 22, 1934 – The first Augusta National Invitation Golf Tournament is held.

1937 – Members of Augusta National begin wearing green jackets.

1939 – The tournament is officially named The Masters.

1940 – The date of the tournament moves to the first full week of April.

1943-1945 – During World War II, no tournament is held. Play resumes in 1946.

1956 – First Masters television broadcast, only holes 15 through 18 are broadcast.

1972 – The waiting list for Masters tickets is established. The list has since closed. Applications for practice round tickets are now taken a year in advance.

1990 – TV executive Ron Townsend is admitted as the club’s first African-American member.

2003 – The National Council of Women’s Organizations leads a protest against Augusta National’s all male membership.

April 12, 2004 – Arnold Palmer plays in his 50th and final tournament.

August 20, 2012 – Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and private investment banker Darla Moore become the first women admitted as members of Augusta National Golf Club.

April 6, 2019 – Jennifer Kupcho wins the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur to become the first female to win at the site of the Masters.

March 13, 2020 – Originally scheduled for April 9-12, the 2020 tournament is postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Israel, aided by its allies, dodged a bullet Sunday.

To be more precise, 60 tons of explosives aboard more than 350 Iranian projectiles, some bigger than a family car, failed to dodge Israel’s defenses.

Yet Israel, in defiance of US President Joe Biden’s warnings to “take the win” and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s threat of a “severe, extensive and painful” response to any retaliation, is contemplating just that.

Deterrence, shorthand for “meanest S.O.B. in the room,” Israel believes, is the cornerstone of its survival. Iran is stealing that brick.

When faced with existential threats in the past, Israel has executed the most audacious raids the region has ever witnessed. The point being, Israel won’t telegraph its attack plans as Iran did at the weekend.

Aside from the core members of Israel’s war cabinet, more than a dozen other people have sat at the table deep inside the Kirya, Israel’s maximum security defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, thrashing out their next move.

Netanyahu’s next move will likely try to lock in sanctions, and strike before negative Gaza headlines dump the international good will filling his sails.

The clock is ticking. He needs two things, time to prepare a significant surprise strike, and time to coalesce international diplomacy. As both march to different beats, his legendary political acumen faces one of its stiffest tests yet.

Netanyahu is famed as a political survivor. But now he faces the biggest gamble of his career. He is betting the blood of his nation over Iran’s read of his rift with America.

Read more.

CNN
 — 

Here is a look at the life of Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

Birth date: April 27, 1955

Birth place: Washington, DC

Birth name: Eric Emerson Schmidt

Father: Wilson Schmidt, a professor

Mother: Ellie Schmidt

Marriage: Wendy Boyle (1980-present)

Children: Sophie and Alison

Education: Princeton University, B.S., 1976; University of California, Berkeley, M.S, 1979 and Ph.D., 1982

Was a member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Serves on the boards of many organizations, including the Broad Institute and the board of trustees at the Mayo Clinic.

1983-1997 – Works for Sun Microsystems, Inc.

February 1994-March 1997 – Serves as chief technology officer for Sun Microsystems, Inc.

April 7, 1997-2001 – CEO of Novell, Inc.

March 2001 – Is named chairman of Google.

August 2001-April 2011 – Serves as Google CEO. Schmidt receives a $100 million package as outgoing CEO, which marks the first stock-based compensation that he has received since he took over as Google’s CEO in 2001.

2006 – With his wife Wendy, establishes the Schmidt Family Foundation to promote sustainability through environmental preservation, science and education.

2007 – Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a fellow.

2010 – Co-founds venture capital firm Innovation Endeavours.

April 4, 2011-October 2015 – Executive chairman of the board of directors at Google.

January 7-10, 2013 – Schmidt travels to North Korea with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson on what is described as a humanitarian mission.

February 4, 2014 – Google reveals that Schmidt will receive $106 million in bonuses based on the search giant’s 2013 performance.

May 4, 2014 – “The New Digital Age: Transforming Nations, Businesses, and Our Lives,” co-written with Jared Cohen, is published.

September 23, 2014 – “How Google Works,” co-written with Jonathon Rosenberg, is published.

August 10, 2015 – Google announces a corporate restructuring, forming an umbrella company called Alphabet and naming a new CEO to the core business of Google. Schmidt will become Alphabet’s executive chairman.

October 2015-December 2017 – Executive chairman of the board of directors of Alphabet.

March 2, 2016 – Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announces that Schmidt is being appointed head of a new Defense Innovation Advisory Board, in an effort by the Pentagon to better address and enhance technology within the Department of Defense.

December 21, 2017 – It is announced that Schmidt is stepping aside as executive chairman of Alphabet. He will remain on the board and continue to serve as a technical adviser.

February 5, 2018 – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announces that Schmidt will join MIT as a visiting innovation fellow for one year.

January 2019 – Schmidt is selected as chair of the 15-member National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

April 30, 2019 – Alphabet announces that Schmidt will step down from its board of directors in June.

March 25, 2021 – With his wife Wendy, gives $150 million to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to launch the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center. The center will focus on the “intersection of data science and life science, aimed at improving human health.”

February 16, 2022 – Schmidt Futures announces the launch of the philanthropic project “AI2050.” With his wife Wendy, Schmidt plans to invest $125 million across a 5 year period towards artificial intelligence research.

January 2024 – Forbes reports that Schmidt is launching a start-up in the US and Ukraine that produces AI drones called White Stork.

CNN
 — 

Here is a look at the life of US Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont and former 2020 presidential candidate.

Birth date: September 8, 1941

Birth place: Brooklyn, New York

Birth name: Bernard Sanders

Father: Eli Sanders, paint salesman

Mother: Dorothy (Glassberg) Sanders

Marriages: Jane (O’Meara) Sanders (1988-present); Deborah (Shiling) Messing (married and divorced in the 1960s)

Children: With Susan Mott: Levi; stepchildren with Jane (O’Meara) Sanders: Heather, Carina, David

Education: Attended Brooklyn College, 1959-1960; University of Chicago, B.A. in political science, 1964

Religion: Jewish, though he has told the Washington Post he is “not actively involved with organized religion”

Although independent in the US Senate, Sanders has run as a Democrat in his two bids for the presidential nomination, in 2016 and 2020.

His father’s family died in the Holocaust.

During the 1960s, he spent half a year on a kibbutz in Israel.

Was a member of the Young People’s Socialist League while at the University of Chicago.

The longest serving independent member of Congress in American history.

Sanders applied for conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War.

Nominated for a Grammy Award but did not win.

August 28, 1963 – Attends the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

1972, 1976, 1986 – Unsuccessful bids for governor of Vermont.

1972, 1974 – Unsuccessful bids for the US Senate.

1981 – Wins the race for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, by 10 votes, running as an independent.

1981-1989 – Mayor of Burlington for four terms.

1988 – Unsuccessful bid for the US House of Representatives.

1990 – Wins a seat on the US House of Representatives by about 16% of the vote.

1991-2007 – Serves eight terms in the US House of Representatives.

1991 – Co-founds the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

2006 – Wins a seat on the US Senate with 65% of the vote.

January 4, 2007-present – Serves in the US Senate.

December 10, 2010 – Holds a filibuster for more than eight hours against the reinstatement of tax cuts formulated during the administration of President George W. Bush. The speech is published in book form in 2011 as “The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class.”

2012 – Wins reelection for a second term in the US Senate. Receives 71% of the vote.

2013-2015 – Serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

April 30, 2015 – Announces his run for the Democratic presidential nomination in an email to supporters and media.

May 1, 2015 – Sanders’ campaign raises more than $1.5 million in its first 24 hours.

January 17, 2016 – Sanders unveils his $1.38 trillion per year “Medicare-for-All” health care plan.

February 9, 2016 – Sanders wins the New Hampshire primary, claiming victory with 60% of the vote. He’s the first Jewish politician to win a presidential nominating contest.

July 12, 2016 – Endorses Hillary Clinton for president.

August 21, 2017 – Sanders pens a commentary article in Fortune magazine outlining his health care proposal “Medicare-for-all.”

November 28, 2017 – Is nominated, along with actor Mark Ruffalo, for a Grammy in the Spoken Word category for “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In.”

February 26, 2018 – Sanders’ son, Levi Sanders, announces he is running for Congress in New Hampshire. He later loses his bid in the Democratic primary.

November 6, 2018 – Wins reelection to the US Senate for a third term with more than 67% of the vote.

January 2, 2019 – The New York Times reports that several women who worked on Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign had come forward alleging they had experienced sexual harassment, pay disparities and targeted disrespect by campaign members. Sanders immediately responds to the allegations, claiming that he was not aware of any of the claims and apologizes to “any woman who feels like she was not treated appropriately.”

February 19, 2019 – Announces that he is running for president during an interview with Vermont Public Radio.

February 20, 2019 – According to his campaign, Sanders raises nearly $6 million in the first 24 hours following the launch of his 2020 presidential bid.

March 15, 2019 – Sanders’ presidential campaign staff unionizes, making it the first major party presidential campaign to employ a formally organized workforce.

August 22, 2019 – Sanders unveils his $16.3 trillion Green New Deal plan.

October 1, 2019 – After experiencing chest discomfort at a campaign rally, Sanders undergoes treatment to address blockage in an artery. He has two stents successfully inserted.

October 4, 2019 – The Sanders campaign releases a statement that he has been discharged from the hospital after being treated for a heart attack. “After two and a half days in the hospital, I feel great, and after taking a short time off, I look forward to getting back to work,” Sanders says in the statement.

February 3, 2020 – The Iowa Democratic caucuses take place, but the process descends into chaos due to poor planning by the state party, a faulty app that was supposed to calculate results and an overwhelmed call center. That uncertainty leads to delayed results and a drawn-out process with both Sanders’ and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaigns raising concerns.

February 27, 2020 – Sanders’ presidential campaign challenges the results of the Iowa caucuses partial recount just hours after the state’s Democratic Party releases its results. In a complaint sent to the Iowa Democratic Party and Democratic National Committee, the Sanders campaign claims the state party violated its own rules by allowing the Buttigieg campaign to partake in the process because they didn’t meet the proper requirements.

February 29, 2020 – The Iowa Democratic Party certifies the results from the state’s caucuses, with Sanders coming in second behind Buttigieg and picking up 12 pledged delegates to Buttigieg’s 14. The certification by the party’s State Central Committee includes a 26-14, vote, saying the party violated its rules by complying with the Buttigieg campaign’s partial recanvass and recount requests.

April 8, 2020 – Announces he is suspending his presidential campaign.

April 13, 2020 – Endorses former Vice President Joe Biden for president.

January 28, 2021 – Sanders raises $1.8 million for charity through the sale of merchandise inspired by the viral photo of him and his mittens on Inauguration Day.

June 20, 2023 – Launches a Senate investigation into working and safety conditions at Amazon warehouses.

April 7, 2024 – Authorities arrest a man in connection with an alleged arson at Sanders’ office in Vermont on April 5, according to the Justice Department. Multiple employees were in the senator’s office at the time of the fire, and it’s unknown how many other people were in the building. There were no injuries reported, the Justice Department said.

Seven people have been seated on the jury in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump in Manhattan. Court is not in session Wednesday, and jury selection will continue Thursday until a panel of 12 New Yorkers and likely six alternates has been selected.

But before anyone was seated Tuesday, jurors went through the questionnaire phase in which they were questioned by the district attorney’s office and Trump’s lawyers. As jurors spoke, Trump was frequently seen flipping through the jury questionnaire, often leaning back in his chair.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche challenged several prospective jurors, calling for some to be dismissed for cause due to social media posts.

Remember: Each side has 10 peremptory strikes to remove a juror from the pool — no questions asked. In the instances in which either side is successful in dismissing a potential juror for cause, it does not have to use a strike.

Both the prosecution and defense have each used six preemptive strikes. This means each side has four strikes left.

These were some of the challenges:

Who are the jurors? An oncology nurse, a corporate lawyer, an English teacher: What we know about the seven seated jurors.

Trump and the judge: Merchan gave the former president a stern warning for visibly and audibly reacting to one of the potential jurors in court. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom,” the judge said after the potential juror left.

Looking ahead: The next batch of 96 potential jurors was sworn in Tuesday and dismissed until Thursday morning.