Comment on 10 things you need to know today: October 30, 2014

The relationship between foreign governments and members of Congress is generating headlines and drawing scrutiny. First, on May 3, the Department of Justice charged Texas Representative Henry Cuellar with bribery, money laundering, and doing work on behalf of a foreign government. Then on May 15, the trial began for New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who stands charged with using his office to facilitate favorable deals and agreements involving select businesspeople and the Egyptian and Qatari governments.

When the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi went missing on May 19, initial reports said nine passengers were on board, including two bodyguards. But after the wreckage was finally found, the number of bodies was eight. Four days later, the mystery of the second bodyguard was revealed in social media posts: Javad Mehrabl is seen leaning disconsolately in the rear of the memorial service for Raisi.

The Royal Family has removed Prince Harry’s 2016 statement addressing the racist and sexist comments Meghan Markle received following public knowledge of the couple’s relationship from their website. The statement was released that November by Harry’s spokesperson following a “wave of abuse and harassment” Harry’s now-wife was facing from the British press and social media users.

Melinda French Gates says she will be donating $1 billion over the next two years to individuals and organizations working on behalf of women and families globally, including on reproductive rights in the United States. French Gates earlier this month announced she would step down from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and vowed to focus on women and families. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] French Gates, one of the biggest philanthropic supporters of gender equity in the U.

T-Mobile is buying U. S. Cellular’s wireless operations and certain spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, and further consolidating the industry. T-Mobile would get more than 4 million new customers and control of U. S. Cellular’s wireless operations and about 30% of spectrum assets across several spectrum bands.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s campaign on Tuesday showed up outside former President Donald Trump’s New York City criminal hush money trial with actor Robert De Niro and a pair of former police officers in an effort to refocus the presidential race on the Jan. 6, 2021, U. S. Capitol insurrection. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] It was a sharp about-face for Biden’s team, which had largely ignored the trial since it began six weeks ago and is now looking to capitalize on its drama-filled closing moments, sending the “Goodfellas” actor and the first responders who were at the Capitol on Jan.