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A New York judge ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear before the Fulton County special grand jury investigating former President Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. According to a notice filed by the Fulton County district attorney, Giuliani failed to appear at a July 13 hearing in New York City where he could have contested the order. Sen. Lindsay Graham and Rep. Jody Hice have also been subpoenaed by the grand jury.
Ukrainian forces increased their strikes on Russian targets in Kherson, a southern port city currently occupied by Russian forces. The move comes as U.S. officials report that Kherson is among the Ukrainian territories that Russia intends to annex. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States will provide Ukraine with four additional HIMARS—long-range rockets which Ukraine has used to combat Russian advances—to assist with fighting Russian forces.
Russia’s war plans in Ukraine now extend beyond the Donbas region, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergie Lavrov. He said that if western countries continue to provide Ukraine with long-range rockets, such as HIMARS, Russia’s “geographical tasks will extend still further from the current line." The Russian military’s focus was primarily on the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but has now expanded to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Lavrov said.
Extreme temperatures are breaking records in the central and northeast United States. Heat advisories have been instituted in 28 states across the country to warn residents about heatstroke and other heat-related illness risks. Temperatures are especially high in Texas and Oklahoma, reaching 115 degrees.
Despite public opposition, Sri Lankan lawmakers voted to institute Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new president. Earlier this month, protestors stormed Wickremesinghe’s official residence and burnt down his private residence claiming that he was an ally of ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. As of today, the response to the election has been less intense than realier protests. Only 100 people gathered on the steps of the presidential secretariat in opposition to the vote, as compared to more than 100,000 people who participated in earlier protests.
The European Union told its member countries to reduce their gas consumption by 15 percent until March. The voluntary commitment may be made legally binding if Russia restricts the transport of gas to Europe this summer, writes BBC News. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which supplies Europe with Russian gas, is currently offline due to maintenance. Moscow has said that it will turn the pipeline back on by Thursday. But there are fears that Russia will renege on its promise.
ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare
Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which David Priess sat down with Katarina Tacz to discuss Swedish and Finish security as the two countries await NATO membership.
Arthur Traldi analyzed the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention and its use by authorities in the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic to charge captured fighters in Ukraine with mercenarism.
Chris Riley and Susan Ness argued that modularity is the best possible path toward creating a global internet with platform accountability.
Stewart Baker shared an episode of the Cyberlaw Podcast in which he sat down with Tatyana Bolton, Jamil Jaffer, and Megan Stifel to discuss the first Cyber Safety Review Board Report and other recent cybersecurity law developments.
Benjamin Pollard shared a Biden administration executive order on U.S. hostages and wrongful detainees.
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