The State Department held internal consultations on whether to deny Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich a visa ahead of his expected visit to the U.S. next week after he called for the Israeli government to "wipe out" the Palestinian village of Hawara, one U.S. and one Israeli confirmed.
Why it matters: If the U.S. denies Smotrich — a senior minister in the Israeli government — a visa, it would be an unprecedented move in the U.S.-Israel relationship.
A U.S. appeals court on Friday denied a petition to require minimum airplane seat size rules that a flyer advocacy group argued is necessary for passenger safety.
Driving the news: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that FlyersRights.org did not make a "clear and indisputable" showing that the seat sizes are "dangerously" small and that regulations are necessary.
A Kentucky man was sentenced to 45 years in prison after planning a deadly attack on fellow U.S. service members, the Department of Justice said Friday.
Driving the news: Ethan Phelan Melzer, aka Etil Reggad, pleaded guilty in June to attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information.
Attorney General Merrick Garland made a surprise trip to Lviv, Ukraine, on Friday at the invitation of Ukraine’s prosecutor general, according to a Justice Department official.
Why it matters: During the visit, Garland reaffirmed the U.S.' commitment to help Kyiv hold Russia accountable for crimes committed throughout its invasion of Ukraine.
