China blasted the latest package of U.S. military assistance to Taiwan, saying such funding was pushing the self-governing island republic into a “dangerous situation.” The U.S. Senate late Tuesday passed $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The package included $8 billion for Taiwan, meant to counter the threat of invasion by China, which claims the entire island as its own territory and has threatened to take it by force if necessary. The mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Wednesday that the aid “seriously violates” U.S. commitments to China and “sends a wrong signal to the Taiwan independence separatist forces.”

A new package of $61 billion in U.S. aid may prevent Ukraine from losing its war against Russia. But winning it will be a long slog. The aid approval means Ukraine may be able to release artillery ammunition that it has been rationing. The difference could be felt within days on the front line. That may help slow Russian troops, who are taking territory against massively outgunned Ukrainian forces. And the new aid will buy Ukraine time for long-term planning about how to turn the tide. Many military experts believe that neither Ukraine nor Russia is capable of mounting a major offensive until next year. But Russia is pushing forward along the front line, and Ukraine says it desperately needs artillery ammunition and air defenses to counter the assaults.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Thursday's hearing is a historic day for the court, with the justices having an opportunity to decide once and for all whether former presidents can be prosecuted for official acts they take while in the White House. But between a decades-old case about Richard Nixon, and an obscure constitutional provision about presidential impeachments, there are likely to be some unfamiliar concepts and terms thrown about.

U.S. officials say the Pentagon is poised to send $1 billion in new military aid to Ukraine now that the Senate has approved long-awaited legislation to fund the weapons Kyiv needs to stall gains made by Russia. The decision announced Tuesday comes after months of frustration, as bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding. House Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The overall $95 billion foreign aid package gained Senate approval Tuesday and President Joe Biden said he would sign it Wednesday. About $61 billion is for Ukraine. Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the U.S. would send air defense weapons once the Senate approves the bill.

Criminal charges say that a Minnesota state senator told police she broke into her stepmother’s home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes. Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury was arrested early Monday at the home in Detroit Lakes. The arresting officer said he heard Mitchell tell her stepmother she was trying to get some of her dad’s things because the stepmother had cut off contact. The complaint, filed Tuesday, charges the former broadcast meteorologist with one count of first-degree burglary. Court records don't list an attorney for her.