Hey there, from CNN, I'm Krista Bowe with the five things you need to know for Wednesday, February 21st. House Republicans are grilling President Joe Biden's brother James today as part of their impeachment inquiry, but entering a critical phase. They're looking for a smoking gun that proves President Biden was directly involved in or improperly benefited from his son's foreign business dealings, but have come up empty so far. In another blow to the heart of House Republicans' investigation, Special Counsel David Weiss charged a former FBI informant with lying about the Biden's business with the Ukrainian energy company.
Prosecutors say Alexander Smirnov got that false information from Russian intelligence officials. And now House Republicans are downplaying the informant they once championed, and they blame the FBI for relying on Smirnov in the first place. Sources tell CNN top Republicans are expected to decide whether to pursue impeachment articles after their interviews today with James Biden and Hunter Biden next week. One out of five fertility clinics in Alabama is pausing IVF treatment after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children, and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death.
That's what a spokesperson of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine tells CNN. The state's first-of-its-kind ruling puts back into national focus the question of when life begins. It stems from two wrongful death lawsuits filed by a group of parents who went through IVF and sued because a fertility clinic patient removed their frozen embryos from storage and dropped them on the floor. Reproductive rights advocates like Barbara Collorow say this could have a chilling effect on infertility treatments nationwide, as other states could attempt to define embryos as people too.
The goal of IVF is to create as many embryos as possible so that you have the greatest number of attempts at pregnancy. Those embryos are the rights of the people who created them. They may decide to donate them to someone else. They are their choice to do.
Now we simply don't know who has the rights here. Former President Donald Trump's legal bills are racking up, and his political donors are helping pay for them. A new filing shows Trump's leadership PAC paid out nearly $3 million to law firms last month, and he's got almost $2 million worth of new unpaid legal bills. Trump pleaded not guilty to 91 criminal charges across four jurisdictions, and owes hundreds of millions of dollars in legal penalties from a pair of judgments in New York's civil cases that he vows to appeal.
Trump suggested on Fox News last night he's being politically persecuted, just as Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was. It is a form of Navalny. It is a form of communism or fascism. President Biden's calling out his predecessor.
Why does Trump always blame America? Putin is responsible for Navalny's death. Why can't Trump just say that? The Biden administration says it will forgive another $1.2 billion in student debt for nearly 153,000 low-income borrowers enrolled in a new repayment plan, known as SAFE.
Under this plan, remaining federal student loan balances are wiped clean for people who borrow $12,000 or less, and have made payments for at least 10 years. About 7.5 million people are currently enrolled. Since taking office, President Biden has overseen the cancellation of nearly $138 billion in federal student loan debt for millions of borrowers, even though the Supreme Court projected a signature loan forgiveness program last year. Apple is taking an even bigger swing at sports.
That's next. Apple has just released a new app that will help you catch up with your favorite sports team. The app's called, wait for it, Apple Sports. And it offers real-time scores, stats, and even live betting odds.
Users will have access to live data from MLS, the NBA, and the NHL. There are plans to include the NFL and MLB in the future. The app launches just in time for March Madness for both men's and women's NCAA basketball. All right, that's all for now.
I'm Krista Bowen. Our next episode drops at 3 p.m. Eastern. Till next time.