President Joe Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:43 PM PT – Tuesday, December 13, 2022

President Biden has signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law. The Act protects same-sex and interracial marriage.

The signing ceremony took place on The South Lawn on the White House on Tuesday. The event was attended by many notable names including singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper. Smith, who identifies as non-binary, sang their song “Stay With Me.” Lauper sang her hit song “True Colors.”

Other notable guests at the signing included Club Q founder Matthew Haynes, two survivors from the Club Q shooting, a survivor from the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and plaintiffs and counselors from the Obergefell and Loving Supreme Court cases.

Before Biden signed the legislation, he made a quick speech to the crowd.

The Act was passed by a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The Senate passed it in a 61-36 vote. It was then sent to the House where it passed in a 258-169 vote.

Ten years prior to this signing, as a senator, Biden voted to block federal recognition of same-sex marriage. At the time he also said he believed marriage should only be between a man and a woman.  

This illustration photo shows a smart phone screen displaying the logo of FTX, the crypto exchange platform, with a screen showing the FTX website in the background in Arlington, Virginia on February 10, 2022. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:40 PM PT – Tuesday, December 13, 2022

U.S prosecutors have announced several charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors.

According to a criminal indictment on Tuesday, Fried is charged with eight counts of fraud and conspiracy. That includes conspiring to defraud the United States and breaking campaign finance laws.

Prosecutors allege he did this while raising more than $1.8 billion dollars from FTX investors who bought an equity stake in the exchange. At the time, investors were led to believe that FTX had appropriate controls and risk management measures in place.

American regulators have received harsh criticism from politicians for their failure to predict the collapse of FTX, which at first glance makes U.S. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s hasty disclosure of charges seem reactionary.

The Bahamian police announced that Mr. Bankman-Fried was detained at his apartment complex just after 6 o’clock on Monday. Fried is expected to be extradited to the United States.