Trump hush money trial: Jury set to hear opening statements | AP News. NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in history, prosecutors will present a criminal case against a former American president to a jury Monday as they accuse Donald Trump of a hush money scheme aimed at preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public. A 12-person jury in Manhattan is set to hear opening statements from prosecutors and defense lawyers in the first of four criminal cases against the presumptive Republican nominee to reach trial.
The statements are expected to give jurors and the voting public the clearest view yet of the allegations at the heart of the case, as well as insight into Trump’s expected defense. Attorneys will also introduce a colorful cast of characters who are expected to testify about the made-for-tabloids saga, including a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump and the lawyer who prosecutors say paid her to keep quiet about it. Tucker reported from Washington. Republicans erupt into open warfare over Ukraine aid package vote | Republicans. Republican divisions over military support for Ukraine were long simmering. Now, before Saturday’s extraordinary vote in Congress on a foreign aid package, they have erupted into open warfare – a conflict that the vote itself is unlikely to contain.
Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, triggered an all-out split in his own party’s ranks last week by finally agreeing, after months of stalling, to a floor vote on the $95bn foreign aid programme. Passed by the Senate in February, it contained about $60bn for Ukraine, $14bn for Israel, and a smaller amount for Taiwan and other Pacific allies. Johnson’s decision to finally bring the package to a vote made a highly symbolic break with the GOP’s far right, the people who engineered his elevation to the speaker’s chair last October after toppling his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. “I really believe the intel and the briefings that we’ve gotten,” Johnson said. The backlash was fierce. Skip past newsletter promotion. Six takeaways from first day of Trump’s historic New York criminal trial | Donald Trump News. So it begins. On Monday, history was made as former United States President Donald Trump appeared in a New York courtroom for the start of his trial over charges of falsifying business records.
He became the first US president, past or present, to stand trial on criminal charges. Monday was the start of what is expected to be a six-week-long process, according to Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case. The trial is also the first of four separate criminal trials Trump faces. It comes in the midst of his 2024 bid for the presidency. Prosecutors hope to convict the former president on 34 felony charges related to hush-money payments he allegedly made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims they had an affair.
Not only did he attempt to hide the payments, but he did so in an attempt to stem bad press and conceal information from voters just months before the 2016 presidential election, prosecutors have argued. Trump calls trial ‘assault on America’ “It’s a scam. 24 hours, seven mass shootings — as an election looms, what does a day of gun violence look like for the United States? It is 1am on March 31, a week ago, when an unknown man opens fire on a group of young women celebrating a birthday in Chicago, Illinois. WARNING: This story contains content that may be distressing for some readers. The group are in their teens – among them is 19-year-old Arianna Murphy, who has only been at the party for a few minutes. She has just graduated top of her class and is about to start nursing school. A "smart and loving", "very outgoing person", her family says she has a vibrant energy and a signature smile.
She dies at the scene. The gunman flees. In the hours to come, nearby residents will go out into the street to scrub the blood from the cement themselves. It is the first mass shooting of the day. Hundreds of children and teens already killed by guns in 2024 There have already been 4,138 deaths linked to gun violence across the United States in 2024, according to independent research organisation the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). 'The wrong place at the wrong time'
Technical Difficulties. Taylor Swift is at the centre of far right conspiracy theories over a possible presidential announcement at the Superbowl. It can be difficult to escape Taylor Swift. Not content to just stay in her musical lane, she's crossed over into movies and sport. Politics might be her next conquest. Swift's art is deeply personal and many of her songs autobiographical, drawing in legions of devoted fans who feel she has given voice to some of their deepest feelings. But for most of her career, the singer has carefully avoided any mention of her political persuasion. "Throughout my whole career, label executives would just say: 'a nice girl, doesn't force their opinions on people, a nice girl, smiles and waves and says thank you,'" Swift revealed in her 2020 documentary Miss Americana. "I became the person everyone wanted me to be. " But that changed in 2018 when she endorsed two Democratic candidates in her home state.
Now Swift is facing questions over whether she'll deploy some of her star power in the battle for the White House. It was the icing on the cake after the singer's mic drop moment earlier in the evening. The unprecedented situation at the US-Mexico border – visualized | US-Mexico border. Record levels of migration are straining an immigration system left nearly broken by decades of congressional inaction. Republicans have spent years amplifying scenes of turmoil and tragedy at the southern border, but Democratic leaders are also worried now, particularly big-city mayors and blue state governors who are demanding more federal resources to shelter and feed an influx of migrants. With many voters now saying immigration is a top priority, what exactly is happening at the US border to make so many people concerned? There has been a surge of encounters at the US border Since the pandemic there has been a spike in global migration, coinciding with Joe Biden’s presidency.
Across the globe, people are fleeing war, political insecurity, violence, poverty and natural disasters. Many of those in Latin America, in particular, travel to the US in search of safety. Arrivals are coming from more countries Their journey is more perilous Their cases languish in courts In the meantime … Why Democrats are donkeys and Republicans are elephants | CNN. Editor’s Note: This article was published in partnership with Artsy, the global platform for discovering and collecting art. The original article can be seen here. Every election cycle, illustrations of donkeys and elephants show up in political cartoons, campaign buttons, Internet memes, and some truly alarming fashion choices. How could it be otherwise? The two beasts – the former representing the Democratic Party; the latter, the Republican Party – are mainstays of America’s visual culture, as recognizable as Santa Claus or Uncle Sam.
Yet most Americans would be surprised to learn that both political symbols (as well as Santa Claus and Uncle Sam) were popularized, and given their modern forms, by the same maverick cartoonist. His name was Thomas Nast, and over the course of his tenure at Harper’s Weekly, from 1862 to 1886, he became America’s first great political cartoonist – and one of its harshest satirists.
Families allowed hug on the US-Mexico border. Donald Trump warns of threat of World War II, mixes up names of Joe Biden and Barack Obama in Washington speech. Former US president Donald Trump appeared to confuse Joe Biden — his likely opponent in next year's election — with his Oval Office predecessor Barack Obama before mistakenly warning of the outbreak of World War II in a speech in Washington DC that lit up social media over the weekend.
The 45th president was speaking at a gathering of US religious leadersHe said 80-year-old Joe Biden was "cognitively impaired" and "corrupt" and could cause World War IIIn a weekend TV interview, 77-year-old Mr Trump said there shouldn't be an age limit of presidential candidates but a cognitive test was a good idea Mr Trump made the gaffe about the threat of World War II — which finished in 1945 — during the part of his address in which he was questioning the mental acuity of 80-year-old Mr Biden. At 77 years old, Mr Trump is only three and a half years younger than Mr Biden but claims to be sharper in his decision-making skills. "[But] a lot of people say it's not constitutional to do it.
" ABC/Wires. One image, one face, one American moment: The Donald Trump mug shot | AP News. A camera clicks. In a fraction of a second, the shutter opens and then closes, freezing forever the image in front of it. When the camera shutter blinked inside a jail in downtown Atlanta on Thursday, it both created and documented a tiny inflection point in American life.
Captured for posterity, there was a former president of the United States, for the first time in history, under arrest and captured in the sort of frame more commonly associated with drug dealers or drunken drivers. The trappings of power gone, for that split second. Left behind: an enduring image that will appear in history books long after Donald Trump is gone. “It will be forever part of the iconography of being alive in this time,” said Marty Kaplan, a professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communications. In the photo, Trump confronts the camera in front of a bland gray backdrop, his eyes meeting the lens in an intense glare. This is different. And the imagery itself? Biden's 1st month was about erasing the mark of 'former guy' WASHINGTON (AP) — When Joe Biden walked into the Oval Office for the first time as president a month ago, his pens were ready.
Already. Lining a fine wooden box, they bore the presidential seal and an imprint of his signature, a micro-mission accomplished in advance of his swearing-in. Four years ago, pens were just one more little drama in Donald Trump’s White House. The gold-plated signature pens he favored had to be placed on rush order in his opening days.
On matters far more profound than a pen, Biden is out to demonstrate that the days of a seat-of-the-pants presidency are over. He wants to show that the inflationary cycle of outrage can be contained. On policy, symbolism and style, from the Earth’s climate to what’s not on his desk (Trump’s button to summon a Diet Coke), Biden has been purging Trumpism however he can in an opening stretch that is wholly unlike the turmoil and trouble of his predecessor’s first month. Trump, of course, had eschewed masks. How low? Republicans block 9/11-style congressional probe of Capitol riot. Watchdog: 2 Trump EPA appointees defrauded agency of $130K.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two high-ranking Trump political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency engaged in fraudulent payroll activities — including payments to employees after they were fired and to one of the officials when he was absent from work — that cost the agency more than $130,000, a report by an internal watchdog says. Former chief of staff Ryan Jackson and former White House liaison Charles Munoz submitted “official timesheets and personnel forms that contained materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements” to mislead EPA personnel and facilitate improper payments over multiple months, according to a report by EPA’s Office of Inspector General.
The two men, who have since left the EPA, arranged for former agency employees to continue collecting nearly $38,000 salaries even after they were fired, the report says. The March 31 report was released this week. Federal prosecutors declined to press charges over any of the inspector general’s findings. This week in US politics: Americans are switching off the news, and Olivia Rodrigo visits the White House. There isn't really a way to describe it. 'Stable,' comes to mind, as does 'boring' and 'safe'. But the closest descriptor might be 'quiet,' a good word to capture the absence of what was, in the end, maybe just a lot of noise. Americans would wake up, leave work, walk out of a movie theatre — cease doing whatever thing had gloriously occupied their attention — and their phones would greet them with all the flashing, buzzing, screaming reminders. Donald Trump tweeted something racist. An official resigned. Trump tweeted.
Trump's presidency reduced the news cycle to minute details — confusing and complicated shreds of information that could only be 1) ignored or 2) understood through constant vigilance. You'd tell yourself not to look, or at least not to look so much, or, okay, to look but at least not to care. It didn't matter if you thought that Trump was doing harm or if you thought that Trump's work was being harmed from constant attack. Because what else could we do? Good 4 her. What the West Wing tells us about America today. Like many others enduring COVID lockdown I've resorted to comfort viewing. For me it is nostalgia, taking refuge in a world before the pandemic and bingeing old episodes of the West Wing. The fictional White House series is a time capsule transporting me to a time when America still basked in a post-Cold War triumphal glow. It reigned supreme as the sole global superpower.
China was then still a long way from usurping America. Yet the world was turning. In season two Toby Ziegler, the irascible White House communications director, was locked in an argument about why countries in the Middle East don't like America. "They will like us when we win! " Animated GIF autoplay Check this box to disable GIFs from automatically playing on the ABC News website.
A classic piece of American hubris for sure, but a dilemma that still confronts the US today. To be the world leader may not always mean being liked. That episode was from 2002. Democracy in retreat In truth, America's slide has been long coming. What next for Trump - and Trumpism? Trump impeachment: Senate trial poised to start next week. Pink seesaws at US-Mexico wall win design award. With the US Capitol attacks, domestic terrorism in America has exploded into the mainstream.
What happened at the US Capitol earlier this month might be new for many people, a shock. But for people like me, it's not something new at all. This war was going on for years before rioters stormed the building, so for anyone who has been paying attention, it won't have come as a surprise. I've had to deal with the kind of hate that was on display my whole life. I was nine when a mechanic at McQuick's Lube on Maple Avenue found a remote-controlled pipe bomb strapped to the bottom of a deputy sheriff's car.
It wasn't like the movie Speed or anything. The officer was off duty, just driving around town running errands, when he stopped off to get the oil changed in his Chevy Blazer. Someone was trying to send that police officer a message: "You think you're safe because you're a cop, but I know where you live, and I can kill you whenever I want to. " After removing the device, the bomb squad from Columbus detonated it in the parking lot out back — where I used to ride my skateboard. What is happening with US President Donald Trump's border wall, and what does president-elect Joe Biden intend to do? A centrepiece of US President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policy was the construction of a "big, beautiful wall" on the US-Mexico border — and the promise that Mexico would pay for it.
Mr Trump will this week leave office with the wall less than half complete according to his initial specifications, as well as no apparent funding contribution from Mexico. So how much of the wall has been built and what will be its fate be under Joe Biden's administration? How much has been built? Mr Trump repeatedly promised in 2015 and 2016 the wall would be 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometres) long. He argued the wall would combine with mountain terrain and rivers to create an effective barrier across the 1,954 mile (3,145km) US-Mexico border. During his 2020 State of the Union address, Mr Trump said "substantially more than 500 miles" of the wall would be complete by early 2021. "We did it, just like I said we would, and we had it out years and years before they thought it was possible," Trump said. Corporate donors flee Republican Party following Capitol Hill riot, and it's only the beginning. Donald Trump's impeachment and the Capitol riots have left the US on a knife's edge.
Enduring 2nd impeachment, Trump stands largely silent, alone. Donald Trump's second impeachment is a solemn moment that could signal America's renewal or ruin. Pizzagate: Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal. Donald Trump's team may have hidden records from Mar-a-Lago storage room, Justice Department says. Donald Trump supporters and detractors gather outside Manhattan court and are kept apart. Donald Trump could become president of the United States again — even if he's in jail. Pentagon leaks: key revelations of classified documents | US foreign policy.
American, Chinese diplomats clash publicly at start of first talks under Joe Biden's presidency. US President Donald Trump retweets manipulated Joe Biden video, issued Twitter warning - ABC News. Donald Trump heading to California for wildfires briefing as death toll rises – US politics live. Rage review: Will Bob Woodward's tapes bring down Donald Trump? | Donald Trump. Book: Trump said of virus, 'I wanted to always play it down'
RNC 2020 fact-check: Trump’s Covid-19 lie, refuted in one chart. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Roger Stone: five things to know about Trump's controversial ally. Facebook takes down accounts and pages of Trump ally Roger Stone. Donald Trump's behavior was shaped by his 'sociopath' father, niece writes in bombshell book. Trump blasts 'left-wing cultural revolution' at Mount Rushmore | USA News. Judge allows John Bolton book on Donald Trump's policy to be released - ABC News. Cavuto: President Trump, Fox News doesn't work for you. Donald Trump has been peddling a theory known as #Obamagate. What does it all mean? - ABC News. Trump impeachment trial: Four numbers that explain why he was cleared. Untitled. House votes to condemn Trump's racist tweets. Donald Trump is right to be worried about his Twitter numbers — here's why.
Midnight Oil - US Forces. I’m Mad As Hell Speech From Network (1976) | Neil Hughes. What exactly is Donald Trump accused of? These are the striking details revealed in the former president’s second indictment. Leak suspect yearned to join US military but then regretted it. U.S. tracked China spy balloon from launch on Hainan island along unusual path. Discord member details how documents leaked from closed chat group. The Pentagon leak that landed on a chat forum about Minecraft exposes an unavoidable weakness in US national security. ‘We don’t know’: US says still investigating intel document leak | Russia-Ukraine war News. US allies the apparent subject of leaked intelligence documents as investigation underway into the origins of the leak. Kakistocracy. Ronan Farrow: Woody, Weinstein and me | Media.
Trump again punts on white supremacy after New Zealand attacks. Gore: Trump inadvertently pushes people to fight climate change. Gore: US getting close to political shift on climate change. Trump uses State of the Union to defiantly defend his immigration agenda, announce date of next summit with North Korea’s Kim. How to Watch the State of the Union Address. What to watch for in tonight’s State of the Union address. Trump tells intel chiefs to "go back to school" after they break with him. What are Donald Trump’s executive orders so far? No more WhatsApp? How the proposed encrypted message access laws will affect you - Politics. Donald Trump wades into 'yellow vest' debate, triggering a French rebuke - Donald Trump's America. Time magazine puts Trump opposite sobbing child on cover. Oprah Winfrey's stirring Golden Globes speech prompts talk of White House run | Film. WGWW. Trump’s threat to NBC’s license is the very definition of Nixonian.
Victories against Trump are mounting. Here's how we deal the final blow | Rebecca Solnit | Opinion. The official White House website has dropped any mention of climate change | TechCrunch. Every Terrifying Thing That Donald Trump Has Done. Normalizing fascists. When Does Donald Trump Take Office - Inauguration 2017. US election night 2016 – as it happened | US news. Jennifer Hawkins declines to criticise Donald Trump over stage encounter | US news. Crowd turns on Donald Trump at charity dinner after Hillary Clinton jokes. No Planet B, no Planet A. Raising my fist at the Olympics cost me friends and my marriage — but I’d do it again. 9/11 tapes reveal raw and emotional Hillary Clinton | US news. Here’s the Full Transcript of President Obama’s Speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Rabbi Michael Lerner Brings Down The House At Muhammad Ali's Funeral.
Antarctica World Passport. Politics, Policy, Opinion and News. Home. Politics - 2013. United States military nuclear incident terminology. List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States. Obama Administration Warns Beijing About Covert Agents Operating in U.S. Will you commit class suicide with me? Theconversation. 994 mass shootings in 1,004 days: this is what America's gun crisis looks like | US news. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.