A top attorney to former President Donald Trump is leaving his legal defence effort, and blaming Mr Trump’s top aide Boris Epshteyn for supposedly being dishonest and unforthcoming in his work to assist the ex-president’s lawyers with his defence against an investigation into whether he retained classified documents illegally. His exit comes as the National Archives announced it found a trove of records proving that Donald Trump and his advisors knew they were breaking rules by taking those classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, according to a report. The agency sent a letter, obtained by CNN, to Mr Trump this week revealing it had found 16 records showing he and his top advisers were aware of the correct declassification process when he was president. “The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records,” wrote archivist Debra Steidel Wall. These records will be turned over to Special Counsel Jack Smith as part of the criminal investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents. Read More Lawyer who quit Trump legal team cites disagreements with Trump adviser as basis for departure DeSantis super PAC tackles tricky task of organizing support for him in Iowa without the candidate Biden gets low ratings on economy, guns, immigration in AP-NORC Poll

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday insisted that the residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed a year ago “made their choice — to be with their Fatherland.” In an address released in the early hours to mark the first anniversary of the annexation, Putin insisted that it was carried out “in full accordance with international norms.” He also claimed that residents of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions had again expressed their desire to be part of Russia in local elections earlier this month, in which Russia’s Central Election Commission said that the country’s ruling party won the most votes. The West has denounced both the referendum votes carried out last year and the recent ballots as a sham. The votes were held as Russian authorities attempted to tighten their grip on territories Moscow illegally annexed a year ago and still does not fully control. A concert was held in Red Square on Friday to mark the anniversary, but Putin did not participate. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, air defenses shot down 30 out of 40 Iranian-made kamikaze drones aimed at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Vinnytsia provinces overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Saturday. Vinnytsia regional Gov. Serhii Borzov said that air defenses shot down 20 drones over his central Ukrainian region, but that a “powerful fire” broke out in the town of Kalynivka when a drone struck an unspecified infrastructure facility. Romania’s Ministry of National Defense said on Saturday that a possible unauthorized entry into its national airspace occurred overnight amid the bombardment. It said the radar surveillance system of the Romanian Army detected “a possible unauthorized entry” into the national airspace of NATO member Romania, with a signal detected toward the city of Galati, which is close to the border with Ukraine. “At this moment, no objects have been identified that fell from the airspace onto the national territory,” the statement read, adding that NATO allies were informed in real time and that searches will continue through Saturday. Emergency authorities issued text message alerts overnight to residents living in the counties of Galati and Tulcea, after detecting what the defense ministry said was “groups of drones heading toward Ukrainian territory” near the border. In recent weeks, Romania has found drone fragments on its soil from the war next door at least three times as Russian forces carry out sustained attacks on Ukraine’s Danube ports. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that it had shot down nine Ukrainian rockets fired at its southern Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. Local officials in Russia’s Bryansk region, also bordering Ukraine, reported disruptions to power supply following an unspecified attack on the town of Pogar. Drone strikes and shelling in the Russian border regions are a regular occurrence. ___ AP writers Stephen McGrath in Sighisoara, Romania, and Elise Morton in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Pope creates 21 new cardinals who will help him to reform church and cement his legacy Slovakia election pits a pro-Russia former prime minister against a liberal pro-West newcomer UAE's president-designate for UN COP28 offers full-throated defense of nation hosting climate talks

Prominent members of German mainstream parties have expressed alarm at a new poll released showing support for the far-right Alternative for Germany at a record high

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Max Verstappen has beefed up his personal security as he prepares for a hostile reception at Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez’s home race in Mexico. Verstappen was jeered by Perez’s supporters at last weekend’s podium presentation in Austin as the triple world champion celebrated his 15th win of the season. Chants of “Checo, Checo” – in support of Perez – were also audible during the Dutch national anthem. A crowd of nearly 400,000 are expected at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez over the course of the weekend, with practice starting on Friday and it is understood Verstappen will be flanked by multiple security guards in the paddock. Perez’s fans are unhappy Verstappen did not help the Mexican secure second place in last season’s championship after he ignored a team order at the penultimate round in Brazil. Perez has won only twice this season – his last victory in Azerbaijan on April 30 – with Verstappen racing to his third title in as many years. The paddock in Mexico City has become one of the most manic on the calendar, with drivers mobbed as they make their way from the motorhome to the garage. And Perez is also expected to have a bigger entourage than normal to cover-off his enthusiastic fanbase. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and the team’s motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko will also be accompanied by security guards. Speaking after last weekend’s race in Austin, Horner said: “I don’t think Max is going to get the warmest reception in Mexico, but that is water off a duck’s back to him. “One year you are the villain and the next year you are the hero.” Perez heads into this weekend’s round 206 points behind Verstappen. However, he is 39 points clear of third-placed Lewis Hamilton, who was disqualified from second at the Circuit of the Americas for running an illegal floor on his Mercedes.

Get the first peek at the seating plan for the upcoming Season 14 reunion and see where the 'RHONY' cast is sitting!

A podcast host is going viral after revealing a little-known iPhone hack that could potentially save your life. Morgan Absher, from Two Hot Takes, demonstrated by how heading into your settings and altering the 'Emergency SOS' buttons, you can easily dial 999 should you need to. "I’m constantly scared about getting kidnapped. Getting kidnapped is my biggest fear", she explains of how she learnt the hack. By turning it on, users can choose to either press and hold their volume and power buttons simultaneously to call the emergency services, or press the power button five times for the same result. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

MADRID/NEW YORK The former head of Venezuela's military intelligence, Hugo Carvajal, who is wanted by the United States

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Mark Telea chalked up his 12th Super Rugby Pacific try this season as the Auckland Blues powered past the New South Wales Waratahs for a 41-12...