List of All Articles with Tag 'erica'

A Florida man who has been on the run for almost four decades for a 1984 murder has been caught in California and extradited back to Florida, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team suffered a setback on Tuesday as a federal judge commented that his argument for moving a trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records out of state court was “far-fetched”. The comments from Judge Alvin Hellerstein were reported by NBC 4; the criminal prosecution is one of two the former president is now embroiled in as his legal entanglements continue to worsen. Mr Trump is accused in New York of falsifying business records dozens of times with the purpose of hiding a well-reported hush money scheme in which he supposedly paid his former attorney to recompense payments that the attorney, Michael Cohen, made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and other women with tales of alleged extramarital affairs with his boss. The former president has denied both the allegations of extramarital affairs as well as his own supposed role in covering them up; his ex-attorney Cohen, however, has explained his boss’s role in the scheme. Mr Trump’s attorneys had sought to see the case moved from court in New York state to a federal jurisdiction, as part of an effort to see the case dismissed on grounds that he supposedly made the payments in 2017 as part of his work as president. On Tuesday, Mr Hellerstein appeared to scoff at that argument. “It sounds a little far fetched, but that's the argument,” Mr Hellerstein reportedly said. He is set to make a final ruling on this matter within two weeks. He also added that as of yet, the Trump attorneys had provided “no reason to believe that an equal measure of justice could not be rendered by the state court”, and given no convincing evidence or arguments to support the idea that there was a “relationship to any official act of the president” and the payments. Mr Trump’s attorneys are defending him from more than 60 felony counts over two indictments; the ex-president is also accused of illegally retaining classified materials and other presidential documents at his resort at Mar-a-Lago. The ex-president continues to insist that the prosecutions are part of a political effort against him even as that argument appears to be losing traction among some establishment Republicans. Read More Biden touts his economic record in fiery speech: ‘Guess what – Bidenomics is working’ Trump’s latest defence in the classified documents case: ‘Bravado’ Chris Christie attacks Trump for diverting campaign funds to legal battles: ‘Cheapest SOB I’ve ever met’ DeSantis supporter blames Trump camp for leaking racist and antisemitic messages ‘Any Republican not named Trump’: Paul Ryan says former president is only candidate who would lose to Biden Liz Cheney lays out damning problem with US politics: ‘We’re electing idiots’

President Joe Biden touted his economic record amid continuing dissatisfaction among Americans with the state of the US economy by saying his policies have proven effective. Mr Biden delivered a fiery speech on Wednesday in Chicago where he sought to flip a term that the Wall Street Journal outlets have used against him--Bidenomics--into a plus. “I didn’t come up with the name, I really didn’t, I’m not offended by it,” he said. “I’m happy to call it Bidenomics.” The president, who is seeking re-election in 2024, said that the US economy has largely recovered from the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and had sought to refute Republican economics. “Guess what? Bidenomics is working,” he said to applause. “When I took office, the pandemic was raging and the economy was reeling. Supply chains were broken. Millions of people were unemployed.” Despite low unemployment, many Americans continue to see inflation as a top priority. A survey from the Pew Research Center last week showed that 52 per cent of Democrats and 77 per cent of Republicans say inflation is still a “very big problem.” Mr Biden sought to soothe those concerns by saying he continues to prioritise lowering prices and noted how inflation is less than half of what it was one year ago. “Bringing down inflation remains one of my top priorities today,” he said. Mr Biden also mentioned the progress that his signature Inflation Reduction Act has made, such as allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. “We’ve been trying to get this done for decades and this time we finally beat big pharma for the first time,” he said. Mr Biden also touted how the law is aiding red states like West Virginia, the home of conservative Democratic Sen Joe Manchin, who has vocally criticised the Biden administration’s implementation of the law as he weighs whether to seek re-election in a staunchly Republican state. The president also touted the expansion of rural broadband, specifically naming Sen Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who opposed the measure previously. “To no one’s surprise, it’s bringing along some converts,” he said. “People strenuously opposed voting against it when we had this going on. This was going to bankrupt America.” Mr Biden’s speech is one of his first outlining his economic doctrine as he seeks to create a contrast between himself and Republican presidential candidates. “This vision is a fundamental break from the economic theory that has failed America's middle class for decades: It’s called trickle-down economics,” he said, describing the economic theory that argues that cutting taxes for the wealthiest individuals and corporations would lead to wealth spreading to the middle-class and low-income Americans. “The trickle-down approach failed the middle class. It failed America.” He also sought to show that he could accomplish what his predecessor and would-be 2024 challenger former president Donald Trump could not achieve by passing the bipartisan infrastructure law. “Remember infrastructure week? Infrastructure week became infrastructure week and week and week and it never happened,” he said, a reference to the fact that the Trump administration regularly touted “infrastructure week.” “We got infrastructure decade done right off the bat.” Mr Biden also planned to continue to shore up cash for his re-election effort and shortly after the event, headed to a fundraiser at the J.W. Marriott’s Grand Ballroom that same day. Read More What next for Biden’s billion dollar broadband expansion? Watch as Biden makes statement on economic policy in Chicago Watch as Biden makes statement on economic policy in Chicago Cambodian leader Hun Sen, a huge Facebook fan, says he is jumping ship to Telegram Paul Ryan says Trump is only Republican candidate who would lose to Biden in 2024

The Republican-controlled North Carolina General Assembly made several last-minute changes to the 12-week abortion ban it passed earlier this year in an effort to stave off a legal challenge. The state’s abortion ban, which is set to take effect on 1 July, is being challenged in court. That lawsuit, attorneys said, was the main factor behind the Republican majority’s decision to introduce an amendment to an unrelated Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) bill that effectively amends the abortion ban. ”The General Assembly is working to pass and enact, with or without the Governor’s signature, a technical and conforming bill to make changes to clarify and address most, if not all, aspects of Plaintiffs’ claims about the Act,” W Ellis Boyle, an attorney for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger, wrote in a legal filing on Tuesday. The amendment to the DHHS bill, House Bill 190, directly addresses a number of the concerns outlined in the lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of the South Atlantic and a number of other organisations. For instance, the lawsuit argues that a provision of the abortion ban stating that it is illegal “after the twelfth week of a woman’s pregnancy to advise, procure, or cause a miscarriage or abortion” violates the Constitution by preventing people from legally providing information about how a person could get legal abortion care in another state. In response, the amendment to HB 190 removes the word “advise” from the text of the abortion ban. The amendment also seeks to clean up a section on the regulation of medication abortion — which is banned after 10 weeks, not 12 — by deleting language that physicians prescribing medication abortions would have to verify that a pregnancy is no more than “70 days” old. Backers of the lawsuit, who are seeking a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the abortion ban from taking effect on 1 July, do not believe that the changes to the ban proposed amendment to HB 190 go so far as to eliminate the need for the restraining order. “If those amendments are passed, they may remedy some of the constitutional violations that Plaintiffs allege,” North Carolina attorney general Josh Stein, nominally the defendant in the suit, wrote in a court filing reported by CNN. “But unless and until the current law is repealed or significantly amended, immediate injunctive relief is necessary to avoid a due-process violation.” Mr Stein, a Democrat, has said he does not intend to defend parts of the abortion ban his office believes are unconstitutional. Mr Stein wrote that even if the amendments pass, they would still “fail to make clear that doctors in North Carolina can help their patients obtain abortions out of state.” It is not yet clear whether Gov Roy Cooper, also a Democrat, intends to sign HB 190 or not. Mr Cooper vetoed the abortion ban, but saw his veto overriden by Republican supermajorities in the legislature. The fact that North Carolina is in the position of dealing with a 12-week abortion ban at all is a surprise: when the legislative session started, the Republicans did not have the votes needed to override a veto of an abotion bill. That changed, however, when Rep Tricia Cotham — a Democrat representing a heavily Democratic seat in the Charlotte area — suddenly switched her party affiliation and gave the Republicans the final vote needed to override Mr Cooper’s veto. Read More North Carolina Republicans censure Sen Thom Tillis for backing LGBT+ rights One year after Roe v Wade fell, anti-abortion laws threaten millions. The battle for access is far from over

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, a devoted and very active user of Facebook — on which he has posted everything from photos of his grandchildren to threats against his political enemies — said Wednesday that he will no longer upload to the platform and will instead depend on the Telegram app to get his message across. Telegram is a popular messaging app that also has a blogging tool called “channels.” In Russia and some of the neighboring countries, it is actively used both by government officials and opposition activists for communicating with mass audiences. Telegram played an important role in coordinating unprecedented anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, and currently serves as a major source of news about Russia’s war in Ukraine. The 70-year-old year Hun Sen is listed as having 14 million Facebook followers, though critics have suggested a large number are merely “ghost” accounts purchased in bulk from so-called “click farms,” an assertion the long-serving prime minister has repeatedly denied. The Facebook accounts of Joe Biden and Donald Trump by comparison boast 11 million and 34 million followers, respectively, though the United States has about 20 times the population of Cambodia. Hun Sen officially launched his Facebook page on Sept. 20, 2015, after his fierce political rival, opposition leader Sam Rainsy, effectively demonstrated how it could be used to mobilize support. Hun Sen is noted as a canny and sometimes ruthless politician, and has since then managed to drive his rival into exile and neutralize all his challengers, even though Cambodia is a nominally democratic state. Hun Sen said he is giving up Facebook for Telegram because he believes the latter is more effective for communicating. In a Telegram post on Wednesday he said it will be easier for him to get his message out when he is traveling in other countries that officially ban Facebook use. China, the top ally of his government, is also the biggest country with a Facebook ban. Hun Sen has 855,000 followers so far on Telegram, where he appears to have started posting in mid-May. It is also possible that Hun Sen’s social media loyalty switch has to do with controversy over remarks he posted earlier this year on Facebook that in theory could see him get at least temporarily banned from the platform. As the country’s top leader for 38 years, he has earned a reputation for heated rhetoric, and in January, speaking at a road construction ceremony, he decried opposition politicians who accused his ruling Cambodian People’s Paty of stealing votes. “There are only two options. One is to use legal means and the other is to use a stick,” the prime minister said. “Either you face legal action in court, or I rally (the Cambodian) People’s Party people for a demonstration and beat you up.” His remarks were spoken on Facebook Live and kept online as a video. Perhaps because of heightened consciousness about the power of social media to inflame and trigger violence in such countries as India and Myanmar, and because the remarks were made ahead of a general election in Cambodia this July, complaints about his words were lodged with Facebook’s parent company, Meta. Facebook’s moderators declined to recommend action against Hun Sen, judging that his position as a national leader made his remarks newsworthy and therefore not subject to punishment despite their provocative nature. However, the case was forwarded in March to Meta’s Oversight Board, a group of independent experts that is empowered to render an overriding judgment that could limit Hun Sen’s Facebook activities. They may issue a decision in the next few weeks. The case is being closely watched as an indicator of where Facebook will draw the line in countries with volatile political situations. Hun Sen said his Facebook account will remain online but he will no longer actively post to it. He urged people looking for news from him to check YouTube and his Instagram account as well as Telegram, and said he has ordered his office to establish a TikTok account to allow him to communicate with his country’s youth.. ___ Peck reported from Bangkok. Dasha Litvinova contributed from Tallinn, Estonia. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Cambodian lawmakers approve changes to election law that disqualify candidates who don't vote Trump’s latest defence in the classified documents case: ‘Bravado’ Trump gives ‘bravado’ defence for secret papers tape as he sues E Jean Carroll – live

A Newsmax host put up a bizarre defence of former President Donald Trump over the leaked audio in which he speaks about classified documents with guests at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club two years ago. On the tape, obtained by CNN on Monday, Mr Trump says that the document, reportedly outlining plans of attack against Iran, was “highly confidential” and “secret information”. “See, as president I could have declassified it. Now I can’t,” Mr Trump said. The recording lines up with a previously reported transcript of the conversation with biographers working on a book about Mr Trump’s last White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Newsmax host Lidia Curanaj argued on Tuesday that Mr Trump could have been lying at the time. Mr Trump was indicted in Miami, Florida earlier in June on 37 counts for willful retention of national defence information, in addition to six other federal violations. “So you know you have some people that say, ‘You know what? We don’t know one hundred per cent for sure that what Trump was holding up was actually a classified document. Was he just kind of being hyperbolic?’” Ms Curanaj said. She later held up a document on the programme American Agenda, adding, “I could say, ‘This is a classified document’—doesn’t make it true”. “You know how Trump is. We don’t know,” she said. Last week, Mr Trump appeared on Fox News for an interview with host Brett Baier, claiming that he had simply been discussing “newspaper stories, magazine stories, and articles”. “There was no document. That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things,” Mr Trump told Mr Baier. “And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document, per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories, and articles.” On Tuesday while campaigning in New Hampshire, Mr Trump was asked about the tape on Fox News. “I said it very clearly, I had a whole desk full of lots of papers, mostly newspaper articles, copies of magazines, copies of different plans, copies of stories, having to do with many, many subjects, and what was said was absolutely fine,” Mr Trump said. “We did nothing wrong. This is a whole hoax.” “My voice was fine. What did I say wrong on those recordings? I didn’t even see the recording. All I know is I did nothing wrong,” he added. “We had a lot of papers, a lot of papers stacked up,” he said. “In fact, you hear the rustle of the paper. And nobody said that I did anything wrong other than the fake news, which is Fox, too.” On Monday, Mr Trump appeared on Newsmax, complaining about the Baier interview. “When I did the interview with Bret, I thought it was fine. I thought it was okay,” he said. “But there was nothing friendly about it. You know, it was nasty, and I thought I did a good job. I’ve been getting credit for doing a good job.” “Everything was unfriendly,” he said, adding that there was “no smiling”. Read More Trump news – live: Trump gives ‘bravado’ defence for classified documents tape as he sues E Jean Carroll Chris Christie attacks Trump for diverting campaign funds to legal battles: ‘Cheapest SOB I’ve ever met’ Kevin McCarthy walks back Trump criticism following backlash from Magaworld

Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to fume about a bombshell leaked audio tape where he is heard discussing holding onto “secret” classified documents after leaving office – and admitting that he knows he cannot declassify them. In the recording, captured during a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and released by CNN on Monday, the former president is heard boasting and laughing with associates about possessing “highly confidential” military documents about Iran. “These are the papers,” he says. “This was done by the military and given to me.” As the sound of what appears to be papers rustling is heard, Mr Trump references a “big pile of papers” and makes the startling confession that he knows he can no longer declassify the documents because he is no longer president. The former president reacted to the release of the tape in a characteristic rant on Truth Social on Monday night, where he railed against “Deranged Special Prosecutor” Jack Smith and baselessly accused the Justice Department (DOJ) and the FBI of leaking it. “The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and “spun” a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe,” he wrote. “This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!” Mr Trump offered no explanation for his belief that the tape exonerates him – a belief largely at odds with much reaction to the tape. George Conway, Lincoln Project cofounder and vocal critic of Mr Trump, called the former president a “sociopathic criminal” in response to the newly-obtained audio and called it just “another nail in the coffin” for his growing legal issues. “The special counsel already had Trump dead to rights because we knew this tape existed in some form,” “But to actually hear a former president of the United States committing a felony, probably multiple felonies, on audiotape while laughing about it is something I just – I think it’s just stunning.” He added: “I mean, this man has no respect for rules, no respect for the lives of other human beings, no respect for the country, no respect for the Constitution, no respect for his duties. “He is a sociopathic criminal. And this is just another nail in the coffin.” In the two-minute audio, Mr Trump is heard appearing to indicate that he is holding onto a secret military document about Iran. “Well, with Milley, uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example,” he says. “He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” he says as the noise of papers rustling is heard in the background. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some, this was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him. All sorts of stuff – pages long, look.” “Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret,” he says, to laughter from people inside the room. “This is secret information. Look, look at this. This was done by the military and given to me. As president I could have declassified, but now I can’t.” Mr Trump and the meeting participants go on to joke that Hillary Clinton would “print” out the documents, joking about her “private emails”. “Hillary would print that out all the time, you know. Her private emails,” one staffer is heard saying. “No, she’d send it to Anthony Weiner,” Mr Trump replies, in reference to Ms Clinton’s use of a private email server. The former secretary of state has never been charged with a crime. The audio was recorded on 21 July 2021 at Bedminster during a meeting between Mr Trump, at least two of his aides and people helping Mr Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows with his memoir. The audio was previously revealed in the DOJ’s indictment charging Mr Trump over his handling of classified documents but has never been heard until now. Its release appears to contradict Mr Trump’s claim in a Fox News’ interview that he did not have any documents. Earlier this month, Mr Trump was indicted on 37 federal charges over his handling of classified documents, including national defence information, after leaving the White House. The indictment, which was unsealed on Friday (9 June), alleges that Mr Trump deliberately lied to and misled authorities so that he could hold onto documents that he knew were classified. On at least two separate occasions, Mr Trump then showed some of the classified documents to people not authorised to see them, the indictment alleges. Stunning photos revealed that many of the documents were stored around a toilet, shower and ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The charges include 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information and single counts of false statements and representations, and counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document, concealing a document in a federal investigation and a scheme to conceal. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in a Miami federal courthouse, becoming the first current or former US president ever charged with a federal crime. Mr Trump’s longtime aide Walt Nauta was also charged with six obstruction- and concealment-related charges after he allegedly helped move boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago to Mr Trump’s residence and then lied to investigators about having any knowledge of the handling of the papers. The two men appeared in court together but Mr Nauta did not enter a plea as he did not have legal counsel in Florida. Mr Nauta is now scheduled to appear for his arraignment on Tuesday morning. Read More Trump news – live: Trump fumes about leaked CNN audio capturing him boasting about ‘secret’ papers Trump critics say bombshell secret papers audio has him ‘dead to rights’: ‘Couldn’t be more incriminating’ Trump and DeSantis to hold dueling campaign events in New Hampshire after squabbling over timing Rape accuser files new lawsuit as Trump seethes over 2024 flop – live Where do Donald Trump’s family stand on him running in 2024? Trump revealed to have tweeted classified image from spy satellite

Despite his large lead in a crowded Republican primary field, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he does not know if Donald Trump is the “strongest” candidate to take on President Joe Biden in the 2024 election. In an interview on CNBC, Mr McCarthy said Mr Trump can beat Mr Biden but that he’s not sure another Republican couldn’t do better. Later in the day, the speaker appeared to walk back the remarks by telling Breitbart that the former president is “stronger today than he was in 2016”. On Monday night, bombshell audio revealed the former president apparently bragging about possessing still-classified military documents about Iran after he left the White House. In the recording, from a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and released by CNN, the former president is heard audibly shuffling the documents. Mr Trump took to Truth Social to fume about the tape, railing against “Deranged Special Prosecutor” Jack Smith and baselessly accusing the DOJ and FBI of leaking it. Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s co-defendant in the classified documents case, his aide Walt Nauta, has had his arraignment in Miami postponed after his flight was delayed by bad weather in New Jersey. Read More Trump fumes about ‘illegally leaked’ CNN tape of him boasting about classified documents Donald Trump countersues E Jean Carroll for defamation over rape claims Rudy Giuliani interviewed by special counsel over 2020 election interference attempts, says report Trump wants to keep 'communists' and ‘Marxists’ out of the US. Here’s what the law says Is Trump the best candidate to beat Biden? Kevin McCarthy says ‘I don’t know’

Donald Trump sued E Jean Carroll for defamation on Tuesday after a jury held him liable for sexually abusing her. The former president filed a counterclaim in Manhattan federal court, accusing the author of tarnishing his reputation publicly. He has sought retraction as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. According to the court filing, Mr Trump “has been the subject of significant harm to his reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result”. Last month, a jury of six men and three women found that the former president was liable for sexual abuse, and not liable for rape, before awarding Ms Carroll $5m in damages. He also launched a fresh defamatory attack on Ms Carroll last month just hours after her lawyers formally asked to amend her remaining defamation lawsuit against the ex-president to include his “smears” at a CNN town hall. “Trump’s defamatory statements post-verdict show the depth of his malice toward Carroll since it is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill will, or spite,” the proposed amended complaint said. “This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award in Carroll’s favour both to punish Trump, to deter him from engaging in further defamation, and to deter others from doing the same,” the complaint said. After his statements about her on CNN, Ms Carroll’s lawyers had asked a Manhattan federal court judge for permission to amend the first defamation lawsuit that she filed against Ms Trump in 2019. He later wrote on Truth Social: “I don’t know E Jean Carroll, I never met her or touched her (except on a celebrity line with her African American husband who she disgustingly called the ‘Ape,’),” he wrote. Mr Trump has previously also accused Ms Carroll of calling her husband “ape”, without any evidence. “I wouldn’t want to know or touch her, I never abused her or raped her or took her to a dressing room 25 years ago in a crowded department store where the doors are LOCKED, she has no idea when, or did anything else to her, except deny her Fake, Made Up Story, that she wrote in a book. IT NEVER HAPPENED, IS A TOTAL SCAM, UNFAIR TRIAL!” he added. Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s lawyers said in the court filing on Tuesday: “The interview was on television, social media and multiple internet websites, with the intention of broadcasting and circulating these defamatory statements among a significant portion of the public.” The former president’s court filing on Tuesday is a counterclaim in a separate 2019 defamation lawsuit Ms Carroll filed against him that is set to go to trial in January, it was reported. While Ms Carroll won the first trial, the former president has interpreted the verdict as a victory, of sorts, because of the finding on rape. Additional reporting from agencies Read More Writer's lawyers say Trump is wrong about $5 million sex abuse-defamation jury award Trump's penchant for talking could pose problems as Mar-a-Lago criminal case moves ahead Trump is funneling 10% of 2024 campaign donations to cover his legal bills Rape accuser files new lawsuit as Trump seethes over 2024 flop – live Where do Donald Trump’s family stand on him running in 2024? Trump revealed to have tweeted classified image from spy satellite

Senator Rick Scott posted a video of himself on Tuesday warning “socialists” and “communists” not to travel or move to his home state of Florida. “Let me give you a travel warning: if you’re a Socialist, Communist, somebody that believes in big government, I would think twice – think twice – if you’re thinking about taking a vacation or moving to Florida,” Mr Scott said at the start of his 35-second video message. Mr Scott’s “travel warning” is a play on the travel advisories civil rights groups like the NAACP and the Human Rights Campaign have issued warning immigrants, LGBT+ people, and people of colour to reconsider travel to the state after it passed a number of laws targeting those communities in recent months. It’s also not the first time Mr Scott, an ambitious first-term senator and former governor, has used the gimmick of issuing his own advisory to draw attention to himself. The senator also issued a press release last month warning people with left-wing views to stay away from the state. “We’re the free state of Florida,” Mr Scott continued in his video. “We actually don’t believe in socialism. We actually know people – some people in our state lived under it, we know people lived under socialism, it’s not good. It’s not good for anybody. So, if you’re thinking about it, if you’re thinking about coming to Florida and you’re a socialist or communist, think twice. We like freedom, liberty, capitalism, things like that.” Mr Scott is reportedly considering running for president, where he would be one of a number of longshot candidates attempting to wrest the nomination away from former president Donald Trump. Along with Mr Trump, two other Floridians are already in the race – Ron DeSantis, Mr Scott’s successor as governor, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Of those candidates, it’s Mr DeSantis who can claim the most credit for turning Florida into a state that has become a symbol for far right governance. In Mr DeSantis’s tenure as governor, the state has moved to severely limit abortion rights, limit free speech in schools, end the state’s tenure system, limit gender-affirming care, and more. Mr Scott, a billionaire former hospital executive who unsuccessfully challenged senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for leadership of the Republican Senate caucus at the start of the current Congress, has reportedly had a strained relationship with Mr DeSantis. He is currently running for re-election to the Senate. Read More Florida senator issues travel warning against ‘socialists’ after NAACP advisory

An investigation by a United Nations (UN) special rapporteur has determined that prisoners incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay are being held under conditions that are “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law.” The special rapporteur, University of Minnesota law professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, spent four days at Guantánamo Bay in February speaking with detainees, former detainees, and lawyers who have worked in and around the notorious facility located on the Cuban coast. Guantánamo Bay has long been notorious, seen by many on the left as a symbol of American disregard for the rule of law in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A number of detainees have reported that they were tortured. But the special rapporteur’s report is a landmark: the first time an independent investigator from the UN has been allowed into Guantánamo Bay since the facility opened more than two decades ago. Since 2002, nearly 800 people have been held at the facility — the vast majority of them Muslim, the vast majority held without a charge or clear trial date. According to the American Civil Liberies Union (ACLU), 39 men remained indefinetely detained at the facility as of last year. Ms Ní Aoláin cited the use of solitary confinement, lack of healthcare, and the use of force against detainees as among the reasons conditions at the prison may even amount to torture. The Biden administration’s response to the investigative findings was largely defensive. In an official response to Ms Ní Aoláin submitted by Michèle Taylor, the ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, the administration complimented itself for allowing Ms Ní Aoláin to access the facility and then minimised many of her findings. “The United States disagrees in significant respects with many factual and legal assertions the SR has made,” Ms Taylor wrote. “We are committed to providing safe and humane treatment for detainees at Guantanamo, in full accordance with international and U.S. domestic law. Detainees live communally and prepare meals together; receive specialized medical and psychiatric care; are given full access to legal counsel; and communicate regularly with family members.” Nevertheless, Ms Taylor wrote that the US is “nonetheless carefully reviewing the SR's recommendations and will take any appropriate actions, as warranted.” In her report, Ms Ní Aoláin outlined a number of areas in which the US could take action. One is regarding its the care it provides for detainees, a number of whom are suffering in Ms Ní Aoláin’s judgement from torture-induced trauma in addition to a range of permanent disabilities and chronic pain. Ms Ní Aoláin called on the US to establish an independent, civilian health care programme for detainees it has allegedly tortured through the years, and noted as well that US has failed to adequately address its use of torture against detainees at Guantánamo Bay. A number of organisations, including the ACLU have called on the US to close the facility completely. Former President Barack Obama announced a plan to close the facility in 2015, but failed to follow through. The Biden administration has also suggested it wants to eventually close the facility, though it has yet to happen. Read More I was a lawyer for Guantanamo detainees. Here’s why the allegations against Ron DeSantis matter Ron DeSantis watched me being tortured, former Guantanamo prisoner says Labor group requests ethics probe of Kentucky GOP gubernatorial candidate over campaign solicitation Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to impeach Biden for joke about selling ‘state secrets’ Bernardo Arévalo, Guatemala's electoral surprise, makes corruption fight top priority

The United States moved on Tuesday to punish companies accused of doing business with the infamous Russian mercenary army known as the Wagner Group, following the group’s insurrection attempt within Russia’s borders. The move is not thought to be specifically related to the coup, however, instead being a response to Wagner’s participation in some of the bloodiest fighting taking place within Ukraine, where Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion last year. A statement from the Treasury Department faulted companies in Africa and the Middle East for participating in a gold-selling scheme in violation of US sanctions to fund the Wagner Group’s ongoing activities. One executive at Wagner, Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov, was also slapped with individual sanctions on his financial dealings. “The targeted entities in the Central African Republic (CAR), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia have engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the Wagner Group to sustain and expand its armed forces, including in Ukraine and Africa, while the targeted individual has been central to activities of Wagner Group units in Mali,” reads Treasury’s press release. The companies are even accused of working with rebel militant groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of the operation. Consequently, an inter-agency task force has issued an advisory highlighting risks for participants in the African gold trade. “Treasury’s sanctions disrupt key actors in the Wagner Group’s financial network and international structure,” added Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson in a statement. “The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali. The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else,” he said. Wagner Group’s prominence exploded over the weekend after the mercenary soldiers ripped through Russia and seized control of a major city, Rostov, where much of the country’s defence sector is centred. The lightning-fast coup ended as quickly as it began, with leader Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently accepting a deal negotiated by the president of Belarus which saw him exiled to that country. In exchange, participants in the insurrection were granted immunity deals — and other, unknown concessions were thought by many to have been extended to Mr Prigozhin as well. It’s unclear what the insurrection means for the future of Wagner, however, given Mr Prigozhin’s apparent banishment and the souring of his ties with Russia’s leader. Many of the private army’s troops are still deployed in Ukraine, where they are engaged in some of the fiercest combat taking place across the country’s southeast. Read More UN urges Israel and Palestinians to halt West Bank violence in statement backed by US and Russia Fox News host suggests White House ‘drummed up’ Russia coup to distract from Hunter Biden Wagner chief walks free after armed revolt. Other Russians defying the Kremlin aren’t so lucky NATO warns not to underestimate Russian forces, and tells Moscow it has increased preparedness Putin admits Moscow paid Wagner mercenaries £800m in wages in a year – and that his forces ‘stopped civil war’ Pope's peace envoy arrives in Moscow after the short-lived Wagner rebellion