
Joan Laporta reveals Barcelona's relationship with Lionel Messi after transfer snub
Joan Laporta has revealed Barcelona's current relationship with Lionel Messi after he joined Inter Miami.
2023-07-12 04:22

NATO Digs In on Putin’s Borders With New Allies and Aid for Kyiv
NATO advanced its plans for enlargement in response to Russian aggression, firming up the prospects for Ukraine’s future
2023-07-12 04:21

Pentagon seeks to increase pressure on Tuberville to break hold on military nominations
The Pentagon is seeking to increase pressure on Sen. Tommy Tuberville in an attempt to break the Alabama Republican's one-man hold on hundreds of senior military nominations.
2023-07-12 04:17

Georgia grand jury sworn in to consider Trump charges over attempts to upend 2020 election
A grand jury in Georgia has been sworn in to consider charges against Donald Trump and his allies in their attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. The office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has helmed the investigation into the former president and his allies for more than two years, following Mr Trump’s pressure campaign targeting state officials to reject the results. Ms Willis began investigating Mr Trump shortly after his call to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top elections official, who was pressed to find “11,870 votes” – just enough needed for then-President Trump to beat Joe Biden in the state. A special grand jury previously heard testimony from 75 witnesses, including aides and former attorneys to Mr Trump. That jury concluded its report in January with recommendations for state prosecutors to bring charges that will soon be reviewed by the newly impaneled grand jury. The investigation is among several facing the former president, who is separately the subject of a US Department of Justice special counsel probe into his attempts to subvert the election. He also faces 37 federal charges stemming from the alleged mishandling of dozens of sensitive government documents and has been criminally charged in New York City on fraud-related charges from hush-money payments to bury potentially damaging stories about his affairs in the leadup to the 2016 election. Mr Trump has repeatedly rejected any charges and investigations against him in several jurisdictions as political “witch hunts” and has called the Democratic elected prosecutor in Atlanta, who is Black, “racist” and a “lunatic Marxist.” He has similarly characterised prosecutors in Manhattan, where was found liable for sexual abuse, hit with a $250m lawsuit from the state attorney general, and criminally charged with more than 30 counts of falsifying business records. Ms Willis has previously suggested that any potential charges stemming from the grand juries could come in August. What happens now? The new grand jury in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta and surrounding suburbs, was sworn in on 11 July. Two jury panels selected at a courthouse in downtown Atlanta each have 26 participants. One of those panels will handle the Trump investigation. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who previously handled the special grand jury that collected evidence in the investigation, will preside. What happened to the special grand jury? Roughly one year into her investigation, Ms Willis took the unusual step of asking for a special grand jury to rely on its subpoena power to compel testimony from witnesses who otherwise would not be willing to talk with prosecutors. That special grand jury was seated in May 2022 and concluded its work in January 2022. A list of witnesses included former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, US Senator Lindsey Graham and former Senator Kelly Loeffler, and five members of Mr Trump’s legal team, including Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and “fake elector” architect John Eastman, among several others. In all, the grand jury heard from roughly 75 witnesses before dissolving in January. As a judge heard arguments on 24 January whether to publicly release the grand jury’s report, Ms Willis said that a decision from her office on whether to bring criminal charges was “imminent”. A partially released report from the special grand jury shows that jurors unanimously agreed that “no widespread fraud took place” in Georgia’s election following interviews with election officials, analysis and poll workers. It also includes a recommendation that prosecutors seek indictments for “one or more” witnesses who likely committed perjury, and it will ultimately be up to her office to “seek indictments where she finds sufficient cause”. The publicly released filing does not include witness names, names of people recommended for indictments, or other recommended charges. Who could be charged in the case? Lat year, Ms Willis’s office sent letters warning several people – including fake electors and Mr Giuliani – that they could face charges in the case. She also may be considering a wider set of charges that Ms Willis has made a career out of bringing against dozens of others. The state’s anti-racketeering RICO statute – typically used to break up organized crime – has been used by her office in indictments against more than two dozen people connected to a sprawling Atlanta hip-hop empire, 38 alleged gang members, and 25 educators accused of cheating Atlanta’s public school system. The RICO Act allows prosecutors to bring charges against multiple people that they believe committed separate crimes while working toward a common goal. How common are regular grand juries? Two grand juries are typically seated in Fulton County in each two-month term of court. They usually meet every week – one on Mondays and Tuesdays and the other on Thursdays and Fridays. Their work takes place behind closed doors, not open to the public or to news media. What will they do? Georgia law requires an indictment from a grand jury to prosecute someone in most felony cases. When prosecutors present a case, they’re trying to convince the grand jurors that there is probable cause that one or more people committed crimes and to get the grand jurors to agree to bring charges against them. For each case, prosecutors read or explain the potential indictment and then call witnesses or present any other evidence. Any witnesses who testify must swear an oath to tell the truth. Often in Georgia, the only witnesses the grand jury hears from are law enforcement officers, including investigators for the district attorney’s office. They can tell the grand jurors what they’ve learned in their investigation, including what suspects or witnesses have said and what other evidence they have. Members of the grand jury are allowed to question witnesses. In general, a person who is named as a defendant on the potential indictment cannot be called to testify before the grand jury. After a case is presented, members of the grand jury convene to deliberate the case and whether to vote for a “true bill” or a “no bill” indictment, the former meaning that there is probable cause to believe a person committed a crime. A “no bill” means jurors did not believe a person committed a crime or that there is not enough evidence to indict them. An indictment is then presented in open court. Additional reporting from the Associated Press Read More Who is Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who could take down Trump Trump news – live: Trump wants classified documents trial delayed to after 2024 as Georgia grand jury meets Ethics board recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred for ‘destructive’ attempts to undermine 2020 results Trump valet charged in classified documents case set again for arraignment after earlier delays
2023-07-12 04:15

Trump Trying to ‘Spin His Loss’ in E. Jean Carroll Case, Her Lawyer Says
New York author E. Jean Carroll, who in May won a landmark sexual assault trial against Donald Trump,
2023-07-12 03:59

Leslie Van Houten, follower of cult leader Charles Manson, released from California prison
Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten has been released from a California prison after serving 53 years for two infamous murders
2023-07-12 03:57

MLB open to consider increasing time on pitch clock in postseason
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred will consider increasing time on the pitch clock for the postseason but is reluctant to adjust an innovation the sport considers a great success
2023-07-12 03:57

US climate envoy John Kerry set to travel to Beijing this weekend
US climate envoy John Kerry is set to travel to Beijing this weekend for climate talks with his Chinese counterparts, a Biden administration official told CNN.
2023-07-12 03:53

E. Jean Carroll asks judge to throw out Donald Trump's defamation counterclaim
By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK The writer E. Jean Carroll, who convinced a jury that Donald Trump owed
2023-07-12 03:51

Why Tom Holland keeps his relationship private? 'Spider-Man' star opens up about his bond with GF Zendaya
'My relationship is the thing I keep most sacred. I don’t talk about it,' said Tom Holland
2023-07-12 03:50

Syria cross-border aid lifeline facing closure after UN rift
The Security Council fails to extend deliveries for millions of people in the rebel-held north-west.
2023-07-12 03:47

Supreme Court stands by its guidelines after report raises new ethics questions
The Supreme Court is holding fast to its ethics procedures in light of a new report raising questions about the extent to which colleges and universities have used campus visits by justices as an opportunity to generate donations despite a general ban on judicial fundraising.
2023-07-12 03:29