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The Texas Legislature meets for just five months every other year to pass a budget and get through

David Sacks, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, will host Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in an audio chat on Twitter Spaces on Wednesday (24 May) where Mr DeSantis is expected to announce his campaign for 2024 president. Mr Sacks, 50, is a longtime friend of Mr Musk and supporter of Mr DeSantis. Though Mr Sacks’ name is not as prominent as other tech-industry giants, the entrepreneur has a long history of leading and investing in major companies like PayPal, Yammer, Facebook, Airbnb and more. In more recent years, Mr Sacks has become a major donor to political campaigns for individual Republicans like JD Vance and Mr DeSantis. What experience does Mr Sacks have? Mr Sacks – who was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1972 and moved to Tennessee with his family as a child – was the Chief Operations Officer (COO) and head of product for PayPal from 1999 until 2002. He has been dubbed part of the “Paypal Mafia”, a group of former PayPal employees who went on to have successful tech companies- like Mr Musk. In 2008, he founded Yammer which became one of the fastest-growing software-as-a-service companies to exist. In 2012, Yammer was acquired by Microsft for $1.2 bn. Mr Sacks co-founded the venture capital firm Craft Ventures in 2017, where he remains a partner. He also has the podcast All-In alongside fellow entrepreneurs Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg. Last year, Mr Sacks was widely reported to be helping out his longtime friend, Mr Musk, behind-the-scenes when his fellow South African-born friend acquired Twitter. What does Mr Sacks believe in? Like Mr Musk, Mr Sacks says he is a proponent of free speech. In a blog post on Medium in 2021, Mr Sacks criticised big tech social media platforms for permanently banning politicians. His belief in free-speech was echoed more recently in an interview with conservative personality Benny Johnson. Mr Sacks accused the media of not allowing anti-vaccine activists and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr to speak freely and questioned critics’ justification of saying Mr Kennedy was spreading misinformation. The entrepreneur also expressed support for Tucker Carlson after he was unexpectedly fired from Fox News. Mr Sacks has also been an outspoken critic of US policy towards Ukraine following the Russian invasion that began in February 2022. In a piece for The American Conservative last year, Mr Sacks proposed a peaceful end to the war which included holding referendums on the future of Donbas and Crimea, both of which were illegally occupied by Russian forces in 2014. On Twitter, Mr Sacks is vocal in criticising the US for its involvement in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and has repeatedly clashed with critics of Vladimir Putin, including former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul. In October Mr Musk retweeted an article Mr Sacks wrote for Newsweek in which he argued that continued military support for Ukraine could lead to “Woke War III”. The article itself was a response to the backlash Mr Musk received over a Twitter poll suggesting a peace deal which would strongly favour Russian interests. In his Newsweek article, Mr Sacks wrote: “There will be no peaceful resolution to this conflict that America doesn’t at least have a hand in negotiating, and we should be leading the effort. Instead, we’ve been deferring to the Ukrainians and their maximalist demands, upping the sanctions on Russia as Putin ups his rhetoric against the West.” While he has been criticised for his outspoken views despite lacking a foreign policy background, he has argued that his lack of expertise is actually an advantage: “Not being a member of the MIC [military industrial complex] is clearly an advantage in understanding the conflict.” What political candidates has Mr Sacks supported? Since the 1990s, Mr Sacks has supported both Republican and Democratic candidates according to OpenSecrets. His largest donations have gone toward the PAC supporting GOP Ohio Senator JD Vance, the conservative Purple Good Government PAC, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Republican National Committee. Over the last two years, Mr Sacks has expressed vocal support for Mr DeSantis on Fox News and Twitter as well as donated to his political campaign. Read More Ron DeSantis to launch 2024 presidential bid on Twitter with Elon Musk Can the chaos from Silicon Valley Bank's fall be contained? Casey DeSantis gives cheeky response to reports husband is launching 2024 campaign The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Speaker Kevin McCarthy left the US Capitol late Tuesday afternoon saying the two sides had yet to reach

Canada should hold hearings on foreign meddling in elections but shouldn’t launch a formal public inquiry into allegations

Donald Trump has appeared in court by video for a second hearing since he became the first US president in American history arrested and charged with a crime. The former president was on screen in the Manhattan Criminal Court so that Judge Juan Merchan can make sure he understands the terms of the protective order in the case. The judge imposed the order after Mr Trump took aim at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Merchan himself on social media as he was charged with 34 felonies for falsifying business records while making hush money payments to cover up alleged affairs with women. A trial date has been set for 25 March 2024 — in the midst of the Republican primaries. Mr Trump’s other legal troubles are also heating up. On Monday, author E Jean Carroll amended her remaining defamation lawsuit against Mr Trump to include the derogatory remark he made about her at a CNN town hall after he was found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of Ms Carroll by jury trial in New York. The former president responded by defaming her again on Truth Social. Read More E. Jean Carroll adds Trump's post-verdict remarks to defamation case, seeks at least $10M Trump bashes DeSantis as he shares surprisingly positive response to another 2024 challenger: ‘Good luck Tim!’ A timeline of Donald Trump’s rivalry with Ron DeSantis Trump Media files $3.78bn defamation lawsuit against Washington Post over Truth Social reporting

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Justice Department on Tuesday asked an appeals court panel to vacate an April 2021

Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest person, had $11.2 billion wiped from his fortune in one day over concerns

Donald Trump appeared virtually in Manhattan criminal court on 23 May for the first time since he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan disclosed the terms of a protective order that prohibits the former president from publicly discussing evidence in the case after prosecutors with the New York District Attorney’s office share information with Mr Trump’s legal team in a case stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign. A trial is set to begin on 25 March 2024, days after voting begins in Republican presidential primaries as Mr Trump once again seeks the GOP nomination. He has pleaded not guilty. Mr Trump grew agitated with the announcement of the trial date, waved his hands and shook his head in disapproval, then folded his arms in frustration as he begins to stare down what could be a weeks-long trial in a critical period in the middle of his 2024 campaign. Prosecutors have argued that a protective order was necessary to keep Mr Trump – who already has repeatedly lashed out against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Merchan – from broadcasting information about the case before a jury has been selected and a trial begins. Mr Trump will be allowed to publicly discuss the case and defend himself in the public sphere, as he continues to adamantly reject the charges as a “witch hunt” against him, but he risks being held in contempt of court if he uses any evidence handed to his team in an attempt to target witnesses, court staff or others involved with the case. On Tuesday, the former president appeared on a video screen in front of two American flags with golden fringes, seated next to his attorney Todd Blanche. A six-page order on 8 May prohibits the presumptive frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, who has used his online bully pulpit with an audience of obedient followers to broadcast veiled threats and insults at his perceived enemies, from disseminating “covered materials” on social media platforms “including, but not limited, to Truth Social, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, or YouTube, without prior approval from the court.” Mr Trump also cannot disclose the names and identifying information of any personnel from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, “other than sworn members of law enforcement, assistant district attorneys, and expert or fact witnesses (other than summary witnesses)” until a jury has been selected, according to the order. Mr Bagg’s office can also redact identifying information from discovery materials, the judge has said. The former president is “very concerned that his First Amendment rights are being violated by this protective order,” Mr Blanche told the judge on Tuesday. “It’s certainly not a gag order,” Judge Merchan said. “It’s certainly not my intention in any way to impede Mr Trump’s ability to campaign ... He’s certainly free to deny the charges,” he added. “He’s free to do just about anything that doesn’t violate the specific terms of this protective order.” Mr Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen and the former owner of the National Enquirer David Pecker allegedly worked in concert to“identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects” leading up to the 2016 presidential election, according to prosecutors. The alleged payments were used to cover up sex scandals as part of a “conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election,” according to prosecutors. Hours after he first appeared in criminal court on 4 April, after the judge warned him against making any incendiary remarks or personal attacks, Mr Trump immediately flew back to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he went on to do just that. “I have a Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and family,” he said that night. He called Mr Bragg “a local failed district attorney” and a “criminal” who should resign. The former president is at the centre of several other civil and criminal investigations, including a $250m lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, special counsel probes from the US Department of Justice into January 6 and mishandling of classified White House documents at Mar-a-Lago, and a criminal case in Georgia stemming from his attempts to pressure officials to overturn that state’s election results in 2020. Earlier this month, a federal jury found Mr Trump liable for for battery and defamation in a lawsuit from the writer E Jean Carroll, who said the former president raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Jurors agreed that Mr Trump “sexually abused” her and then defamed her when he denied her allegations. She was awarded $5m in damages for both claims. Read More Trump news - live: Trump jealously complains about Dominion payout ahead of hush money court appearance

Congressman George Santos sent out a series of thank you notes to his Republican colleagues, whose votes last week assured the New York Republican would not be expelled from the House of Representatives. "I want to personally thank you for your support in referring the vote for my expulsion to the Ethics Committee," the letters, obtained by Insider, say. "This has been an especially difficult time in my life, and I want to serve my constituents the best I can." "Now more than ever, the Republican majority needs to stick together, and you demonstrated great dedication and courage by putting differences aside to allow the proper process to play out," the messages conclude. A spokesperson for Mr Santos’s office confirmed the letters were accurate and said the Republican "wanted to express his thanks to his fellow members for allowing the process to play out so that the 118th Congress can focus on the critical issues facing our country, starting with border security and addressing the issue of the debt ceiling." On Wednesday, the House bucked convention and sent a proposal to expel Mr Santos, who was indicted on a series of federal fraud charges earlier this month, to the House Ethics Committee. Typically, the committee defers to the Justice Department on criminal matters. Earlier this month, Mr Santos was hit with a 13-count federal indictment, alleging a series of fraudulent actions before and during his run for office. The charges include seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. Prosecutors allege he lied on financial forms submitted as part of his House candidacy, failed to disclose forms of income, overstated earnings, and used donations from his political campaign for personal purposes, including “thousands of dollars of the solicited funds on personal expenses, including luxury designer clothing and credit card payments.” Mr Santos, who flipped beat an incumbent Democrat to win his Long Island seat in 2022, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Read More George Santos accused of scamming fellow GOP candidates in fraud scheme George Santos bizarrely compares himself to a Mean Girls character: ‘I’m Cady’ AOC heckles George Santos after Congress votes on his future: ‘Resign! Resign bro!’

Ron DeSantis will officially enter the 2024 presidential race on Wednesday following months of speculation. The Florida governor will take part in a live Twitter event with Elon Musk on Wednesday night, NBC News reports. Afterward, the campaign will release an official launch video. On Monday, Mr DeSantis, 44, teased his 2024 bid while speaking at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Orlando in which he outlined his vision for a conservative grip on the Supreme Court to last a quarter of a century. In what appeared to be a subtle swipe at Donald Trump he announced his plans to run for eight years – something Mr Trump cannot do. Mr DeSantis, 44, is seen as Mr Trump’s biggest rival for the Republican vote with several Republican lawmakers and right-wing media rallying behind him after the midterms. However, the latest polls show Mr DeSantis trailing Mr Trump. This comes at a time when Mr DeSantis is going to war with Disney and pushing back on the NAACP‘s advisory warning travellers that Florida is “openly hostile” towards Black people, people of colour and LGBT+ people due to his laws. Read More College student who tracked Elon Musk’s private jet is now following Ron DeSantis Who is Casey DeSantis? What we know about Florida governor Ron’s wife who could become America’s first lady DeSantis responds to NAACP call for tourists to boycott Florida

Donald Trump appeared virtually in Manhattan criminal court on 23 May for the first time since he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan is disclosing the terms of a protective order that prohibits the former president from publicly discussing evidence in the case after prosecutors with the New York District Attorney’s office share information with Mr Trump’s legal team in a case stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign. A trial is set to begin on 25 March, 2024, days after voting begins in Republican presidential primaries as Mr Trump once again seeks the GOP nomination. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have argued that the order was necessary to keep Mr Trump – who already has repeatedly lashed out against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Merchan – from broadcasting information about the case before a jury has been selected and a trial begins. Mr Trump will be allowed to publicly discuss the case and defend himself in the public sphere, as he continues to adamantly reject the charges as a “witch hunt” against him, but he risks being held in contempt of court if he uses any evidence handed to his team in an attempt to target witnesses, court staff or others involved with the case. On Tuesday, the former president appeared on a video screen in front of two American flags with golden fringes, seated next to his attorney Todd Blanche. A six-page order prohibits the presumptive frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, who has used his online bully pulpit with an audience of obedient followers to broadcast veiled threats and insults at his perceived enemies, from disseminating “covered materials” on social media platforms “including, but not limited, to Truth Social, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, or YouTube, without prior approval from the court.” Mr Trump also cannot disclose the names and identifying information of any personnel from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, “other than sworn members of law enforcement, assistant district attorneys, and expert or fact witnesses (other than summary witnesses)” until a jury has been selected, according to the order. Mr Bagg’s office can also redact identifying information from discovery materials, the judge has said. The former president is “very concerned that his First Amendment rights are being violated by this protective order,” Mr Blanche told the judge on Tuesday. “It’s certainly not a gag order,” Judge Merchan said. “It’s certainly not my intention in any way to impede Mr Trump’s ability to campain ... He’s certainly free to deny the charges,” he added. “He’s free to do just about anything that doesn’t violate the specific terms of this protective order.” Mr Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen and the former owner of the National Enquirer David Pecker allegedly worked in concert to“identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects” leading up to the 2016 presidential election, according to prosecutors. This is a developing story Read More Trump news - live: Trump jealously complains about Dominion payout ahead of hush money court appearance

Russia alleges that dozens of Ukrainian militants crossed into one of its border towns in its Belgorod region, striking targets and forcing an evacuation, before over 70 of the attackers were killed or pushed back by what the authorities termed a counterterrorism operation. Ukraine denied any involvement in the skirmishes Monday and Tuesday, instead blaming two Russian groups that claim to be volunteers fighting alongside Kyiv's forces in an uprising against the government of President Vladimir Putin. While neither version could be independently verified, whatever happened appears to have sent Moscow scrambling to respond to one of the most serious border incursions since Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said an elderly woman died in the chaotic evacuation, and 12 people were wounded in the attack and shelling. As fighting there apparently continued Tuesday morning, he urged residents not to return to their homes, and only in late afternoon declared the operation was over. A look at what's known about the attack and the murky groups who say they carried it out: WHO'S CLAIMING RESPONSIBILITY? Two groups — the Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps – claimed responsibility for the attack and announced an ambitious goal of “liberating” the Belgorod region. Little is known about them beyond what they say about themselves, and it's not clear how they are. The website of the Freedom of Russia Legion says it was formed last spring “out of Russians’ desire to fight against Putin’s armed gang” and is “officially recognized” by Kyiv’s military. “We are fighting in full cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and under the leadership of the Ukrainian command,” the website says. The website said it fought last summer in “small battle groups,” and now was involved in the battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut. The Russian Volunteer Corps’ page in the messaging app Telegram used to say it was a formation within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It now describes itself as merely fighting on the Ukrainian side. In August 2022, an announcement posted there said: “We, Russian volunteers living in Ukraine, decided to take up arms and create a military formation, the Russian Volunteer Corps, in order to together with our Ukrainian comrades defend their homeland which gave us shelter, and then continue the fight against the criminal Putin regime and his henchmen.” Other posts claimed the group was fighting in southeastern Ukraine, or as volunteers serving elsewhere in the country, including in Kyiv's suburbs of Bucha and Irpin. In March, the Russian Volunteer Corps claimed responsibility for an incursion in Russia's Bryansk region, another border area. Media reports at the time identified some of its members as Russian nationalists. In a post Tuesday, the Russian Volunteer Corps described its political views as “right-wing conservative and traditionalist." WHAT DOES UKRAINE SAY? Ukrainian officials have never confirmed any ties with either group. The government in Kyiv denied involvement in this week's Belgorod incident, calling it an act by disgruntled Russians. When they did talk about it, officials were vague. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said “patriots of Russia” and “people who actually rebelled against Putin’s regime” were behind the attack. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak blamed “underground guerrilla groups” that are “composed of Russian citizens.” In remarks to the news outlet Suspilne, Ukraine intelligence official Andrii Yusov said it was the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion. Andrii Cherniak, another intelligence representative pointed to the fact that the two groups claimed responsibility. "This is the consequence of aggressive politics of Putin’s regime and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he told The Associated Press. WHAT DOES RUSSIA SAY? Russia calls it an incursion by saboteurs deployed by Kyiv, with officials and state media using various epithets ranging from “militants” to “terrorists.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Belgorod attack was a diversion, meant “to draw attention away” from Russia's victory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Moscow claimed to have captured over the weekend after months of bloody fighting. Asked Tuesday about claims that the invaders were ethnic Russians, Peskov insisted that “these are Ukrainian militants from Ukraine.” “There are lots of ethnic Russians in Ukraine, but these are still Ukrainian militants,” Peskov said. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said more than 70 “Ukrainian terrorists” were killed in Russia’s operation. He also referred to the attackers as “nationalists.” Russian state TV reported the invaders were from Ukraine's armed forces. One report alleged the attackers used U.S. military equipment despite Washington’s assurances its weapons won't be used for attacks on Russia. WHAT'S THE TRUTH? It's hard to know. Analysts and commentators say both Russia and Ukraine would likely benefit from its own version of the events. The British Defense Ministry tweeted Tuesday that “Russia will almost certainly use these incidents to support the official narrative that it is the victim in the war.” Russian state media coverage appears to support this notion, with its allegations that U.S. weapons were used in the attack and the general tone of some reports that overlaid video from the region with tense, dramatic music. For Kyiv, it's beneficial “to take up the position of an observer and not admit its involvement,” said Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov. “The fact is that the war is happening on Russian territory, the Kremlin is being clearly indicated that Russians are not the only ones who can employ hybrid (warfare) methods,” Zhdanov told AP. The involvement of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion should serve as signs that “there are forces inside Russia who can resist Putin’s regime,” he said. At the same time, the Belgorod attack “showed Russia’s helplessness," Zhdanov said. “Russia turned out to be completely unprepared -– neither its security forces, nor border guards, nor special services were prepared for hostilities on their own turf. The myth that Russia keeps its border locked has been busted,” he added. Some Russian voices echoed that sentiment. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private military contractor, used the incident as yet another chance to bash the Russian Defense Ministry for not adequately protecting the border. Alexander Kots, military correspondent with the pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, also raised questions on his Telegram page. “What’s with our technical equipment of the border, surveillance systems, motion detection systems?" he asked. "What’s with mining of the potentially dangerous areas? What’s with anti-tank equipment? Why did an enemy armored group breach deep into our territory?” These are the questions “to which there are no answers,” Kots said. “To be more accurate, there are, but they’re very unpleasant.” ___ Karmanau reported from Tallinn and Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Biden's shift on F-16s for Ukraine came after months of internal debate Analysis: Shadowy attacks inside Russia deliver a psychological win for Ukraine China presses Dutch minister for access to chipmaking tech blocked on security grounds