List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

A US congressman who previously served as White House doctor under Donald Trump was apparently handcuffed and placed on the ground by police officers at a rodeo in his home state of Texas as he attempted to provide medical assistance to a teenager. The Texas Tribune reported the incident, which was confirmed by Rep Ronny Jackson’s office. It took place over the weekend at a rodeo in White Deer, Texas, in a district that neighbours Mr Jackson’s own. “While assessing the patient in a very loud and chaotic environment, confusion developed with law enforcement on the scene and Dr Jackson was briefly detained and was actually prevented from further assisting the patient,” a spokesperson for his office told news outlets. According to a relative of the 15-year-old girl who was apparently experiencing a seizure at the time, Mr Jackson was slammed to the ground by police officers who responded too aggressively to a confusing scene. “We were just waiting for EMS to get there. The police came up, the deputies, highway patrol, and everyone was just screaming, ‘Get back, get back, get back,’” Linda Dianne Shouse told CNN. “[Jackson] was trying to tell them that he was a doctor and probably trying to tell him who he was, to be honest. And they were screaming that they did not effing care who he was,” she continued. “And the next thing I knew, they had him on the ground, grabbed him by the shirt, threw him on the ground, face first into the concrete and had him in cuffs.” According to Ms Shouse, the deputies later apologised for their conduct upon realising that Mr Jackson was both a trained medical professional — and a member of Congress. The Texas Tribune further noted that Mr Jackson’s office asserted that the congressman had been seated in the stands and had not imbibed any alcoholic beverages before attempting to assist the girl. It was a notable claim given that Mr Jackson has, in the past, been accused of drinking and taking Ambien while on the job serving as White House physician. He has denied the various allegations, but they nonetheless derailed his nomination to the Department of Veterans Affairs under Mr Trump. Mr Jackson has stoked controversy throughout his time in Congress with his comments about Joe Biden and other Democrats; in one instance, he referred to Mr Biden as “a cancer” during a TV interview, and he also floated nonsense conspiracies in 2022 about the Omicron Covid variant supposedly being a ginned-up fear tactic by Democrats to justify election fraud. Read More Donald Trump due in court charged with ‘conspiracy to defraud United States’ Biden delays plans to restock nation’s emergency oil reserve Democrats would prefer Kamala Harris over Joe Biden as 2024 nominee, new poll shows

Donald Trump was indicted for a third time on Tuesday on four federal charges stemming from an investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The indictment marks the second set of federal charges the ex-president is facing and the third indictment overall, since January. This means Mr Trump will have to appear in federal court, again, to be formally charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights and obstruction of, and attempt to obstruct, an official proceeding. The ex-president is expected to turn himself in at the Elijah Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC on Thursday afternoon at 4pm ET. Magistrate Judge Moxila A Upadhyaya will be presiding over the arraignment during which she will explain Mr Trump’s rights and the charges he is facing. Mr Trump’s case has been randomly assigned to District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama in 2014. Unlike his two previous arraignments, Mr Trump has the option to appear virtually via video feed on Thursday – though it is unclear if he will do so. Mr Trump’s attorney, John Lauro, told CNN that Judge Chutkan may make the final call on whether he must appear in person or can do so virtually. Should Mr Trump appear in-person he will likely be fingerprinted before heading into the courtroom. The ex-president will most likely not be handcuffed or receive a mugshot as he has not done either in his previous arraignments. When Mr Trump was arraigned in Manhattan earlier this year for 37 charges related to falsifying business records he did not receive a mugshot because he is a public figure. Ahead of his arraignment, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, indicating several law enforcement agencies were working together to prepare for Mr Trump’s arraignment safely. “We are working closely with the Metropolitan Police Department, US Marshals Service, US Park Police, Us Capitol Police and the Federal Protective Service to ensure the highest levels of safety and security for the former president, while minimizing disruptions to the normal court process,” Mr Guglielmi wrote. The four federal charges were brought forth after a grand jury in Washington DC voted in favour of indicting Mr Trump. The charges come from an investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith into Mr Trump’s claims of election fraud in 2020 and his actions leading up to January 6. Mr Trump is expected to plead not guilty to the four federal charges. Read More Trump indictment - live: Trump cashes in on new charges as defence lawyers gear up for court Is Donald Trump going to prison? Who are Trump’s six alleged co-conspirators in the 2020 election probe case? What is an arraignment? Here’s what to expect following Trump’s indictment for 2020 election interference Trump valet charged in classified documents case set again for arraignment after earlier delays

As if on cue, the haunting wail of the air-raid siren sifts through the sunshine as we pull up to the checkpoint by the presidential complex in Kyiv. Like swathes of Ukraine, the contours of this heavily guarded compound have been re-carved by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Instead of a sweeping pedestrian boulevard leading to 10 Bankova – Ukraine’s 10 Downing Street – the complex is a disorientating labyrinth of blast walls, sandbags, and soldiers. Inside this bunker, it is as quiet and dark as a sunken cathedral. The windows are boarded up and filters cover each light casting an eerie muted glow. Sandbags, like used tissues, are wedged between marble columns. A chandelier which is not switched on, crowns the sweeping stairwell which leads up to makeshift barricades punctured by embrasures. It feels like the presidential compound and its inhabitants are poised and prepared. Including the First Lady - Olena Zelenska - whom we are here to meet. “I would like to say, ‘I’m fine’ but no one can say this phrase now in Ukraine,” she replies, “How are you?” the simplest of introductory questions that lands a bit limply under the current circumstances. Watch the interview trailer below The full interview will be available to watch on The Independent’s website and on your smart TV from August 7. “We are all tense. We are all waiting for victory. We are trying, and I am also trying, to keep our hand on the pulse. To wait for good news and to not lose hope,” she adds, with the briefest flick of a weary smile. Weariness is perhaps an apt word. It underpins her main message of this interview: concern that as Putin’s war grinds into its 18th bloody month, the international community might begin to lose interest or perspective on the battles chewing up Ukraine, with deadly consequences for everyone. “If the aggressor wins now, it will be the worst-case scenario for all of humanity,” she says with a quiet assurance. “This will mean that global deterrents aren’t working. This will mean that anyone with power, strength and sufficient financial capacity can do whatever they want in this world.” “We keep hearing from our Western partners that they will be with us as long as it takes. I would like to say that the word ‘long’ is not the word we should use. We should use the word ‘faster’.” Olena Zelenska, 45, I would argue, has one of the trickiest jobs in the world. War aside, like so many women thrust into a public spotlight that she never sought, she faces unrelenting scrutiny. The former comedy scriptwriter turned First Lady-at-war cannot smile too much, lest she be seen as not taking the devastation of the invasion seriously. But she can’t smile too little, or she is labelled ungrateful. There are endless discussions about her clothes (she was named among the best dressed at the coronation of King Charles III which she attended). Ukrainian diplomats tell me quietly on the sidelines, she is almost always asked about being a mother-of-two, a wife, a crutch-like appendage to her husband Volodymyr Zelensky, 45, over the crucial work she is doing on the ground. She is inevitably tossed the emotional questions, that interviewers may shy from asking the men. And so today, as we sit in the heart of the country’s operations hub, in the wake of an air raid, our hour-long conversation centres on her work. This ranges from building a network of hospitals and prosthetic centres treating an estimated 20,000 new amputees in the country - to launching mental health programmes to smash stigmas on trauma. We also talk about her latest passion: changing the role of first ladies and gentlemen around the world from individual “decorative” accessories to something more. She wants to “set a trend” where presidential partners “communicate, exchange experiences, create joint projects”. She speaks warmly about specific families that keep her motivated in her work – including a Ukrainian grandmother who “knocked on every door” to find her granddaughter who, like thousands of other children, had been disappeared into Russia by soldiers. Finding the tens of thousands of children that Ukraine accuses Russia of abducting is a personal mission for the first lady, which she calls “one of the biggest wounds in Ukraine”. “We are trying to get our children back. It is hard to find an area of children’s life that the war has not touched.” That includes the lives of her own children, who are forced to live separately from their father for security reasons – a topic she tentatively opens up about. “Maybe [now] it is more frequent that we can see each other altogether but these are still isolated instances,” she says, with a quiet sadness. “I am sure that we will pass this test.” All of this is a far cry from the woman who four years ago said she struggled with public speaking after advising her husband, then a colleague in their comedy troupe, against running for president. In fact, she didn’t even know he was going to go through with it: like the rest of the country, Mrs Zelenska found out about his presidential bid after a New Year’s Day television special in 2019. Mr Zelensky apparently “forgot” to mention the life-altering decision to his wife. But ever since President Putin ordered his troops to march on Kyiv – in an instant making her husband the war-time protector of Ukraine – she has put her fears aside. He donned military khaki and, standing outside the very building we are in, vowed never to flee Ukraine. She morphed into frontline ambassador, rallying lifesaving international support for a country in the grips of Europe’s bloodiest war in generations. She became one of the architects of the rebuilding of this nation, ravaged by a 2,000km frontline, even while the fighting goes on. If Ukraine doesn’t rebuild during the war it is “wasting time” even if there is a threat it gets destroyed again, she insists. “Wherever there are people, there should be reconstruction as soon as possible”. The truth is Mrs Zelenska could have left Ukraine permanently, like the wives of other Ukrainian politicians (under martial law only women can evacuate the country). Effectively a single parent now, she would have been forgiven for taking a step back to focus on her children. But she did not. Last July she addressed Congress, in November she spoke to the British parliament and in January she was at Davos in Switzerland. In all her speeches she pulls no punches. “We know that the youngest girl who was raped by the Russian occupiers is four years old. The oldest is 85 years old,” she told Westminster bluntly while urging the UK to help establish a Special Tribunal so Russia can face justice for its crimes. Back in Ukraine, she rallies the Ukrainian public through her social media accounts, urging families to “stay strong”. Like this week when Russian shelling eviscerated an apartment block in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, which is also her and her husband’s hometown. And now here, in the presidential palace where her husband also works, she is eloquent and concise when talking. “All the fears, all the phobias, all the unpleasant moments that we experienced in peacetime fade into the background,” she says, explaining her transition to a public figure in war. “The fact that I said that I don't really like public speaking - does not matter now. I have to be effective in my role to support the president and the people of Ukraine.” And with a pause and shy smile, she adds “I hope they feel that I am”. As we meet in Kyiv, Ukraine is careering towards another catastrophe of this bloody war: hunger. In July, Russia turned its artillery turrets on Ukraine’s food and farming infrastructure after pulling out of a United Nations-brokered grain deal which allowed the safe exports of Ukraine’s grains and oils via the Black Sea. Officials from the UN told me that at the start of this year, despite the war, the World Food Programme still purchased food from Ukraine to feed the most vulnerable in places like sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. And so it is unthinkable that Ukraine, the “breadbasket of the world”, may not be able to even feed its own population. But grain storages, ports and farmlands are on fire right now. This is having global consequences. Wheat prices have already soared, even driving up our shopping lists in the comfort of Western Europe. The UN has warned of famine and destitution. Mrs Zelenska reminds me this is only the latest in a series of humanitarian crises in Ukraine that ripple past its borders. In June the bombing of the Kakhovka Dam, which Kyiv blames on Moscow, unleashed the waters of one of Europe’s largest reservoirs over southern Ukraine – causing one of the worst ecological disasters on the continent in recent history. “Today's stage is another stage,” she says grimly of the attacks on food. “Ukrainians understand that our enemy is capable of inventing of any challenges for us.” She says Ukrainians have adapted and are now well prepared for any new horrors on the horizon. “The most popular Telegram [instant messaging] channel in Ukraine is not an entertainment channel, it is one that publishes the fastest news about the whereabouts and consequences of shelling and what is happening in relation to the war.” “The popularity of this Telegram channel speaks for what Ukrainians live by. We are no longer surprised by anything,” she adds echoing a popular refrain in the country. The cumulative consequences of these myriad crises in Ukraine are why the first lady says she decided to tap her contacts and create her own humanitarian aid organisation. The Olena Zelenska Foundation was eventually launched in September in New York with a star-studded guest list including US former secretary of state and first lady, Hillary Clinton, and Matt Damon. Among several projects, so far it has rebuilt hospitals in recently de-occupied areas like Izyum near the border with Russia and delivered tens of thousands of laptops to children, as a third of all schools in Ukraine are closed. “It seemed to me that just talking on international platforms is not enough for the first lady,” she continues, her eyes lighting up. “I realised that I could put together this puzzle, unite those who want to help and those who need help.” This is part of her wider mission to redefine what it means for everyone married to a president. She wants the spouses of world leaders to stop waving prettily on the sidelines and work together to build their own community to do good. “We can no longer perform only a decorative function. We cannot just stand nicely next to the head of state. First ladies and gentlemen can try harder and do much more.” “I hope this is the case, that we have set a new trend.” And so despite being at war, this September she will host a third “Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen” in Kyiv where she will gather “her colleagues” in person and virtually. This session will focus on mental health, a topic which is already “very painful for Ukraine” and the world, she says. Ukraine is, in many ways, quite traditional. And since Moscow’s forces marched across the borders on 24 February, there has been societal pressure for everyone to have a stiff upper lip. There is a ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’ attitude, even if that means dying on the inside for your country. This war is brutal. It is bloody. It is frightening. Artillery – indiscriminate and terrible – is relentless. Drones hit so fast that you cannot hear them coming. Banned weaponry like cluster munitions, in a single rocket, can shower their terror on territory the size of a football pitch. Everyone lives in a world of averages and percentages of survival, a ruse to feel better that is obliterated by the deadly whistle of a single shell. An unknown number of people have been killed, there is no accurate casualty count. There could be significantly more than 100,000 missing people, one Ukrainian top prosecutor told me in February. We have also documented horrific testimonies of torture and rape at the hands of Russian soldiers adding to this wartime mental health epidemic (Russia denies all the accusations of committing crimes). Mrs Zelenska says Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating a little more than 100 cases of sexual violence against men and women, but the true number of cases is hundreds of times that. “The main problem is that people are afraid to speak about this, afraid of judgement, afraid of gossip. They are afraid that their life will be destroyed,”’ she adds, describing a new programme called “How Are You?” which assists people in opening up and getting psychological support. “This is the most stigmatised crime of all the war crimes. It is terrible because victims pay with their whole lives. Some of them say that ‘it would be easier if they killed me, because what happened to me kills me every day and never ends’. “It destroys families.” Children are not spared this torment, she continues, her most emotional point in the interview. “Robbed of their childhood” she explains, many have “lost the will to live”. “It is the most tragic thing to see when a child cannot smile, does not speak, or stops eating, these are terrible things we have to deal with now.” According to Ukraine, at least 19,500 children have been forcibly transferred to Russia, a number Mrs Zelenska tells me is a woefully low estimate – as authorities have documented “whole orphanages have been cleared out”. Russia denies it has been abducting Ukrainian children but President Putin himself has been handed an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the alleged crime. This, the first lady says, sends a powerful “symbolic” message that the world “sees this crime… and considers [President Putin] to be a criminal.” “We hope it will have practical implications. Because they take away children who were separated from their parents during filtration, they clear out whole institutions. They simply put all the children on buses and take them to an unknown destination.” So far, Ukraine has only managed to retrieve 380 of the missing children, but Mrs Zelenska indicates there is a new coalition of international partners that will start work on retrieving the rest soon. There are rare happy stories from these tragedies which the first lady says keeps her going and motivated. She talks about meeting a girl from the eastern Donetsk region who was taken to Russia after her mother, who had a military background, was captured by Russian soldiers at a “filtration” point. The grandmother worked day and night to find her, eventually enlisting the help of Ukraine’s top prosecutors. In the end the girl was located, the mother was exchanged in a prisoner swap and by some miracle they were all reunited. “Just imagine the tragedy of this family, which was scattered by this war, not knowing where they all are for such a long time. It is difficult to fathom how you can keep going and not break down,” she says. The Zelensky family has also been scattered by this war. And reading her face, it seems she is thinking in part about her own children as she speaks about this. For the first month and a half of the war, her husband – her college sweetheart turned number one target of the entire Russian army – could not see his family at all over concern for the safety of the children. They still live separately now but can at least sporadically visit each other in the building where we conduct the interview. It is easier for her eldest, Oleksandra, now 19, who is old enough to come to the presidential office on her own and see her father as she needs, Mrs Zelenska explains. Kyrylo, still only 10, “needs a father not just once or twice a week,” she says. “To raise children, you need a constant example,” not just “video calls”, she continues. “These are not only conversations and stories about how you should act. These are immediate examples of how you behave in everyday situations, and how you solve particular problems. And, unfortunately, our children don't get much of this help now. This “confuses” her, she says, repeating that phrase a few times. “I am sure that we will pass this test,” she adds, leaning forward. “We all love each other and trust each other. We really hope that somehow all this will change, and we will be able to live a more or less normal family life.” For a second, the personal motivations for wanting the war to end peep through her near-perfect stateswoman demeanour. For an instant, there is a glimpse of an exhausted parent just wanting her family back together again. And then she clicks back to speaking about the rest of Ukraine. For all families in the country this depends on winning the war, which in turn depends on the international community, she continues. Ukraine has “no other way out” than enduring. “It is a matter of survival. That's why it's so hard because it's been going on for so long. That is why we need news that gives us hope.” And they need help to do that. The first lady is worried that some countries have started to underestimate the threat of Russia because it seems “so far away” and if Moscow wins, it will impact the world order. “Ukrainians are paying for this with the lives of their compatriots, the rest of the world just pays with its resources,” she says in a direct appeal to the international community before we bring the interview to a close. She has a string of meetings to get to about the prosthetics centre she has helped build. “Please don’t get fatigued, because we as Ukrainians have no right to get tired.” “Ukraine defends not only its interests, not only its existence, we are trying to maintain the entire democratic balance of the world.” With additional reporting by Nikol Goldman The full interview will be available to watch on independent.tv and your smart TV from August 7. To find out more about our Independent TV smart TV app click here. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Russia should expect more drone attacks on its soil after latest Moscow strike, Ukraine warns Drones, military confusion and cracks in Putin’s authority: Ukraine’s push to sow discord in Russia’s ranks On the ground in Ukraine, there’s one weapon troops want from the UK more than any other

Ukraine’s first lady has warned that Russia winning the war it started is “the worst-case scenario for all humanity”, in a heartfelt plea for the world not to lose interest in her country as its soldiers are fighting for “the democratic balance of the world”. Speaking exclusively to Independent TV, Olena Zelenska said Ukraine is deeply concerned that the world is underestimating the wider threat from Moscow as the conflict grinds into its 18th month. Read the full interview here The Ukrainian military has been fighting one of Europe’s bloodiest conflicts since the Second World War after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his invasion last February. “If the aggressor wins now, it will be the worst-case scenario for all of humanity,” Ms Zelenska said from the heavily guarded presidential palace in Kyiv. “This will mean that global deterrents aren’t working. This will mean that anyone with power, strength and sufficient financial capacity can do whatever they want.” She said that her country desperately needs “faster” support to be able to combat the better-equipped Russian troops; pledges of long-term military and humanitarian aid will not help win the war if delivery is too slow, she warned. “We keep hearing from our Western partners that they will be with us as long as it takes. ‘Long’ is not the word we should use. We should use the word ‘faster’,” she said. “Ukrainians are paying for this war with the lives of our compatriots. The rest of the world pays with its resources. These are incomparable things, so we urge you to speed up this help,” she added. Ms Zelenska, a comedy screenwriter and childhood sweetheart of Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky, initially shunned the public spotlight, advising her husband against running for president four years ago. But as soon as Mr Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, she gave up her day job to become an ambassador for Ukraine, rallying international support and becoming one of the key architects trying to rebuild the country even as the fighting rages on. In a wide-ranging interview, Ms Zelenska opened up about the concerns she has for Ukraine and her family, with her and her husband being forced to live separately for security reasons – so the president rarely gets the chance to see their children. “I want to be together again. We really hope that somehow all this will change and we will be able to live a more or less normal family life,” she said. Her message to nations around the globe? “Please don’t get fatigued, because we as Ukrainians have no right to get tired. “Ukraine defends not only its interests, not only its life. We are trying to maintain the whole democratic balance in the world.” Russia’s invasion has left an untold number of the population dead. Civilians have also been subjected to rape, torture, and abductions. In recent weeks, the Russian army has cynically targeted farms, ports and food storage facilities, after President Putin pulled out of a United Nations-brokered grain deal which allowed the safe export of Ukraine’s grain and oil via the Black Sea. Moscow has also unleashed drones and missiles at the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes for grain. In the latest attack, on Wednesday, Odesa’s port infrastructure was struck again, damaging 40,000 tonnes of grain earmarked for Africa and the Middle East. This has sparked fears of famine-like conditions in vulnerable parts of the world that have long relied on Ukrainian produce. “We are no longer surprised by anything,” Ms Zelenska said about the Russian leader’s tactics and the resulting hunger, as her country has bounded from crisis to crisis. Watch the interview trailer below The full interview will be available to watch on The Independent’s website and on your smart TV from August 7. In June, the Russian bombing of the Kakhovka Dam unleashed the waters from one of Europe’s largest reservoirs over swathes of the south of the country, causing one of the worst ecological disasters. That followed massive missile attacks on energy and electricity infrastructure over winter, causing blackouts, cold and water shortages. “Ukrainians understand that our enemy is capable of inventing any challenges for us. Therefore, we are not surprised, people are waiting for news, for good news,” Ms Zelenska said. She also spoke about her work as first lady and with the Olena Zelenska Foundation, which she launched in September and is endorsed by the likes of Hillary Clinton and Matt Damon. The projects, which the first lady said “keeps her motivated”, range from reconstructing hospitals and prosthetic centres – providing rehabilitation for up to 20,000 amputees across the country – to combat post-traumatic stress disorder and offering aid to those suffering mental damage in her war-ravaged country. In September, she will host a summit welcoming other partners of leaders from around the world as part of a drive to redefine the roles of presidential partners from “decorative” accessories to a broader collective running humanitarian projects together. Ms Zelenska is acutely aware of the daily struggles many Ukrainian families face. “Can Ukraine endure? We have no other way out, because the longer we endure it, the longer we live,” she said. “It is a matter of survival.” The full interview will be available to watch on independent.tv and your smart TV from August 7. To find out more about our Independent TV smart TV app click here. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Biden delays plans to restock nation’s emergency oil reserve Brazil's Lula voices support for more countries joining BRICS group Iran's Revolutionary Guard runs drill on disputed islands as US military presence in region grows

After two men were found dead in the same creek after attending a Brooklyn concert venue, speculation has swirled as to whether the two are connected. Police said 27-year-old John Castic was last seen after leaving The Brooklyn Mirage club around 3am on 29 July. On 1 August, just days after he vanished, the Goldman Sachs staffer was pulled from Newtown Creek, a waterway near the venue. Shockingly, Castic wasn’t the only young man who this had happened to in recent weeks. Psychologist Karl Clemente, also 27, vanished from the same music venue on 11 June. His body was found on 16 June in Newtown Creek. The Independent has reached out to the venue for comment. Are the two deaths connected? The NYPD told The Independent the deaths have not been linked, adding that the investigations are active and ongoing. After reports of Castic’s death, Clemente’s father, Alex Clemente, speculated to Fox News: “There’s something weird here. There might be some connection.” Some social media users pointed out that Brooklyn Mirage has little to no service inside, making it difficult to call for help or find friends if lost. Who is John Castic? Castic’s friend posted on Reddit, saying he went missing around 2.30am on 29 July after attending a midnight show at The Brooklyn Mirage. He added that Castic was “last seen wearing a navy and white button down shirt.” Around 11am on 1 August, a man called 911 after seeing a “bloated, shirtless body floating face-down” in a branch of the East River tributary, according to The New York Post. NYPD sources told the outlet that the body, aside from drowning, had no obvious signs of trauma. Police later identified the body as John Castic, who was originally from Illinois. His friend, Sara Kostecka, described Castic to the Post as “very charismatic, high-energy with a good sense of humor,” adding, “Whatever happened, he did not deserve this.” “He was so smart but, in the end, he did something dumb, and it cost him,” Jeffrey Castic, his father, told Fox News. “We think he might have been impaired, we do not know, and it was just a lapse of judgment.” He told the outlet his death was caused by “misadventure,” explaining that his wallet and phone were found when his body was recovered. Who is Karl Clemente? Karl Clemente turned up at the venue on 11 June, but was turned away because staffers said he had been drinking, his father told Fox News. The exchange reportedly occurred around 10pm. Video surveillance obtained by the outlet showed Clemente walking toward a nearby gas station, while other footage allegedly showed Clemente running down Metropolitan Avenue moments later. “Why was he running?” his father told the publication. “Someone was chasing him. There’s something fishy here.” Clemente’s wallet and phone were not recovered with his body. A GoFundMe shows more than $28,000 was raised for his funeral services, accompanied by an outpouring of support and condolences. The Brooklyn Mirage The music venue is located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in a manufacturing zone. “This is really heartbreaking,” said Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, whose district includes the music venue and the creek. “This is why we need to do more in our manufacturing zones,” she added, warning of the area’s lack of lighting and scarce cell phone service. A former employee at The Brooklyn Mirage said there are a lot of dead zones for cell service inside the building. She said the area is intended for “manufacturing purposes,” so it’s not ideal for nightlife. However, the councilmember said, “If people are here, we need to figure out how to make it safer for folks.” On top of this, Ms Gutiérrez continued, the closest subway station is not that close—it’s an 11 minute walk away, according to Google Maps—and noted the nearby Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, which is “too easy” for someone to fall or be pushed into. The bridge spans Newtown Creek, where both bodies were found. She said that a venue representative told her that the bridge’s video camera was not working over the weekend. The venue also reportedly told the councilmember that it used to have extra security beyond just inside the arena itself. When it opened, according to Ms Gutiérrez, the security used to stand on the route to the nearest train stop to prevent concertgoers from wandering around in the manufacturing district, but due to expenses, the venue stopped providing that service. She said she doesn’t want there to be a “trend” for people to come to her district “not feeling safe.” The councilmember noted that both men were alone at the end of the night; she advised people who attend the area’s music venues to come with friends—“especially friends with different phone carriers.” In a statement on Wednesday, Avant Gardner — the outdoor complex that includes The Brooklyn Mirage — wrote, “Avant Gardner is in communication with the authorities and is assisting with the investigation. We take the safety of our patrons extremely seriously. Our thoughts are with the family and friends during this difficult time.” Read More Body of Goldman Sachs banker pulled from NYC creek after he vanished from concert Police identify suspects in fatal drugging of men at New York City gay bars How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard

Watch live from outside the US Capitol after police said no active shooter was found on Wednesday 2 August. Officers were dispatched to canvass Senate office buildings in response to what they described as “a concerning 911 call”. In a post on X (the social media website formerly known as Twitter), the US Capitol Police department advised that people should stay away from the area as officers were investigating. “Our officers are searching in and around the Senate Office Buildings in response to a concerning 911 call. Please stay away from the area,” the post read. DC Fire and EMS subsequently told Fox News that the situation was likely to be related to mental health and not an active shooter. Read More FBI looks for more possible victims after woman escapes from cinderblock cage in Oregon Moment stepfather arrested by police for murder of 10-month-old stepson Italian police dog sniffs out €1 million in cash hidden in luggage

Litecoin, the world’s 11th-biggest cryptocurrency, saw its price slide on Wednesday after it went through a so-called halvening,

A handful of borrowers, including Wells Fargo & Co., are selling fresh debt in the US investment-grade bond

The US Capitol Police has dispatched officers to canvass Senate office buildings in response to what the department described as “a concerning 911 call”. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) the department advised that people should remain away from the area as officers are still investigating. A subsequent post advised that anyone in one of the Senate office buildings “should be sheltering in place” because the 911 call reported “a possible active shooter,” though the department further advised that they did not have any confirmed reports of gunfire in the Senate buildings. More follows... Read More Donald Trump due in court charged with ‘conspiracy to defraud United States’ Who are Trump’s six alleged co-conspirators in the 2020 election probe case? What is an arraignment? Here’s what to expect after Trump’s indictment

A man has been arrested in Oregon after a woman escaped a cinderblock cell in his garage, the FBI has said. The agency has said that Negasi Zuberi, 29, from Klamath Falls, Oregon went to Seattle and picked up a prostitute on 15 July, pretending to be an undercover officer. The woman told the authorities that Mr Zuberi aimed a Taser at her and put her in handcuffs and leg irons before placing her in the back of his vehicle, according to KPTV. The victim said that Mr Zuberi sexually assaulted her several times during the 450-mile drive from Seattle to Klamath Falls. After arriving at his home, the suspect placed the victim in the makeshift cinderblock cell in the garage. The Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Portland Field Office, Stephanie Shark, told KPTV that the legal complaint states that the “woman was kidnapped, chained, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell. Police say, she beat the door with her hands until they were bloody in order to break free. Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare”. The woman broke down the door of the cell when Mr Zuberi was away from the house and managed to escape and flagged down a driver who then called 911. More follows...

Within two hours after he was criminally charged for his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, a political action committee connected to Donald Trump’s campaign sent out two fundraising emails to supporters. One message – sent from the “Official Trump Store” – advertises a “limited-edition” commemorative “I Stand with Trump” T-shirt that includes the date of the latest indictment against him. “But still, our movement is MORE UNITED than ever. … Because, Patriot, during these dark times, YOU are President Trump’s courage, his hope, and the source of his unwavering resolve to SAVE our country,” according to an email on 1 August from the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. “And what better way to show that YOU stood by the President’s side through *EVERY* phony indictment than your very own Limited-Edition ‘I STAND WITH TRUMP’ T-Shirt.” Supporters who pledge $47 to his campaign will receive the shirt “for FREE,” according to the message. The campaign mailed out four other fundraising messages earlier that day, including one issued roughly 10 minutes before his Truth Social post announced that a “fake indictment” against him was imminent. The former president’s campaign operations have raked in millions of dollars following criminal charges and investigations against him, as he denies wrongdoing and relies on a narrative of political persecution while accusing prosecutors and his rivals of threatening his own supporters. “Our Republic is hanging by a thread, and America needs you right now,” one recent message reads. “Please make a contribution to show that you will NEVER SURRENDER our country to tyranny as the Deep State thugs try to JAIL me for life – for 1,500% impact.” But the account for Mr Trump’s Save America PAC, which started last year with $105m, has diminished to less than $4m after paying out millions of dollars in legal fees. The group has asked for a refund of a $60m donation to a connected super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc, according to federal records. That group already has sent back more than $12m to help with Mr Trump’s growing legal bills, records show. The House select committee investigating the events surrounding the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021 reported that Mr Trump’s fundraising arms collected more than $100m in the first week after Election Day in 2020 alone. His campaign and allies raised $250m from baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, the committee found. Last year, the panel’s senior investigative counsel Amanda Wick said Mr Trump’s campaign “pushed false election claims to fundraise, telling supporters it would be used to fight voter fraud that did not exist.” Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump hit with 2020 election probe charges as he likens it to ‘Nazi persecution’ Trump, January 6 and a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election: The federal investigation, explained Trump’s election fraud claims were always bogus. Will his history of lies finally catch up to him? Analysis: Trump's indictment is a stress test of Biden's focus on safeguarding democracy Republican National Committee boosts polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for 2nd debate Pence fought an order to testify but now is a central figure in his former boss's indictment

A jury has ruled that Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter Robert Bowers will face the death penalty. Bowers, whose defense hoped to avoid a death penalty, learned of his fate around noon on Wednesday when jurors read their decision. The mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue on 27 October, 2018, left 11 people dead and became the most deadly antisemitic attack in US history. The jurors spent two days deliberating before reaching their conclusions. All 12 jurors had to agree in order to impose a death penalty. Bowers' legal team initially offered a plea deal to the prosecution, promising a guilty plea from the mass shooter if they agreed not to seek the death penalty. The prosecution refused the deal. Defense attorney Judy Clarke offered a plea to the jury to spare Bowers’ life. “We can’t rewind the clock and make it such that this senseless crime never happened,” she argued. “All we can really do is make the right decision going forward. And we are asking you to make the right decision, and that is life.” She asked the jurors to consider the traumas of Bowers’ childhood and his mental illness when issuing their sentence, noting that “he succumbed to his mental illness, to his delusional beliefs, and brought us where we are today.” Forensic psychiatrist Dr Park Dietz — who testified as an expert witness for the prosecution in the trials of John Hinkley Jr, who attempted to assassinate Ronald Regan, and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer — also testified for the prosecution regarding Bowers. He said Bowers suffered no delusions that would have called into question his intent to kil the worshippers at the synagogue. Intent is one of three critera that must be met before a jury can pass down a death sentence. A defendant must also be over the age of 18 and have at least one aggravating factor — in Bowers’ case hate crimes — to qualify for a death sentence. A jury found him guilty of all 63 charges against him during a trial in June.