List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

Donald Trump has claimed that he has “effectively” been indicted on charges for a third time – this time over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The former president took to Truth Social on Tuesday morning to claim that he had been informed that he is the “target” of a grand jury investigation by special prosecutor Jack Smith. “On Sunday night, while I was with my family...HORRIFYING NEWS for our country was given to me by my attorneys,” said Mr Trump. “Deranged Jack Smith...sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.” His announcement came on the same day Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced criminal charges against 16 people who signed certificates falsely declaring that Mr Trump won the 2020 presidential election, part of a nationwide scheme to upend the results in states that the former president lost to Joe Biden. In addition, the first hearing took place in the federal classified documents case. A trial date is still to be set. Read More Donald Trump brands US a ‘third-world hellhole’ run by ‘perverts’ and ‘thugs’ Ron DeSantis campaign fires staff as Florida governor trails Trump in the polls Fundraising takeaways: Trump and DeSantis in their own tier as Pence and other Republicans struggle RFK Jr revives antisemitic conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jewish people

The Republican attorney general of Kentucky, Daniel Cameron, has reportedly not used his key fob to enter the state capitol building in Frankfurt even once in the last three years. According to records obtained by HuffPost, Mr Cameron’s key fob and security card logs from the Capitol show that he has not used his own credentials to enter the building where his office is located since January of 2020. Mr Cameron was first elected to the job in November of 2019. There are, as HuffPost notes in its story, several potential ways to explain why the attorney general hasn’t shown up for work at his main office in more than three years. One possibility is that Mr Cameron has spent much of his time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic working remotely. Another is that he has had a staff member or Capitol official swipe him into the building, or that he’s used an entrance that does not require him to use his key fob or security card. Still another explanation is that he’s instead choosing to work out of one of the attorney general’s five satellite offices scattered around the state. But Mr Cameron’s office did not offer any of those explanations for HuffPost’s reporting, instead choosing to contest the data revealed by the open records request. “This is not correct,” Atley Smedley, Mr Cameron’s deputy communications director, told HuffPost of the notion that his boss isn’t going to his office. “Attorney General Cameron has regularly come to his office since he assumed the position of Attorney General in December 2019.” There are several other factors complicating the narrative about Mr Cameron’s whereabouts. One is that Mr Cameron has been photographed in the Capitol building on multiple occassions since 2020, suggesting that the key fob records are not in fact wholly reflective of his presence or lack thereof in the building. Another records request from HuffPost revealed that Mr Cameron did use his key fob to enter the Capitol 11 times between May 2019 and January 2020. In a statement to The Independent, Mr Cameron’s communications director Shellie May wrote the key fob records “do not accurately reflect the comings and goings of General Cameron or any elected official.” “Attorney General Cameron has regularly come to his office since he assumed the position of Attorney General in December 2019, and he works tirelessly advocating for the men, women, and children of all 120 Kentucky counties,” she wrote. “Due to security concerns, the Office cannot provide any additional information.” Mr Cameron, a former aide to Sen Mitch McConnell, has been under a newly intense spotlight since he won the Republican primary for governor in May. Mr Cameron will face incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear in November, with Mr Beshear seeking re-election after he beat former Gov Matt Bevin by less than single percentage point in 2019. Read More Troubled US soldier Travis King seized by North Korea after fleeing across border disguised as tourist Chris Christie mocks Trump’s ‘top secret’ plan for ending Ukraine war: ‘Move over Churchill’ Donald Trump Jr says he wouldn’t have got away with having cocaine at White House: ‘Luckily it’s not my thing’ Editorial cartoonists' firings point to steady decline of opinion pages in newspapers Kentucky's ban on gender-affirming care takes effect as federal judge lifts injunction Cameron bows out of Kentucky political event hosted by possible Rep. Massie challenger

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced criminal charges against 16 people who signed certificates falsely declaring that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, part of a nationwide scheme to upend the results in states that the former president lost to Joe Biden. The outcomes of presidential elections rest on slates of electors who decide their votes based on the outcome of their states’ popular vote. As then-President Trump sought a spurious legal effort to reject the outcome, his allies arranged slates of “alternate” electors in several states to cast their votes for him, despite his loss. Ms Nessel’s announcement arrived the same day that the former president said he has received a target letter from federal prosecutors indicating that he is the subject of an investigation into his efforts to overturn election results, suggesting that he could imminently be facing charges. The criminal charges in Michigan against the so-called “fake” electors appear to be the first. They each face eight felony counts, including election law forgery and conspiracy. Her office also has not ruled out charges against other potential defendants, she said. Those 16 people met in the basement of the state’s Republican Party headquarters and signed certificates falsely claiming that they were “the duly elected and qualified electors for president and vice president of the United States of America for the state of Michigan,” Ms Nessel said in prepared remarks on 18 July. “That was a lie,” she said. “They weren’t the duly elected and qualified electors, and each of the defendants knew it.” Those electors then attempted to deliver those documents to the state Senate and to the US Senate, where Vice President Mike Pence presided over the congressional certification of electoral college votes, and where Mr Trump and his allies allegedly pressured him to use those false slates of electors to overturn the election’s outcome and keep Mr Trump in office. “This plan – to reject the will of the voters and undermine democracy – was fraudulent and legally baseless,” Ms Nessel said. “The false electors’ actions undermine the public’s faith in the integrity of our election, and not only violate the spirt of the laws enshrining and defending our democracy, but, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan and peaceably transfer power in America.” Ms Nessel, an elected Democratic official, dismissed arguments that the prosecutions are politically motivated. “But where there is overwhelming evidence of guilt, in respect to multiple crimes, the most political act I can engage in as a prosecutor is to take no action at all,” she said. Ms Nessel’s office had previously referred the cases to the US Department of Justice but indicated earlier this year that she was reopening the “parallel investigation” into election crimes in the state, citing “clear evidence” for a prosecution. Prosecutors in Georgia have also indicated that fake electors from that state may also face criminal charges, as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis pursues a separate investigation into the former president’s efforts to reject election results in that state. “Every serious challenge to the election had been denied, dismissed, or otherwise rejected by the time the false electors convened. There was no legitimate legal avenue or plausible use of such a document or an alternative slate of electors,” Ms Nessel said in a statement accompanying the announcement of charges. “There was only the desperate effort of these defendants, who we have charged with deliberately attempting to interfere with and overturn our free and fair election process, and along with it, the will of millions of Michigan voters,” she added. “That the effort failed and democracy prevailed does not erase the crimes of those who enacted the false electors plot.” Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has focused his office’s attention in several states, including interviews with the office of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who provided a tranche of documents that included communications between the state’s election officials and Mr Trump’s former lawyers and members of his campaign as the former president’s allies targeted the critical battleground state. Mr Smith is investigating an array of schemes pursued by Mr Trump and his allies to reject 2020 results, including the fake electors plot. This is a developing story Read More Trump news – live: Trump could be indicted for a third time as soon as this week in Jan 6 probe Trump says he is about to be arrested again after letter confirms he’s target of Jan 6 grand jury

The Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada has ordered Prime Trust LLC into receivership amid allegations the custodian

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares suffered their worst two-day drop on record after confirming reports that some patients experienced

An attorney representing the families of two women whose bodies were found along the shoreline in Gilgo Beach more than a decade ago has shared his suspicions that newly-arrested suspect Rex Heuermann may have had a female accomplice. A string of murders stumped police in the gated Long Island community of Gilgo Beach for more than a decade. It began in 2010 when 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert vanished after leaving a client’s house and an investigation into her disappearance led authorities to a trail of young women’s remains. Ten bodies, also including an Asian male and a 10-month-old baby, were recovered along a stretch of a remote highway, prompting fears of a serial killer. The case went cold until last year, when Suffolk County police reopened a probe into the grim murders. Last week, an interagency task force arrested 59-year-old Manhattan architect Mr Heuermann, reigniting hopes that the victims’ families might finally be able to obtain justice. Mr Heuermann is only facing charges for the murders of three of the Gilgo Beach murder victims — Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. But authorities have revealed they’re confident further charges over the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes will stick and haven’t ruled out the possibility that the disgraced architect could become the prime suspect in the other slayings. Attorney John Ray represents the families of Gilbert and Jessica Taylor, whose remains were among those found during the 2010 probe. Mr Ray told The Independent on Tuesday that he has long suspected that a woman may have helped the killer lure the victims. “We have a number of reasons to think a woman may have been involved. Nothing is certain here, [I want] to emphasise that, but there was some evidence that a woman was involved,” Mr Ray said. The attorney said that some of the evidence that could suggest a woman was involved in the killings is the way a “baby Doe’s” body was found. The child’s mother, dubbed “Peaches” for a tattoo on her torso, was found in Nassau County in 1997. Additional remains and those of her child were found years later, and the murders have been linked to the Gilgo Beach case. “The baby was wrapped in a blanket of some kind. And that’s something, you know, if you’re a depraved murderer, as a man ... Would you take the time to do that?” Mr Ray said. “But a mother might do that. That’s just one I use that as one of several reasons why we think that, but we don’t have any dispositive evidence that it was so.” Gilbert’s body was found in December 2011. Suffolk County authorities have previously said that they don’t believe Gilbert was a victim of the Gilgo Beach serial killer, or even that she was a victim of homicide. However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation and her mother believes she was murdered. “We’ve insisted that she was murdered. We have overwhelming evidence that that is true,” Mr Ray said. “The police had taken bizarre position that she died of natural causes.” He added: “We’re hoping now with the new task force with these great guys and new brains and excellent work of the District Attorney and the new Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison. “We’re hoping that they’re going to give it a look, a new look at the evidence with Shannan and investigate it as a murder.” Mr Ray said his clients have welcomed news of the arrest and now hope their loved ones’ killer or killers will also face the criminal system. “Both families are very happy that this man was caught and they’re happy for the other family members of the other victims,” Mr Ray said. “But the murderer of their loved ones has not been found. And even if it turns out to be this Tyrannosaurus Rex monster, there’s no solace in the end. Justice is an idea, but it’s not a feeling in a sense, and their feelings and their senses are still hurt and this resurrected those feelings. So it’s a bittersweet condition.” Mr Ray said that his law firm is joining efforts with the Suffolk County Police Department’s investigating team. Commissioner Harris has said in the aftermath that they’re probing any links Mr Heuermann may have with the Gilgo Beach bodies. On Tuesday, Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told ABC’s Good Morning America that Mr Heuermann is being looked at in connection to missing persons cases and murders far beyond the shores of Long Island – across the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and even nationwide. Mr Tay also told The Independent that although he had a tip that a breakthrough development would be announced in the case, he was not familiar with Mr Heuermann. “His whole background and purpose and so forth, his lifestyle were all quite surprising,” Mr Ray said. “Much more needs to be known about that now, because here’s a fella who purports to be a successful architect. I doubt very much that he was.” Mr Heuermann is the president of the architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates. On his company website, he boasted about working with the likes of Catholic Charities, NYC-DEP Sewerage Treatment and American Airlines and other major tenants at the JFK International Airport. However, court records obtained by CNN show that Mr Heuermann, who lives in the same modest home where he was brought up in Massapequa Park, has a history of filing personal injury lawsuits claiming to have been hit by vehicles. He also reportedly owes more than $200,000 in taxes to the IRS. “He maintained some kind of an office in Manhattan, you know, dipping in Manhattan doesn’t make you rich,” Mr Ray added. “But here he is an architect and yet his house is filthy and broken down and held up by two-by-fours on the front porch. It’s a striking contrast between, you know, the guy in the suit and tie you see in the picture and his circumstances.” An NYPD official told ABC News that the married father-of-two’s DNA has been entered into a statewide database and that his alleged MO is being compared to other cases across New York state – including those during the period he was allegedly active in Gilgo Beach. Mr Heuermann lived close to Gilgo Beach in Massapequa Park, Long Island, but worked in the heart of Midtown Manhattan where he runs an architecture firm. Some of the victims were last seen alive in the city. Read More Gilgo Beach murders - live: Rex Heuermann lawyer claims police are ignoring ‘stronger’ serial killer suspects JonBenét Ramsey’s brother says he believes her killer has ‘same bio’ as Gilgo Beach murders suspect Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect had one chilling question for officials after his arrest

Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida said on his podcast Tuesday morning that he will in the coming days introduce a bill to defund Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump. “In the coming hours, the coming days, I will be introducing legislation under my name, in the House of Representatives, as a freestanding bill, to defund the Jack Smith investigation,” Mr Gaetz said. “And one reason why is the election interference feature. Another reason why: the lack of transparency.” Mr Gaetz’s announcement comes just hours after Mr Trump said he’s recieved a letter from Mr Smith’s investigation into the events of January 6 informing him that he is the target of a grand jury investigation in Washington, DC. “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and indictment,” Mr Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. It is as of now unclear what charges Mr Trump may face, though he’s already been indicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents in Florida and allegedly participating in a hush money payment scheme in New York. But if Mr Trump is indicted again for his participation in efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and subvert American democracy, it could dampen his odds of being returned to office in next year’s election — a prospect he and his supporters are arguing amounts to election interference. Mr Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly attacked Mr Smith, who was appointed as special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland last year. Mr Smith has been charged with overseeing two Department of Justice investigations into the former president, one regarding January 6 and the other regarding his handling of classified material. Read More Democratic lawmaker screams at ‘exhausting’ Matt Gaetz on House floor House Ethics Committee revives ‘misconduct’ probe into rep Matt Gaetz Christopher Wray hits back at Gaetz after Republican presses him on trust in the FBI

The union representing 22,000 workers at Yellow Corp. plans to strike as soon as next week after the

A bevy of US consumers who saw their credit scores boosted by government stimulus and a pause on

Steve Bannon, once a senior adviser to Donald Trump, was confronted by a Ron DeSantis supporter who demanded to know when the far-right podcaster would pay back money he allegedly collected in a fraudulent fundraiser aimed at funding the construction of a southern border wall. The supporter, Chris Nelson, is a known right-wing provocateur who is vocal in his support of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's 2024 presidential run. He posted a video of himself approaching and confronting Mr Bannon on Sunday during the Turning Point Action conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to Newsweek. As Mr Nelson approaches Mr Bannon, he calls out to him and asks when he will give back the money he allegedly took for the failed "Build the Wall Fund." "Hey Steve Bannon! When are you going to get back that money you took from the Build the Wall Fund?" Mr Nelson asks. "When are you going to give that money back?" Mr Bannon claimed that "there's not one penny, dude." The former Trump adviser was charged in September 2022 with money laundering allegations tied to a GoFundMe campaign claiming donations would be used to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. The construction of a wall at the southern border — paid for by Mexico — was a key promise Mr Trump made during his 2016 presidential campaign. The wall was only partially built, and Mexico did not pay for any of its construction. Mr Bannon was also charged in a near-identical federal investigation, but Mr Trump pardoned him in January 2021 just before leaving office. Manhattan prosecutors brought state charges — which presidential pardons do not cover — against Mr Bannon in September 2022. That trial is expected to begin in May 2024. Mr Nelson also accused Mr Bannon of lying about Mr DeSantis, and said Andrew Brietbart — the founder of right-wing Breitbart News, which Mr Bannon took over after his death — would be embarrassed by his successor. "Andrew Breitbart would be rolling in his grave right now to see what you're doing," he said. "Why are you lying about Ron DeSantis? Aren't you concerned that Trump does not have any ground game to win and that he has no plan to do anything differently and that Ron DeSantis has gotten victory after victory with election integrity?" Before walking away from the confrontation, Mr Bannon said that Mr DeSantis only has "$3 million left," citing an NBC news report on the candidate's war chest. After his confrontation with Mr Bannon, Mr Nelson claims that security at the event was trying to toss him out because he is a DeSantis supporter. "Because if somebody's not in your little club, then you throw them out," Mr Nelson says. "You can't stand dissenting viewpoints." Mr Bannon spoke at the conference, telling the audience that Mr Trump and his GOP allies would face years of "political warfare." "We got a fight ahead of us," Mr Bannon said. "There's still the primary, the RNC and the donors are gonna try and [block] Trump, so we gotta get through that. The general election, and I don't have to believe Biden will be the nominee, I think they'll trade him out, but we've got nothing but a war in the general election, and then we gotta make sure they can't steal it. And by the way, that's the easy part. We've got six to eight years ahead of us of absolute political warfare." Read More Steve Bannon ordered to pay nearly $500K in unpaid legal bills Ex-Congressman suggests Hunter Biden alleged laptop data fabricated Trump says he would consider two of his Republican 2024 rivals as his running mates Steve Bannon ordered to pay nearly $500K in unpaid legal bills Former Trump chief of staff says ex-president is ‘scared s***less’ Steve Bannon’s trial in ‘We Build the Wall’ scheme set for May 2024

Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie has mocked rival Donald Trump’s take on ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, quipping: “Move over Churchill”. The former president announced he had a “one-day” plan for ending the war in Ukraine, stating in an interview with Fox News that he knew the leaders of Ukraine and Russia “very well” and that he would “have the deal done in one day”. But Mr Trump’s comments were ridiculed by Mr Christie, who invoked British wartime leader Winston Churchill in his mockery of his foe. “Breaking news… Donald Trump has released his Top-Secret plan for ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours,” Mr Christie tweeted. “The Plan: He knows Putin and Zelensky “very well” and will make a couple calls. Move over Churchill, Trump is here to save the day.” Mr Trump’s unique approach to foreign policy saw him enter into a war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his tenure as US president, while his relationship with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky saw the US president impeached for the first time after offering Mr Zelensky a quid-pro-quo if Ukraine looked into Hunter Biden. Asked about being able to end the war, Mr Trump referenced the call that led to his impeachment. “I know Zelensky very well. I felt he was very honourable because when they asked him about the perfect phone call I made, he said it was indeed perfect ... he didn’t even know what they were talking about,” he said. “I know Zelensky very well and I know Putin very well – even better. And I had a good relationship, very good, with both of them. I would tell Zelensky ‘No more – you gotta make a deal’, I would tell Putin, ‘If you don’t make a deal we’re gonna give em a lot – we’re gonna give ‘em more than they ever got, if we have to.’” “I would have the deal done in one day. One day.” Read More Trump 2024 rivals urge him to bow out of race amid news he’s set to be indicted in Jan 6 probe Next Trump indictment could drop as soon as this week Ron DeSantis news - live: Florida governor giving interview to CNN as 2024 primary campaign stagnates

A large oil spill has been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of a deadly