A month after former President Donald Trump was charged with mishandling classified documents, the judge presiding over the case is set to take on a more visible role as she weighs competing requests on a trial date and hears arguments this week on a key area of law

Sarah Murdoch is also the ambassador of Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Labor unions have staged a day of protests and strikes across the Czech Republic to voice their opposition to the government’s package of cuts and austerity measures meant to keep the ballooning deficit under control

Authorities have closed portions of Custer Gallatin National Forest just outside of Big Sky, Montana, after a person was attacked by a grizzly bear while hunting.

Former vice president Mike Pence refused to answer a question from The Independent about whether he had read the indictment against former president Donald Trump as he left the North Carolina Republican Party’s convention on Saturday. Mr Pence was exiting the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro after he spoke to the convention for its First in Freedom Lunch and was taking a selfie with a supporter. His staff said “no gaggle” when asked whether the former vice president had read the indictment. This came despite the fact that during his speech, he criticised Mr Trump’s indictment by a grand jury as politicised, calling it a “sad day for America.” “I had hoped the Department of Justice would see its way clear to resolve the issues involving the former president without an indictment and I'm deeply troubled to see this indictment move forward,” he said. Mr Pence said he had been one of the first people to call on US Attorney General Merrick Garland to unseal the indictment. “Today, I'm calling on the Attorney General to stand before the American people and explain why this was necessary in his words,” Mr Pence said. “Attorney General Merrick Garland, stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people and explain why this indictment went forward.” A grand jury under the supervision of Special Counsel Jack Smith chose to indict Mr Trump. The unsealed 49-page indictment showed that Mr Trump faced 37 counts. Mr Trump was charged with “with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice” by a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida. The indictment accuses Mr Trump of showing classified documents to unauthorised people at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club on two occasions, once with a writer and a publisher working on a book by his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and another time when he showed a classified map of an unnamed country that involved staff working for Mr Trump’s political action committee. Still, the former vice president sought to draw a distinction between himself and the former president on issues ranging from abortion to January 6. “It gives me no pleasure to say, but on that fateful day, the American people deserve to know that President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution,” he told attendees in the reception room. “Under the Constitution, states conduct our elections, certify those elections, court challenges can be had, objections can be heard in the Congress,” he said. Mr Pence warned that if Republicans went the path that Mr Trump prescribed, then Democrats would nationalise elections. “I'm glad he said it just to stand his ground and to completely distance himself,” Burt Johnson, who attended the dinner, said. “I don't think it was needed. But he drew a clear line. He was unequivocal. And I think that's important.” But not everyone was pleased with Mr Pence and many still resent the fact that he refused to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on January 6, which led to the mob yelling “hang Mike Pence.” Patricia Koluch of Pender County had a simple reason for why she did not attend Mr Pence’s speech. “Well, January 6,” she told The Independent. “And a lot of behind-the-scenes information about who he really is and what he stands for.” Mr Pence announced his candidacy this week. He also criticised Mr Trump for his admonishing states for passing legislation restricting abortion and for not supporting reforming entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. Read More Trump indictment: Ex-president kept nuclear and military papers and showed some to unauthorised people Mitt Romney’s blistering response to Trump’s damning indictment Trump news – latest: Trump rages ‘Democrat Communists want to jail their opponents’ after indictment unsealed Trump's GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation Fox host Mark Levin screams at camera in rant over Trump’s indictment Trump indicted: What to know about the documents case and what's next

A former BNSF worker who was named one of the railroad’s employees of the year in 2021 for her work in supporting LGBTQ+ workers is now suing the railroad where she worked for 30 years

A spokesman for the White House National Security Council (NSC) has flatly rejected a report which claimed that China and Cuba have reached an agreement in principle to host a surveillance post. John Kirby appeared on MSNBC shortly after the publication of The Wall Street Journal’s report on Thursday; the report claimed that the cash-strapped Cuban government had accepted an offer by Beijing to set up a listening post on Cuban soil, within range of some US military installations. The article went on to claim that such a listening post could theoretically scoop up communications across much of the southeastern United States. “Officials familiar with the matter said that China has agreed to pay cash-strapped Cuba several billion dollars to allow it to build the eavesdropping station and that the two countries had reached an agreement in principle,” read the report. It continued: “An eavesdropping facility in Cuba, roughly 100 miles from Florida, would allow Chinese intelligence services to scoop up electronic communications throughout the southeastern U.S., where many military bases are located, and monitor U.S. ship traffic.” But Mr Kirby said that the Journal’s assertions were inaccurate when confronted by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell. "China and Cuba have now reached a secret agreement, we’re told, for China to establish an electronic facility which would allow Chinese intelligence agents to scoop up electronic communications throughout the southeastern US,” Mitchell began to Mr Kirby. “I’ve seen that press report, it’s not accurate,” Mr Kirby contended. “What I can tell you is that we have been concerned since day one of this administration about China’s influence activities around the world, certainly in this hemisphere and in this region, we’re watching this very, very closely.” Mitchell tried again: “You’re saying it’s not accurate that they’re planning this?” “I’m saying we’ve seen the report, it’s not accurate,” said Mr Kirby in response. It was a much stronger statement than he himself had made to the Journal initially. The paper quotes him as saying in response to their request for comment, “While I cannot speak to this specific report, we are well aware of – and have spoken many times to – the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere.” “We monitor it closely, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home, in the region, and around the world,” he added in that statement. At a news briefing on Thursday, a spokesman for the Pentagon echoed Mr Kirby’s denial. “I’ve seen that reporting, I can tell you, based on the information that we have, that that is not accurate,” said Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder. The report’s publication comes at a time of tension between Washington and Beijing, with both sides accusing the other of purposefully inflammatory actions. Some of those actions have included trips to Taiwan by senior US officials, which have enraged the Chinese government as they mark the US’s continued defiance of China’s claims of sovereignty over the island. It also comes as many in the US, particularly on the left, argue that the time has come for an end to the US embargo of Cuba, the socialist nation shunned by the US since the Cold War, when it was firmly allied with the Soviet Union. The decades-long trade prohibition has left Cuba’s economy in a delicate state, and many argue serves no purpose in the modern era. Read More Biden and Sunak to focus on Ukraine and economic security in British PM's first White House visit AP-NORC poll finds both Democrats, Republicans skeptical of US spying practices Alabama senator says Space Command prefers Huntsville for HQ, but command has no comment Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden stress ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine Sunak announces ‘Atlantic Declaration’ to boost UK-US ties after Biden talks AP-NORC poll finds both Democrats, Republicans skeptical of US spying practices

Kyiv said Wednesday its forces had liberated the settlement of Urozhaine in the industrial Donetsk region as part of a grinding push to wrest Russian forces...

The Russian admiral whom Ukraine forces said died in a strike on occupied Crimea last week has appeared in a video posted by a Russian military channel Wednesday -- the second video released in as many days which has cast further doubt on Kyiv's claim.

This comes after Aryna Sabalenka made a huge statement on the gender pay gap between men and women athletes in the tennis world

Fans left dozens of flower bouquets and handwritten letters for Matthew Perry outside the 'Friends' building

Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their Oct. 7 assault on Israel, a militant video and weapons seized by Israel show, despite Pyongyang’s denials that it sells arms to the militant group