Dual citizen of France and Canada who mailed ricin to Trump sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison
A dual citizen of France and Canada who sent letters containing homemade ricin to then-President Donald Trump and eight Texas law enforcement officials was sentenced Thursday to nearly 22 years in prison.
2023-08-18 00:47
Hurricane Hilary is rapidly intensifying, could bring significant flooding to Southern California, Southwest
Hurricane Hilary is rapidly intensifying in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Mexico on Thursday and is on track to deliver potentially significant rain and flooding to parts of the Southwest as a weaker system starting this weekend.
2023-08-18 00:46
Nigeria Bonds Jump as Big Corporate Loan Boosts Dollar Liquidity
The price of Nigerian government dollar bonds jumped after the country’s state-owned energy company obtained a $3 billion
2023-08-17 23:59
Judge in Trump classified docs case cancels tentative August 25 hearing, scheduling sealed proceeding for another time
US District Judge Aileen Cannon has canceled tentative plans to hold a hearing on August 25 on a protective order for classified evidence in the Mar-a-Lago documents case against former President Donald Trump.
2023-08-17 23:48
Ex-Trump aide slams his use of word ‘riggers’ on Truth Social as a racist ‘bullhorn’
A former aide to Donald Trump has condemned his use of the word “riggers”, saying that it is “not a racial dog whistle” – it’s actually a racist “bullhorn”. After he was indicted on charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia this week, the former president launched into an angry rant on his Truth Social platform. In it, he claimed that he would announce a “large, complex, detailed but irrefutable REPORT” proving his election fraud claims in Georgia in a press conference slated for Monday 21 August. But, in the tirade, he also spewed what appeared to be a racist dog whistle. “There will be a complete EXONERATION!” Mr Trump wrote. “They never went after those that Rigged the Election. They only went after those that found to find the RIGGERS!.” The comment was widely condemned on social media while many said the use of the word “rigger” was clearly intentional and part of his “racist attacks” against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Black woman prosecuting the case against him. On Wednesday, Mr Trump’s former White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah weighed in on the matter, describing the use of the term as “a bullhorn”. “With Trump, you don’t need to look for a dog whistle – it’s a bullhorn when it comes to race, and I do think that’s deliberate,” Ms Farah told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday. “We’ve seen the, I mean, slanderous attacks that he’s put out against Fani Willis. You know, alleging things I won’t even repeat, so he’s not really hiding that he’s going to lean into that element and this is, you know, taking place just outside of Atlanta. When you saw the courtroom, it was a lot of Black men and women who were serving in that courtroom.” While Ms Farah said that Mr Trump knows exactly what he’s doing in using the “disgusting” term, she said she was somewhat surprised. “The fact that he’s introducing race into this prosecution surprises me, it’s disgusting, it’s textbook Donald Trump, but it comes as no surprise,” she said. Her comments come after Keith Boykin, a former White House aide to Bill Clinton, said that “the use of the word ‘rigger’ is not unintentional”. “It’s not an accident after spending days making racist attacks against Fani Willis, the Black woman leading the prosecution against him in Atlanta,” he said. Whether or not Mr Trump intended to describe his political enemies using a word that is one letter away from being an exceptionally offensive slur is unclear. What is clear is that plenty of observers noted his use of the word. Arieh Kovler, a current affairs and politics writer, collected a sampling of responses from a group of Trump supporters who post anonymously at a Reddit-like forum. "I don't know if Trump deliberately uses 'RIGGERS!' as a dog whistle, but his supporters hear it either way," he wrote. “Worth noting here that the ‘riggers’ as a racist codeword has been used for a while in MAGA circles.” Mr Kovler included a screenshot from the site showing one user who said "I love [Trump] so much" because "he just used the word RIGGERS!" In other posts, supporters made clear they were not discussing alleged election manipulators while using the word. Similar responses could be found on Twitter when searching about Mr Trump’s use of the word. Mr Trump making racist-adjacent remarks is hardly novel. During his presidency he reportedly questioned why the US would allow Haitians and African immigrants to cross the border, referring to their homes as "s***hole countries." His niece, Mary Trump, has stated publicly that she heard the former president use racial slurs growing up and claimed racism was normal for his family. And he has given special nicknames for his Black opponents — like calling New York Attorney General "peekaboo James," which may or may not be a reference to a racist insult aimed at Black people. He also called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg an "animal" and a "criminal" who works for George Soros. He called both Ms James and Mr Bragg "racists" and extended that charge to the woman leading Georgia's case against him, DA Willis. Ms Williams is Black, and Mr Trump has baselessly accused her of having an affair with a "gang member" she was prosecuting. “They say there’s a young woman, a young racist in Atlanta. She’s a racist. And they say, I guess they say that she was after a certain gang and she ended up having an affair with the head of the gang or a gang member,” Mr Trump said in his remarks to a group of veterans on 8 August. “And this is the person that wants to indict me. She’s got a lot of problems.” In contrast, when referring to DOJ special counsel Jack Smith, the white litigator leading the federal government's case against Mr Trump, the former president refers to him as "psycho" and "unhinged." Mr Trump has denied all accusations of being racist. On Monday, Mr Trump and 18 of his closest allies were hit with a sweeping 41-count indictment, over their efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Charged under Georgia’s RICO statute, the 19 defendants are accused of running a criminal enterprise with the goal of ensuring that Mr Trump remained in power at all costs. The other co-defendants are: former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, “Kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell, attorneys John Eastman, Kenneth Cheseboro, Jenna Ellis, Ray Smith III, and Robert Cheeley, former US Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, former Trump campaign official Michael Roman, former state senator and the former chair of the Georgia Republican Party David Schafer, Georgia state senator Shawn Still, Lutheran pastor Stephen Lee, mixed martial artist Harrison Floyd, Kanye West’s former PR Trevian Kutti, former head of the Republican Party in Coffee County Cathleen Latham, Atlanta-area bail bondsman Scott Hall, and former election supervisor of Coffee County Misty Hampton. DA Willis has spent more than two years investigating efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in the crucial swing state. The investigation came following the release of a 2 January 2021 phone call Mr Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he told him to “find” enough votes to change the outcome of the election in the state. Mr Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes. The investigation then expanded from that phone call to include a scheme whereby a group of fake Republican electors planned to falsely certify the results in Mr Trump’s favour instead of Mr Biden’s. The plot failed and the fake electors have since reached immunity deals with DA Willis’ office. Ms Willis said she would like to try the defendants altogether and within the next six months. In total, the former president is now facing 91 charges from four separate criminal cases. On 1 August, he was hit with a federal indictment charging him with four counts over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, following an investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith’s office. This came after Mr Smith’s office charged Mr Trump in a separate indictment over his alleged mishandling of classified documents on leaving office. Back in April, Mr Trump was charged for the first time with New York state charges following an investigation into hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election. Read More Trump Georgia trial date proposed as woman arrested over Jan 6 judge ‘death threats’ – live updates New video shows Roger Stone ‘working to overturn 2020 election’ Trump judge makes barbed comment about Elon Musk as contents of Jack Smith’s Twitter warrant revealed Can Donald Trump still run for president after charges over 2020 election? China says it would welcome a visit by US commerce secretary after imposition of investment controls What is an arraignment and what is an indictment?
2023-08-17 20:28
Oil Steadies as Traders Take Stock of China Concerns and Fed
Oil steadied after a three-day drop spurred by concerns over the Chinese economy and the possibility of even
2023-08-17 17:28
Trump may try to move the Fulton County criminal case to federal court. Here's why
Just hours after former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was dealt state charges accusing him, along with 18 other defendants including Donald Trump, of taking part in a broad criminal conspiracy to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, he mounted an effort to move his case to federal court.
2023-08-17 17:19
US Marine charged with sexual assault weeks after missing teen was found in Camp Pendleton barracks
A US Marine at California's Camp Pendleton has been charged with sexual assault weeks after a missing 14-year-old was discovered in the military base's barracks, according to a charging document.
2023-08-17 16:45
Britney Spears and husband Sam Asghari split, US media say
The couple married in June 2022 soon after the termination of the pop star's conservatorship.
2023-08-17 15:58
Canadian wildfire threatens towns, govt orders evacuations
By Pat Kane and Nia Williams YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories (Reuters) -Canadian officials ordered the evacuation of the Northwest Territories' capital
2023-08-17 13:25
Trump claims mystery report clears him of Georgia election charges as DA seeks March trial date – live updates
Donald Trump has promised to share an “irrefutable” report on his baseless claims of election fraud in Georgia. “A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11.00am on Monday of next week,” Mr Trump said. The former president and 18 of his allies have been indicted on a range of criminal charges relating to Mr Trump’s attempts to alter Georgia‘s 2020 election results. He has been charged with 13 counts including racketeering, filing false documents, and attempting to coerce public officers to violate their oaths, according to court documents. It marks the fourth major indictment against Mr Trump in nearly as many months, and the second related directly to his actions during the 2020 election. Mr Trump has been issued with an arrest warrant and ordered to surrender by 25 August. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed arraignments for the week of 5 September and a trial date of 4 March 2024. Read More Trump claims Fox News is conspiring to stop him winning in 2024 Will the Georgia gang of 18 turn on Trump? Trumpworld hanging by a thread as co-accused pressured to flip on ex-president Fulton County DA Fani Willis proposes Trump’s Georgia trial date the day before Super Tuesday Trump judge makes barbed comment about Elon Musk as contents of Jack Smith’s Twitter warrant revealed
2023-08-17 12:50
Jenna Ellis forced to crowdfund Georgia lawyer fund after cutting ties with Trump
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis has been forced to crowdfund her defence fees after being indicted alongside the former president this week. Ms Ellis was among the 18 associates of Mr Trump to face charges in Georgia for alleged attempts to alter the state’s 2020 presidential election results. She posted a link to her fundraising campaign on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter on Tuesday. “We will fight for Jenna. If you would like to help support our efforts please consider donating by clicking the link below,” a quote from her lawyer Mike Melito read. ”America and the profession of law are worth the fight.” As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser on GiveSendGo had raised more than $14,000. “Jenna Ellis, former senior legal adviser and personal counsel to President Trump, is being targeted and the government is trying to criminalize the practice of law,” her account stated. “Help her fight back and stand for the truth!” She also received more than 1,600 prayers, which is an option for her supporters. Ms Ellis joins the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and John Eastman in being indicted by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis. Mr Trump has been charged with 13 counts including racketeering, filing false documents, and attempting to coerce public officers to violate their oaths, according to court documents. He claims it is part of a continuing “witch hunt” to stop him from running in the 2024 election. It marks the fourth major indictment against Mr Trump in nearly as many months, and the second related directly to his actions during the 2020 election. Mr Trump has been issued with an arrest warrant and ordered to surrender by 25 August. In March, Ms Ellis was censured by Colorado legal officials after admitting she made a string of false claims about the 2020 presidential election. She acknowledged that she had made “misrepresentations” on television and Twitter during Mr Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to reverse the results of the election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Ms Ellis is no longer supporting Mr Trump and has thrown her support behind Ron DeSantis to become the 2024 Republican nominee for president. Read More Trump claims mystery report clears him of Georgia election charges as DA seeks March trial date – live updates Rudy Giuliani biographer has a theory for why ex-New York mayor is so loyal to Trump Trump claims Fox News is conspiring to stop him winning in 2024 Special prosecutor will investigate Georgia’s lieutenant governor in Trump indictment Fulton County DA Fani Willis proposes Trump’s Georgia trial date the day before Super Tuesday Rudy Giuliani biographer has a theory for why ex-New York mayor is so loyal to Trump Frank LaRose, GOP Senate candidate in Ohio, fires a top staffer for tweets critical of Donald Trump Election workers who face frequent harassment see accountability in the latest Georgia charges
2023-08-17 12:24