Defense rests without ex-President Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers have rested their defense without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money criminal trial. The decision moves the case closer to the moment when the jury will begin deciding his fate. Trump’s team concluded with testimony from a former federal prosecutor who had been called to attack the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness, one of two people summoned to the stand by the defense. The Manhattan district attorney’s office called 20 witnesses over 15 days of testimony before resting its case Monday. The jury was sent home for a week, until May 28, when closing arguments are expected.
UN halts all food distribution in Rafah after running out of supplies in the southern Gaza city
CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations says it has suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity. It also said no aid trucks entered via a pier set up by the U.S. for sea deliveries for the past two days. The U.N. has not specified how many people remain in Rafah after the Israeli military launched an intensified assault there on May 6, but they appear to number several hundred thousand. Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the U.N’s World Food Program, warned that “humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse.” She said that if food and other supplies don’t resume entering Gaza in “in massive quantities, famine-like conditions will spread.”
Mourners begin days of funerals for Iran’s president and others killed in helicopter crash
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mourners began gathering Tuesday for days of funerals and processions for Iran’s late president, foreign minister and others killed in a helicopter crash. For Iran’s Shiite theocracy, mass demonstrations have been crucial since millions thronged the streets of Tehran to welcome Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution. Whether President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others draw large crowds remains in question, particularly as Raisi died in a helicopter crash, won his office in the lowest-turnout election in the country’s history and presided over crackdowns on all dissent. Prosecutors have warned people over celebrating his death and a heavy security force presence has been seen on the streets of Tehran since the crash.
Election deniers moving closer to GOP mainstream, report shows, as Trump allies fill Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Donald Trump makes a comeback bid to return to power, Republicans in Congress have become even more likely to cast doubts on President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. A new report from States United Action, a group that targets election deniers, says nearly one-third of the lawmakers in Congress supported in some way Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 presidential results. Several more are running for election this year to the House and Senate. Lizzie Ulmer of States United Action says the public should have a “real healthy dose of concern.” It’s not happening just in Congress. Prominent election deniers also now run the Republican National Committee.
Trump or Biden? Either way, US seems poised to preserve heavy tariffs on imports
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree on essentially nothing, from taxes and climate change to immigration and regulation. Yet on trade policy, the two presumptive presidential nominees have embraced surprisingly similar approaches. Which means that whether Biden or Trump wins the presidency, the United States seems poised to maintain a protectionist trade policy — a policy that experts say could feed inflation pressures. The protectionist tilt of the two presidential contenders reflects the widespread view that opening the nation to more imports — especially from China — wiped out American manufacturing jobs and shuttered factories. It’s an especially potent political topic in the Midwestern industrial states that will likely decide who wins the White House.
Severe turbulence during Singapore Airlines flight leaves several people badly injured. One man died
BANGKOK (AP) — Singapore Airlines says one of its flights hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6,000 feet in about three minutes. Authorities say a British man died, possibly after a heart attack, and several people were severely injured. The flight from London to Singapore was diverted to Bangkok. Details of the weather at the time over the Andaman Sea near Myanmar weren’t immediately available. One official says the sudden descent occurred as passengers were being served food. A passenger says the seatbelt sign was on but crew members didn’t have time to take their seats.
Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleads not guilty to felony charges in Arizona election interference case
PHOENIX (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty Tuesday to nine felony charges stemming from his role in an effort to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Arizona to Joe Biden. Giuliani appeared remotely for the arraignment that was held in a Phoenix courtroom. His plea follows a not guilty plea by former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward for the same charges. Ward and 11 other people were arraigned in a Phoenix courtroom on conspiracy, forgery and fraud charges. Her trial date is set for Oct. 17, weeks before the election. The Tuesday arraignments were the second held in the case.
Police break up pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Police have broken up a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Michigan less than a week after demonstrators showed up at the home of a school official and placed fake body bags on her lawn. Before dawn Tuesday, officers wearing helmets with face shields cleared the Diag, known for decades as a historic site for campus protests. Video posted online shows police forcing protestors to retreat by spraying what appears to be an irritant. Protesters want the school’s endowment to stop investing in companies with ties to Israel. The university insists it has no direct investments. Drexel University in Philadelphia is also threatening to clear an encampment on campus.
Macron is making a surprise trip to New Caledonia amid deadly unrest and indigenous frustration
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is making a surprise trip to New Caledonia, the French Pacific territory that has been gripped by days of deadly unrest and where indigenous people have long sought independence. Six people have been killed, including two gendarmes, and hundreds of others injured in New Caledonia during armed clashes, looting and arson, raising new questions about Macron’s handling of France’s colonial legacy. There have been decades of tensions between indigenous Kanaks who seek independence for the archipelago of 270,000 people, and descendants of colonizers and others who want to remain part of France.
Indian voters dissect Modi’s politics while traversing the country by train
ABOARD THE THIRUKKURAL EXPRESS, India (AP) — The Associated Press rode one of the longest trains in India — 1,800 miles from New Delhi to Kanyakumari — to interview voters about an election that will be decided in June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to win and reappoint Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the leader for the past decade — for another five years. A man who runs a food stall said Modi isn’t doing enough for the poor. A Muslim man said Modi’s Hindu-centric policies are hurtful and divisive. But many passengers said they supported Modi, and credited him with improving India’s economy and its global image.
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