Trump tries to move past his guilty verdict by attacking the criminal justice system
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump sought to move past his historic criminal conviction on Friday and build momentum for his bid to return to the White House with fierce attacks on the judge who oversaw the case, the prosecution’s star witness and the criminal justice system as a whole. Speaking from his namesake tower in Manhattan in a symbolic return to the campaign trail, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee delivered a message aimed squarely at his most loyal supporters. Defiant as ever, he insisted without evidence that the verdict was rigged and driven by politics.
Answers to your questions about Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — The first criminal conviction of a former American president is raising a host of legal and political questions: Will Donald Trump go to prison? Could he pardon himself? What about the election? Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury Thursday of 34 felony counts related to a scheme during his 2016 presidential campaign to pay off a porn actor who said the two had sex. It’s not clear whether he will go to prison. That will be up to the judge. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, refused to say Thursday whether prosecutors will seek prison time.
Trump carries the stain of conviction like a crown. Will the verdict matter to voters?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Back in 2016, Donald Trump famously said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters because of it. Time has shown that his supporters are indeed loyal to the core. But now, he’s become the first president in history stained with felony convictions. Will that matter in the November election? After the damning jury verdict in Manhattan, Republicans at large rallied behind him. But this is uncharted territory for the country. Are Americans to see Trump as the man in his official presidential portrait? Or the one in in the mug shot? It’s not a choice they’ve had before.
Biden details a 3-phase hostage deal aimed at winding down the Israel-Hamas war
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants that he says would lead to the release of remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the grinding Mideast war. Biden on Friday added Hamas is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release hostages for an extended cease-fire. The Democratic president calls the proposal “a road map to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages.” One phase of the deal calls for beginning major reconstruction of Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed 36,000 Palestinians.
Israel confirms its forces are in central Rafah in expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military has confirmed that its forces are operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city. The military said in a statement Friday that its troops in central Rafah had uncovered Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels and dismantled a weapons storage city of the group. The statement did not specify where in central Rafah the operations were taking place, but previous statements and witness reports have pointed to raids in the Shaboura refugee camp and other sites near the city center. More than 1 million Palestinians have fled the city since the assault began, scattering around southern and central Gaza..
Florida sheriff’s office fires deputy who fatally shot Black airman at home
A Florida sheriff on Friday fired a deputy who fatally shot a Black airman at his home while holding a handgun pointed to the ground, saying the deputy’s life was never in danger and he should not have fired his weapon. The Okaloosa County Sheriff on Friday fired Deputy Eddie Duran, who fatally shot Senior Airman Roger Fortson on May 3 after responding to a domestic violence call and being directed to Fortson’s apartment. Fortson opened the door with a handgun pointed to the ground. Duran fired immediately without warning.
Mexico’s drug cartels and gangs appear to be playing a wider role in Sunday’s elections than before
COTIJA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s drug cartels and gangs appear to be playing a wider role in Sunday’s elections that will determine the presidency, nine governorships and about 19,000 mayorships and other local posts. The country’s powerful drug cartels have long staged targeted assassinations of mayoral and other local candidates who threaten their control. Gangs in Mexico depend on controlling local police chiefs and taking a share of municipal budgets; national politics appear to interest them less. But in the runup to Sunday’s vote, gangs have increasingly taken to spraying whole campaign rallies with gunfire, burning ballots or preventing the setting up of polling stations — even putting up banners seeking to influence voters.
Berlin lets Ukraine use German weapons against targets in Russia after the US also eases its stance
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Germany has joined the United States in authorizing Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying. Friday’s move is a significant policy change that comes as depleted Ukrainian troops are losing ground in the war. Ukrainian officials have expressed frustration over restrictions on the use of Western weapons, especially as the border region of Kharkiv has endured a Russian onslaught this month. Both Germany and the U.S. specifically authorized defense of Kharkiv. The region’s capital city lies only 20 kilometers from Russia. Beyond offering Ukraine a chance of better protecting Kharkiv, it’s not clear what effect the easing of restrictions might have on the direction of the conflict.
Italy’s migrant jails are squalid and chaotic. A young man from Guinea was desperate to escape
ROME (AP) — The suicide of a young man from Guinea inside one of Italy’s migrant detention centers has shined a spotlight on the squalid, chaotic conditions. Lawyers and activists have described the centers as “black holes for human rights.” The Italian government says the de-facto jails are essential to deterring migrants from crossing the Mediterranean on smuggler’s boats. But for Ousmane Sylla, who developed mental health issues after leaving Guinea, they were unbearable. He killed himself in February, and his family blames the Italian government.
Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who brought victims to pig farm, is dead after prison assault
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who took female victims to his pig farm during a crime spree near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has died after being assaulted in prison. He was 74. The Correctional Service of Canada said in statement that Pickton, an inmate of Port-Cartier Institution in the province of Quebec, died in hospital following injuries in the May 19 assault involving another inmate. He was one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers and his case made international headlines. A 51-year-old inmate was in custody for the assault on Pickton, police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu said earlier this month.
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