Plea hearing for WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange gets underway; part of deal with US to secure his freedom
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) — A plea hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange expected to result in his freedom has gotten underway in federal court in Saipan with a judge asking him preliminary questions about his education and background. As part of a deal with the U.S. Justice Department, Assange is set to admit to a felony for publishing U.S. military secrets under a deal that spares him prison time in America after years spent jailed in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition. He is expected to return home to his native Australia.
Who is Julian Assange, the polarizing founder of the secret-spilling website WikiLeaks?
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Before he emerged as an eccentric internet publisher of state secrets, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was born in Townsville, Australia. He experienced an itinerant childhood and attended dozens of schools, becoming a computer hacker as a teenager. He was arrested in the 1990s for hacking a server in Melbourne and studied mathematics and physics at Australian universities. Assange went on to transform his radically anti-secrecy views into a document-leaking website that revealed U.S. and other countries’ military secrets. He spent seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and five in a British prison while he fought his extradition to the U.S.
Israel’s courts say the military must enlist the ultra-Orthodox. What could that mean for Netanyahu?
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Supreme Court unanimously ordered the government to begin drafted ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the army. The landmark ruling on Tuesday seeks to end a system that has allowed them to avoid enlistment into compulsory military service. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, which make up about 13% of Israel’s population, are an essential part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile governing coalition. They oppose enlistment because they believe that studying full time in religious seminaries is their most important duty, but the exemptions have reopened a deep divide in the country and infuriated much of the general public during the war in Gaza.
Judge alters Trump’s gag order, letting him talk about witnesses, jury after hush money conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has modified Donald Trump’s gag order, freeing the former president to comment about witnesses and jurors in his New York hush money criminal trial but keeping court and prosecution staff off limits. Judge Juan M. Merchan issued his decision on Tuesday. Trump’s lawyers had wanted the gag order fully lifted. They argued there was nothing to justify continued restrictions on Trump’s First Amendment rights after the trial ended May 30 in his conviction for falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal. Prosecutors had urged Merchan to keep most of the gag order in place at least until Trump is sentenced on July 11, but said they’d be OK with modifying it.
FDA warns maker of Sara Lee and Entenmann’s not to claim foods contain allergens when they don’t
Federal food safety regulators are warning Bimbo Bakeries USA to stop using misleading labels that say products contain potentially dangerous allergens when they don’t. Bimbo is the company behind major baked goods brands such as Sara Lee, Thomas’, Oroweat and Entenmann’s. U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found that the company listed ingredients such as sesame or tree nuts on labels when they weren’t in the foods. FDA officials said Tuesday that food labels must be truthful. They also say labeling is not a substitute for preventing cross-contamination. Bimbo says it’s working with FDA to resolve the issue.
Laugh (or cringe) at these history-making moments from presidential debates
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s debate prep time for President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Their teams are no doubt looking back at how past memorable debate moments came together, for good or ill. Those signature moments may be well-rehearsed zingers or offhand reactions like a too-loud sigh or a glance at a wristwatch. Past debates demonstrate how the candidates’ words and body language can make them look especially relatable or hopelessly out-of-touch. They can also showcase candidates at the top of their policy game or provide an indication they’re out to sea. As one debate expert puts it, “Anything can happen.”
NTSB chair says Norfolk Southern interfered with derailment probe after botching vent-and-burn call
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the investigation into the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and shape its conclusions about what the agency called a flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside. The NTSB also confirmed at Tuesday’s hearing that a flaming wheel bearing caused the February 2023 derailment in East Palestine. The agency approved more than two dozen recommendations to prevent similar disasters. Investigators say the railroad and its contractors ignored data about the tank cars and failed to accurately present information to decision-makers from the chemical manufacturer.
Brazil’s Supreme Court decriminalizes possession of marijuana for personal use
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court has voted to decriminalize possession of marijuana for personal use. That makes Brazil one of the last countries in Latin America to do so and could reduce its massive prison population. With final votes cast on Tuesday, a majority of the 11-person court voted in favor of decriminalization since deliberations began in 2015. The justices must still determine the maximum quantity of marijuana that would be characterized as being for personal use and when the ruling will enter into effect.
Anti-tax protesters storm Kenya’s parliament, drawing police fire as president vows to quash unrest
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Thousands of protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals, burning part of the building, sending lawmakers fleeing and drawing fire from police. President William Ruto called the events treasonous and vowed to quash the unrest. t was the most direct assault on the government in decades. Journalists saw at least three bodies outside the complex where police had opened fire, and medical workers reported five people killed. Clashes spread to other cities. There was no immediate word on arrests. Kenya’s defense minister said the military had been deployed to support police during the “security emergency.”
Takeaways from AP’s report on new footage from the fatal shooting of a Black motorist in Georgia
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — In the months after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, the fatal shooting of Julian Lewis generated headlines far beyond rural Georgia. The Georgia State Patrol quickly fired the trooper who opened fire on Lewis within seconds of forcing the Black motorist to drive into a ditch. Trooper Jake Thompson was arrested on a murder charge, though a grand jury declined to indict him. The state of Georgia paid Lewis’ family a $4.8 million settlement. But no footage of the Aug. 7, 2020, shooting has been made public until now. An Associated Press report and the never-before-released dashcam video have raised fresh questions about how the trooper avoided prosecution.
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