Trump swaps bluster for silence, and possibly sleep, in his hush money trial
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump isn’t known for letting slights pass. Yet for weeks, the famously combative presumptive Republican presidential nominee has sat silently in a sterile lower Manhattan courtroom amid a barrage of insults and accusations. Through it all, Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless, for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed — so zen he often appeared to be asleep. Trump’s demeanor inside the courtroom has, in many ways, been dramatic for its very lack of drama. And it is at least, in part, a strategy in response to warnings that behaving like he has in past trials could backfire.
Top UN court orders Israel to halt military offensive in Rafah; Israel is unlikely to comply
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah — but stopped short of ordering a full cease-fire. While Israel is unlikely to comply with Friday’s order, it will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country. Criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza has been growing, particularly once it turned its focus to Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also under heavy pressure at home to end the war. The court rules Friday that Israel must “immediately halt its military offensive” in Rafah and anything else that might result in conditions that could cause the “physical destruction in whole or in part” of Palestinians there.
The bodies of 3 more hostages are recovered from Gaza by the Israeli army
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s army says the bodies of three more hostages killed on Oct 7. were recovered overnight from Gaza. The news comes as the top United Nations court prepares to rule on whether Israel must halt its military operations and withdraw from the enclave. The bodies of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez were found and their families have been notified. The army said they were killed on the day of the attack at the Mefalsim intersection and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The announcement comes less than a week after the army said it found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on Oct. 7.
‘Green blitz’: As election nears, Biden pushes slew of rules on environment, other priorities
WASHINGTON (AP) — As he tries to secure his legacy, President Joe Biden has unleashed a flurry of election-year rules on the environment. They include a landmark regulation that would force coal-fired power plants to capture smokestack emissions or shut down. It is among dozens of actions the Biden administration has taken in recent weeks to meet his climate goals and other priorities. The regulations are led by the Environmental Protection Agency but involve a host of federal agencies on issues including education, transportation and labor. They are being issued in quick succession as Biden rushes to meet a looming deadline to ensure they are not overturned by a new Congress.
Hunter Biden is expected in court for a final hearing before his June 3 gun trial
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden is due in court days before he’s expected to stand trial on federal firearms charges in Delaware as his father’s reelection campaign unfolds. President Joe Biden’s son is charged with lying about his drug use in 2018 on a form to buy a gun he kept for about 11 days. Hunter Biden has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period. But his lawyers say he didn’t break the law and the case is politically motivated. Defense attorneys and prosecutors have been arguing about evidence, including the authenticity of data from a laptop he allegedly dropped off at a Delaware repair shop.
Fire at chemical factory in India kills at least 9, with searchers looking for more victims
THANE, India (AP) — Rescuers are combing through piles of debris and wreckage to search for bodies after an explosion and fire at a chemical factory in western India killed at least nine people and injured 64 others. The explosion in the factory’s boiler on Thursday led to a fire that affected other nearby factories and houses in Maharashtra state’s Thane district. Two bodies have been identified so far, but seven are burned beyond recognition. The cause of the explosion is being investigated. Disaster response officials said the factory made food coloring and used highly reactive chemicals that can cause explosions. Police have filed culpable homicide charges against the factory owners.
Over 100 feared dead in landslide in remote part of Papua New Guinea, with rescue efforts underway
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 people are believed to have been killed in a landslide that buried a village in a remote, mountainous part of Papua New Guinea. An emergency response is underway. The landslide hit at about 3 a.m. Friday in an area about 370 miles northwest of the South Pacific island nation’s capital of Port Moresby. Residents say current estimates of the death toll are above 100. But authorities haven’t confirmed that figure. Som villagers say the number of those killed could be much higher. Prime Minister James Marape says authorities are responding and he will release information about the destruction and loss of life when it’s available.
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who skewered fast food industry, dies at 53
NEW YORK (AP) — Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar nominee whose most famous works skewered America’s food industry and who notably ate only at McDonald’s for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died of cancer. He was 53. Spurlock made a splash in 2004 with his groundbreaking film “Super Size Me,” and returned in 2019 with “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!” — a sober look at an industry that processes 9 billion animals a year in America. Spurlock was a gonzo-like filmmaker who leaned into the bizarre and ridiculous. His stylistic touches included zippy graphics and amusing music.
King Charles III won’t be out and about much over the next six weeks amid election campaign
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III won’t be out and about much over the next six weeks. And it’s not because of his ongoing cancer treatments. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called an early parliamentary election for July 4. Buckingham Palace said shortly after that all members of the royal family were canceling most public engagements until after the vote to avoid doing anything that might divert attention from the campaign. That announcement is just one of the ways Charles will seek to play his part as a unifying head of state during the election without violating a constitutional ban on interfering in politics.
With college athletes on cusp of revenue-sharing, there are Title IX questions that must be answered
The athlete pay system looming for college sports will bring questions about Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination for schools that receive federal funds. Schools will have to decide if they are going to direct millions of dollars in payments to their own athletes in the years ahead. If they do, experts like University of Illinois labor and sports law professor Michael LeRoy say Title IX equity rules will apply.
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