The historic indictment of former President Donald Trump has thrust the 2024 presidential election into uncharted territory. It raises the remarkable prospect that the leading contender for the Republican nomination will seek the White House while also facing trial for criminal charges in New York. In an acknowledgment of the sway the former president holds with the voters who will decide the GOP contest next year, those eyeing a primary challenge to Trump were quick to criticize the indictment. Without naming Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the move “un-American.” Former Vice President Mike Pence, whose life was threatened after Trump incited an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, told CNN the charges were “outrageous.”
The historic indictment of former President Donald Trump has thrust the 2024 presidential election into uncharted territory. It raises the remarkable prospect that the leading contender for the Republican nomination will seek the White House while also facing trial for criminal charges in New York. In an acknowledgment of the sway the former president holds with the voters who will decide the GOP contest next year, those eyeing a primary challenge to Trump were quick to criticize the indictment. Without naming Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the move “un-American.” Former Vice President Mike Pence, whose life was threatened after Trump incited an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, told CNN the charges were “outrageous.”
By SHARON JOHNSON, REBECCA REYNOLDS and DYLAN LOVAN - Associated Press
Updated
U.S. Army investigators are trying to determine what caused two Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters to crash during a routine nightime training exercise in Kentucky. All nine soldiers aboard were killed. A statement from Fort Campbell says the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed in Trigg County in southwestern Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 miles northwest of Fort Campbell. No one was hurt on the ground. The crash is under investigation, and an army spokesperson declined to comment on whether the helicopters collided in the air.
Authorities say a train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed around 1 a.m. Thursday and caught fire in Minnesota. Hundreds of residents within 1/2 mile of the crash were ordered to evacuate in Raymond, about 100 miles west of Minneapolis, but the evacuation order was lifted around noon. BNSF said 22 cars derailed, including about 10 carrying ethanol, and four caught fire, but there were no injuries. BNSF CEO Katie Farmer apologized for the derailment and said the cleanup would begin as soon as the fire is extinguished. Gov. Tim Walz and railroad officials said they weren't especially concerned about groundwater contamination because much of the ethanol will burn off and the ground remains frozen.
A federal judge in Texas who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act struck down a narrower but key part of the nation’s health law. The ruling Thursday by U.S. District Judge Reed O' Connor blocks the requirement that most insurers cover preventive care such as vaccines and cancer screenings. Opponents and medical groups had warned that the decision could jeopardize preventive screenings for millions of Americans. The Biden administration had told the court the outcome of the case “could create extraordinary upheaval in the United States’ public health system.” It is likely to appeal.
The White House says it has new evidence that Russia is looking again to North Korea for weapons to fuel the war in Ukraine, this time in a deal that would provide Pyongyang with needed food and other commodities in return. It’s the latest accusation that Russia, desperate for weaponry and restricted by sanctions and export controls, is turning to “rogue” nations to help it continue to prosecute the 13-month-old war. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that as part of this proposed deal Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang
Prosecutors have charged seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2020 death of a man who screamed “I can’t breathe” while multiple officers restrained him as they tried to take a blood sample. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the charges Wednesday in the death of Edward Bronstein. The 38-year-old man was taken into custody by CHP officers on March 31, 2020, following a traffic stop. In addition to the manslaughter charges, the six CHP officers and one sergeant face one felony count each of assault under the color of authority.
President Joe Biden says global leaders are “turning the tide” in stemming a yearslong backslide of democratic institutions. At his second democracy summit on Wednesday, Biden looked to spotlight hopeful advancements over the past year despite Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine and U.S. tensions with China over its military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Biden cited signs of progress across the globe, from Angola’s effort to create an independent judiciary, Croatia’s move to boost government transparency and the Dominican Republic’s anti-corruption steps. Biden also pointed to his stalled push for voting protections in Congress as evidence of his administration’s commitment to support democracy.
The Senate has voted to repeal the decades-old congressional measure that greenlighted the 2003 invasion of Iraq. If approved by the House, the measure would end more than 20 years of authorization for U.S. presidents to use force in that country and return those war powers to Congress. The Iraq War ended years ago, and repeal is not expected to affect any current troop deployments. The bipartisan legislation would also repeal the 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War. Lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments.
Are tech companies moving too fast in rolling out powerful artificial intelligence technology that could one day outsmart humans? That’s the conclusion of a group of prominent computer scientists and other tech industry notables such as Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak who are calling for a 6-month pause to consider the risks. Their petition published Wednesday is a response to San Francisco startup OpenAI’s recent release of GPT-4, a more advanced successor to its widely-used AI chatbot ChatGPT that helped spark a race among tech giants Microsoft and Google to unveil similar applications.
A federal judge has ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify before a grand jury in the federal probe into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. That’s according to two people familiar with the ruling, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it remains under seal. The people said, however, that Pence would not have to answer questions about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building as Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the vote. Pence and his attorneys had cited constitutional grounds in challenging the subpoena.
Officials say a Russian court has convicted a single father over social media posts criticizing the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to two years in prison. His lawyer and activists say the case was brought to the attention of authorities by his daughter’s antiwar drawing at school. The case of Alexei Moskalyov in the town of Yefremov, south of Moscow, has drawn international attention. But court officials say the 54-year-old Moskalyov fled house arrest overnight and wasn’t present for verdict. The case is a grim indication the Kremlin is intensifying its crackdown on dissent, targeting more people and handing out harsh punishments for any expression of criticism of the war.
Federal prosecutors have charged a man with firebombing a prominent Wisconsin anti-abortion lobbying group's office last year. The U.S. attorney's office in Madison announced that 29-year-old Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury was arrested Tuesday at Boston's Logan International Airport and charged with one count of attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive. Prosecutors believe Roychowdhury threw Molotov cocktails into the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison on May 6. The attack came about a week after a draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion leaked. The court did overturn the ruling in June. Online court records did not list an attorney for Roychowdhury.
A federal district court judge has upheld the approval of a $2.4 billion bankruptcy reorganization plan aimed at resolving tens of thousands of child sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America. The ruling docketed Tuesday rejects arguments by non-settling insurance companies and attorneys representing dissenting abuse survivors that the reorganization plan was not proposed in good faith and improperly strips the insurers and survivors of their rights. The ruling follows a September decision in which U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein approved the plan. The plan would allow the Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts of America to continue operating while compensating tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children while involved in Scouting.
Migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico, starting a fire that killed at least 40 people. That's according to the Mexican president. It was one of the deadliest events ever at a Mexican immigration lockup. Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, which is across from El Paso, Texas, and a major crossing point for migrants. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene. Twenty-nine people were injured. At the time of the blaze, 68 men from Central and South America were being held at the facility.
House Republicans plan to deliver a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken for classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said Monday that he will be issuing the first subpoena as chairman. The Texas Republican said he had spoken with Blinken earlier and was notified the agency would not be turning over a so-called dissent cable. According to press reports, the July 2021 communication was written by diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul shortly before the August 2021 withdrawal and warned Blinken about the potential fall of Kabul via a special “dissent channel."
On the one side are dozens of lawmakers on Capitol Hill issuing dire warnings about security breaches and possible Chinese surveillance. On the other are some 150 million TikTok users in the U.S. who just want to be able to keep making and watching short, fun videos offering makeup tutorials and cooking lessons. The disconnect illustrates the uphill battle lawmakers face in trying to convince the public that China could use TikTok as a weapon against the American people. But many users on the platform are more concerned about the possibility of the government taking away their favorite app.
Ukraine’s president has made his third visit in two days to areas that have felt the brunt of Russia’s invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a trip on Thursday to the southern Kherson region which was mostly retaken from the Kremlin’s forces. It came as a senior Kyiv commander hinted that a brewing Ukrainian counteroffensive could come “very soon.” Zelenskyy visited Kharkiv on Wednesday. Kharkiv is the country’s second-largest city in northeastern Ukraine. It was recaptured from the Russians last September as part of the same monthslong counteroffensive that won back most of Kherson. Zelenskyy met with troops Wednesday in the eastern Donetsk region. He gave state awards to the defenders of Bakhmut. The wrecked city is now a symbol of Ukraine’s dogged resistance.
Approval of President Joe Biden has dipped slightly since a month ago to 38%. That's nearly the lowest point of his presidency, and comes as his administration tries to project a sense of stability while confronting a pair of bank failures and stubbornly high inflation. The new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows there have been modest fluctuations in support for Biden over the past several months. In February, 45% said they approved of him. His ratings hit their lowest point of his presidency last July, at 36%, as the full weight of rising gasoline, food and other costs began to hit U.S. households.
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and KEN SWEET - Associated Press
Updated
Two large banks that cater to the tech industry have collapsed after a bank run, government agencies are taking emergency measures to backstop the financial system, and President Joe Biden is reassuring Americans that the money they have in banks is safe. It’s all eerily reminiscent of the financial meltdown that began with the bursting of the housing bubble 15 years ago. Yet the pace this time around seems even faster. Over the last three days, the US has seized two banks after a run on Silicon Valley Bank. The Associated Press addresses what the US is doing and whether it will be enough.
