Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump on Saturday will hold his first campaign rally since his criminal trial in New York began, with the North Carolina crowd likely to hear the ex-president reiterate fiery outrage at the unprecedented legal proceedings. The Republican billionaire is set to address supporters in the coastal city of Wilmington, seeking to stymie Democratic hopes of flipping the battleground state after his victories there in 2016 and 2020. However, going to North Carolina won't be the only thing on Trump's mind, as opening statements in his hush money trial are expected to begin less...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The US House of Representatives is poised to hold a crucial vote on Saturday on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan -- and a possible ban of TikTok. The votes on the $95 billion foreign aid and arms bills are expected to begin at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT), and embattled Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will need Democratic votes to get them passed. The bills are the product of months of acrimonious negotiations, pressure from US allies and repeated pleas for assistance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Spending bills cost the last Republican speaker of the ...
AFP
New York (AFP) - Volkswagen workers in Tennessee voted decisively to become a union shop, according to election results released Friday, marking the first victory for organized labor at a foreign-owned auto plant in the American South. With a solid 73 percent supporting, employees in the Chattanooga plant voted for representation by the United Auto Workers at the 13-year-old factory, according to results released by VW, a triumphant outcome for organized labor in a region in which it has long failed to make major gains. "Volkswagen workers just made history!" said a UAW post on X, the former ...
AFP
New York (AFP) - Terrorists, mafia bosses -- and Donald Trump. The common thread? When they go on trial, the jurors have such a tough task that they have to be kept anonymous for their own safety. Being one of the 12 New Yorkers sitting in judgment on arguably the most controversial politician in modern US history -- a past president and strong contender to regain the White House this November -- was never going to be straightforward. This is a case "that could well be important to who wins the presidency," University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said. Aside from the pressure of being...
AFP
New York (AFP) - Donald Trump's $175 million bond to cover a possible civil penalty for fraud is inadequate because the company underwriting it is too small and opaque, New York's attorney general said in a filing Friday. The 77-year-old real estate magnate, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, is facing unprecedented legal headwinds in New York where he is also on criminal trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star on the eve of his 2016 election victory. Trump was ordered to pay $355 million, rising to $454 million with interest, after being found liable ...
AFP
New York (AFP) - Taylor Swift's hotly anticipated "The Tortured Poets Department" is here along with a surprise second album -- 31 tracks released Friday in which the megawatt star purges her inner turmoil while scorching former lovers. The first album was released as scheduled at midnight (0400 GMT) but two hours later, an additional 15 tracks appeared -- giving legions of Swifties plenty to chew on. By Friday evening, Spotify declared the album its most-streamed in a single day, with Swift also becoming the most-streamed artist in a single day. The 34-year-old billionaire is one of music's m...
AFP
New York (AFP) - Donald Trump's unprecedented criminal trial is set for opening statements next week after final jury selection ended Friday, leaving the Republican presidential candidate facing weeks of hostile testimony that will overshadow his White House campaign. The milestone on Friday in the first criminal trial of a former or sitting US president coincided with a man setting himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse. The self-immolation did not appear to have anything to do with Trump's case. Authorities said the man was in hospital in critical condition and had been carrying pa...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The US House of Representatives is poised to hold a crucial vote on Saturday on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan -- and a possible ban of TikTok. The votes on the $95 billion foreign aid and arms bills are expected to begin at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT), and embattled Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will need Democratic votes to get them passed. The bills are the product of months of acrimonious negotiations, pressure from US allies and repeated pleas for assistance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They cost the former Republican speaker of the House hi...
AFP
San Francisco (AFP) - Elon Musk on Friday came out against banning TikTok in the United States, even if it would mean less competition for his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as the initiative sees fresh bipartisan momentum in Congress. The US House of Representatives is set to vote on Saturday on a bill that would force TikTok to divest from Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a nationwide ban. The measure, which has the vocal backing by many Democrats and Republicans, has also been written into a massive aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, which could ease its passage...
AFP
New York (AFP) - A man set himself ablaze Friday outside the court where Donald Trump is standing trial, throwing pamphlets that police said contained conspiracy theories before he was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police named the man as Maxwell Azzarello from St Augustine, Florida and said the pamphlets he sought to disseminate "seem to be propaganda-based." "(They were) almost like a conspiracy theory type of pamphlet, some information in regards to Ponzi schemes, and the fact that some of our local educational institutes are a front for the mob," NYPD chief of detectives Jose...
AFP
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