List of All Articles with Tag 'americas'

The Indiana chapter of extremist group Moms for Liberty has been forced to explain why the first page of its newsletter carries a quote from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. “He alone who owns the youth, gains the future,” the quote reads on the front of its June issue. The quote was correctly attributed to Hitler, who was responsible for the murders of six million Jewish people and five million other victims including Romany people, gay people and Soviet prisoners of war. The group later took to its Facebook page to make some sort of an attempt to explain the shocking decision to reference to a murderous Nazi. “The quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert,” it read. “If the government has control over our children today, they control our country’s future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government.” The move to showcase a Hitler quote comes as the group secured Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a speaker at its event, The Joyful Warriors National Summit, next week. Other speakers at the event include GOP candidates Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Moms for Liberty was recently classified as an “anti-government extremist” group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which found in a recent report that it was among a handful of groups pushing to undermine public education and restrict access to books, classroom materials and honest discussions of race, racism, LGBT+ people and gender and sexuality. “Hate and anti-government extremist groups are intent on staging public spectacles of hatred” to threaten LGBT+ people and other vulnerable communities and minority groups, said Susan Corke, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. Moms for Liberty co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich pushed back on the label in a statement shared with The Independent where they said the group is “devoted to empowering parents to be a part of their child’s public school education.” “Name-calling parents who want to be a part of their child’s education as ‘hate groups’ or ‘bigoted’ just further exposes what this battle is all about: Who fundamentally gets to decide what is taught to our kids in school – parents or government employees?” they added. “We believe that parental rights do not stop at the classroom door and no amount of hate from groups like this is going to stop that.” Read More Moms for Liberty rises as power player in GOP politics after attacking schools over gender, race Moms for Liberty named anti-government extremist group by civil rights watchdog Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups Gunman used social media attack to attack Jews before attack at Pittsburgh synagogue, jurors learn Modi and Biden pull up Pakistan as Indian prime minister concludes US visit Cambodian lawmakers approve changes to election law that disqualify candidates who don't vote

Pro-government Cambodian lawmakers unanimously approved changes to the country’s election law on Friday that will ban anyone who fails to vote from running as a candidate in future elections, a move critics say is aimed at crippling the opposition’s chances in the polls. The measure was approved with minimal debate by all 111 lawmakers present in the National Assembly. All members of the assembly belong to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party. Hun Sen, who has been in power for 38 years, declared last week that the law would be amended ahead of July’s general election to compel candidates for public office to prove their civic responsibility. The amended law will take effect after approval by the Senate, a formality. Hun Sen’s critics say the action as his latest tactic to marginalize his political opponents, some of whom are considering an election boycott. He announced the plan less than a month after the main opposition party was barred from participating in the polls because it could not provide all of the paperwork required for registering. The Candlelight Party said it was unable to provide one document to the National Election Committee because it had been seized in a police raid several years ago. Cambodia’s Constitutional Council refused to overturn the election committee’s decision not to register the party, drawing widespread criticism that the election would not be fair without its participation. The ruling drew international condemnation. The U.S. State Department said it was “deeply troubled” by the decision to bar the Candlelight Party and urged the government “to reverse course to ensure its citizens can participate in a fair, multiparty democracy.” That action against the Candlelight Party was similar to what happened ahead of the 2018 general election, when the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party posed a serious challenge to Hun Sen’s party. It was dissolved months ahead of the polls by a controversial court ruling that alleged it had plotted the illegal overthrow of the government. The party’s disbanding enabled Hun Sen’s party to win all the seats in the National Assembly. Under the amended election law, prospective candidates must have voted in at least two elections to qualify as a candidate in elections at the commune, district, municipality, provincial and national levels. Most prominent opposition figures are in self-imposed exile to avoid being jailed on various charges they say are trumped up and unfair, and the amendment would prevent them from running in future polls without any further action needed to bar them. Opposition figures still inside the country who fail to vote would face the same consequences. The amended law would also discourage an election boycott by placing opposition figures who wish to contest future polls in the awkward position of appearing to be hypocrites if they urge people not to vote while they themselves cast ballots. It will also discourage boycotts by allowing the election committee to impose a fine of 5 million-20 million riels ($1,200-$4,800) on anyone who encourages people not to register or vote. Anyone who incites people to use threats or violence against candidates or political party officials can also be fined and disqualified as candidates for five years. Political parties that fail to remove disqualified candidates can be fined 10 million-30 million riels ($2,420-$7,270). Hun Sen, 70, is an authoritarian ruler in a nominally democratic state. He and his party hold all the advantages of incumbency in the election in terms of political organizing, personnel, finances and media influence. About 9.7 million Cambodians are registered to vote for the 125-seat National Assembly. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Cambodian leader says people who don't vote will be barred from being candidates in future elections Trump legal team gave tapes to Jack Smith as MAGA loyalists turn on each other – live Infighting among Putin's lieutenants seems to reveal signs of 'deep dysfunction'

Donald Trump’s legal team handed over tapes of the former president’s interviews to special counsel Jack Smith as part of the investigation into the classified documents he held onto after leaving office, it has emerged. In a court filing on Wednesday, federal prosecutors began turning over evidence to Mr Trump’s legal team as the case against him heads to trial. The filing reveals that investigators collected recordings of the former president giving multiple interviews. Sources told CNN those recordings were initially given to federal prosecutors by Mr Trump’s own team. The revelation comes as the former president urged Congress on Thursday to investigate the multiple investigations into him. “Congress will hopefully now look at the ever continuing Witch Hunts and ELECTION INTERFERENCE against me on perfectly legal Boxes,” he wrote on Truth Social after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the FBI’s probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Meanwhile, there appears to be trouble in MAGA-world as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert traded blows on the House floor and former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis mocked Kari Lake for “couch-surfing” at Mar-a-Lago. Read More Trump drops below 50 per cent among GOP voters in new CNN poll following second indictment Fox News’s Bret Baier hits back at Trump conspiracy theorist after ex-president appears to incriminate himself in interview Attorneys spar in case of ex-Trump adviser who devised strategy to keep former president in power Trump claimed the Durham report would uncover the ‘crime of the century.’ Here’s what it really found

A Virginia Republican who describes herself as “Trump in heels” has lost her latest election bid in the state. Incumbent state Senator Amanda Chase was narrowly defeated by Glen Sturtevant in the GOP’s Virginia state Senate primary. The race was called earlier this week for Mr Sturtevant, who previously served in the Virginia Senate until 2020, by The Associated Press. The race was required after redistricting in the state. Ms Chase, who attended the January 6 rally for former president Donald Trump in Washington DC, was previously censured by the state Senate for a string of incendiary remarks and election denials. She says she did not take part in the violent riot that followed and that she was driving home when it took place. But Ms Chase later praised those who attacked the US Capitol and breached the building, insisting they were not “rioters and looters.” “These were patriots who loved their country and do not want to see our great republic turned into a socialist country,” she said. “I was there with the people. I know.” The Justice Department has said that it believes more than 2,000 people were involved in the riot, and more than 1,000 defendants from all 50 states have been charged in connection with it. She was defeated for the Republican nomination for Virginia governor in 2021 and called for Mr Trump to declare martial law to prevent Joe Biden from being sworn in as president. She has also drawn attention for openly carrying a firearm during senate sessions, and becoming embroiled in an altercation with a Virginia Capitol police officer over a parking spot. Following her latest defeat, Ms Chase appears to be following the Trump playbook of questioning the legality of her loss. She told WWBT on Thursday that her campaign should have been allowed in the room to watch the certification of machines ahead of early voting.“Right now, we’re in the process of raising money to hire a good attorney that can give us the legal counsel that we need,” Ms Chase told the station. “We know that the state law has been violated, clearly. So now we’re going to hold people accountable,” she said. Chesterfield Voter Registrar Missy Vera told the station that her office had complied with state law, which states that each political party may have one representative present during the machine certification process. Read More Trump news – live: Trump pleads for help from Congress as DoJ shares first classified documents evidence New ad mocks Trump’s excuse that he was too ‘busy’ to hand back boxes of secret government intel Fox guest says Trump’s special counsel looked as comfortable as ‘a monk in a strip club’ in front of committee Everything we know about Nancy Mace being tipped as Donald Trump’s new running mate New recordings of Trump revealed in classified papers investigation, documents show Writer's lawyers say Trump is wrong about $5 million sex abuse-defamation jury award

Former President Donald Trump has made plenty of bold claims about his achievements in the game of golf over the years — and he offered another one on Thursday when he claimed he’s made seven holes-in-one during his life. It’s a remarkable number. Rory McIlroy has apparently made just two holes-in-one in his professional golf career, one on the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in 2015 and one on Thursday at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. When it comes to world leaders, however, Mr Trump does not yet have the field beat. According to official accounts, Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea, shot 11 holes-in-one in a single round during his first ever golf game at the Pyongyang Golf Course in 1994. Still, seven holes-in-one is no small accomplishment — and it’s not the first time Mr Trump has claimed it. Last year, Mr Trump also told Piers Morgan that he’d shot seven holes-in-one. That interview came just weeks after Mr Trump posed with a group including former PGA Tour professional Ernie Els after supposedly shooting a hole-in-one at a course in Commerce, Georgia. The dates of Mr Trump’s other supposed holes-in-one are less clear, but there is no question that the former president is an avid golfer. He owns courses in multiple countries and plays frequently, a habit that he continued even while serving his four years as president. But Mr Trump has also long been dogged by allegations that he cheats at golf. The former Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly in 2019 published a book titled Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump that delves into the former president’s relationship with the game. “Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf,” Reilly writes. “He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs. At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: ‘Pele.’” Reilly also claims that Mr Trump’s boast that he has won 18 club championships in his life — made a decade ago to Mark Cuban — is a lie. Reilly has said that whenever the former president has opened a new golf club he plays the first club championship by himself and declares himself the winner. “Donald’s Trump’s boast about winning 18 club championships is a lie that’s so over-the-top Crazytown it loses all credibility among golfers the second it’s out of his mouth,” Reilly wrote. Mr Trump has bigger issues to deal with than his golf record. He’s running for president again, this time under federal indictment for mishandling classified documents. Read More Trump news – live: Trump pleads for help from Congress as DoJ shares first classified documents evidence Trump, DeSantis interviews show Fox influence on GOP field still strong despite troubled year Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday against the Navajo Nation in a dispute concerning the tribe’s access to the drought-stricken Colorado River. Critics says the decision harms a community where an estimated one-third of tribal members lack running water and furthers the history of the US government breaking its promises to tribes. The case, Arizona v Navajo Nation, centres on the obligations of an 1868 treaty, which established the Navajo reservation as the tribe’s permanent home, following their forced removal from their ancestral lands by the United States military. The tribe argued that under the treaty, the US government has an obligation to evaluate the tribe’s need for water and factor that analysis into how it divides up water access to the Colorado River, which serves over 40 million people and passes through seven states. The US government, as well as the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, and various water districts in California, argued against the tribe in consolidated appeals. They claimed that the tribe’s interpretation of the treaty would undermine existing agreements on sharing the water from the Colorado and create and impose unsubstantiated obligations on the US government to develop water infrastructure for the tribe. In a 5-to-4 decision, all but one of the high court’s conservatives ruled against the tribe. “In light of the treaty’s text and history, we conclude that the treaty does not require the United States to take those affirmative steps,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. “And it is not the Judiciary’s role to rewrite and update this 155-year-old treaty. Rather, Congress and the President may enact — and often have enacted — laws to assist the citizens of the western United States, including the Navajos, with their water needs.” The court’s three liberal justices, as well as the Trump-appointed Neil Gorsuch, an advocate for tribal rights, dissented. “The Navajo have waited patiently for someone, anyone, to help them, only to be told (repeatedly) that they have been standing in the wrong line and must try another,” he wrote in his dissenting opinion. He argued, alongside the tribe, that the Navajo weren’t forcing the US government to immediately start building water infrastructure or changing water claims on the river, but rather begin the process of fully accounting for what the nation needed. Navajo representatives criticised the ruling. "My job as the president of the Navajo Nation is to represent and protect the Navajo people, our land, and our future,” Navajo Nation president Buu Nygren said in a statement after the ruling. “The only way to do that is with secure, quantified water rights to the Lower Basin of the Colorado River.” With a population of about 175,000 and a land mass larger than West Virginia, the Navajo Nation is the largest US tribal reservation, and the Colorado River and its tributaries flow alongside and through the tribe’s territory. “The US government excluded Navajo tribal citizens from receiving a share of water when the original apportioning occurred and today’s Supreme Court decision for Arizona v. Navajo Nation condoned this lack of accountability,” John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, one of the many Indigenous groups that filed briefs in support of the Navajo Nation, said in a statement. “Despite today’s ruling, Tribal Nations will continue to assert their water rights and NARF remains committed to that fight.” In 2003, the Navajos sued the federal government regarding access to the Colorado River, while the tribe has also fought for access to a tributary, the Little Colorado River, in state court. As The Independent has reported, many on the Navajo nation struggle for basic water access. “If you run out [of water] in the evening, you have to get up earlier the next day to make sure that there’s water for the kids to wash hands, brush their teeth, make breakfast,” Tina Becenti told The Independent. “It was time-consuming and took a lot of energy.” Tribes were cut out of initial deals made to allocate the water on the Colorado River, leaving many to rely on thousands of unregulated wells, springs, and livestock troughs that are spread across the reservation, which can pose a serious health risk. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these sources may contain bacterial or fecal contaminants, along with unsafe levels of uranium and arsenic – a legacy of mining on Navajo land which began with the US military’s Manhattan Project for nuclear weapons in 1944 and continued until 2005. The fate of the Colorado River has become increasingly contentious, as the vital waterway dwindles under heavy demand and a changing climate. In May, following years of tense negotiations, Arizona, California, and Nevada agreed to cut their use of water from the Colorado in exchange for $1.2bn in federal funding, a last-minute compromise that staved off catastrophic impacts to agriculture, electricity generation, and water supplies to major cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles. The high court decision follows a ruling this month on another topic with a long and complicated history involving tribal groups: adoption. Last week, a 7-2 majority ruled to preserve the Indian Child Welfare Act, defending the law’s preference for the foster care and adoption of Native children by their relatives and Tribes, which was implemented following investigations that revealed more than one-third of Native children were being removed from their homes and placed with non-Native families and institutions, cutting off important family and cultural ties. Louise Boyle and Alex Woodward contributed reporting to this story. Read More Father of 13 dies in Colorado rafting accident after saving his children from danger Feds announce start of public process to reshape key rules on Colorado River water use by 2027 Nevada fight over leaky irrigation canal and groundwater more complicated than appears on surface Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case Feds announce start of public process to reshape key rules on Colorado River water use by 2027 Vegas water agency empowered to limit home water flows in future

A Texas man has been arrested for allegedly mutilating a living dog and her puppies. Justin Belton, 44, has been charged with four counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals and is currently being held at the Harris County Jail. According to court filings, authorities were first alerted to the alleged crimes after Mr Belton arrived at a local animal shelter on Saturday with six puppies that had been abused. Four of the puppies had their limbs cut off with what appeared to be a tool. One of the puppies’ injuries were so severe that it had to be put down, while its litter mates “were left crying in pain,” the filings obtained by ABC state. Mr Belton was arrested at the animal hospital and when investigators searched his home, they found the puppies’ mother already dead. Other dogs found at the residence were also in unsanitary and confined conditions. The alleged animal killer first told authorities that it was a neighbour who hurt the puppies and then changed his account, saying he put the dogs in a cage and they hurt themselves. Investigators noted in court documents that the injuries did not appear to be inflicted by other animals. Neighbours told law enforcement that they heard barking noises in the early morning hours of Saturday, and later heard Mr Belton “yelling and swearing.” “Very horrific, super disturbing, not just for our staff, but also for the police officers that arrived,” Dr Gabriela Vega, a veterinarian who was working at Sunset 24/7 Animal Hospital when the puppies were brought in, told ABC13. Four puppies are expected to survive, she told the network. “Some of them may only have three legs, but that’s never stopped a dog before, so I expect them to have a pretty good life moving forward,” Dr Vega said. Mr Belton has a previous criminal history. A harassment case against him was dismissed in 2016, and separate stalking charges were adjudicated four years before. The suspect is being held on $100,000 bond. According to ABC, his arraignment hearing was postponed earlier this week because the court could not find a public defender willing to take his case. Read More Known to child welfare, a violent father and a child missing for two years: What happened to Harmony Montgomery? Schoolboy, 10, stuns council meeting with stirring speech on racism he has suffered A decade after outcry, SeaWorld launches orca-free park in UAE, its first venture outside the US

The group Republican Accountability has released a new advertisement slamming former president Donald Trump’s excuse that he was too “busy” to return boxes of classified documents to the US government. Mr Trump has claimed, first in a rally at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey last week and then again during a Fox News interview earlier this week, that he failed to return the documents because they were mixed up with his personal belongings and he hadn’t had a chance to go through them yet when the federal government called. The advertisement opens with a narrator asking “Why did Donald Trump refuse to return highly sensitive classified documents?” It then cuts to Mr Trump speaking on Fox News. “I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out and I was very busy, as you’ve sort of seen,” Mr Trump says in the Fox News clip. “That’s right,” the narrator says. “He was too busy to comply with a subpoena because he was too busy DJing at Mar-a-Lago.” The advertisement then spends the next 30 or so seconds detailing some of what Mr Trump has been up to since leaving the White House in 2021. “Too busy crashing random people’s weddings,” the narrator says, as images of Mr Trump engaged in various leisure activities appear on the screen. “Too busy going to multiple UFC fights. Too busy selling NFTs. Too busy dancing to the Village People by the pool. Too busy golfing.” Whatever his reasons, Mr Trump is now facing 37 felony counts over his mishandling of the documents and refusal to return them. He is the first president to ever face federal indictment, pleading not guilty to the charges at a courthouse in Miami last Tuesday. Mr Trump is also under indictment in New York over his alleged role in a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels and could face further indictments over his attemps to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. Nevertheless, the former president continues to lead polls of the 2024 Republican nominating contest by a wide margin. Whether his legal issues affect his standing either in the Republican primary or the general election remains to be seen, but they do appear to be raising the personal stakes of the upcoming presidential election for Mr Trump. “Trump has no respect for the law,” the narrator’s concluding statement begins. “He doesn’t think rules apply to him — especially when he’s so busy.” Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement Trump news – live: Trump pleads for help from Congress as DoJ shares first classified documents evidence Prosecutors have recordings of multiple Trump interviews, documents show

Vice President Kamala Harris has said she knows of young people choosing which college they want to attend based on how restrictive the abortion laws are in that state. Commenting in an interview for the Roe v Wade retrospective on MSNBC’s The ReidOut, Ms Harris said her goddaughter told her that her friends wanted to attend schools in states where there was more freedom in terms of reproductive rights. Ms Harris told the roundtable: “When the decision came down she told me ‘Do you know what’s happening? My friends – whatever gender – are starting to make decisions about where they will actually go to college depending on what’s happening in that state.’” “Because of course, if you look at it, I think the number is something like 23 million women of reproductive age live in states that have banned abortion, and what that is gonna mean for those 23 million, for the myriad of health care issues that are at stake ... It’s having a real impact on all types of decisions people make,” she added. The show took a look back at the decision to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion in the US in 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled that “unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional”. In 2022, the Supreme Court, packed with three Trump-era appointees, overturned Roe v Wade and returned decisions on abortion freedom to the states. Since then, a number of states have introduced effective abortion bans that limit the procedure to the very early days of pregnancy – often before women are aware they are pregnant. Some states have also criminalised assisting women with accessing abortion, and limited abortion to cases of rape or incest. Ms Harris said that the Supreme Court’s decision last year had infringed on women’s rights. “The idea that the highest court in our land just did that and rolled back rights that had been recognized was incredibly shocking,” she said on MSNBC. She said that after she learned the news of the ruling, she called her husband and shared some “words not meant for television at this moment”. Ms Harris went on to say that the ruling means that some have to “suffer in silence,” the thought of which made her “angry and sad”. Read More Where abortion laws stand in every state a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe A year after fall of Roe, 25 million women live in states with abortion bans or tighter restrictions Judge to weigh suspending Wyoming's first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills US prepares for potential end of Roe v Wade - live When will there be a Roe v Wade decision? Why these prosecutors are refusing to enforce anti-abortion laws

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board has defended the newspaper’s decision to publish a defensive column from US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who dismissed allegations of wrongdoing detailed in an investigative news outlet before it had even published its story. The conservative justice – who authored the court’s landmark opinion overturning Roe v Wade one year ago – failed to disclose private jet travel and a luxury fishing trip with a hedge fund billionaire who would later repeatedly ask the nation’s highest court to intervene on his behalf, according to ProPublica’s findings published on 21 June. ProPublica, which has published several investigative pieces outlining alleged ethical lapses among members of the court, had yet to publish its report before The Wall Street Journal ran his column with the blunt and accusatory headline “ProPublica Misleads Its Readers”. Later that day, the editorial board defended its decision to run his defensive piece. “The political assault on the Supreme Court continues, and the latest Justice in the grinder is Samuel Alito,” the board wrote. “As usual, this is a non-scandal built on partisan spin intended to harm the Justice and the current Court majority.” The Wall Street Journal did not return The Independent’s request for comment or explain how it commissioned Mr Alito’s column and how the newspaper made a decision to publish a response to ProPublica before anyone read its reporting. “Justice Alito clearly wanted his defense to receive public disclosure in full, not edited piecemeal. We saw ProPublica’s list of 18 questions and had a good idea of where the reporters were going. The story proved us right,” the editorial board wrote. “It is also hilarious to be denounced for betraying the media brotherhood for the offense of scooping the competition,” the board added, appearing to dismiss criticism that the newspaper provided a venue for a powerful figure before allegations against him were publicised at length as merely a resentful media story. “This is the same crowd that would prefer if we didn’t exist,” the board added. “Their pearl-clutching reveals the degree of media conformity when it comes to approved progressive political targets like Justice Alito.” The board stated that it is defending the Supreme Court “because someone has to,” alleging that the investigations are not about sincere ethics questions but are instead about “the left’s fury at having lost control of the Court” and instead to “destroy” it. ProPublica’s founding editor-in-chief Paul E Steiger served as the managing editor of the Wall Street Journal from 1991 to 2007. Stephen Engelberg, ProPublica’s current editor-in-chief, told The New York Times that Mr Alito’s column “declared without anyone having read the article and without asking for our comment.” “We’re curious to know whether The Journal fact-checked the essay before publication,” he added. Read More Justice Alito tries to get ahead of damning report about billionaire gifts with defensive Wall Street Journal op-ed Wall Street Journal under fire for Justice Alito op-ed: ‘This has simply broken my brain’ Deb Haaland and Tribal leaders welcome Supreme Court decision upholding Indian Child Welfare Act Supreme Court rules Alabama discriminated against Black voters in major victory for voting rights

Federal prosecutors have given former president Donald Trump’s legal team access to much of the unclassified evidence against him, including multiple recordings of Mr Trump made during interviews of him since the end of his presidency. Attorneys working under the supervision of Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed the existence of the recordings in a late Wednesday court filing which detailed what has been turned over to Mr Trump’s lawyers thus far as part of the legally-mandated “discovery” process, in which the government reveals what evidence it intends to use against a criminal defendant at trial. Specifically, the document says the government has turned over copies of “any written or recorded statements” made by Mr Trump or his co-defendant, Walt Nauta. Prosecutors said that category of evidence includes multiple “interviews” of Mr Trump by “non-governmental entities,” such as the 21 July 2021 interview referenced in the indictment of the ex-president. During that interview, Mr Trump spoke to two people who were assisting his ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, with the writing of a book about his former administration, and discussed a document which the ex-president claimed to be a war plan for attacking a foreign country. At the time, Mr Trump described the document as “secret information” and noted that he was not able to declassify it because he was no longer president. The batch of documents provided to Mr Trump’s defence team also includes transcripts of testimony given by witnesses to grand juries in Washington, DC and Florida during the government’s investigation into his alleged mishandling of national defence information, as well as other materials obtained by the government by way of subpoenas and search warrants, such as surveillance footage from his Mar-a-Lago property. Prosecutors wrote that the tranche of evidence made available to the ex-president’s attorneys “includes the grand jury testimony of witnesses who will testify for the government at the trial of this case”. Under the terms of a protective order issued last week by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, Mr Trump is barred from viewing the evidence against him outside the presence of his attorneys. The order states that Mr Trump “shall only have access to Discovery Materials under the direct supervision of Defense Counsel or a member of Defense Counsel’s staff,” and prohibited either of them from retaining copies of the materials themselves or taking any notes with them after viewing any of the materials. The protective order and the restrictions it places upon Mr Trump are meant in part to prevent him from directing his followers to harass any witnesses against him or any FBI or DOJ personnel involved in the case. Magistrate Judge Reinhart also ordered that the discovery materials be kept only by Mr Trump’s legal team and stored securely on premises controlled by them. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Former Texas Representative Will Hurd has launched a long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination. The ex-CIA officer was strongly critical of then-President Donald Trump while serving in the US House before leaving at the end of his final term in January 2021. The 45-year-old served three terms in the House, becoming the only Black Republican in the chamber in his last two years, the AP noted. Mr Hurd appeared on CBS Mornings on Thursday, pitching himself as a moderate alternative in the growing field of GOP candidates. “We need common sense,” he said. “I believe the Republican Party can be the party of the future, not the past.” More follows... Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement