'America's Got Talent' Season 18: Who is Trent Toney? Difficult breakup and trying challenges shaped future for Oregon-based firefighter
Trent Toney began piano lessons at the age of seven and was always picking up small, music-related jobs
1970-01-01 08:00
'America's Got Talent' Season 18: Who is Lavender Darcangelo? Blind and autistic contestant set to impress judges with her singing
Lavender Darcangelo will try to get the golden buzzer from the 'AGT' judges by showcasing her expertise in diverse musical styles
1970-01-01 08:00
Justice Department takes unusual step to try to protect Trump from testifying in lawsuit over FBI firing
The Justice Department has taken an unusual step in court to try to protect former President Donald Trump from testifying under oath in a lawsuit from former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
1970-01-01 08:00
NFL Tweeted Out Entire Video of Super Bowl LI, Falcons Fans Aren't Happy
The NFL tweeted out the entirety of Super Bowl LI. Falcons fans weren't happy.
1970-01-01 08:00
Who are Puppet Simon and The Cow Belles? 'AGT' Season 18 contestant tries to dazzle Simon Cowell with imitation skills
Christian Anderson, known as Pandersonium on Instagram, is a custom puppet maker and he has apparently designed The Cow Belles, who sing and dance
1970-01-01 08:00
Zelenskiy to meet NATO leaders after membership timeline rebuff
By Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold and John Irish VILNIUS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets NATO leaders on Wednesday
1970-01-01 08:00
Donald Trump won’t be defended by the Justice Department in E Jean Carroll defamation suit
The Department of Justice has told a federal judge in New York that it will no longer defend former president Donald Trump in a defamation case brought by writer E Jean Carroll, who earlier this year won a civil judgement against the ex-president for sexual battery and defamation in a separate matter. In a letter to the attorneys for Mr Trump and Ms Carroll, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said the department would now decline to certify that Mr Trump was acting in the scope of his job as President of the United States when he denied attacking Ms Carroll in June 2019 and accused her of fabricating a sexual assault claim against him to boost book sales. Mr Boynton said the decision, which reversed an earlier effort to defend Mr Trump which had begun during his term in the White House, came due to clarified appellate court precedent which stated that courts need not always find that an elected official’s statements to the press were in the scope of their employment. “Applying the clarified D.C. respondeat superior standard, the Department has determined that it lacks adequate evidence to conclude that the former President was sufficiently actuated by a purpose to serve the United States Government to support a determination that he was acting within the scope of his employment when he denied sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll and made the other statements regarding Ms. Carroll that she has challenged in this action,” he said. The Justice Department official also said the department had considered new evidence of Mr Trump’s state of mind when he made the statements at issue, and determined that it “does not establish that he made the statements at issue with a ‘more than insignificant’ purpose to serve the United States Government”. Additionally, Mr Boynton noted that even though the defamatory statements regarding Ms Carroll and the allegations she was making against Mr Trump were made during a press gaggle on the South Lawn of the White House, they were not made in the context of “a work-related incident”. “Here, although the statements themselves were made in a work context, the allegations that prompted the statements related to a purely personal incident: an alleged sexual assault that occurred decades prior to Mr Trump’s Presidency. That sexual assault was obviously not job-related,” he said. Although the Justice Department official conceded that an elected official’s “ability to retain the trust of his constituents” is “an important part of his ability to effectively perform his job,” he said the “evidence of personal motivation” in the case at hand “outweighs any public- purpose inference one might draw in other circumstances,” and cited statements Mr Trump made about Ms Carroll after he left office — and after a New York jury found that he had defamed her in a separate trial in May. “The later statements are substantially similar to the three June 2019 statements at issue in this action, and because he was no longer the President when he made the later statements, Mr. Trump could not have been motivated by any interest in serving the United States Government,” he said. He added later that the jury’s finding that Mr Trump sexually assaulted Ms Carroll in a department store changing room in the 1990s “supports an inference that Mr Trump was motivated by a ‘personal grievance’ stemming from events that occurred many years prior to Mr Trump’s presidency”. Without the Department of Justice’s intervention to defend the twice-impeached ex-president, he will not be able to argue that he enjoys any immunity from the lawsuit and he will not be able to substitute the US government as a defendant in the case. And because a prior jury already found similar statements he made about the former Elle magazine writer to be defamatory, legal experts say it will be a simple matter for Ms Carroll to obtain another jury verdict against him when the case goes to trial. Ms Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said: “We are grateful that the Department of Justice has reconsidered its position. We have always believed that Donald Trump made his defamatory statements about our client in June 2019 out of personal animus, ill will, and spite, and not as President of the United States. Now that one of the last obstacles has been removed, we look forward to trial in E Jean Carroll’s original case in January 2024.” Read More Trump loses bid to throw out E Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit Donald Trump countersues E Jean Carroll for defamation over rape claims Trump is funneling 10% of 2024 campaign donations to cover his legal bills Judge lets columnist amend defamation claim with over $10 million demand for damages from Trump
1970-01-01 08:00
'AGT' Season 18: Who is 40 pounds? CEO of Lyve Tyme dance group wows judges with hat-flipping routine
40 pounds, the hat-flipping dancer on 'AGT' Season 18, is not only the CEO of Lyve Tyme dance group but also a viral sensation on Instagram and TikTok
1970-01-01 08:00
Who is Artem Shchukin? 'America's Got Talent' Season 18 contestant is 'World Champion' magician who excels in illusions
Artem Shchukin won the 'World Champion of Magic' title in 2022 and is bound to astonish the judges and audience alike with his talent
1970-01-01 08:00
Who are Let It Happen? Sibling dance trio on 'AGT' Season 18 has Ellen, Michael B Jordan, and Jennifer Garner on their fan list
Let It Happen has collaborated with Netflix, Nike, Coco-cola, and other popular brands, and has toured Europe, Asia, and the US
1970-01-01 08:00
Student fears having to quit UK over uni marking boycott
Emma MacKenzie, from Canada, says she cannot renew her visa if she does not get her degree.
1970-01-01 08:00
Who are Presley Rae and Taylor Termini? 'AGT' Season 18 contestants have already released an EP
Presley Rae and Taylor Termini have not posted anything about their 'AGT' Season 18 audition on social media
1970-01-01 08:00
