After a sobering trip to #Kyiv, Secy of State Antony J. #Blinken is urging #POTUS#Biden to lift some restrictions on how Ukraine can use American arms.
Since the 1st US shipments of sophisticated weapons to #Ukraine, #POTUS#Biden has never wavered on 1 prohibition: President #Zelensky had to agree to never fire them into Russian territory, insisting that would violate Biden’s mandate to “avoid World War III.”
But consensus around that policy is fraying. Propelled by the State Dept, there is now a vigorous debate inside the admin over relaxing the ban to allow Ukrainians to hit missile & artillery launch sites just over the border in #Russia….
#Judges are not supposed to give any impression of #bias, yet the #flag could be seen as telegraphing #Alito’s views….“We all have our biases, but the good judge fights against them,” said Charles Geyh, a #law prof at IU. “When a judge celebrates his predispositions by hoisting them on a flag…that’s deeply disturbing.”
Records show that the Alitos have owned the beach house since 2014, & he is a well-known presence in the waterfront community. Residents…recalled seeing the justice last summer….
#Republican members of #Congress & state ofcls have displayed the #flag as well, among them #DougMastriano, a PA state senator & a leader of the “Stop the Steal” campaign. The highest-ranking elected ofcl known to show the flag is Rep #MikeJohnson, who hung it at his office last fall shortly after becoming #speaker of the #House.
>160k student loan borrowers are now in line to have their balances canceled, bringing the total amount of #DebtForgiveness allowed under the Biden admin’s policies to $167B, the #Education Dept announced Wed.
“I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” #Biden said in a stmnt Wed. “I will never stop working to cancel student debt — no matter how many times Republican elected ofcls try to stop us.”
The Spanish, Irish & Norwegian govts announced Wed that they would recognize a #Palestinian state, saying there would be no #peace in the #MiddleEast w/o it.
Israel denounced the move as giving aid to its enemy #Hamas.
The coordinated announcements are purely symbolic — but not w/o some power.
The leaders of the 3 countries said they hoped their recognition would press #Israel, the #Palestinians & the international community toward a #TwoStateSolution to the conflict.
“In the midst of a #war, w/tens of thousands killed & injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis & Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in #peace & #security,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered the immediate recall of the Israeli ambassadors to #Spain, #Ireland & #Norway. “I am sending a clear message today: #Israel will not be complacent against those who undermine its sovereignty & endanger its #security.”
The #UnitedStates govt reiterated its position that recognizing a #PalestinianState was premature & must be the result of direct negotiations between Israel & the #Palestinians.
A Tues evening fundraising email from #Trump’s campaign &signed in his name arrived w/the subj, "They were authorized to shoot me!" & said of the #Biden admin, "You know they’re just itching to do the unthinkable ... Joe Biden was locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger."
Trump also wrote on TruthSocial:
"Joe Biden's DOJ, in their Illegal & UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE."
One page in the document includes a “policy statement” on the use of deadly force, which says officers may resort to lethal force only when the subject of such force poses an “imminent danger of death or serious physical injury” to an officer or another person.
The permanent #injunction ends Giuliani’s yrs of attacks on Freeman & Moss.
It also gives the women #power to hold him accountable if he ever again suggests they took votes from #Trump /gave votes to #Biden
4 months after the #FBI raided #MarALago, Trump’s attys discovered 4 docs marked #classified in his personal bedroom.
That revelation was among several cited by US District Judge Beryl Howell in a newly unsealed 2023 opinion that found prosecutors had presented compelling #evidence that #Trump#knowingly stashed #NationalSecurity docs in his home & then tried to conceal them when the #DOJ tried to retrieve them.
@lin11c the Corcoran who took accurate & truthful contemporaneous handwritten notes & recorded voice memos when advising Trump to return the classified documents.
#FaniWillis#wins#primary
Willis now proceeds to November’s general #election, where she will face Courtney Kramer, a Republican lawyer who interned in the #Trump White House.
#FaniWillis defeated challenger Christian Wise Smith as she seeks another 4yr term as the top prosecutor in the #Atlanta area, acc/to an AP projection.
Another leading figure in the #Georgia#criminal case against #Trump, #FultonCounty Superior Court Judge Scott #McAfee was also on the ballot Tues, seeking his first full term since being appointed to the bench last year. That race has not yet been called.
The #UnitedStates should slap sanctions on ICC ofcls who seek an #arrest#warrant for PM Benjamin Netanyahu, a top foreign policy adviser to #Republican presidential #candidate Donald Trump said on Tues after meeting the Israeli leader.
Yesterday, Costello behaved so atrociously on the witness stand that Juan Merchan cleared the courtroom to admonish him & the defense attorneys. Costello is due back on the stand
#RobertCostello testifies that “sometimes” his emails speak for themselves. Sometimes, the implication is & as he said earlier, they do not.
🙄 more [#mansplaining]
🚨🚨 Costello wrote in an email that his mission was to “get Cohen on the right page without giving him the appearance that we are following instructions from Giuliani or the president.”
The jurors are paying close attention, much more so than they did to the end of #MichaelCohen's cross-examination.
@Nonilex Aah, Trump is trying the old "I am a very important man and therefore my case deserves unique jury instructions and a higher burden of proof than every other criminal defendant" defense.
Good luck with that one, Donald. It may work with FedSoc judges you appointed, but not a truly independent judiciary.
Despite a judge’s ruling that #FultonCounty DA #FaniWillis can continue prosecuting…, the relentless campaign to attack her & discredit the case against #Trump continues full-steam ahead.
Through a barrage of dubious accusations, Trump & his allies seek to tarnish Willis’ reputation, delegitimize the judicial process & the #RuleOfLaw, & distract from the substantive #facts of the case.
We’re witnessing a concerted effort by #Trump & #MAGA#politicians to cast doubt on the legitimate & strong #FultonCounty#ElectionInterference case by attacking the prosecutor. It’s an effort that takes advantage of every avenue of #government#power to which Trump’s allies have access. Their goal? #Delay#accountability for Trump’s alleged attempt to illegally overturn a presidential election.
Controversial #Trump movie ‘The Apprentice’ depicts him as #rapist
[probably because he is one]
A movie called “The Apprentice” about a young Donald Trump’s rise to power premiered Mon evening at the #Cannes Film Festival, the #film stars Sebastian Stan as Trump & Jeremy Strong, who plays the ruthless lawyer & political fixer Roy Cohn.
“By & large, it is a very dark & chilling origin story.”
@palin zero & he’s pissed. “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director.
#ScarlettJohansson is threatening #legal action against #OpenAI for copying her #voice for its latest #AI model, GPT-4o, which will be accessible through #ChatGPT.
In a statement provided to The Washington Post by Johansson’s publicist, she claimed that she received an offer from OpenAI CEO #SamAltman in Sept to be the voice of its AI system. Johansson… declined….
“Mr. #Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word ‘#her’ - a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system…” #ScarlettJohansson’s statement continued.
The “Sky” voice was one of 5 voices #OpenAI unveiled in September when it added an audio conversation mode. WaPo noted at the time that “#Sky” sounded similar to Johansson.
On Sun… #OpenAI suspended the #Sky#voice & posted… how the company trained voices used for the audio capability in its more advanced #AI. The company said it paid #VoiceActors “above top-of-market rates” to participate in recording sessions that were used to produce the voices.
…In her statement, … #ScarlettJohansson said #SamAltman tried to contact her 2 days before the demo. But before they could communicate, OpenAI demonstrated the product, forcing her to take #legal action.
#POTUS#Biden said #Israel’s #military assault in #Gaza after the #Hamas#Oct7 attacks “is not genocide.” “We reject that,” he said, telling an audience of #Jewish ldrs & activists Americans “stand with Israel.”