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IDF takes out Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon, including the shooting down of 'a hostile aircraft infiltration' on Tuesday by the IDF Aerial Defense Array.(Video: IDF Spokesman's Unit)

A teenage girl and three pets were trapped inside a burning building, and there was no time for firefighters to get there. An Atlantic City, New Jersey, police officer was on patrol in the area around 1 a.m. on May 26 when he spotted a commotion outside a burning building, with smoke rising from the home and a person hanging out the second-floor window. Officer Riley Flynn rushed toward the danger. People outside were heard yelling, "I tried to bust down this window, but I can't do anything!" Flynn broke down the front door and was immediately hit by suffocating smoke that blanketed the room, bodycam video shows. Flynn made his way through the thick fumes and up a staircase, where he found the trapped victim in the bathroom. "Come here! Come here! Let's go!" Flynn yelled as he reached his hand for the victim. She covered her mouth as they bolted downstairs and out of the burning home, bodycam footage shows. 911 DISPATCH REVEALS STRATEGIC POLICE CHASE FOR SUSPECTED KILLER WHO WENT ON RANDOM SLASHING SPREE Smoke alarms were blaring. People were screaming and yelling outside. They finally escaped. She was safe. Flynn asked if anyone else was in the house. Someone responded, saying, "The dogs." Flynn ran back into the burning home and navigated through the thick smoke yelling, "Dog! Dog!" There was virtually no light except the beam from the officer's flashlight. He followed the sound of the barking pup and found two dogs hiding. MOM TRADES HER LIFE FOR HER DAUGHTER'S They were carried out to safety, but there was one more dog, so the officer ran back into the home a third time. He climbed the steps and found the third dog hiding in a closet. He grabbed the canine and ran out of the house. Flynn is heard aggressively coughing from the smoke inhalation as the video ends, but everyone was saved. In total, he rescued a teenage girl, three dogs and a cat during the fire. "I commend Officer Flynn for his quick actions in not only rescuing a teenager, but also going back inside to rescue the animals who I know are part of their family," Atlantic City Chief James Sarkos said in a statement. The fire department ultimately knocked down the fire, which started in the kitchen, according to the police department.

Migrant health care reportedly cost Florida $566 million in six months

A federal judge has ordered former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to surrender to prison by July 1, revoking his bail. The Department of Justice had requested that Bannon begin his four-month prison term in connection with his contempt of Congress conviction. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols heard arguments Thursday in Washington, D.C. Following the judge's ruling, Bannon spoke to cameras outside of the courthouse and reiterated his intent to appeal, but went onto attack top officials at the Justice Department. "All of this is about one thing. Shutting down the MAGA movement. Shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down President Trump," Bannon said. "There's not a prison built or jail built that will ever shut me up," Bannon said. Bannon was sentenced to four months for contempt of Congress in October 2022 after he was found guilty of defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but Judge Nichols agreed to postpone the jail term while Bannon appealed the conviction. After the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Bannon's conviction last month, federal prosecutors requested that the judge order Bannon to begin his four-month sentence. Prosecutors have said there is no legal basis for Judge Nichols to continue the stay on Bannon serving his sentence after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' conclusive ruling that rejected the basis for Bannon's appeal on all grounds. "Consequently, there is no longer a 'substantial question of law that is likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial,'" prosecutors wrote in a filing last month.

President Joe Biden’s campaign declared “no one is above the law” just minutes after former President Donald Trump was convicted Thursday in a New York courtroom. NBC News' Peter Alexander reports how the campaign also stressed that it still needs voters to stop Trump at the ballot box.

WILMINGTON, Del. — First son Hunter Biden's criminal trial kicked off Monday in Delaware with jury selection, which revealed that the majority of potential jurors have personally been affected by drug addiction in their own families or social circles. "This is Delaware. You can't swing a cat without hearing something [about the case]," one male potential juror told the court Monday. President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, is facing three felony firearm offenses regarding the 2018 purchase of a .38 revolver from a gun shop in the state. Prosecutors are expected to dive into the first son’s crack cocaine addiction related to the purchase of the handgun amid the case. Biden has pleaded not guilty to the charges. On Monday, the court heard from more than 60 potential jurors, who appeared before the court individually after filling out a questionnaire related to whether or not they could serve as impartial jurors in the case. By late Monday afternoon, 12 jurors and four alternates were selected from the pool. The primary body of jurors is composed of six men and six women. Jury selection lasted the entirety of the day, with the majority of potential jurors telling the court that they have personally experienced addiction issues through their friends and family. Many of the jurors, no matter their racial background, sex or age, responded that they have had a relative who struggled with drug addiction or alcoholism. HUNTER BIDEN'S CRIMINAL TRIAL ON FEDERAL GUN CHARGES BEGINS WITH JURY SELECTION Presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika quizzed the jurors one by one about whether their loved ones' addiction issues would weigh on their ability to fairly assess the case. "It's the area," one young woman told the court after describing that in addition to some of her family members struggling with addiction, she's lost many friends to overdoses. Others told the court that their loved ones overcame their addiction issues through stints in rehab, while others lamented that members of their immediate family still suffer from addiction. Prosecutors in the case allege that in October 2018, Biden visited StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington to purchase the Colt revolver but say he lied about his drug addiction when he filled out a form for federal authorities to purchase the gun. Biden’s form was ticked "No" when asked if he is an unlawful user of a firearm or addicted to controlled substances. JUDGE BARS PROSECUTORS FROM USING SOME SALACIOUS EVIDENCE IN HUNTER BIDEN'S GUN TRIAL He is facing charges of false statement in purchase of a firearm; false statement related to information required to be kept by federal firearms licensed dealer; possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. The total maximum prison time for the charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Hunter Biden was joined by first lady Jill Biden as well as his wife, Melissa Cohen, and his sister, Ashley Biden. Jill Biden showed little emotion throughout court proceedings, smiling and engaging only while speaking to family members, such as daughter-in-law Melissa, or other allies who joined her in court. The first lady rarely took glances at the media or potential jurors when they were collectively brought into the court. Hunter Biden, meanwhile, was seen engaging with his defense team throughout the day, flipping through legal papers and chatting with attorney Abbe Lowell. During court breaks, Hunter Biden hugged and kissed Jill Biden and held his wife's hand while leaving court. In addition to many jurors telling the court how addiction has impacted their personal lives, others detailed that they have family members or loved ones who own firearms. A handful of jurors told the court they are legal concealed carry holders for self-defense purposes, while others said they disagree with current gun laws and hope to see stricter gun legislation against so-called "assault weapons." Noreika peppered the potential jurors with questions regarding whether their views on gun laws would influence them fairly assessing the case. Those who said they could not act impartially were excused from the pool. The case assignment appeared to come as a surprise to many of the potential jurors, who frequently answered that they were aware Hunter Biden was facing an upcoming trial, noting Delaware is a small state, but did not know their jury duty requests were related to the case. With jury selection wrapped, the trial will begin in earnest on Tuesday with opening arguments. Prosecutors said at the tail end of the day that their first witness will be FBI Special Agent Erica Jensen. Biden is also facing a criminal tax trial in California, which will begin in September, after he was charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors regarding $1.4 million in owed taxes. Biden pleaded not guilty in that case and the taxes have since been paid.

Late-night hosts discuss the fallout from Trump’s guilty verdict, the media’s spectacle-laden coverage and Republicans’ denial Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in a hush-money plot to influence the 2016 election and his claim that he never advocated for Hillary Clinton to be jailed. The Daily Show Returning to his Monday night guest hosting slot for The Daily Show, Jon Stewart relished Donald Trump’s conviction last week on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, but had harsh words for media coverage of the more than month-long trial. “Maybe our justice system wasn’t a sham, but certainly applying our justice system to Donald Trump was,” he said of the media’s weaponization of the court system. Stewart had special vitriol for the conservative media sphere who peddled stories about a “witch-hunt”. “To admit their own political gamesmanship, their own attempts at weaponizing justice, their own relentless pursuit of opponents, their own dehumanizing rhetoric towards the left would be to allow a molecule of reality into the airtight distortion field that has been created to protect Magadonians from the harsh glare of actuality,” he fumed. “It is a place where a moment such as this next one can pass without so much as a gasp of ‘What planet do you live on?’ For it’s clearly not ours.” For Democrats, the verdict was “an exercise in concealed and controlled glee”, Stewart added, noting that the party’s challenge now was to “exploit the moment politically without giving the impression that this was the plan all along”. Referring to Joe Biden’s press conference in which he found out the verdict in real time and smiled, Stewart simply had to ask: “Why does everything have to be so weird? “The difference between in court and out of court is that, in court, someone can say ‘prove it,’” Stewart said. “And the problem is that most of the time in this country, our political leaders are not in court. They are here on TV, where the news media has decided that there’s really no such thing as reality.” “Tonight I feel good,” said Stephen Colbert on Monday’s Late Show, because Trump was found guilty and will be sentenced on 11 July. “That’s going to be a busy time for convicted felon Donald Trump,” he continued, as that’s four days before the start of the Republican national convention, and top Republicans are reportedly preparing for the possibility that Trump could be in prison when he accepts the nomination. “It’s going to be the RNC live from Cell Block B with a keynote speech from his warden, his cellmate Spider, that one guard who smuggles in cellphones up his butt and, for the cocktail hour, enjoy complimentary toilet wine,” Colbert joked. After the verdict, Trump had a “mini-meltdown” in the lobby of Trump Tower, saying: “It’s a case where if they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.” “It’s true, just think about that – if it could happen to him, it could happen to anyone … who commits crimes!” Colbert joked. “No matter who they are! Do you realize, it doesn’t matter who you are! Just because there’s ample evidence and a jury believes it, anyone could now be found guilty. Do we really want to live in an America where the law is applied equally regardless of how rich you are?” He added: “We might now be facing a situation where if you can’t do the time, and I can’t believe I’m saying this: don’t do the crime.” “I can’t believe that we finally used that cue card” said Seth Meyers of Trump’s guilty verdict. The Late Night host yelled “not today!” for anyone who said Trump’s conviction wouldn’t make a difference. “You may very well be right, and it may make no difference at all, but you don’t get to talk about that today,” he said. “If this strikes you as appropriate comeuppance for all the years Trump spent calling for his political opponents to be jailed, you’re not alone,” he added. “And Trump seems to be aware of that perception, which is why he’s now pretending that he actually never did that.” In a new interview, Trump falsely claimed that he never said “lock her up”. “That’s like Bart Simpson saying he never said ‘cowabunga’,” said Meyers, who played the evidence. “It really is amazing how all of Trump’s rally chants have come back to haunt him. ‘Lock her up,’ now he’s the one who could go to jail. ‘Build a wall,’ if he goes to jail he’ll be surrounded by walls. And even ‘four more years’ is perfect because if this is true, Trump could face probation or even four years in state prison on each count.” And in Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel checked in on Trump, who attended a UFC fight over the weekend before heading back to his home in Florida. “It’s good to see him out crossing state lines while he still can,” said Kimmel. “If I had just been found guilty of covering up a hush-money payment to a porn star, I wouldn’t be in a rush to get home to my wife either.” Asked on Fox & Friends how Melania was doing, Trump said she was fine, “but she has to read all this crap!” “Yeah, I’m pretty sure the only thing she reads is her prenup over and over again,” Kimmel joked. “It’s very rich that he’s mad at other people for that – ‘How dare you explain what I did to my wife!’” Kimmel also mocked a new “heavily edited” Trump interview on Fox & Friends, in which Trump falsely claimed that he never said “lock her up” about Hillary Clinton. “Really? So interesting, because I remember you most certainly doing that,” Kimmel said before a montage of clips in which Trump said just that. “And not one of the three stooges interviewing him pushed back on that at all.”

CNN — With more than 98 million eligible voters, some 70,000 candidates and over 20,000 public offices being contested, Mexico’s general election on June 2 will be the largest in the country’s history. But it’s not just the massive scale of the event that makes it so important in the eyes of observers across the border in the United States. For the first time in history, the country looks set to elect its first female president. The two front-runners are both women – Claudia Sheinbaum, of the Morena party, who is backed by the governing coalition Sigamos Haciendo Historia, and Xóchitl Gálvez, who is backed by an coalition of opposition parties. The vote is also important because it falls in the same year as the US presidential election – something that happens only once every 12 years – and comes at a time of transition in the relationship between the two countries. “The years when all the US wanted was a safe and stable Mexico are over. Now it is also interested in a country with good public policy,” said Rafael Fernández de Castro Medina, director of the Center for US-Mexico Studies at the University of California, San Diego, pointing to the increasing number of Latinos in the US and the two countries’ growing ties. Here are a look at some of the biggest issues affecting the US-Mexico relationship that will be influenced by Sunday’s vote: It’s the economy, stupid Mexico became the United States’ top trading partner last year, surpassing China and Canada. Experts say this is largely because geopolitical issues such as the pandemic, the legacy of Trump’s trade war against China, and the war in Ukraine all encouraged near-shoring – the relocation of supply chains nearer to home – which boosted US imports from Mexico and its investment in the country. Key to facilitating this shift was the creation of the USMCA trade agreement, which came into effect in 2020 between Mexico, the United States and Canada. “The USMCA offered, in that favorable context, a legal regulatory framework that provided a lot of certainty to the three North American countries, and Mexico has seized the opportunities and strengthened its preferential tariffs to make this happen,” explained Lila Abed, director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center. However, it’s not all been plain sailing. Mexico’s compliance with the USMCA has been an issue of contention between the administration of Mexico’s current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and those of both US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump. “The next president of Mexico will have to deal with a series of legal disputes that the United States, supported by Canada, has filed within the framework of the USMCA,” Abed points out. “These range from [López Obrador’s] ban on the import of transgenic corn for human consumption; the shift towards a nationalist energy policy, which has affected US investments in electricity and hydrocarbons, as well as the little importance given to clean energies,” Abed said. According to Abed, whoever wins the Mexican presidency on June 2 will have to deal with a lawsuit filed by the United States on these issues. They will also have to renegotiate the agreement when it comes up for renewal in 2026. Many analysts believe the US is currently playing down disputes over the USMCA in the hope that this can ease differences in other areas, both in domestic Mexican issues – such as alleged human rights violations, the government’s treatment of journalists, and the increase in political assassinations – and bilateral concerns such as immigration and the drug trade. “It’s very transactional. Mexico agreed to partially manage the immigration crisis in the US, keeping immigrants in Mexican territory and taking care of their deportation, in exchange for the United States not activating these lawsuits,” said Raquel López Portillo Maltos, executive secretary of the youth group of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (Comexi) think tank. Jorge Alberto Schiavon Uriegas, vice president of the Center for Studies and Analysis on Mexico’s Foreign Policy, said López Obrador followed a quid pro quo policy towards both Trump and Biden, and this would possibly continue with Sheinbaum, if elected. “Mexico committed to addressing the two main Mexican issues affecting the United States and that will determine the next election: migration and fentanyl. In exchange, the United States dramatically reduced its criticism of Mexico’s democratic and institutional weakness, and reduced its interventions, leaving more room for López Obrador’s domestic policy,” said Schiavon Uriegas. Migration: Mexico, ‘part of Trump’s wall’ While migration across the countries’ 1,933 miles long border is a shared concern, the issue is much lower on Mexican politicians’ agenda than in the US — where it could be a decisive factor in the November vote, according to Carin Zissis, editor-in-chief of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas website. “The speeches of Sheinbaum and Gálvez on migration are neither very strong nor very different from each other, nor do they address too much what to do with migrants in the country,” she said. “Proof of this is that, during the last presidential debate, when migration was addressed, the main angle was Mexican migrants currently living in the US; they were talking to their potential voters north of the border and to the Latino community in general, which is large and powerful due to remittances.” The rub for US politicians is that they need buy-in from their Mexican counterparts if their own immigration policies are to succeed. Zissis gave the example of how Lopez Obrador had made Mexico “part of Trump’s wall” by sending “thousands of members of the National Guard and the Army to take care of migration control.” ¨Trump didn’t have to build the wall because Mexico is the wall,” said Zissis. Abed, of the Mexico Institute, said Mexico’s next president would face a different conundrum to previous leaders, because the country had changed from being merely a transit country, which immigrants passed through on their way to the US, to being in many cases their final stop. “The reaction of the López Obrador government has been to transport migrants who are waiting at the border between Mexico and the United States to the southeast of the country and leave them there. The migration authorities are overwhelmed, the Mexican Refugee Aid Commission (Comar) is also overwhelmed, the centers where migrants stay are very precarious, migrants — specifically unaccompanied minors and women, as well as young people — are at risk from organized crime and human traffickers, and their human rights could be violated,” Abed detailed. She said the next Mexican government will need to assume responsibility for this large migrant population, “and decide whether to give them a temporary visa, whether to allow them to work, whether they will have access to medical services, etc.” Fentanyl and the drug trade Security is another pillar of the bilateral relationship, particularly in terms of the thriving cross-border drug trade that blights both countries. While the United States has been grappling with a domestic health crisis due to the amount of fentanyl on its streets, Mexico faces increasing cartel-linked violence – including in the run-up to the election which has been marred by dozens of assassination attempts and other political violence. “México has made progress in dismantling clandestine drug laboratories, but the next government must do more to stop the entry through maritime ports of precursor chemicals mostly coming from China, because after that is when they fall into the hands of organized crime to produce these synthetic opioids,” Abed said. “But the United States also has to dismantle the network of traffickers within (its own borders). That is, once fentanyl arrives, its distribution throughout the territory is not magical. There is a significant network of organized crime in the United States that the administration must arrest, bring to trial, and whose activities it must restrict,” she added. One issue the US may be keen to revisit with whoever wins on June 2 are the reforms to Mexico’s National Security Law that the López Obrador government implemented in 2018 as one of its first measures, which limited the activity of foreign agents operating on Mexican territory. “It was a symbol, a sign that the Mexican government was not going to open the door so easily to security agencies such as the DEA, the CIA, and others. He removed the diplomatic immunity (and) they had to register all their activities with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc,” explained Abed. Experts who spoke to CNN said, however, that much of López Obrador’s confrontational discourse with the United States was a facade that, at times, hid a well-oiled process of negotiations with both the Republican and Democratic administrations. “López Obrador often speaks to his Mexican base and then negotiates. He knows that the US needs him on migration and security matters,” said Zissis at the Americas Society website.

Mexico City, June 2, 2024 — In a shocking development that has sent ripples through the political landscape of Mexico, fresh allegations have emerged suggesting clandestine dealings between several leading candidates and influential business magnates. These accusations, if proven true, could dramatically alter the outcome of the upcoming elections. According to an anonymous insider, prominent figures within the political arena have been engaging in secret meetings with powerful industrialists and international corporations. The supposed objective behind these meetings is to secure massive financial backing in exchange for future political favors and policy adjustments that would favor the interests of these corporate giants. Among the most startling claims is the involvement of leading presidential candidate María López, who is said to have met with representatives from a major foreign conglomerate. The source alleges that during these meetings, promises were made to facilitate easier access to Mexico's natural resources and to relax environmental regulations in favor of the company's operations. Further fueling the controversy, rival candidate Juan Ramirez is reportedly entangled in a similar scandal. Ramirez allegedly received substantial financial contributions from a group of influential real estate developers. In return, the candidate is believed to have assured these backers that, once elected, he would expedite the approval of several large-scale urban development projects, despite potential concerns over displacement of local communities and environmental impact. The National Electoral Institute (INE) has announced that it will be launching a thorough investigation into these claims. "We are committed to ensuring a fair and transparent electoral process," said INE spokesperson Ana Martinez. "Any candidate found to be engaging in unethical practices will face severe consequences, up to and including disqualification from the race." These revelations have sparked outrage among voters, many of whom feel betrayed by the candidates they once trusted. Social media platforms are abuzz with reactions, ranging from demands for immediate resignations to calls for greater oversight and reform in political campaign financing. Political analysts are warning that the fallout from these allegations could lead to widespread voter apathy and a significant decline in voter turnout. "Trust in the electoral process is at an all-time low," said political analyst Jorge Rivera. "If these allegations are substantiated, it could have long-lasting repercussions on Mexico's democracy." As the nation braces for what promises to be a tumultuous election season, all eyes are on the INE's investigation and the responses from the accused candidates. Both López and Ramirez have vehemently denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as politically motivated attacks designed to undermine their campaigns. The coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether these explosive claims hold any truth, and what impact they will have on the future of Mexico's political landscape.

Body camera footage released by Akron on Monday shows an officer shoot and strike a teenager in the hand after he drove up to the scene and saw the teen had what was later determined to be a fake gun.

Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin reveals a remarkable truth that aligns with what 'conspiracy theorists' have been saying all along about the Deep State!

Vladimir Putin answered questions from Tucker Carlson, a journalist and founder of Tucker Carlson Network.

In this video, we delve into Biden's recent change in perspective on Netanyahu's approach to the Gaza conflict, as he calls for a ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid. Join us as we analyze the implications and significance of this shift in stance. Your thoughts and opinions on this issue are highly encouraged in the comments below. Don't forget to like and share this video to spark meaningful discussions. Thank you for watching!

In this video, we delve into the highlights of Trump's recent speech in Grand Rapids, where he critiques Biden's administration and shares his views on immigration, electric vehicles, and the looming threat of World War III. Join us as we analyze and summarize the key points from Trump's speech, providing valuable insights and perspectives on these important topics. Don't miss out on understanding Trump's stance on these significant issues! Like and share this video to spread the knowledge and engage in the conversation.

An Israeli strike in Gaza that killed seven aid workers for the non-profit World Central Kitchen has touched off fury and indignation inside the White House, prompting President Joe Biden on Tuesday to release a public statement using a word he has rarely invoked over the course of conflict that has been filled with endless tragedy: “Outraged.” The deaths of the workers who were attempting to deliver food to starving civilians in the besieged enclave – including one dual US-Canadian citizen – has raised the frustration for Biden and his top officials to a new level, a senior administration official told CNN. Biden’s statement Tuesday evening that mourned the deaths of the seven workers included some of the most fiery and blunt language from the president since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October. He explicitly blamed Israel for failing to protect aid workers and civilians, and he said, “Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen.” The strike on the World Central Kitchen workers has been a “standout incident” as far as the Biden White House is concerned, the official said, prompting serious consternation and concern in what had already been a moment of high tensions between the US and Israel. But the administration on Wednesday reiterated its support of Israel’s war against Hamas while warning that they are not doing enough to protect civilians in the Palestinian enclave. “Of course, we want to see them do things differently that prevents civilian casualties. Absolutely. And that’s been an ongoing conversation that we’ve been having with them for many months,” said John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. “In terms of being more precise, being more targeted, being more cautious.” He continued: “We have and will continue to talk to them about how to do things differently, how to do things more efficiently, how to do things more safely, and certainly how to do things in a way that minimizes damage to civilian infrastructure, and of course, civilian lives.” The president discussed the deaths of the workers with a small group of Muslim community leaders at the White House Tuesday, according to one of the attendees. Some of the participants were doctors who have spent time in Gaza and have seen first-hand the plight of the Palestinian civilians there. One of them, CNN reported, walked out of the meeting early in a show of protest. “The president expressed that this is a very difficult situation and that he would like to see an end to this war,” said Salima Suswell, founder of the Black Muslim Leadership Council. “The conversation was difficult at moments.” Asked about Biden blaming Israel for failing to protect civilians and aid workers in his statement, a senior adviser to the president told CNN: “It’s what he wanted to say.” Israel has said it will investigate why the aid workers’ vehicles were hit by Israeli airstrikes, and Biden called on the probe to be “swift” and “bring accountability.” When pressed by CNN on whether the White House still supports how Israel is prosecuting the war, given the deaths of the aid workers and Biden’s outrage, Kirby said the administration has been clear and public about their objections but would not go so far as to withdraw its support. “I want to make it clear that while we take issue with aspects of how operations are being conducted, particularly like saying, quite frankly, publicly, we don’t support a ground operation in Rafah. We also continue to believe and continue to act on the belief that Israel has a right to defend itself against the still-viable threat by Hamas,” Kirby said.

Judge Aileen Cannon was appointed to federal court job by the indicted former president Special counsel Jack Smith has slammed the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case over an order in which she asked prosecutors and defence lawyers to file proposed jury instructions based on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise”. Judge Aileen Cannon, who the former president appointed, appeared to accept an argument Mr Trump is pushing that he was entitled to retain sensitive documents at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, under a statute known as the Presidential Records Act (PRA). The order, filed on 19 March, baffled legal experts and commentators and alarmed Mr Smith’s team. Prosecutors argue in a filing late on Tuesday that the 1978 law — which requires presidents to return presidential records to the government upon leaving office but allows them to keep purely personal ones — has no relevance in the case, which concerns Mr Trump refusing to return highly sensitive classified documents. Materials retrieved by the federal agents during their search of the former president’s home at his private members’ club, Mar-a-Lago, were clearly not personal and there is no evidence to suggest that they were ever designated as such by Mr Trump. Further, prosecutors argue that the suggestion that the former president did designate them as personal was “invented” only after it became public that he was in possession of boxes upon boxes of records from his time in office that should have been returned to the National Archives. They also note that none of the witnesses interviewed in their investigation of how the boxes came to Mar-a-Lago, and what happened over the months in which the government tried to retrieve them, support Mr Trump’s version of events. “Not a single one had heard Trump say that he was designating records as personal or that, at the time he caused the transfer of boxes to Mar-a-Lago, he believed that his removal of records amounted to designating them as personal under the PRA,” prosecutors wrote. “To the contrary, every witness who was asked this question had never heard such a thing.” Mr Smith’s team said that if Judge Cannon insists on citing the PRA in her jury instructions, she should let the lawyers know as soon as possible so they can appeal. Lawyers for the government have been continually exasperated by Judge Cannon’s handling of the case, which has also perplexed legal experts. She has yet to rule on multiple defence motions to dismiss the case as well as other disagreements between the two sides, and the trial date remains uncertain. It is increasingly suspect that a case featuring what Mr Smith’s team describe as overwhelming evidence could be unresolved by the time of the November presidential election. The judge was widely criticised for allowing Mr Trump’s team’s request for an independent arbiter to review the documents at the heart of the case, seized by the FBI during their search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. In March, she heard arguments on two motions from the defence to dismiss the case: that the PRA permitted him to designate the documents as personal, that he was therefore allowed to retain them, and that the issue was “constitutionally vague”. Judge Cannon appeared sceptical of their arguments and threw out one motion. Only a few days later came the extraordinary order concerning jury instructions. Both sides were asked to write instructions in response to the premise: “A president has sole authority under the PRA to categorize records as personal or presidential during his/her presidency. Neither a court nor a jury is permitted to make or review such a categorization decision.” She continued by saying that an outgoing president’s decision to exclude personal records from those returned to the government “constitutes a president’s categorization of those records as personal under the PRA.” Prosecutors say that interpretation of the law is wrong and urged Judge Cannon to move quickly and reject the defence motion to dismiss. “The PRA’s distinction between personal and presidential records has no bearing on whether a former President’s possession of documents containing national defense information is authorized under the Espionage Act, and the PRA should play no role in the jury instructions on the elements of Section 793,” they wrote, citing the statute that makes it a crime to illegally retain national defence information. “Indeed, based on the current record, the PRA should not play any role at trial at all,” they added. This view is shared by many observers. Noting how “woefully unclear” Judge Cannon’s language was, legal commentator and MSNBC host Katie Phang pondered: “The PRA is clear. As is the Espionage Act. Not sure why Cannon is struggling with these concepts.” National security lawyer Bradley Moss posted on X: “This second scenario is legally insane. If that were the case, then just grant Trump’s motion to dismiss on PRA grounds so DOJ bring it to the 11th circuit for a quick reversal.” Longtime Trump foe George Conway was even more scathing: “In the decades that I have been a lawyer, this is the most bizarre order I’ve ever seen issued by a federal judge. What makes that all the more amazing is that the second and third most bizarre orders I’ve ever seen in federal court were also issued by Judge Cannon in this case.” He later wrote: “Okay, I’ve seen enough. Not only should Aileen Cannon not be sitting on this case, but she should not be sitting on the federal bench at all. This is utterly nuts.” The former president is facing dozens of criminal charges relating to his handling of classified documents in his time since leaving the White House. This is just one of the four criminal cases against Mr Trump — the others are the Manhattan hush-money case, the federal election interference case, and the Fulton County election interference case. He insists he has committed no crimes and believes he is being politically persecuted.

The real story here is the way Trump is twisting select crimes to viciously smear undocumented immigrants across the board. Donald Trump has invented a new criminological category he describes as “Migrant Crime,” and in Michigan on Tuesday, he seized on the horrible murder of a young woman, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant, to underscore the point. Some news accounts covered this by quoting GOP strategists, with one enthusing that this will win over “security moms,” as if Trump is engaging in something like a conventional campaign strategy here. But Trump’s ugly demagogic rants in Michigan, and others like it, deserve to be treated as a national scandal. The cherry-picking of isolated terrible crimes to smear migrants as a class is not something we would tolerate if it were directed toward other groups. Never mind what Trump is attempting to do politically. His deranged, malicious, hateful public conduct should be seen as the real story here. It should be covered that way. Trump’s appearance in Michigan has been overshadowed by the news that Trump may have lied about relatives of the victim, 25-year-old Ruby Garcia. At his event, Trump claimed he had spoken to “some of her family,” but her sister flatly denied he or his campaign had contacted them, and blasted Trump for singling out crimes committed by “illegal immigrants.” That did shape some of the coverage. But it should not require a brave public intervention from a young woman enduring a horrific tragedy to prod the media into registering the appalling way Trump is twisting this murder and other similar crimes to viciously smear undocumented immigrants across the board. During his rants in Michigan, Trump also discussed the killing of another woman in Georgia by an “illegal alien animal.” He mocked Democrats for describing undocumented immigrants as “human,” declaring “they’re not human, they’re animals,” while keeping what “they” means vague. Trump insisted other countries are sending “prisoners, murders, drug dealers, mental patients, and terrorists” to our country, claimed migrants have “wrecked our country,” and blamed it all on “Biden’s border bloodbath.” It’s pure degeneracy to use Ruby Garcia’s killing this way. Here’s what we know: Brandon Ortiz-Vite, a 25-year-old Mexican citizen, was charged with the murder. He and Garcia may have been romantically involved, though the sister says it didn’t get that far. Ortiz-Vite originally qualified for legal protections for people brought here illegally as children. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that status expired in May 2019, and after getting arrested on local charges, he was deported to Mexico in September 2020. He reentered the country on an unknown date. It’s simply absurd to pin this on Biden’s immigration policies. Trump and the right criticize Biden for things like letting in migrants on parole who apply for entry from abroad, and for releasing migrants awaiting asylum hearings into the interior of the country. But none of that applies to Ortiz-Vite. He is not here on Biden’s parole programs. And he doesn’t appear to have applied for asylum. According to an ICE official, his deportation in 2020 was the last known immigration action taken toward him by the federal government prior to his current arrest. “He wasn’t here due to any policy put in place by this administration,” David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, told me. In short, Ortiz-Vite is what is known in government-speak as a “gotaway”—that is, someone who crosses the border illegally and eludes capture. Based on what we know, at no point did he interact with our immigration machinery or law enforcement before the alleged murder, so Biden’s policies couldn’t have applied to him one way or the other, Bier notes. “If Border Patrol had caught him, they would have deported him immediately,” Bier said. “That’s what happens to single Mexican adults, including under Biden.” If the argument is supposed to be that fewer migrants with criminal intent would dare enter the country due to Trump’s alleged toughness, well, efforts to cross the border illegally by convicted criminals reached record numbers under Trump’s presidency, Bier has shown. “Trump’s policies wouldn’t have deterred this guy for a second,” he said. It is true that with any large group of people—undocumented migrants included—one risks seeing a small percentage of them turn to violent crime. But that’s not an argument against Biden’s immigration policies. As has been demonstrated again and again, there is no evidence that migrants are driving any kind of crime wave in the United States. In covering Trump’s Michigan event, some news accounts dutifully noted that fact. But they tended to treat this as a conventional fact check of typical political rhetoric, rather than treating his heinous smearing of a large class of people as itself being the story. Trump’s constant use of the deranged “migrant crime” trope provides the hook for doing just that. The Republican National Committee now has an official website devoted to chronicling “migrant crime” and “illegal alien crime,” listed out by state (in some states no “illegal alien crimes” have yet been documented). The casual use of such terms to smear large classes of immigrants is the official party position. All this is straight from the authoritarian playbook. As The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum has noted: “The repetition of the phrase ‘migrant crime’ is a tactic stolen from Victor Orban, who used to use ‘Gypsy crime’ in the same way.” How about some stand-alone news analysis pieces devoted to that sort of malign confluence of tactics? Why not cover this hateful, dangerous rhetoric as a sign of Trump’s seething contempt for even the most minimal standards of conduct in public service and public life? Democrats could consider fighting back, too. What about holding events with, say, the families of the immigrant pothole-repairing workers killed in the Baltimore bridge collapse, or with immigrant essential workers who got our society through the pandemic? Democrats could say: This is what immigrants are really doing for our country. They could call on Trump: Stop the hate. If the press won’t tell the story this way, then Democrats should do so themselves, and prod the media to pick up on it, just as both parties constantly push the media to adopt other chosen narratives. The Trump-GOP smearing of immigrants is an absolute scandal. And it should be treated as exactly that.

CNN - The threat of a severe weather outbreak is growing as tens of millions of people across the eastern half of the United States face down severe thunderstorms capable of damaging wind gusts, dangerous hail and destructive tornadoes. “A potentially substantial severe weather outbreak – possibly including a few significant/long-track tornadoes – is anticipated this afternoon and evening,” the Storm Prediction Center warned Tuesday morning. Dangerous storms were already ongoing Tuesday morning in the Ohio Valley with numerous tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings issued, but a new round will fire up Tuesday afternoon and evening, presenting the greatest risk for destructive weather. The storms pose the most significant threat for tornadoes so far this year, with parts of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana most at risk. Ohio hasn’t been warned of a tornado threat this substantial in more than 10 years, according to SPC data. It’s in this region where strong tornadoes could form and stay on the ground for several miles at a time. Tornadoes are also possible outside of the area of greatest risk in a widespread area from Alabama and western Georgia north to parts of Indiana and West Virginia. Tornadoes here could reach at least EF2 strength. All told, more than 75 million people are at risk for severe thunderstorms from the Gulf Coast to Great Lakes. Many could encounter damaging winds of 60 to 80 mph and hail ranging from the size of quarters to baseballs. The prediction center has urged residents in the storms’ path to monitor forecasts because the areas under risk could change. “Now is the time to ensure you have a severe weather action plan in place,” it advised. Over 17 million people from Illinois to Maryland also face a flood threat from the storms, with flood watches lasting into the evening and rainfall totals of up to 5 inches possible. The same severe weather system tore through the central US on Monday, prompting more than 100 storm reports across the region, including three tornadoes in Oklahoma. Homes were damaged by the storms in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, around 40 miles north of Tulsa, town police told CNN. “I was on duty and patrolling the streets when it came through,” Barnsdall officer Eric Sofian said. “There was a lot of heavy wind, a lot of lightning and I could see a lot of sparks flying from the power lines.” Massive hailstones were reported in Texas, including one as large as 4.5 inches in Briar – bigger than a softball. The tornado threat will lessen Wednesday as storms shift east, but there is still a Level 2 of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail in parts of the mid-Atlantic and Florida. Significant snow coming Rain north of the severe weather will transition to snow and a wintry mix later Tuesday in areas of the Midwest and Great Lakes, and rain and snow showers will continue in parts of both regions through Thursday. Cities including Chicago could even see a few flakes, but little accumulation of snowfall is expected. The highest snowfall totals are expected across the parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, where snowfall of 6 to 12 inches is possible through Thursday. Snowfall could snarl travel in the region. Winter-like weather will shift into the interior Northeast beginning Wednesday, where winter storm watches are in effect for much of the interior region into Friday. The Adirondacks could see up to a foot of snowfall by Thursday, while parts of the Green and White Mountains can see over a foot of snowfall. Gusts up to 50 mph combined with heavy snowfall can cause blowing snow and can cause power outages and travel delays. Major cities across the Northeast, including New York City, Boston and Philadelphia, are currently forecast to see rain.