All posts filed under: Politics

Politics

Barron Trump backs out of RNC: Melania’s team blames “prior commitments”

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] After the Trump campaign confirmed soon-to-be-graduate Barron Trump’s role as an RNC delegate, and his dad awkwardly forgot his age while reacting to the news, he’s turning down the role, according to his mom. In a statement from former First Lady Melania Trump’s office, the 18-year-old’s “prior commitments” are blamed for his upcoming and unforeseen absence from the July convention. “While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments,” the statement reads. Donald Trump’s fifth and youngest child has perhaps been the least public of any, taking a minimal role in past campaigns and White House duties. Barron’s older half-sister Ivanka has similarly distanced herself from Trump since the end of his term. Barron was slated to be one of three of the former president’s sons representing Florida and sealing his nomination at the Republican National Convention, per a list released by the Florida Republican party Wednesday. The move from Melania Trump’s office comes in line with reports …

Biden administration says Israel isn’t violating US weapons terms

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] The Biden administration said Friday that it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel has violated international law in Gaza, but that the country hasn’t violated terms of U.S. weapons agreements. In a report to Congress, the State Department said it hasn’t verified specific instances that would justify withholding military aid. “While the U.S. has had deep concerns during the period since October 7 about action and inaction by Israel that contributed significantly to a lack of sustained and predictable delivery of needed assistance at scale, and the overall level reaching Palestinian civilians — while improved — remains insufficient, we do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance” under the Foreign Assistance Act, the report said.  The State Department noted that its assessment is ongoing and that “we will continue to monitor and respond to any challenges to the delivery of aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza moving forward.” This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. [ad_2] Source link

Trump White House aide Steve Bannon loses appeal of contempt of Congress conviction

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] A federal appeals court on Friday unanimously upheld the criminal contempt of Congress conviction of former Trump White House senior aide Steve Bannon for refusing to testify and provide documents to the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The appeals court rejected Bannon’s argument that he was not guilty because his attorney had advised him not to comply with a subpoena from the House committee. The ruling by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit makes it more likely that Bannon will soon have to begin serving a sentence of four months in jail for his conviction of two counts of contempt. An attorney for Bannon said he will now request that the full judicial panel of the D.C. Circuit hear his appeal again, which might postpone his jail term. Bannon’s lawyer Doug Schoen told CNBC in an email, ”The Court of Appeals panel held today that it does not have the authority to overrule the 1961 panel of …

Trump flubs son Barron’s age, ahead of his graduation

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Donald Trump seemingly forgot his youngest son’s age in a Thursday interview with Telemundo, responding to reports that Barron Trump would play a role in his official nomination for president. In the interview, Trump was asked about his son’s status as a delegate at-large at the Republican National Convention, weighing-in with, “To me, that’s very cute, because he’s a very young guy, and he’s graduating from high school this year. He’s a very good student, very smart. But he’s pretty young, I will say. He’s 17.” Born in March of 2006, Barron is currently 18 years old. The son of Melania Trump, and the former President’s youngest of five children, he spent much of the past four years in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he attends the private Oxbridge Academy. Set to graduate on May 17, Barron is reportedly attending New York University in the fall. Donald Trump previously lambasted judge Juan Merchan for potentially keeping him in court through the graduation, though he gave Trump the day off. That same evening, Trump is scheduled to …

Beautiful European city collapsing in on itself as sinkholes keep opening up | World | News

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] A city that was once the centre of an ancient empire is collapsing in on itself, partly due to the legacies of its glorious past. Built on an immense labyrinth of underground galleries and quarries, the city is experiencing an alarming increase in the number of sinkholes opening up on its streets. In some instances, cars have been known to fall over twenty metres into the dark depths of the city’s bowels. Modern Rome is built atop its ancient self, and therein lies the root of the problem. One of the main causes for the sinkholes are the tuff quarries dug by ancient Romans, who used the rock in the construction of many of their buildings. The quarries could have depths of up to two or three stories, so when a street opens up cars can disappear many metres down into the ground. Adriano Morabito, a speleologist who organises tours of Rome’s underground passages, told the RTBF website: “If there’s a leak in the water pipes or sewers, the earth beneath the road becomes …

Best new products in May 2024: Apple, Google, Beats, Brooks

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] This story is part of NBC Select’s New & Notable column, where we highlight our favorite product launches. We will continuously update this article throughout the month with new releases we think you should know about. Tech launches Apple iPad Pro (M4) (pre-order) The previous iPad Pro was one of the best tablets, and this M4 version has a few key upgrades. Both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions have an OLED screen (a first for an iPad), which should display richer colors and color contrast compared to previous models. These are also the thinnest, lightest iPads available: the 11-inch version weighs under a pound and is 5.3 millimeters thick. They have Apple’s new M4 processor, which has faster performance, especially for graphically intense tasks like gaming, according to the brand. The Magic Keyboard (M4) is also new. It can be used with the iPad Pro (M4). It has a full 14-key function row and an aluminum palm rest. Apple iPad Air (M2) (pre-order) This model is an upgrade from the previous iPad Air (5th …

Biden and Netanyahu’s fraught relationship hits new low

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] “It’s definitely an earthquake.” That’s how American diplomat Richard Haass described the stunning declaration by U.S. President Joe Biden that his administration would stop supplying certain weapons to Israel if it went ahead with a planned invasion of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. “This was building up for a while, and Rafah was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Haass, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations and policy advisor during the George W. Bush administration, said in an interview with Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “There’s real skepticism in the administration that Rafah will bring about a deal for the hostages, like the Israelis have been saying.” The last several weeks have seen a fraught back and forth between Israel and Hamas and the Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators trying to come up with a deal that will allow a cease-fire between the warring parties and a release of the hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long pushed for an invasion of Rafah — Gaza’s …

BBC Question Time row erupts as thousands threaten to boycott PureGym | Politics | News

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Thousands of Brits are threatening to “boycott” PureGym, the UK’s most popular gym brand, after its CEO said Britain should “support” the Israeli government “in being able to defend themselves”. Speaking on BBC Question Time last night, Humphrey Cobbold told the audience in Stoke-on-Trent: “I think we should support, in general, the Israeli government in being able to defend themselves.” His remarks have been met with scorn from pro-Palestine supporters, who have been circulating “#BoycottPureGym” on X, formerly Twitter. Almost ten thousand people have used the hashtag, including Dilly Hussain, the controversial deputy editor of the UK Islamic news website 5Pillars. His post on X has been viewed more than 112,000 times and the post by 5Pillars on the same platform is just shy of half a million views. Speaking on Question Time last night, the boss of PureGym, which has more than one million UK members, said: “Ten times the number of people sitting in this room tonight now were murdered on the October 7 [attacks] in cold blood. “Double the number of …

Stormy Daniels taunts Donald Trump, says “real men” would take the stand and testify

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Stormy Daniels trolled Donald Trump after spending a combative day in court fielding questions from the former president’s legal team, urging him to take the stand in his own defense. “Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court,” Daniels wrote on X, posting after the Republican’s lawyers failed to convince Judge Juan Merchan to partially lift his gag order so that he could talk about her. Trump is currently subject to a gag order that prevents him from speaking negatively about or towards the adult film star and other witnesses. The former president’s lawyers had claimed that since Daniels had completed her testimony, she could no longer be intimidated by Trump. But Merchan rejected that argument on Thursday. “The reason why the gag order is in place to begin with is precisely because of the nature of these attacks — the vitriol,” he said, per Axios. Susan Necheles, the only woman on Trump’s legal team in the Manhattan hush money case, repeatedly took stabs at Daniel’s credibility …

Stormy Daniels phase over, Michael Cohen up next

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Madeleine Westerhout, a former Trump executive assistant, departs Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 9, 2024. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images Prosecutors said Friday that they plan to call only two more witnesses in Donald Trump’s criminal trial, and they could rest their case by the end of next week. One of those final two witnesses will be Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who is reportedly expected to begin testifying Monday. Cohen’s late-2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels is at the heart of the historic trial in Manhattan Supreme Court. Late in the day, Trump’s attorneys complained to Judge Juan Merchan that Cohen is regularly insulting his former boss on social media, but the ex-president is prohibited from responding because of a gag order that bars Trump from talking about witnesses in the trial. “It’s becoming a problem every single day that President Trump is not allowed to respond,” defense lawyer Todd Blanche told Judge Juan Merchan after the jury left for the day. Lead prosecutor Joshua …