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Former president was found liable in February for fraudulently inflating his net worth to secure better loan and insurance termsDonald Trump posted a $175m bond in his New York civil fraud case on Monday, averting asset seizures by state authorities that could have hobbled the former US president's business empire.Trump, to face Joe Biden in the November US election, was found liable on 16 February for fraudulently inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms. Continue reading...

Shares in Trump Media dropped by 21.5% as auditor discloses substantial doubt' over company's ability to continue operatingThe value of Donald Trump's stake in Truth Social fell by more than $1bn on Monday after the social media company revealed it lost $58.2m last year and an auditor disclosed substantial doubt" over its ability to continue operating.Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, dropped 21.5% as investors scrutinized the fundamentals of its business. Continue reading...

Chunk of famed route crumbled into sea causing another closure, and conditions are expected to only worsen with climate crisisA long stretch of California's famed Highway 1 is closed yet again after a large chunk of the scenic route lining the central coast in Big Sur crumbled into the sea on Saturday. The slide, which occurred just south of the Rocky Creek Bridge, is the latest challenge along the winding roadway, which is facing surges in both popularity and peril.Caught between rising tides and crumbling cliff sides, conditions are becoming more extreme as the climate crisis exacerbates the issues. No one has been injured this week, according to officials - but the risks of travelling this road are only going to grow. Continue reading...

Independent says he also qualifies in Utah, Hawaii, Nevada, and New Hampshire - only Utah has confirmed his place on ballot so farRobert F Kennedy Jr, the independent candidate for the US presidency, said on Monday he has qualified for the ballot in North Carolina - which will be a key state in the November election battle between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.We have the field teams, volunteers, legal teams, paid circulators, supporters and strategists ready to get the job done," said Kennedy's campaign press secretary, Stefanie Spear. Continue reading...

Court gave voters a chance to enshrine abortion in state constitution, but also paved way for six-week ban within 30 daysFlorida residents will get the chance to vote on a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, the Florida state supreme court ruled on Monday, teeing up a dramatic electoral showdown over abortion access in a state that has become a haven for women fleeing southern abortion bans.The decision is a victory for abortion rights activists - but one that was significantly tempered by a second decision also issued on Monday, in which the state supreme court ruled to uphold Florida's 15-week abortion ban. That decision paves the way for a separate six-week abortion ban - passed in 2023 but on hold pending the outcome of the case over the 15-week ban - to take effect. Continue reading...

Former White House adviser and white nationalist Stephen Miller plans to reinterpret civil rights laws should Trump return to powerThe anti-immigration extremist, white nationalist and former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller is helping drive a plan to tackle supposed anti-white racism" if Donald Trump returns to power next year, Axios reported.Longtime aides and allies ... have been laying legal groundwork with a flurry of lawsuits and legal complaints - some of which have been successful," Axios said on Monday. Continue reading...

Revealed: Savannah Graziano, 15, shot by sheriff's deputies in 2022 while unarmed and following instructions to move toward themNewly released law enforcement footage captures the moment California police fatally shot an unarmed 15-year-old girl who was a reported kidnapping victim.On 27 September 2022, San Bernardino county sheriff's deputies were searching for Savannah Graziano, who was feared abducted by her father Anthony Graziano after he had fatally shot her mother the day before. Continue reading...

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Newly released law enforcement footage captures the moment California police fatally shot an unarmed 15-year-old girl who was a reported kidnapping victim. On 27 September 2022, San Bernardino county sheriff's deputies fired at Savannah Graziano on a side of a freeway after she exited the vehicle that her father, her suspected abductor, had been driving. Sheriff's officials initially claimed it was unclear whether Savannah was shot by deputies or her father and alleged deputies didn't realize it was her when she got out of the car. Officials have repeatedly refused to release footage Continue reading...

Disbarred attorney already serving life sentence without parole in South Carolina prison for killing his wife and sonFor maybe the last time, the convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh - in a prison jumpsuit instead of the suit he used to wear - shuffled into a courtroom on Monday in South Carolina and received a prison sentence.This time, it was for 40 years in federal court for financial crimes. Continue reading...

Alternate shipping channel will be created north-east of the main artery, near the bridge itself, according to city officialsAuthorities are preparing to create a temporary alternate channel near Baltimore's collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge to allow commercially essential vessels" to enter the city's port.The deadly crumpling of the bridge after it was struck by a giant container ship last week created wreckage that has been blocking a crucial shipping lane into the port. Concerns have loomed about the disaster's widespread toll on the local and national economy. Continue reading...

A surprise set of results has given Turkey's main opposition party a major boost and enhanced the prospects of democratic renewalLess than a year ago, Turkey's main opposition parties were in a slough of despond. Defying their predictions, the country's authoritarian leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, comfortably won a third term in presidential elections held last spring. At the same time, his Justice and Development party (AKP) emerged more powerful from a parliamentary poll, despite the economy tanking and dissatisfaction at the government's response to the worst earthquake for decades. Years of clientelism, culture wars and overwhelming media dominance appeared to have rendered Mr Erdoan's strongman politics all but unassailable at national level.Small wonder then, that a spectacular and unanticipated turnaround at Sunday's local elections prompted wild celebrations into the early hours. In Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, the incumbent mayor, Ekrem Imamolu, trounced Mr Erdoan's candidate. Mr Imamolu's Republican People's party (CHP) also pulled off a clean sweep of other major cities, winning by a landslide in the capital, Ankara, and easily in Izmir. More suprisingly, the CHP managed to chalk up some victories in the conservative towns and villages that make up MrErdoan's electoral heartland in Anatolia, and near the Black Sea. Gains in those regions for the Islamic farright New Welfare party (YRP), at the AKP'sexpense, added to the president's misery. Continue reading...

Section of highway crumbled during major storm on Saturday, leaving nearly 2,000 travelers stranded during Easter weekendA famous California highway remained closed on Monday after a portion of the road collapsed, leaving nearly 2,000 travelers stranded during Easter weekend.A section of California's Highway 1 - which winds along the state's cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean - crumbled during a major storm on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading...

At the 2006 World Cup, the England team's wives and girlfriends could drink, shop and pose all they liked. Eighteen years on, fun seems to be in short supplyIt raises all kinds of sad questions to hear that the England footballers' wives and girlfriends are heading to Euro 24 with 100,000 worth of private security. The whole point of the Wags was that they occupied a timeless place, untouched by current affairs or the pace of change. They never had to justify themselves with good works or decorum. Not even the gristliest, dungaree-clad feminist (me, let's say) minded their self-fashioning as pure adornments for their celebrated menfolk. They could have careers of their own, or not have careers; drink WKD or drink kale juice; they could have been poets or they could have been fools. In the modern business of perpetual censure, they were (as the management consultants would put it) outside scope.And perhaps they still are, and the German government is overreacting in its perception of a terrorist threat from Islamic State Khorasan Province, the IS offshoot thought to be behind the Moscow attack last month. But the caution is probably warranted. Nothing is sacred to a terrorist, and the random sanctity of a Wag - the vanishingly rare social agreement to just enjoy the sight of them living their best lives - must be like a red rag to a bull, when you're a misogynist death cult. Continue reading...

The Premier League has experienced a goal-scoring surge this season. But Mikel Arteta's team have created an edge by eliminating chances

Republican touts important innovations' to Ukraine package and suggests vote on bill could be imminent in Congress after recessThe US House speaker, Mike Johnson, has raised expectations that a vote on funding for Ukraine could be imminent in the chamber, even at the risk of the Republican losing his leadership position.Johnson touted important innovations" to a possible Ukraine package during an interview on Fox News's Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy, and he suggested a vote on a standalone bill could come soon after Congress returns from Easter recess on 9 April. Continue reading...

Allen Beachem, 33, killed after argument with suspect who fled the scene, police sayOne man was killed and five other people were wounded during a shooting inside a restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday afternoon, as many in the city celebrated Easter, police said.The shooting at about 3pm in Nashville's Salemtown neighborhood began within minutes of the male suspect's arrival at the restaurant with a woman, authorities said. Continue reading...

Biden administration decision not to veto UN resolution does not signal major shift in foreign policyAny sense that a US abstention on a UN ceasefire resolution signalled a radically different approach to the Gaza war by the Biden administration lasted only four days.The UN security council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, a hostage release and large-scale delivery of food aid, was passed last Monday. By Friday, the Washington Post was reporting on the latest consignment of billions of dollars worth of US bombs and planes for Israel. Continue reading...

After two-week operation that resulted in scores of casualties, Israel says it has withdrawn from area. Plus: Japan's royal family join Instagram Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.With much of Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital in ruins, Israeli forces say they have withdrawn from the area after a two-week operation.Six months later, how are Israelis feeling about the Israel-Hamas war? Tens of thousands of people across Israel joined the families of hostages at the weekend to protest and call for the removal of Benjamin Netanyahu, labelling the Israeli prime minister as an obstacle in a deal to bring home those held captive.What is the future of the Gaza Strip? Experts and people in the territory fear that Gaza is facing deepening anarchy as the last remnants of civil order break down, leaving a vacuum increasingly filled by armed gangs, clans, powerful families and criminals. Continue reading...

She's been described as the conscience of the supreme court'. That's why it pains me to write thisForget Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is Sonia Sotomayor who is the greatest liberal to sit on the Supreme Court in my adult lifetime. The first Latina to hold the position of justice, she has blazed a relentlessly progressive trail on the highest bench in the land.Whether it was her lone dissent in a North Carolina voting rights case in 2016 (the court's conclusion... is a fiction"); her ingenious referencing of Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Baldwin, and W.E.B DuBois in another 2016 dissent over unreasonable searches and seizures; or her withering observation at the Dobbs oral argument in 2021 (Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?"), Sotomayor has stood head and shoulders above both her liberal and conservative colleagues on the bench for the past fifteen years.Mehdi Hasan is the CEO and editor-in-chief of Zeteo. Continue reading...

Christina Bobb, who was part of Trump-backed fake elector scheme, tapped to run unit by Republican National CommitteeAs Donald Trump's presidential campaign has cemented its hold on the Republican National Committee (RNC), alarms are being raised about the organisation's tapping of the fervent election denialist Christina Bobb to run an election integrity" unit.Bobb is a former Trump lawyer and ex-reporter for the far-right One America News Network, who gained prominence after Trump's 2020 loss for promoting bogus fraud charges in Arizona, Wisconsin and elsewhere, and was part of Trump-backed efforts to substitute fake electors for ones that Joe Biden won in some states. Continue reading...

Wisconsin coalition of low-wage workers and immigrants push back in anger against president's handling of Gaza warIn Wisconsin, a campaign by anti-war voters to abandon Joe Biden during the Democratic primary has found an ally in the labor movement - but not from its traditional leaders.Instead, the Listen to Wisconsin campaign, an effort inspired by the Michigan campaign to reject Biden during the primary over his military support for Israel, has earned the support of rank-and-file trade unionists and a statewide coalition of low-wage workers and immigrants angry about the president's handling of the war. Continue reading...

Ex-president's decision to sell Bibles branded with his name is risky business', says Warnock, pastor of historic Atlanta churchDonald Trump's decision to sell Bibles branded under his name is risky business", Democratic US senator Raphael Warnock said Sunday, as the former president stands accused of having few moral scruples in four separate criminal indictments pending against him.The Bible does not need Donald Trump's endorsement," Warnock, the pastor of Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist church, said to CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. Speaking on Easter, one of Christianity's holiest celebration, Warnock added: It's a risky bet because the folks who buy those Bibles might actually open them up, where it says things like thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not bear false witness, where it warns about wolves dressed up in sheep's clothing. Continue reading...

Ideally, I want Lydia Tar's wardrobe or to look like a liberated 1930s heiress. But I need to be realisticAs winter (black elastic-waisted trousers, four motheaten jumpers) gives way to spring (khaki trousers, two jumpers), the harsh April light forces me to confront the truth: I'm in aesthetic freefall. In search of a solution that isn't capitulating to the miracle" trousers that stalk me around the internet, I came across this bold statement on the website Refinery 29: Just three words stand between you and figuring out personal style," . What are they? Move to Iona"? Vast lottery win"? Lydia Tar's wardrobe"? (You'd need the former for the latter; I couldn't even afford her pencils.)Actually, the three-word method", devised by stylist Allison Bornstein, involves thinking up, yes, three words to describe your style. Then you can ask yourself if you feel like you embody (ideally) all three of your words" when you get dressed and interrogate whether it aligns with one of your words" when you are considering buying something. Continue reading...

In a tradition dating back to the 1870s, New Yorkers dressed up in creative and whimsical Easter finery on Sunday to take part in the annual Easter parade and bonnet festival in Manhattan, with St Patrick's Cathedral among the best vantage points Continue reading...

The Dutch legalisation spared her further misery. We don't take euthanasia lightly; we're just grateful to have the optionMy mother, Jannet, was 90 years old when she ended her life by means of euthanasia. For years she had been suffering from numerous serious and painful conditions that made her life miserable. She always worried about her health and was terrified of what the future undeniably held in store for her: more pain, more dependence on others, more suffering, more desperation.On 20 June 2022 at 2pm she was visited by a doctor and a nurse. They had a last conversation with her, during which the doctor asked her if euthanasia was still what she wanted. My mother said yes. She had already decided that she would take the drink herself instead of being injected. She didn't want to mentally burden the doctor more than necessary.Renate van der Zee is a Dutch writer and journalistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

After rainy California season, NWS warned of risk of storms from Missouri to Illinois, with some potentially producing large hailThunderstorms and tornadoes are expected to sweep eastward across the US in the coming days after a rainy season in California.According to the storm prediction center at the National Weather Service (NWS), severe weather is expected to spread from the southern plains and into the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coast states over the next three days. The warnings applied to about 50 million Americans to kick off what are traditionally the three months that are typically the most active in terms of tornadoes in the US each year. Continue reading...

From Mohamed Salah's crucial intervention to officiating howlers, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekendWhat do you get when you pair two of the best teams in the Premier League, both of whom usually play melodic, pass-and-move football? A 0-0 dud. Manchester City v Arsenal was not the Easter barnburner that was promised. Instead, we were treated to a scrappy game lacking real quality. When the independent regulator finally descends on English football, the first point of order should be barring managers at big clubs from starting four center-backs. Continue reading...

Crew starts intricate removal work on Francis Scott Key Bridge as officials stress that health of US national economy depends on itCrews of engineers have begun the dangerous and intricate job of removing the mangled wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge from the Patapsco River outside Baltimore, as top federal government and Maryland state officials stressed Sunday that the health of the US national economy depended on it.Officials took to the political talkshows Sunday to praise the emergency teams that have now amassed in the Patapsco and have started the delicate process of cutting and lifting steel debris from the north side of the destroyed bridge. Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, said the operation was extremely complex. Continue reading...

Victims transported to area hospitals after police heard shots fired near Circle Centre Mall on Saturday nightSeven children between the ages of 12 and 17 were wounded in one of the US's latest mass shooting, which erupted outside a shopping mall in downtown Indianapolis late Saturday night, authorities said.Police officers patrolling the area heard shots fired near the Circle Centre Mall shortly after 11.30pm, said the deputy chief of the Indianapolis metropolitan police department, Tanya Terry. Continue reading...

NTSB and FAA to look into crash that killed investors Naomi Petrushka and Liron Petrushka, an ex-professional soccer playerA couple from Israel who made a name for themselves as well as a fortune in the tech industry were killed after their plane crashed in a California town near the Nevada border on Saturday night, according to officials and reports.Identified by Israeli media as former professional soccer player Liron Petrushka and Naomi Petrushka, the married couple had been living in California over the last few years. They were attempting to land at Truckee Tahoe airport shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday when their plane crashed and they died.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Continue reading...

The justice department has a dedicated taskforce to tackle a phenomenon that barely existed before Trump unleashed his 2020 stolen election lieShortly before midnight on 14 February 2021, James Clark tapped out a message on his home computer in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, that would change his own life and shatter the peace of mind of several others.Clark, then 38, was surfing the internet having been drinking and taking drugs. Social media platforms were overflowing with heated debate around Donald Trump's false claim that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him. Continue reading...

A vehicle registered to the Chiefs' receiver was involved in a crash in the Dallas areaPolice are seeking Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice in connection with a car crash in Dallas, according to the Dallas Morning News.A vehicle believed to be registered or leased to Rice was involved in a crash on the North Central Expressway at 6.20pm local time Saturday. Citing law enforcement officials, the Dallas Morning News confirmed police are searching for Rice, 23, but did not disclose details of the collision. Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said two cars, a Chevrolet Corvette and a Lamborghini, were speeding, when the drivers lost control and caused a collision that involved four other vehicles. The drivers of the Corvette and Lamborghini fled the scene. Four people were treated for minor injuries. The Dallas Morning News reported that police believe Rice was driving the Corvette. Continue reading...

Representative postponed his own retirement from Washington to help pass Barack Obama presidency's legislative agendaLongtime Democratic congressman William D Delahunt, who postponed his own retirement from Washington to help pass the Barack Obama presidency's legislative agenda, has died after a long-term illness, his family announced.Delahunt died Saturday at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, at the age of 82, news reports said. Continue reading...

White House says Republicans seeking to divide country' after they object to 31 March date that overlapped with Easter this yearA Joe Biden White House spokesperson said Republicans who have spent the Easter weekend criticizing the president for declaring Sunday's annual Transgender Day of Visibility are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric".As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, president Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American," the White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit." Continue reading...

Civil rights group denounces congressmember Tim Walberg's calls to get it over quick' as a clear call to genocide'Rather than provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, the US should ensure it is subjected to nuclear bombing the way that Nagasaki and Hiroshima" were at the end of the second world war, a Republican congressman said in shocking remarks that by all indications were recorded recently at a gathering with a relatively small group of his constituents.The comments by US House representative Tim Walberg of Michigan drew condemnation from progressive political quarters, including from some who expressed disbelief that a former Christian pastor would advocate for what they called the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Continue reading...

Chance Perdomo, the British American actor who starred in the TV shows Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Gen V, has died in a motorcycle accident aged 27. Nobody else was involved in the accident, his representatives said in a statement. No details on the location or date of the accident were shared.Perdomo's most recent role was in Gen V, a spinoff of the superhero parody drama The Boys, as Andre Anderson, a student who can use magnetic forces to manipulate the world around him.

Do you shout your achievements from the rooftops, or move in silence' while waiting for the perfect moment to flex online? If only we could all sit this one outI have belatedly discovered the phrase move in silence". Apparently, Lil Wayne instructed people to do it in 2011 with the line: Real Gs move in silence like lasagne," a lyric that prompted various polemics (is the G in lasagne actually silent?). Even then, a music commentator told Billboard it was such an old concept". It hadn't broken through in the south side of Brussels, where I was living then (despite lasagne, happily, being plentiful).I was finally alerted to moving in silence" by an Instagram post. The phrase grabbed me, since I am a cheerleader for silence. My take is: the more people move in silence, the better, especially if they are in coach H of the 8.02 York to London King's Cross. It's the Quieter" coach! Don't make me stare pointedly at the sign and sigh! Continue reading...

Legislation targeting baseless concept to keep state's skies clear essentially futile given politicians cannot control sky and windThe chemtrails" conspiracy theory is enjoying its moment in the clearly visible, not blocked by government-released toxic chemicals, sun, after the Tennessee state senate passed a bill this month targeting the baseless concept.Legislation banning the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances" swept through the Republican-dominated senate, and will now be considered by the Republican-dominated house, before then being weighed by Tennessee's Republican governor. There is also a movement to pass a similar law in Pennsylvania. Continue reading...

I used to think grown men don't cry, but the older I get, I find I am crying all the time. I'm grateful that Christ forgives allWhen I realize that my one-year anniversary with my boyfriend is on Easter Sunday, I text Merray. That's ... a lot," she jokes. Both of us had grown up Christian: me Chinese Baptist, her Coptic Orthodox. She texts me about her girlhood Easter dress: an empire waist baby-doll top with cap sleeves. It made her disdain her breasts because she saw herself as one of the Boys". We're both queer. We have since left the church, but still talk about God. Now in our 30s, we have slid back into some version of our childhood spirituality, but would sooner meet the Holy Spirit on a dance floor than at a church. Consider us lapsed atheists.When I was teenager, gay and closeted, I remember church leaders marched against gay marriage up and down the California suburbs. I found the Book of Romans cheerless: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and For the wages of sin is death". Even Jesus said, in the Sermon on the Mount, that the desire to commit adultery was as sinful as actually committing adultery. So there was no getting around sin. Yet I believed I was young and innocent, and I did not deserve death. There had to be another way. One day, I would move to New York and become an atheist. I thought it was that simple. Continue reading...

The former MMA fighter, once described as the world's most dominant athlete', reveals her fears for the future after a career riddled with glory and painI worry about it because we already have Alzheimer's and dementia in our family, and those family members did not get whacked on the head a whole bunch," Ronda Rousey says as she considers a future shrouded by the consequences of concussion and a past where she broke so many barriers for women before a shattering fall.At her peak, in 2015, Rousey was described by Sports Illustrated as the world's most dominant athlete". She had changed a brutal sport to become the face of the UFC, the billion-dollar juggernaut which drives the popularity of MixedMartial Arts. Continue reading...

Company says information found on the dark web includes social security numbers for current and former account holdersUS telecommunications giant AT&T says it has started notifying millions of customers about the theft of personal data recently discovered online.The company said Saturday that a dataset found on the dark web" contains information such as social security numbers for about 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders. Continue reading...