Molly Cook holds on to Houston-based Texas Senate seat in Democratic primary runoff
Cook was up 74 votes, according to unofficial results.
NY v Trump: Former president unleashes social media firestorm ahead of jury deliberation
Former President Trump unleashed a social media firestorm ahead of the jury in his New York trial beginning deliberations on Wednesday. Court began shortly after 10:00 a.m. ET with Judge Juan Merchan reading the deliberation instructions to the jury before they seek to reach a verdict on the charges of falsification of business records against the former president. “KANGAROO COURT! A CORRUPT AND CONFLICTED JUDGE. RELIANCE ON COUNSEL (ADVISE OF COUNSEL) NOT ALLOWED BY MERCHAN, A FIRST,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. NY V. TRUMP: JUDGE MERCHAN TO PRESENT JURY WITH INSTRUCTIONS AHEAD OF DELIBERATIONS “HIS RULINGS, ON A CASE THAT SHOULD, ACCORDING TO ALL LEGAL SCHOLARS AND EXPERTS, NEVER HAVE BEEN BROUGHT, HAVE MADE THIS A BIDEN PUSHED WITCH HUNT. THERE WAS NO CRIME, EXCEPT FOR THE BUM THAT GOT CAUGHT STEALING FROM ME! IN GOD WE TRUST!” he wrote. Trump later posted various statements from commentators defending him over the case, and a post railing against the gag order imposed on him by Merchan. NY V TRUMP: DEFENSE SAYS PROSECUTORS ‘DID NOT MEET THE BURDEN OF PROOF,’ FORMER PRESIDENT IS ‘INNOCENT’ “THE D.A.’s OFFICE WAS ALLOWED TO GO ON WITH 5 HOURS OF BULL…. YESTERDAY. I have no rights against this Crooked Judge’s Gag Order!” he wrote. Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Nikki Haley writes ‘Finish Them!’ on Israeli bomb bound for Gaza
NewsFeed ‘Finish Them!’ was the message former US presidential hopeful Nikki Haley wrote on Israeli artillery shells intended for Gaza, sparking outrage online. The Republican politician was visiting Israel when Israeli forces bombed a camp in Rafah, killing at least 45 Palestinians. Published On 29 May 202429 May 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Colombia lawmakers pass bullfighting ban
Blood sport a ‘symbol of identity’ for many, but was losing spectators in recent years amid animal welfare concerns. Colombia’s Congress has passed legislation banning bullfighting. Lawmakers passed the bill 93-2 on Tuesday. Activists have spent many years seeking to prohibit the controversial blood sport, which is a centuries-old colonial tradition in the country. The ban will be phased in over a three-year period, during which the state would be required to help find alternative employment options for the tens of thousands of people directly or indirectly dependent on the sector. Reporting from Bogota, Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti said the bill had been greenlighted after “years of strenuous political battles”. The once popular tradition, introduced by Spanish colonisers, had been “losing fans in recent years” and had turned into a “pastime for a small elite”, he said. Juan Carlos Losada, a lawmaker with the Liberal Party, told Al Jazeera that the ban would enable the country to re-evaluate the “culture of violence” it had inherited. “The next generations will grow up in a country where culture will define things much more creatively than torturing animals for the amusement of a few insensitive people,” he said. However, bullfighting aficionados described the ban as an assault on the freedoms of minorities, as well as a problem for cities where these events draw thousands of visitors. Matador Johan Andres Paloma said his calling was “a symbol of identity” for many Colombians. Bullfighting was once a popular event in Colombia, broadcast live by multiple television networks. But the tradition has come under increased scrutiny as views change about animal welfare, and many find it unacceptable to see an animal suffer for entertainment’s sake. In 2018, the Constitutional Court recognised bullfights as part of Colombia’s cultural tradition. But the capital Bogota – one of the oldest bullfighting cities in the Americas – has since outlawed the injuring or killing of bulls. The city of Medellin also imposed restrictions. Still, the practice remains popular in cities like Cali and Manizales. According to Paloma, some 300 events are held annually at about 70 locations in Colombia. Bullfighting originated in the Iberian Peninsula and is still legal in seven other countries – Ecuador, France, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain and Venezuela. Other countries in the region, including Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Guatemala, have banned the blood sport. Adblock test (Why?)
Photos: South Africans vote in a pivotal election
South Africans are voting at schools, community centres, and in large white tents set up in open fields in an election seen as the country’s most important in 30 years, which could put the young democracy in unknown territory. At stake on Wednesday is the three-decade dominance of the African National Congress (ANC) party, which led South Africa out of apartheid’s brutal white minority rule in 1994. It is now the target of a new generation of discontent in a country of 62 million people – half of whom are estimated to be living in poverty. After casting his vote, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had no doubt his ANC would win with a majority and remain in government. Africa’s most advanced economy has some of the world’s deepest socioeconomic problems, including the worst unemployment rate at approximately 32 percent. The lingering inequality, with poverty and joblessness disproportionately affecting the Black majority, threatens to unseat the party that promised to end injustice by bringing down apartheid under the slogan of a better life for all. “Our main issue here in our community is the lack of jobs,” said Samuel Ratshalingwa, who was near the front of the queue at the same school in the Johannesburg township of Soweto where Ramaphosa voted. “We have to use the vote to make our voices heard about this problem,” said Ratshalingwa, who came out before 7am (05:00GMT) on a chilly winter morning. After winning six successive national elections, several polls have the ANC’s support at less than 50 percent before this one, an unprecedented drop. It might lose its majority in parliament for the first time, although it is widely expected to hold the most seats. The ANC won 57.5 percent of the vote in the last national election in 2019, its worst result to date and down from a high of nearly 70 percent of the vote 20 years ago. Ramaphosa has promised to “do better”. The ANC has asked for more time and patience. South Africans vote for parties, not directly for their president. The parties then get seats in parliament according to their share of the vote and those lawmakers elect the president after the election. The ANC has always had a majority in parliament since 1994. The election was to be held on one day across South Africa’s nine provinces, with nearly 28 million people registered to vote at more than 23,000 polling stations. Final results are expected by Sunday. While 80 percent of South Africans are Black, it’s a multiracial country with significant populations of white people, those of Indian descent, those with biracial heritage known locally as the “Coloured” community, and others. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump mocks ‘wacko’ De Niro in late-night rant after actor’s chaotic presser
Former President Trump ridiculed Robert De Niro as “pathetic” and a “wacko” after the liberal actor’s chaotic conference on Tuesday outside a Manhattan courthouse was widely derided. In a late-night post on Truth Social, Trump tore into the two-time Academy Award winner who has angrily attacked Trump for years and on Tuesday claimed that Trump “wants to destroy” the city and the nation and eventually could destroy the entire world. “I never knew how small, both mentally and physically, Wacko Former Actor Robert De Niro was,” Trump wrote at around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday. “Today, De Niro, who suffers from an incurable case of, commonly known in the medical community as TDS, was met, outside the Courthouse, with a force far greater than the Radical Left – MAGA.” ROBERT DE NIRO’S ‘OVER-THE-TOP’ TIRADE WAS A ‘STUPID MISTAKE’ BY THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN: KARL ROVE “Robert, whose movies, artistry, and brand have gone WAY DOWN IN VALUE since he entered the political arena at the request of Crooked Joe Biden, looked so pathetic and sad out there,” Trump said. “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio!!!” Conservatives compared the press conference, which was disrupted by hecklers and a car alarm, to an episode of the satirical HBO show, “Veep.” “Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city, but the country. And eventually he could destroy the world,” De Niro fumed, reading prepared remarks on Tuesday. “I owe this city a lot. And that’s why it’s so weird that Donald Trump is just across the street because he doesn’t belong in my city. I don’t know where he belongs, but he certainly doesn’t belong here. We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” De Niro added. ROBERT DE NIRO CLAIMS TRUMP ‘COULD DESTROY THE WORLD’ OUTSIDE MANHATTAN COURT De Niro was joined by the Biden campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, who called Trump a “chaos agent,” as well as former D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone and former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who were both present at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. They have been deeply critical of Trump’s conduct around the riot and said he’s unfit to return to office. After the remarks wrapped up, the situation soon descended into chaos as De Niro was heckled by Trump supporters as he was leaving the podium. He even got into a shouting match with one man in a MAGA hat who called him a “washed-up actor.” The Trump campaign held a separate press conference Tuesday, following the Biden campaign’s presser with De Niro. Trump campaign senior adviser Steven Cheung called the Biden camp’s press conference “election interference of the highest order.” “Crooked Joe Biden and his campaign are in complete freakout mode,” he added. Fox News’ Kristine Parks and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Could verdict in Trump criminal trial upend the presidential election?
With former President Trump’s criminal trial now in the hands of the jury, a pending verdict in the historic case could have serious consequences in the 2024 election between the former president and President Biden. Trump currently holds a slight edge both in national polling and in public opinion surveys in most of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide their rematch. However, Trump faces the possibility of being convicted on some or all of the nearly three-dozen state felony charges he faces in his trial in New York City, which is the first in the nation’s history for a former or current president. There is also the prospect of a hung jury or an acquittal. Could any of these legal outcomes alter the current trajectory in the White House race? CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS DEVELOPMENTS ON THE TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL Veteran pollster Chris Anderson, a member of the Fox News Election Decision Team and the Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said that he did not think “a guilty verdict would fundamentally change the landscape of the race.” Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who also serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, noted that “prior to 2020, no one would have thought that a candidate could survive a criminal conviction.” “But times and circumstances have evolved. And while the specific findings of the jury could matter, I think there is a sense that a conviction in this case would not appreciably change the dynamics of the race,” Shaw emphasized. Both pointed to the fact that “attitudes are so set in concrete” regarding both the former Republican president and his Democratic successor in the White House. Trump is charged with falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in return for her silence about allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors have argued that this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the 2016 election. WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP AND BIDEN AS THEY CAREEN TOWARDS NEXT MONTH’S FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media. The former president has repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels, and he has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the case is a “SHAM TRIAL instigated and prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.” Trump has also been fined a couple of times and threatened with jail by the judge in the case for violating a gag order aimed at protecting witnesses and jurors from the former president’s verbal attacks. According to a Fox News national poll conducted earlier this month, nearly half of registered voters questioned said Trump had done something illegal when it comes to violations of campaign finance laws, with another quarter saying he had done something unethical. THE BLUE STATES TRUMP AIMS TO FLIP RED IN HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH BIDEN Only 27% said the former president had done nothing seriously wrong. However, that number jumped to 54% among Trump supporters. That same survey indicated that voters were roughly divided on whether Trump’s legal treatment was fair (51%) or unfair (47%). There was an expected extremely wide partisan divide, with nine out of 10 Democrats saying the former president’s treatment was fair and 85% of Republicans disagreeing. By a 56%-44% margin, a CBS News poll indicated a majority of Americans said Trump was definitely or probably guilty of a crime in the case. However, there was a vast partisan divide on the issue. Would a Trump guilty verdict dramatically alter the current state of play in the presidential showdown? Recent national polling points to a very small – but potentially decisive – drop in support for Trump if he’s convicted in court. Sixty-two percent of registered voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey said a guilty verdict would make no difference to their vote for president. Fifteen percent said it would make them more likely to cast a ballot for Trump and 21% said it would make them less likely to vote for the former president. Additionally, eight out of 10 Trump supporters surveyed in an ABC News/Ipsos poll said they would still back the presumptive GOP presidential nominee if he was found guilty in court. Sixteen percent said they would reconsider their support and 4% said they would no longer back Trump. Additionally, a Reuters-Ipsos poll indicated a two-point -point shift away from Trump if the former president’s convicted, with a bigger six-point shift if Trump is put behind bars. Anderson compared a potential guilty verdict to the infamous video that briefly damaged Trump’s chances of winning the 2016 presidential election. “We might see an ‘Access Hollywood’ type slump in Trump’s poll numbers, where some of his less devoted supporters sour on him temporarily, but then by November it will seem forgivable,” Anderson said. ” So I don’t think a guilty verdict would fundamentally change the landscape of the race, but it will certainly be a new contour that could be meaningful in a close race.” Shaw, who served as a top strategist on former President George W. Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns, said that “the case is esoteric and the prosecution and judge have been painted as partisan hacks by not only the Trump team but by many legal analysts.” “This framing has influenced the opinions of voters, most of whom have already made up their minds about Trump and the charges he faces,” Shaw emphasized. However, what about an acquittal or a hung jury
Delhi hits 52.3 degrees, highest-ever temperature recorded in….
Meanwhile, Delhi’s power demand has risen to an all-time high of 8,302 MW amid heatwave conditions.
Why The Texas Tribune Festival creates space for important conversations
There are several new names joining our annual celebration of and commitment to a stronger democracy.
Biden campaign seeks to halt slide with Black voters with new initiative
President Biden is launching a new effort to reach out to Black voters as polls show the president is losing ground with that key Democratic constituency to his rival, former President Donald Trump. The Biden-Harris campaign on Wednesday announced an eight-figure spending blitz to drive engagement with Black student organizations, community groups and faith centers nationally and in battleground states as the president seeks to rally support for his reelection. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to speak at a rally in Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon for the first official “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” event. “Today’s launch of the Black Voters for Biden-Harris coalition is yet another example of our campaign working diligently to earn every single vote. This coalition and the newly announced summer outreach and engagement programming serve as the next phase of our campaign’s ongoing historic investments in outreach to the backbone of the Biden-Harris coalition – Black voters,” said Quentin Fulks, the Biden-Harris campaign’s principal deputy campaign manager. “While we are busy putting in the work to earn Black America’s support — Donald Trump continues to show just how ignorant he is. Hosting janky rap concerts to hide the fact that he lacks the resources and competence to genuinely engage our community,” Fulks said. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO NOMINATE BIDEN, HARRIS VIRTUALLY AHEAD OF CHICAGO CONVENTION The Biden rally comes days after Trump held a rally in the Bronx, drawing as many as 10,000 people in the bluest part of deep blue New York City, according to law enforcement. In his speech, Trump emphasized that high inflation seen under Biden’s first term in the White House has had a disproportionate effect on Black and Hispanic families and vowed to turn the economy around if voters send him back to the White House. Trump’s decision to target minority voters in places like New York, where Republicans have not carried the state in decades, reflects the Trump campaign’s belief that Biden is showing weakness with key Democratic constituencies. Polls back that theory up. A recent Fox News Poll found Biden with 72% support among Black voters, up from 66% in February, but lagging his 79% before the 2020 election. The November 2020 Fox News Voter Analysis found 91% of Black voters sided with Biden. A New York Times/Siena poll of six battleground states found 76% of Black voters rate the economy today as “fair” or “poor,” while only 22% said it was “excellent” or “good.” The poll found that Black Americans, like other Americans, rank the economy as their No. 1 issue. DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY CONCERNED BIDEN CAMPAIGN IS ‘DOOMED,’ WORRY TRUMP MAY EVEN WIN BLUE STATES: REPORT The Biden-Harris campaign promises to ramp up outreach to Black voters in the coming months to prevent that from happening. In addition to Wednesday’s rally in Philadelphia, Biden will join an event with Black-owned small businesses in the city and the campaign will put on an event with national organizations and local community members “focused on direct voter contact.” YOUNG, BLACK AND REPUBLICAN: HOUSE CONSERVATIVE AIMS TO WIN BLACK VOTERS OVER WITH COGNAC AND CIGARS Throughout the summer, the Biden campaign will partner with Black groups to reach Black voters and build the campaign’s presence in swing states and register people to vote. “Our campaign believes that Black voters deserve to hear from Team Biden-Harris, and they deserve to have their vote earned, not assumed,” the Biden campaign said. “That’s exactly what we are doing through historic investments in Black media and outreach, creative engagement efforts, culturally competent content and innovative organizing initiatives. No campaign has valued Black voters like we have, including through investing earlier and with more money than ever before talking to Black voters.” The Biden team also accuses Trump of “running on an anti-Black agenda” and “talking down to Black voters.” The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.