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☆ Who is Juan Merchan? What to know about the judge in Trump’s hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan is a seasoned jurist who is no stranger to Trump’s orbit. In the lead-up to the start of the trial, Trump fanned the flames on social media with his views on the judge. “Judge Merchan was always well-prepared, accessible, and – most importantly in the Weisselberg matter – a man of his word. Trump also claimed Judge Merchan has ruled against him in pretrial motions “because his daughter makes money by working to ‘Get Trump.’”Loren Merchan has not commented publicly on the case. David Paterson appointed him to the New York State Court of Claims in 2009, the same year he began serving as an acting New York Supreme Court judge.

Persons: Donald, Juan Merchan, Allen Weisselberg, Steve, Trump, Merchan, “ Judge Merchan, ” Nicholas Gravante, Weisselberg, ” Gravante, Judge Merchan, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Donald Trump, bode, ” Agnifilo, ” Merchan, ’ Trump, Loren Merchan, Joe Biden, didn’t, ‘ Get, ’ ” Loren Merchan, “, ” Trump, ”, Anna Gristina, Timothy Parlatore, “ I’ve, ” Parlatore, Brendan Tracy, ” Tracy, Earl Ward, it’s, ” Ward, Michael Bloomberg, David Paterson Organizations: CNN, The, New, Trump Organization, Trump, Republican, Attorney’s Office, Democratic, Super Liberal Democrat, ‘, ‘ Get Trump, Authentic, Bloomberg News, Manhattan Mental Health, Attorney’s, Bronx Defenders, Mental Health, New York, Court, Democratic Gov, New York Times, Baruch College, Times, Hofstra University Locations: York, Manhattan, “, Senegalese, Long Island, New, Bronx, Bogotá, Colombia, United States, New York City, Jackson Heights , Queens, New York

☆ Opinion | My Joe Biden Fantasy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Maureen Dowd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I slipped away from this nightmarish election campaign into a delicious dream the other evening. I dreamed that, when Joe Biden gets up to reset his beleaguered presidency at the State of the Union address, he gives this astonishing speech:Mr. Speaker. Man, Mike Johnson was a nobody just weeks ago — now he’s Neville Chamberlain. I remember how to lift people up, not tear them down and pit them against one another. Donald Trump wants to yank us back on women’s rights, the environment, mail-in voting — actually, all voting.

Persons: Joe Biden, Mike Johnson, Neville Chamberlain, Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump, yank, — Organizations: State, NATO Locations: United States, Vegas, L.A

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An iconic chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, inspired countless Native American children as a powerful but humble leader who expanded early education and rural healthcare. A public ceremony honoring Mankiller’s legacy is set for Tuesday in Tahlequah in northeast Oklahoma, where the Cherokee Nation is headquartered. The rollout of the Barbie doll featuring Mankiller wearing a ribbon skirt, black shoes and carrying a woven basket has been met with conflicting reactions. I didn't know it was coming.”Olaya also wonders how her mother would feel about being honored with a Barbie doll. “I have a warm feeling about the thought of my granddaughters playing with a Wilma Mankiller Barbie,” she said.

Persons: Wilma Mankiller, Mankiller’s, Mankiller, —, ”, Chuck Hoskin, Mattel, ” Hoskin, “ Wilma Mankiller, ” Mankiller, Bessie Coleman, Black, Angelou, Ida B, Wells, Jane Goodall, Madam C.J, Walker, Wilma Barbie, ” Stacy Leeds, Regina Thompson, doesn't, “, ” Thompson, Wilma, ” Mattel, Devin Tucker, Charlie Soap, Kristina Kiehl, Kiehl, “ Regrettably, Felicia Olaya, Olaya, ” Olaya, ‘ I’m, Diana, “ I’m, Wilma Mankiller Barbie Organizations: OKLAHOMA CITY, Cherokee, Cherokee Nation, Indian, Mattel, Arizona State University, Associated Press, AP, Cherokees Locations: toymaker, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Mankiller, American

☆ When people move out, wildlife moves in: 10 abandoned places reclaimed by nature
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Arya Jyothi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

The temple and surrounding forested areas were abandoned three centuries later, when the king moved the capital of the empire away from Angkor. People started moving out in the 1990s and by 2002, the village was completely abandoned. People started moving out in the 1990s and by 2002, the village was completely abandoned. The Whanganui River holds 18 fish species including eels, freshwater crayfish and black flounders. Graham Harries/ShutterstockLocated off the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales, stands a time capsule in the form of a long-abandoned island fort.

Persons: Prohm, King Jayavarman, Alexander Arndt, Angelina Jolie’s, “ Lara Croft, pileated gibbons, silvered, Johannes Eisele, Leo Francini, Marcio Martins, University of São Paulo, Martins, “, Al Madam, Giuseppe Cacace, Yasuyoshi Chiba, James Beasley, allan wright, Kilda, Graham Harries, Shutterstock, Nicholas Mueller, ”, Mueller Organizations: CNN, Wildlife Alliance, ., Steam, SS, Titanic, Cyclone, University of São, Google Arts & Culture, National Institute of Ecology, Al, Getty, United Arab, Japan Earthquake, University of Georgia, TED, UNESCO Locations: CNN —, Europe, Ta Prohm, Cambodia, Angkor Thom, Khmer, Angkor, Shengshan Island, China, AFP, Houtouwan, Shengshan, Zhoushan, Mangapurua, , New Zealand, Nowhere, Mangapurua Valley, New, Whanganui, North, Australia, Grande, Brazil, Sao Paulo, Marcio, Korea, South Korea, Al Madam Village, UAE, Al, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sharjah, Fukushima, Japan, St Kilda, Scotland, Scotland’s, Kilda, Atlantic, Soay, Boreray, Fort, Wales, Pembrokeshire

☆ Opinion | The Squandered Potential of Tim Scott
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Osita Nwanevu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The book itself suggested otherwise — that Mr. Scott was not only as fixated on his own color as the critics he scorned but also as determined to make use of it. Walker, whom Mr. Scott evidently sees as his historic peers. To be sure, the substance of Mr. Carson’s commentary on race did resemble Mr. Scott’s. That, to me, is racism.”But unlike Mr. Scott, Mr. Carson rarely discussed race of his own volition, on or off the stump. So where Mr. Carson ran largely as a conventional evangelical Republican candidate — racial dog whistles and all — Mr. Scott actively tried and failed to make a race-based message connect.

Persons: Scott, Jackie Robinson, Madam C.J, Walker, Scott’s, Ben Carson’s, Carson, Dennis Prager, ” —, “, ”, Molly Ball, Carson’s, Ball, Mr Organizations: Republican, South Locations: The, South Carolina

☆ Biden registers for South Carolina primary, seen as first test of re-election strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The filing marks a return to a state that Biden credits with catapulting him to the White House. Biden ousted Iowa and New Hampshire from the top spots on the party's nominating calendar in favor of South Carolina. The move forces any Democratic challenger to Biden to compete first in South Carolina instead of Iowa and New Hampshire, two largely white states which both rejected him in 2020. Biden did not register for New Hampshire's primary, slated for January, after the state refused the Democratic Party's request to move the date back. A CNN poll published on Oct. 31 found that Biden's overall approval rating in South Carolina was just 33%, lower than his national approval, which has hovered around 40% in most polls.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, “, Kamala Harris, catapulting, Joe Biden, Carol Fowler, Harris, Phillips, Williamson, Jimmy Carter's, “ We’re, David Ljunggren, Leslie Adler, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Friday, South Carolina Democratic, Black, Palmetto State, Biden, Democratic, Democratic National Committee, Iowa, New, CNN, Thomson Locations: Minnesota, Palmetto, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa, Nevada and Michigan

☆ Pope, on Visit to Military Cemetery, Says There Are No Real Winners in War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Philip PullellaROME (Reuters) - There are no real winners in any war, Pope Francis said on Thursday during a visit to a World War Two military cemetery, with conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine on his mind. The cemetery, in an area of Rome that was the scene of street fighting during World War Two, is the final resting place of about 425 soldiers from Britain and its former colonies who died while fighting in Italy. Truncated lives, lives without a future, here," he said"I thought of the parents, of the mothers who received that letter: 'Madam, I have the honour of telling you your son is a hero.' So many tears in these truncated lives," he said. So many people, young and not so young, in the wars of the world, even those closer to us, in Europe and beyond ... so many dead".

Persons: Philip Pullella ROME, Pope Francis, Francis, Israel, Philip Pullella, Gareth Jones Organizations: Roman Catholic Church Locations: East, Ukraine, Commonwealth, Gaza, Rome, Britain, Italy, Europe

In later years, she stepped over the White House threshold as a visiting senator and Cabinet member, but never in the long-sought role of Madam President. She fell short each time, and kept her distance from the White House during the Trump years. She again was a regular presence at the White House, with a seat next to Obama at the Cabinet table. She and President Clinton first celebrated the Praemium Imperiale prizes at the White House in 1994. She also showcased American sculpture in the first lady's garden at the White House.

Persons: Hillary Clinton, ”, Clinton, —, She's, Obama, Madam, Jill Biden, she’s, Lisa Caputo, Clinton's, Bill Clinton, Ellen Fitzpatrick, Jacqueline Kennedy’s, John F, Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Hillary, Fitzpatrick, “, “ I’ve, I’ve, Monica Lewinsky, Chelsea, Miss Lewinsky, Sen, Barack Obama, Osama bin Laden, Melanne Verveer, Hillary Clinton’s, Verveer, I’m Organizations: WASHINGTON, Vogue, Japan Art Association, White, Trump, University of New, White House, U.S, Senate, Democratic, National Endowment, Arts, Humanities Locations: Arkansas, U.S, University of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Martha’s, New York

☆ Out West, the Gay Cowboy Roams Free
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Evan Moffitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

TWO MEN, A grizzled sheriff and a gunslinging vigilante, confront each other in a dusty saloon town. When Silva (Pedro Pascal) visits his former lover Jake (Ethan Hawke), he rekindles their romance before revealing less amorous intentions. Intrigue ensues, and the shock of two gay cowboys gives way to what we might expect from a classic western: shootouts, horseback chases, fugitive justice. This is partly why over the decades many queer artists have made winking references to cowboy culture. Then there was the gay disco troupe the Village People’s dime-store cowboy, Randy Jones, who was meant to be read as a tongue-in-cheek archetype (one since referenced by musicians like Lil Nas X and Orville Peck).

Persons: Pedro Almodóvar’s, Silva, Pedro Pascal, Jake, Ethan Hawke, Almodóvar’s, John Wayne, Bob Mizer, Andy Warhol, ”, Randy Jones, Lil Nas X, Orville Peck Organizations: Marlboro, Lonesome Cowboys Locations: It’s, Spanish, America

☆ How Much Do You Know About Famous Entrepreneurs? Test Your Knowledge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Daniel Akst | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sarah Breedlove (driving), better known as Madam C.J. Walker, was one of the first female Black millionaires in the U.S. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesEntrepreneurs mostly set out to make money, but whatever their intentions, some end up changing the world. They usher in the future by bringing us new goods, services and ideas, inevitably sweeping away some aspect of what has come before.

Persons: Sarah Breedlove, Madam C.J, Walker Organizations: Getty Locations: U.S

☆ What Really Happened Inside This Nazi Brothel?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Charlotte Shane | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

THE MADAM AND THE SPYMASTER: The Secret History of the Most Famous Brothel in Wartime Berlin, by Nigel Jones, Urs Brunner and Julia SchrammelThe brothel owner Kitty Schmidt began to sneak portions of her savings out of Nazi Germany sometime in the mid-1930s, often by sending her girls to London with cash sewn in their underwear. By 1938, officials had caught on, but thanks to her police connections, she wasn’t formally charged with currency smuggling. If she wanted to flee the Third Reich, it had to be now. Although Schellenberg’s memoirs describe the existence of such an establishment, where all the staff, “from the maids to the waiter,” were spies for the Nazi regime, most of what we know is likely invented. In “The Madam and the Spymaster,” the journalists Nigel Jones, Urs Brunner and Julia Schrammel try to uncover the facts.

Persons: Nigel Jones, Urs Brunner, Julia Schrammel, Kitty Schmidt, wasn’t, Kitty, Walter Schellenberg, Schellenberg, Albrecht, ” Organizations: Nazi, SS, Prinz Locations: Wartime Berlin, Nazi Germany, London, Italian

☆ Iga Świątek continues defense of French Open title with straight sets victory over American Coco Gauff
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Iga Świątek remains on course to retain her French Open title after easing past Coco Gauff 6-4 6-2 to reach the semifinals at Roland-Garros. In a rematch of last year’s final, Świątek ultimately had too much quality for Gauff to handle as her relentless power and consistency eventually broke the American down. It wasn’t easy, especially with the wind today, but I’m happy I’m through to the semifinal.”Swiatek remains on course to successfully defend her French Open title. It proved to be the beginning of the end for Gauff, who was powerless to stop Świątek’s inevitable march to victory. Świątek, according to Opta, is the first player since Conchita Martinez in 1995 to reach the semifinals at the French Open having dropped 15 games or fewer.

Persons: Coco Gauff, Garros, Świątek, Gauff, Beatriz Haddad Maia, “, Swiatek, Julian Finney, Lesia Tsurenko, Conchita Martinez, Sabalenka, Karolína Muchová, Ted Lasso, ” Świątek Organizations: CNN, Roland, WTA, Tennis, Getty, Świątek, Garros, Madam Locations: Paris

☆ Opinion: How will Russia’s war end? Zelensky’s representative in the US has an unflinching view
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he arrives in Washington on December 21, 2022. From the start, our president has been very vocal, saying that we need to liberate Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We heard it also from our strategic partners here, and even at the recent phone call of our president with President Xi. Andelman: So why did President Zelensky recently have a long conversation with Xi Jinping? Andelman: You know President Zelensky very well personally.

☆ Best rice dishes: 20 delicious specialties from around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

And while famous rice dishes such as sushi, fried rice and paella are among the most prominent in the global spotlight, there are so many more rice recipes out there to put on your radar – and seek out on your travels. Wali wa kukaanga, KenyaWali wa kukaanga is Kenya’s answer to fried rice, and translates to just that in Swahili. So it’s no surprise that the Polynesian island country’s most popular rice dish, alaisa fa’apopo, has ties to the coconut, too. Thai fried rice (Khao Pad), ThailandThai fried rice uses the layering of flavors that's characteristic of the country's cuisine. ArenaCreative/Adobe StockWhen it comes to fried rice, the Chinese version tends to steal the spotlight.

☆ A Dancer’s Life: Chita Rivera on Working Hard and Learning From the Best
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Juan A. Ramírez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“She makes you feel immediately part of a team,” Benanti said. “She’s not just out there for herself. “When you hear Chita, you see Chita. When you work with somebody like that, their range is so enormous that there’s nothing you can’t write,” he said of developing characters with Rivera. This constant work is all she knows, Rivera said, though it has left her with a slight blind spot when it comes to the business she so loves.

☆ As Chinese military exercises, US lawmaker pledges training for Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Michael McCaul, Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, who is leading a delegation of US lawmakers visiting Taiwan, speaks during a news conference at the parliament in Taipei, Taiwan April 7, 2023. "As the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, I sign off on all foreign military sales, including weapons to Taiwan, and I promise you, Madam President, we will deliver those weapons," he said. "And we will provide training to your military - not for war, but for peace," he added, without giving details. The United States is set to expand the number of troops helping train Taiwanese forces, two U.S. officials told Reuters in February. China describes Taiwan as the most sensitive and important issue in its relations with the United States, and the topic is a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington.

☆ Putin berates US and EU envoys, top official says US aid fuelling Ukraine war's 'hot phase'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The ambassadors were among 17 who presented their diplomatic credentials to Putin at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin. Putin told new U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy that U.S. support for a revolution in Ukraine in 2014 had led to the current situation where Russia and Ukraine were in conflict. Putin took a similar line with the new EU ambassador, Roland Galharague, telling him "the European Union initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia". In his opening remarks, Putin said Russia was open to constructive partnership with every country and would not isolate itself.

☆ Putin berates US and EU ambassadors at Kremlin ceremony
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday told the new U.S. and EU ambassadors in blunt language that their countries were responsible for a dramatic deterioration in relations since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine last year. The ambassadors were among 17 who formally presented their diplomatic credentials to Putin at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin. Putin told new U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy that U.S. support for a revolution in Ukraine in 2014 had led to the current situation where Russia and Ukraine were in conflict. Putin took a similar line with the new EU ambassador, Roland Galharague, who took up his position in September, telling him that "the European Union initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia". Russia says it was forced to intervene in Ukraine to stem Western interference that was becoming a threat to its security.

On Friday, Trump, who was not charged in his company's case, lashed out at Merchan on his Truth Social platform. "The Judge 'assigned' to my Witch Hunt Case, a 'Case' that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME," wrote Trump, who has launched a campaign to regain the presidency in 2024. Merchan has been a Manhattan criminal court judge since 2009 after prior stints on the state's Court of Claims, which hears cases against the state and its agencies, and family court in the Bronx. Merchan presided over the 2012 case of the so-called "Soccer Mom Madam" Anna Gristina, which garnered lurid headlines in the New York media. Gristina sued Merchan in 2021 to unseal records in her case as part of an effort to vacate her record.

☆ Meet Juan Merchan, the Manhattan judge scheduled to oversee Donald Trump's criminal case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal case is Juan Merchan. "The Judge 'assigned' to my Witch Hunt Case, a 'Case' that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME," Trump said. Trump is scheduled to appear before Merchan in Manhattan court on Tuesday afternoon. In 2009, he was appointed as a trial judge in Manhattan, where he's been since. The top court in the state — the equivalent of the US Supreme Court — is known as the New York Court of Appeals.

☆ Kamala Harris announces Tanzania trade boost during Africa tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Nuzulack Dausen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris talks to her Tanzanian counterpart Philip Mpango as she arrives in Tanzania, the second stop of a three-nation tour of Africa, at the Julius Nyerere Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania March 29, 2023. "Working together, it is our shared goal to increase economic investment in Tanzania and strengthen our economic ties," Harris said, listing a number of initiatives. China has invested heavily in Africa in the last two decades, and last November the Tanzanian president met China's President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing. Under Hassan, Tanzania has returned to international engagement after a period of isolationism enforced by her predecessor John Magufuli, who cancelled all his ministers' foreign trips and discouraged travel. "Madam President, under your leadership Tanzania has taken important and meaningful steps and President Joe Biden and I applaud you," Harris said, standing alongside Hassan.

It's something that the Treasury and regulators did in the depths of the 2008 global financial crisis, but regulatory reforms in 2010 required a streamlined approval from Congress. Meanwhile, hardline Republicans oppose any increase in the current $250,000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp insurance limit. Yellen explained to the U.S. Senate on March 16 that there would be no guarantee for deposits in banks not deemed a systemic threat, spooking community banks. A temporary systemwide deposit guarantee is needed to stop the bleeding," Ackman said on Twitter after Yellen's testimony to a Senate committee on Wednesday. Yellen is due to testify later on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

☆ Actor Tom Sizemore, known for tough-guy roles and scandal, dead at 61
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Actor Tom Sizemore, known as much for his struggles with drug addiction and run-ins with the law as for his tough-guy roles in such films as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Black Hawk Down," died on Friday at age 61, said his manager, Charles Lago. Sizemore's first major leading role came in the 1997 horror thriller "The Relic," again playing a police detective. On television, Sizemore won plaudits for his starring role as a police detective in the short-lived CBS television drama "Robbery Homicide Division." He was arrested again on suspicion of domestic abuse in 2016 and the following year pleaded no contest, the legal equivalent of guilty in California, and was sentenced to three year's probation. Sizemore chronicled his turbulent life in the 2013 memoir, "By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There."

☆ Destiny unites us, Paraguay leader says as Taiwan ties hang in balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and visiting Paraguay President Mario Abdo Benitez arrive at the welcome ceremony in front of the Presidential building in Taipei, Taiwan, February 16, 2023. Speaking at a welcome ceremony in Taipei attended by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, Abdo said the Taiwanese people deserve the highest admiration, respect, and affection from his country. Tsai, recalling her two trips to Paraguay as president, said the two sides continued to deepen their friendship. Paraguay's Taiwan ties have been under pressure in recent years, especially from the country's beef producers and farmers, who see the relationship as an obstacle to gaining access to the world's largest market for their products. China views Taiwan as one of its provinces, with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei hotly disputes.

☆ Full Text of President Biden’s State of the Union Address
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden delivering his State of the Union address Tuesday. President Biden delivered his second State of the Union address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress. Here’s the text of his speech. Madam Vice President. Our first lady and second gentleman.

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