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☆ Iran’s president has died in office. Here’s what happens next
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Once seen as a likely successor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, President Ebrahim Raisi has died in office, leaving the Islamic Republic’s hardline establishment facing an uncertain future. An ultraconservative president, 63-year-old Raisi was killed Sunday, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other high-ranking officials, in a helicopter crash in Iran’s remote northwest. Raisi’s death has raised questions about who will eventually succeed Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful man in the country. According to the constitution, the 88-member Assembly of Experts picks the successor to the Supreme Leader after his death. “(This) definitely throws all the plans that offices of the Supreme Leader probably had out the window,” Vaez told CNN’s Paula Newton.

Persons: CNN —, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amir, growingly restive, ” Ali Vaez, Power, Mohammad Mokhber, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, —, Hassan Rouhani, ” Parsi, ” Vaez, ” Iran's, Iran’s, Khamenei, Azin, AP “ Ebrahim Raisi’s, ” Karim Sadjadpour, Leader’s, Mojtaba Khamanei, Sadjadpour, Vaez, CNN’s Paula Newton, Islamic Republic ” Organizations: CNN, Iran’s, Islamic, Foreign, IRI, Group, Experts, Quincy Institute, Responsible, Revolutionary Guards, Iran's, Observers, Iran’s Guardian Council, Guardian Council, Moj News Agency, AP, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran, Islamic Republic, Washington ,, Tehran, Iranian, Raisi, Varzaghan

☆ Opinion | Ruben Gallego and the Fight for Arizona
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Tom Zoellner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Arizona has become an epicenter of political discord and conflict over issues that have roiled the national discourse. In the fall, the outrage over an abortion ban from 1864 and a potential ballot initiative on the issue are likely to motivate Democrats, and the outrage over chaos at the border is likely to motivate Republicans. The margins in recent elections have been razor-thin: Purple Arizona is very much up for grabs in this election and beyond. Democrats might be thinking about building on their success in recent elections to secure the state as a future Sun Belt bulwark. Democrats are hoping that future may be embodied by Representative Ruben Gallego, who is running for a Senate seat to replace Kyrsten Sinema.

Persons: Representative Ruben Gallego, Kari Lake Organizations: Sun, Representative, Kyrsten, Republican Locations: Arizona, Texas, Florida

☆ Opinion: Iran’s president is dead. The cruel show goes on
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and senior columnist for World Politics Review. Expect clerics and security forces – the military and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – to compete to see who can gain the upper hand, with hardliners in both groups seeking to position themselves for dominance. The chance of a kinder, gentler Iran emerging after new presidential elections are held in 50 days are essentially nil. He won, but most voters spoiled their ballots or stayed home, with the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Now Raisi is dead and the odds are that he will be replaced by another hardliner.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, –, Ali Khamenei, Khamenei acolyte, ”, Mahsa Amini, ” Raisi Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Islamic, Ukraine, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Army, Amnesty International, Green Movement, US Locations: Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Damascus, Russia, China, North Korea, Tehran, Saudi Arabia

☆ Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi dies in helicopter crash
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewIranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died after a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran, multiple news agencies reported, citing Iranian state media. Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi told IRNA, Iran's state-run news agency, that a helicopter carrying Raisi and other senior Iranian officials was forced to make a "hard landing" on Sunday, without providing further details. Related storiesIran's foreign minister, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, and other officials were also on board the helicopter. Raisi is considered a "hard-liner" and a "protégé" of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi has led Iran through heightened tensions in the region, including the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Persons: —, Ebrahim Raisi, Ahmed Vahidi, IRNA, Mohammad Mokhber, Al, Mokhber, Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Organizations: Service, Business, Raisi, Associated Press, Iranian, United, United States Institute of Peace Locations: Iran, Iran's, Iran's East Azerbaijan province, Azerbaijan's, Al Jazeera, Israel, Gaza, Iranian, Damascus, United States, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Toxic Political Culture Has Even Some Slovaks Calling Country ‘a Black Hole.’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than a quarter century has passed since the United States called Slovakia a “black hole in the center of Europe” — an island of autocratic malaise surrounded by spry new democracies. The insult, leveled in 1997 by Secretary of State Madeline Albright against a country that has since joined NATO and the European Union, still stings. “We are back in a black hole; I’m not sure we ever got out of it,” said Roman Kvasnica, a prominent Slovak lawyer who denounces a political culture in which threats and personal insults are routine. In his own legal work he has faced numerous threats, including a warning that he would get a “bullet in the head” from a tycoon charged with ordering the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist digging into government corruption. Mr. Havel served as the first president of post-communist Czechoslovakia, the state that in 1993 split amicably into the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia.

Persons: spry, Madeline Albright, Robert Fico, Albright, ”, Roman Kvasnica, Vaclav Havel, Havel Organizations: NATO, European Union, Central, Mr Locations: United States, Slovakia, Europe, Central European, Slovak, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Republic of Slovakia

☆ How Trump’s first term may have laid the groundwork to make his radical immigration agenda a reality
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Phil Mattingly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Trump’s advisers don’t see their agenda as aspirational political messaging. “Think about the first term, but on steroids,” a former senior Trump administration official who is working outside the campaign to draft immigration policy options for a second term. In closed-door fundraisers, Biden has also called attention to the radical nature of Trump’s immigration proposals – something his 2020 campaign used to its advantage. It shouldn’t.”The dramatic scale of Trump’s immigration agenda would have a sweeping effect across the US, Schulte said – one that shouldn’t get lost in debates over his rhetoric. Once viewed as radical and relegated to the fringes of the GOP, Trump’s immigration agenda is now an animating force for most, if not all, Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, don’t, ”, “, Todd Schulte, Joe Biden, Stephen Miller, ” Miller, Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s, Miller, ” Trump, Eisenhower, Clinton, Karoline Leavitt, Leavitt, Biden Biden, Biden, Biden’s, would’ve, ” There’s, SSRS, ” Biden, that’s, ” Schulte, Schulte, –, shouldn’t, “ He’s, Steve Vladeck, “ That’s, Neil Gorsuch, – Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett –, Vladeck Organizations: CNN, Republican, Supreme, National Guard, Trump, Democratic, Trump White House, Refugee, US Navy, Pentagon, White, Border Patrol, Department, Office, Senate Democratic, Democrats, Gallup, Biden, ” Trump, GOP, Republicans, Capitol, CNN Supreme, University of Texas Locations: United States, Panama, Mexico, torpedoing, California, America, Michigan, Ohio

☆ Russian strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv region kill at least 11
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows a crater that appeared after a Russian missile strike on a structure at a resort, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 19, 2024. The missile strikes were the latest in what have been constant Russian attacks in recent weeks on the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, where Russian troops have launched an offensive. Rescuers said the initial strike was followed by a second strike around 20 minutes later, targeting emergency crews at the scene in a so-called "double tap". Local governor Oleh Syniehubov said Russian forces shelled two villages of the district with a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher. "Two Patriots for Kharkiv will make a fundamental difference," he said, referring to Patriot missile defence systems.

Persons: gesturing, Rescuers, Yaroslav Trofimko, Oleh Syniehubov, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: REUTERS, Prosecutors, Local, Patriots, Kharkiv, Patriot Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Valentyn, Russia, Kupiansk district

☆ Israeli political tensions boil over, revealing new danger for Netanyahu
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Analysis Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Divisions and disagreements within the Israeli cabinet on the conduct and priorities of the war against Hamas have simmered since the onset of the crisis. That has been a red line for the religious right in the Israeli cabinet. Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, pictured in October, is widely seen to be a leading contender to be the next Israeli leader. Over the next three weeks, compromise may yet keep the war cabinet intact. It would, however, leave the prime minister more exposed to the demands of far-right- members of his cabinet.

Persons: –, Benny Gantz, Mahmoud, Abbas, Gantz, Amir Levy, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Gantz, Itamar Ben Gvir, Yair Lapid, Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, ”, Jack Guez, Yoav Gallant, “, “ Gantz, Anshel Pfeffer, ” Pfeffer, “ Bibi, …, Pfeffer, Gallant, Leo Correa, Bezalel Smotrich Organizations: CNN, Hamas, National Unity Party, Palestinian Authority, Israel, National, Getty, Sunday, Jerusalem Post, AP, Finance Locations: Gaza, “, Iran, Lebanon, Palestinian, Tel Aviv, AFP, Israel, Jerusalem

☆ Helicopter carrying Iran's president 'crashed upon landing,' state media reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewA helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other senior Iranian officials "crashed upon landing" on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without providing further details. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran's border with Azerbaijan when his helicopter crashed upon landing. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, Malik Rahmati, and other officials were on board the helicopter, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Video footage from the crash site reveals the state of the weather conditions. AdvertisementUPDATE - First images of #Iran president's helicopter's area of crash landing, weather conditions unfavourable for flying, search and rescue efforts underway.

Persons: —, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Malik Rahmati, IRNA, UMQ1tVZzw0, Ali Khamenei Organizations: Service, Republic News Agency, Business, Iranian, Associated Press, Nagorno Karabakh Observer, Iran's Locations: Azerbaijan, Jolfa, Tehran, Iran's, Iran's East Azerbaijan, Iran, Nagorno, Iran's East Azerbaijan province, Iraq, Israel

☆ Helicopter carrying Iran’s president suffers a ‘crash,’ state TV says without further details
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A helicopter with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on board "crashed upon landing" on Sunday, state media reported, with weather conditions complicating rescue efforts. "President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran's border with Azerbaijan when his helicopter crashed upon landing in Varzaqan region," it said. Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, was also traveling in the helicopter, along with East Azerbaijan's governor, Malik Rahmati, and Raisi's security detail, it said. State TV IRIB said the helicopter belonged to the Iranian Red Crescent, which Iran's interior minister Ahmad Vahidi said was part of a convoy. Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, IRNA, Raisi, Hossein Amir, Malik Rahmati, IRIB, Ahmad Vahidi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Yemen's Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, East, East Azerbaijan province —, Iran's, Hamas, Hezbollah Locations: New York City, U.S, East Azerbaijan province, Tehran —, Azerbaijan, Varzaqan, Iran, Tehran, Iraq, Raisi, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza

☆ Live Updates: Biden to Speak at Morehouse Graduation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Katie Rogers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

ET Maya King andImage At Morehouse College in Atlanta, discontent over the Gaza war has played out relatively quietly, in classrooms and auditoriums rather than on campus lawns. Yet Mr. Biden appears to be entering a different type of scene at Morehouse. Many started lower on the economic ladder and are more intently focused on their education and their job prospects after graduation. At Morehouse — which has a legacy of civil rights protests and is the alma mater of the Rev. “This should not be a place that cancels people regardless of if we agree with them,” David Thomas, the Morehouse president, said in an interview earlier this month.

Persons: Christian Monterrosa, Biden’s, Kamala Harris, Stephen K, Benjamin, Biden, Morehouse —, Martin Luther King Jr, ” David Thomas, Morehouse, Kitty Bennett Organizations: Morehouse College, The New York Times, Morehouse, Black, Democratic Party Locations: Atlanta, Gaza, Morehouse

☆ Free Speech Becomes a New Battleground in Abortion Litigation - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Linda Greenhouse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There has hardly ever been as fierce a defender of free speech as the current Supreme Court. The court’s version of free speech has become a powerful tool against government regulation. In his majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said the “unduly burdensome” requirement amounted to unconstitutionally compelled speech. Now the question is whether the court’s solicitude toward those who would rather not talk about abortion extends in the other direction. What about state laws that prohibit rather than require offering information about where to get an abortion?

Persons: John Roberts, Janus, Elena Kagan, “, Clarence Thomas Organizations: . American Federation of State, Municipal Employees, ” Locations: . American Federation of State , County, California

☆ The Good News for Biden in Our Battleground Polls
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jess Bidgood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s the weekend! Tonight, we’re looking at a bright spot for Biden in our battleground polls — and, inspired by a certain Supreme Court justice, we want to hear your stories of political spats with your neighbors. A series of polls of battleground states released this week was full of doom and gloom for President Biden. He is trailing Donald Trump in five key states he won in 2020, with Nevada and Georgia looking all but out of reach. Eleven percent of the voters in six battleground states — Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Michigan — said that abortion was the most important issue in deciding their vote, in the polls by The New York Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, Roe, Wade, Michigan —, It’s Organizations: Biden, The New York Times, Siena College, The Philadelphia Inquirer Locations: Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona , Nevada, Michigan

☆ ‘Blockout 2024’ Wants to Send Celebrities to the ‘Digital Guillotine’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As protests over the war in Gaza unfolded blocks away, last week’s Met Gala was largely devoid of political statements on the red carpet. At least, it is on TikTok, the social media platform that was a sponsor of the Met event. Blockout 2024, also referred to as Operation Blockout or Celebrity Block Party, targets high-profile figures who participants feel are not using their profiles and platforms to speak out about the Israel-Hamas war and wider humanitarian crises. The criticism began on May 6. when Haley Kalil (@haleyybaylee on social media), an influencer who was a host on E! News before the event, posted a TikTok video of herself wearing a lavish 18th-century-style floral gown and headdress with audio from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film “Marie Antoinette,” in which Kirsten Dunst proclaims, “Let them eat cake!”

Persons: Blockout, Haley Kalil, Sofia Coppola’s, Marie Antoinette, ”, Kirsten Dunst, “ Organizations: Sofia Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Intruder Who Bludgeoned Pelosi’s Husband Gets 30-Year Sentence
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Tim Arango | Jonathan Wolfe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The man who broke into the San Francisco home of Nancy Pelosi two years ago and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in federal prison, with credit for time already served. The assailant, David DePape, was convicted in November 2023 on federal charges. He admitted on the witness stand during the trial that he had carried out the attack, as he had done before in interviews with the police and media outlets. But he said that he never intended to hurt Ms. Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi. Mr. DePape said his intrusion into the couple’s home in the affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood was part of a plot to kidnap Ms. Pelosi and interrogate her about a supposed corrupt conspiracy led by Ms. Pelosi and other prominent liberal figures.

Persons: Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi, David DePape, Pelosi’s, Paul Pelosi, Mr, DePape, Ms Organizations: San Locations: San Francisco, Pacific Heights

☆ Justice Samuel Alito blames upside-down American flag on his wife and a flap with neighbors
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( John Fritze | Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Alito said that a neighbor had posted a sign saying “F**k Trump” near a school bus stop and then a sign attacking his wife, Martha-Ann Alito. The upside-down flag was a symbol for former President Donald Trump’s supporters who falsely claimed widespread fraud in the presidential election. A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court has not respond to CNN’s requests for comment. “Flying an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement — clearly creates the appearance of bias,” Durbin said in a statement. Renewed calls for ethics reformThe Supreme Court is weighing major cases this term tied to the 2020 election and the attack on the Capitol.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Alito, Martha, Ann Alito, Fox, Donald Trump’s, Tim Walz, “ I’m, Joe Biden’s, “, ”, “ It’s, Trump, Hank Johnson, Clarence Thomas, ” MAGA, Thomas, ” Johnson, ” Sen, Dick Durbin, ” Durbin, Sen, Tom Cotton, Carolina Sen, Lindsey Graham, Jack Smith’s, John Roberts, Sheldon Whitehouse, ” Whitehouse, Roe, Wade, Renee Knake Jefferson, ” Jefferson Organizations: CNN, Fox News, Trump, Democratic, Capitol, Minnesota Gov, New York Times, Times, Gadsden, Georgia Democrat, Committee, Illinois Democrat, Republicans, Arkansas Republican, Republican, Congress, Supreme, Rhode, Rhode Island Democrat, ”, University of Houston Law Center Locations: Minnesota, Alexandria , Virginia, Washington, DC, Georgia, House, Arkansas, ”, Carolina, Rhode Island

☆ Cohen cross-examination resumes at the most critical point of Trump’s trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen goes back on the stand Thursday braced for another bruising day of cross-examination that is shaping up as the most crucial chapter in the first criminal trial of a former president. A suddenly compressed political calendarEvery criminal trial is a grave process since a defendant’s reputation and even liberty is on the line. The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its decision on Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution. That would almost certainly delay Trump’s trial in his federal election interference case until after the election, meaning he wouldn’t be brought to account for the worst attack on democracy in modern times before a subsequent election. In that case, the hush money trial may be the only one held before the election.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Trump, Trump’s, ”, Todd Blanche, CNN’s Paula Reid, Blanche –, Blanche, Reid, —, he’d, It’s, there’d, Joe Biden, Biden, they’d, he’s, Mike Johnson Organizations: CNN, Trump, “, ABC, GOP, Republican Locations: New York, Manhattan, Georgia, Florida

☆ Fico assassination attempt exposes risks for politicians in a polarized Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Luke Mcgee | Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The horrific scenes in Slovakia following the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico are a stark and brutal reminder of the dangers facing those who seek public office. Security personnel apprehend a suspected gunman after Slovakia's Prime Minister was shot in Handlova, Slovakia on May 15, 2024. President Zuzana Caputova appoints Robert Fico the new Slovakian prime minister at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 25 October 2023. In 2022, Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s prime minister after running on an anti-immigration, socially conservative ticket. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead in July 2022 as he gave a campaign speech.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Zuzana Čaputová, ”, George Soros, Čaputová, Fico’s, Zuzana Caputova, Jakub Gavlak, Giorgia Meloni, Covid lockdowns, Jo Cox, DANIEL LEAL, David Amess, Shinzo Abe, Fernando Villavicencio –, – Organizations: CNN, Slovakia's, Getty, Fico, Slovakian, Parliamentary, Parliament, Political, Hamas, British Labour, AFP, Conservative, ISIS, Japanese Locations: Slovakia, Russia, American, Europe, Ukraine, Gaza, Handlova, AFP, Bratislava, Netherlands, Israel, London, Britain

☆ The US Secretary of State gave a war-time rock performance at a bar in Kyiv, leaving some Ukrainians scratching their heads
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Slinging a crimson electric guitar onto his shoulder, Blinken told the crowd he knew they were facing a "really, really difficult time." So much of the world is with you and they're fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. "For ten years, we've been explaining to the free world that we are defending it too," he wrote. Residents self-evacuate from a multi-story residential building hit by a Russian UMPB D-30 glide bomb on May 14, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The lyrics of "Rockin' in the Free World" are often seen as a criticism of American patriotism and George H.W.

Persons: —, Antony Blinken, Neil Young's, Blinken, Ukraine, Antony, Muddy Waters, Bohdan Yaremenko, Trump, he's, we've, Oleg Simoroz, Valeriy, it's, Matviyenko, Yevhen, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Illia Ponomarenko, George H.W, Bush, Donald Trump, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Biden Organizations: Service, Business, U.S, US State Department, Blinken, Music Diplomacy Initiative, Facebook, AFP, Ukrainian NGO Agency, Getty Images, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kyiv, Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Soviet Union, State Department Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russian, Kharkiv, United States, Muddy, Ukrainian, Russia, KABs, Sumy, Getty Images Russia, Polina, Soviet

☆ Opinion | Kristi Got Her Gun
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Carlos Lozada | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kristi Noem did herself no favors with “No Going Back,” her new book featuring a fake story about a dictator and a true story about a dog. I’m truly grateful to Noem for writing — or at least publishing — this book. But the book by the South Dakota governor and presumably erstwhile contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate is worth reading in full for two additional reasons. Only Trump can decide whether Noem’s slaying of a dog named Cricket also killed off the governor’s vice-presidential hopes. Reading the rest of it makes clear not only why Noem killed the dog, but why she chose to share the story — and why she belongs nowhere near the vice presidency.

Persons: Kristi Noem, I’m, Noem, Politico’s Michael Schaffer, Donald Trump’s, Trump Organizations: South, Cricket Locations: South Dakota

☆ Analysis: Cohen gets a breather after bruising cross-examination as Trump looks on
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Blanche took Cohen through a long list of the insults he’s unleashed at Trump since becoming estranged from his former mentor, highlighting his penchant for serial lying. He drew jurors’ attention to a social media post in which Cohen wore a T-shirt that depicted Trump in jail, as he spun a narrative of bias and obsession. A key legal conundrum is whether prosecutors have so far succeeded in validating the legal theory behind the case. That foreboding realization was exacerbated by a new posse of Trump supporters at the courthouse on Tuesday, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. While Cohen’s reluctance to offer yes-and-no answers came across at times as flippant and confrontational, he did not appear to say or do anything to torpedo the prosecution case.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Michael Cohen, don’t, Cohen, ”, Todd Blanche, president’s, didn’t, he’s, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Blanche, ” Cohen, he’d, ” Blanche, douchebag, ” Michael Moore, “, Moore, Juan Merchan, Will Trump’s, ” Shira Scheindlin, CNN’s Jake Tapper, ” Scheindlin, “ Cohen, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, Andrew McCabe, Cohen’s, ” Moore, Daniels, Susan Hoffinger, reimbursements, ’ ” Cohen Organizations: CNN, GOP, Trump, Middle, Middle District of, Louisiana Republican, Defense, FBI Locations: Ohio, Kentucky, Middle District, Middle District of Georgia, New York, Louisiana, Blanche, Manhattan

☆ New Caledonia: Why this French island in the Pacific is roiled by violence over a vote held 10,000 miles away
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Angus Watson | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

France’s military has mobilized and flown in “four additional squadrons to restore order,” according to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. Macron will chair a defense and national security council on Wednesday, focusing on the violence, the presidential palace said. Others were equipped with larger rifles, firing bullets,” the French High commissioner to New Caledonia Louis Le Franc said. Theo Rouby/AFP/Getty ImagesFrench gendarme officers guard the entrance of the Vallee-du-Tir district, in Noumea, New Caledonia on May 14, 2024. FLNKS issued its own statement Wednesday both condemning the vote at the National Assembly and calling for an end to the violence.

Persons: Paris –, Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Charles Wea, Louis Mapou, New Caledonia Louis Le Franc, Franc, RNZ, Theo Rouby, unfreeze, Gabriel Attal, “, ” Attal, FLNKS, “ FLNKS Organizations: CNN, New, New Caledonian, New Caledonia Louis, Radio New, Getty, Colonial, Noumea Accord, National Assembly, French, Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Locations: New Caledonia, Noumea, South Pacific, Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu, , New Caledonia, Pacific, Caribbean, Indian, France, Paris, China, United States, Radio New Zealand, Noumea , New Caledonia, AFP, Tir, White, Covid, Kanak

☆ Live Updates: Opening Statements in Bribery Trial of Robert Menendez Begin
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | Ben Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, second from left, sits with his children Alicia and Rob and Gov. Alicia and Rob Menendez have surely enjoyed the privileges of being children of a powerful political leader. After a former ally pleaded guilty and began cooperating with prosecutors, Senator Menendez and Nadine Menendez were additionally charged with obstructing justice. Alicia Menendez, 40, has been forced to address the charges against her father — and calls for his resignation — on live television. “When your close loved one is at the center of a political scandal,” she said, “it’s in your obit too.”

Persons: Robert Menendez, Alicia, Jon Corzine, Rob Menendez, Rob, Bob Menendez, Nadine Menendez, Menendez, Super Mario Bros, ”, —, Alicia Menendez, Sally Quinn, “ Organizations: Democrat, Rob, MSNBC, Democratic, Benz, Super, —, The Washington Post Locations: New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J, Biden’s

☆ Young Thai activist’s death in detention after 65-day hunger strike sparks calls for justice reform
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Helen Regan | Kocha Olarn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She had been in jail since January 26 and was awaiting trial, according to legal advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. While in detention, Netiporn went on a 65-day hunger strike until April to protest the jailing of political dissidents without bail, the group said. Panu Wongcha-Um/Reuters/FileThe activist faced seven criminal cases, including two lese majeste charges. Those attending included Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul, a fellow activist who also faces lese majeste charges for her involvement in the 2020 protests. At least 270 people have been charged with lese majeste during that time, the group added.

Persons: Thailand’s, ”, “, Netiporn, Thalu Wang, Thais, Panu, Panusaya, lese, Srettha Thavisin, Srettha, Strettha, Mongkol Thirakhot, majeste, Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, Akarachai Organizations: CNN, ” Thailand’s Corrections Department, Thammasat University Hospital, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Thai Corrections Department, Bangkok Criminal Court, Thailand’s Ministry, Justice, Rights, United Nations Human Rights Council, European Union Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Thai, lèse

☆ Chinese asylum seekers in New York City live in limbo, caught between China and the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Tara John | Yong Xiong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

It was his only day off from working 12-hour shifts at a Chinese restaurant in New York City. Evelio Contreras/CNNAfter arriving in New York, Ye spent a week in a Manhattan shelter. For Chinese asylum seekers like Ye, there is a well-trodden route to residency in the US. … It’s impossible for them to be spies.”But the rhetoric around the rise of undocumented Chinese migrants highlights growing tensions between the US and Chinese governments. He received permanent US residence a year later and has gone on to help Chinese migrants in Flushing.

Persons: Ye Chengxiang, “, ”, Ye, Evelio Contreras, Amy Hsin, Jiang Zhen, Yong Xiong, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mark Green of, Wan Yanhai, …, Jiang, “ It’s, I’m, Melanie Stetson Freeman, ’ Wan, Flushing . Li Jiada, Li Jiada, Jesus, Li Organizations: NY CNN, Central America, CNN, Queens College, Customs and, Embassy, Central, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China, Republicans, Republican, House Homeland Security Committee, Communist Party, Christian Science, Customs Enforcement, of, Yorker Locations: Flushing, NY, New York City, China, Communist, Ye, States, Colombia, Darien, South, Central, New York, Manhattan, Flushing’s, Sunset, Mexico, Central America, Queens, Hunan province, Guangdong, Chinatown, , Flushing , New York, San Francisco, Mark Green of Tennessee, Beijing, Flushing ., Flushing , Queens

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