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Trump's expected appearance before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday, as the Republican mounts a bid to regain the presidency, could further inflame divisions in the United States. The specific charges are not yet known, though CNN reported that Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006. Bragg said Congress does not have authority to interfere with a New York legal proceeding and accused the lawmakers of escalating political tensions. Bragg's office prosecuted Trump's business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty, but Trump himself was not charged.

"Please make a contribution – of truly any amount – to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024," said an email sent by a Trump fundraising group called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump, who has denied making any payment, has claimed the charges are evidence of a left-wing plot - an argument made in the fundraising email to supporters on Thursday. Trump's online fundraising has shown signs of weakening over the last year, according to financial disclosures made to the Federal Election Commission. At the end of 2022, Trump and an allied super PAC reported having close to $80 million across several fundraising accounts.

DeSantis' muddled messaging on Ukraine and the multiple legal investigations into Trump mean that this year’s primary race “is a vast sea of uncertainty,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist and former DeSantis pollster. Metals magnate and donor Andy Sabin backed Trump in 2016 and 2020 but is now planning to spend money in the Republican primary on “anybody but Trump." Enthusiastic crowds of Trump supporters were mostly quiet when he mocked DeSantis at two recent rallies. For now, despite the volatility, Trump and DeSantis remain the two leading contenders, said David Tamasi, a Republican donor and lobbyist. "You have two candidates getting 75-80% of the vote," said Tamasi, who previously backed Trump but is not this time.

A Manhattan grand jury did not meet as had been expected on Wednesday, a law enforcement source said, although it was unclear why that was or how much longer the grand jury would take to conclude its work. The Insider news outlet first reported the news that the grand jury would not convene on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office declined to comment on the grand jury. Security officials are bracing for possible unrest, but so far few of Trump's supporters have heeded his call for protests. Several media outlets reported that his lawyer, Evan Corcoran, would testify on Friday before a federal grand jury in Washington investigating whether Trump mishandled sensitive federal documents.

But members of the grand jury were told to stay home on Wednesday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been investigating $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Security was high around the courthouse where the grand jury has been meeting, with court officers out early and barricades up around the building. On Monday, the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said that Cohen acted on his own. Cohen has publicly said that Trump directed him to make the payments and has appeared twice before the grand jury.

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - A New York grand jury was expected on Wednesday to resume its closed-door investigation of whether Donald Trump made illegal hush-money payments to a porn star, which could yield the first-ever criminal charges against any U.S. president. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been investigating $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen has said he made the payments at Trump's direction to buy her silence about Trump's extramarital affair. On Monday, the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said that Cohen acted on his own. Cohen has publicly said that Trump directed him to make the payments and has appeared twice before the grand jury.

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - - A New York grand jury is expected on Wednesday to resume its closed-door investigation of whether Donald Trump made illegal hush-money payments to a porn star, which could yield first-ever criminal charges against any U.S. president. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been investigating $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Trump has denied the affair took place, and others in his orbit have said Cohen acted on his own. On Monday, the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said that Cohen acted on his own. Cohen has publicly said that Trump directed him to make the payments and has appeared twice before the grand jury.

☆ Trump allies attack DeSantis with campaign ethics complaint
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While the super PAC publicized the complaint, the ethics commission told Reuters it had not yet received it. If wrongdoing is found, typical penalties include a fine or public censure, said Lynn Blais, a spokesperson for the ethics commission. Taryn Fensk, DeSantis' communications director, called the complaint the latest "frivolous and politically motivated" attack on the governor. "It's inappropriate to use state ethics complaints for partisan purposes," she said in a statement. Political strategists described the ethics complaint as the latest attempt by Trump to undermine his rival.

The disclosure by the Friends of DeSantis group, which was formed to back DeSantis' campaigns in Florida's 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections, points to it having about $80 million in the bank at the end of last month. read moreFriends of DeSantis' bank account puts DeSantis on a similar financial footing as Trump, who unlike DeSantis has formally launched a 2024 presidential campaign. Trump and an allied Super PAC he has financed reported having close to $80 million across several fundraising accounts at the end of 2022. The Friends of DeSantis group, which is registered in Florida to support DeSantis' gubernatorial campaigns, would also be unable to legally finance a presidential run by DeSantis. Friends of DeSantis said in its disclosure that it has raised $222 million since its founding, including $9.9 million in February, and has spent $140 million.

In North Carolina, party activists are seeking to punish Republican Senator Thom Tillis for his support for same-sex marriage rights. North Carolina State Representative Mark Brody, who supports censuring Sen. Tillis, says it is better to address differences directly. Law, who served as a senior member of Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns in Nevada, and the county party did not respond to requests for comment. Although Tillis retains support among the party establishment, Jim Womack, a county party chair, says the Senator’s critics are gaining strength. “The North Carolina Republican party will eventually be decentralized to the point where the grassroots will actually run the party,” Womack said.

☆ Explainer: Tyre Nichols case: What is Memphis' controversial SCORPION police unit?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under pressure over rising violent crime, Memphis in October 2021 created SCORPION, which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods. More broadly, the case has drawn attention to Memphis' specialized units and elite police teams in general. What is the SCORPION unit? Crump also highlighted that another Black male in Memphis said he was the victim of "excessive force" by SCORPION officers just a few days before Nichols' death. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis this week announced a review of all of the police department's specialized units including SCORPION in response to Nichols' death.

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan 27 (Reuters) - Tyre Nichols repeatedly cried, "Mom! The first video released on Friday shows officers dragging Nichols from the driver's seat of his car stopped at an intersection as he yells, "I didn't do anything ... Other footage shows a subsequent struggle after officers catch up with Nichols again in a nearby neighborhood. "No mother should go through what I am going through right now, no mother, to lose their child to the violent way that I lost my child," said Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells. Nichols' family and Biden appealed for calm in Memphis, a city of 628,000 where nearly 65% of residents are Black.

☆ Gentle soul, accordion player, mushroom lover: Half Moon Bay victim mourned
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Alexandra Ulmer | Thomson Reuters | U.S. National Affairs Correspondent Who Spent Four Years In Venezuela Covering President Maduro'S Administration | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HALF MOON BAY, Calif., Jan 25 (Reuters) - When friends of farm supervisor Marciano Martinez heard of the shooting at the Half Moon Bay mushroom plantations on Monday, they had a sinking feeling. Unmarried and with no children, he gradually became a part of Ortega's family, she said. When Ortega's husband, Reyes Vargas, was ill, Martinez would rush to the hospital after work. As Ortega's husband took a turn for the worse, he asked Martinez to look after his wife, Ortega recounted. In turn, Ortega, a talented cook, would prepare Mexican chiles rellenos, tongue tacos or her coveted homemade tortillas.

☆ California shooting victims: Who died in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay attacks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Back-to-back mass shootings in California have claimed the lives of people who loved to dance at a studio in Monterey Park and farm workers in the coastal community of Half Moon Bay. HALF MOON BAY VICTIMSSeven people were killed and one person was in critical condition after a 66-year-old man on Monday attacked two mushroom farms near the resort town of Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, police said. "You look to improve your life and then you end up with this," said Juarez, quiet and sullen as he took a break from cooking at a Mexican restaurant in a Half Moon Bay strip mall. Perez was stunned when, upon arriving in Half Moon Bay in the late 1990s, he saw Martinez-Jimenez again at a party. The San Mateo County Coroner's Office declined to comment on the identities of the victims in the Half Moon Bay shooting.

HALF MOON BAY/MONTEREY PARK, California, Jan 24 (Reuters) - America was supposed to be a place of safety for Jose Romero when he arrived some two years ago to work on a California farm alongside other immigrants from Mexico and China. Romero was killed on Monday, shot dead by a gunman along with six other farm workers in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. Antonio Perez, who now lives in Half Moon Bay after moving from Mexico in 1983, said he feels stuck between cartel violence in his homeland and gun violence in the United States. “What a tragedy.”People gather for a candlelight vigil after a mass shooting during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, California, U.S. January 24, 2023. About 9.3% of Asian immigrants keep guns in their homes in California, compared with 5.6% of Latino immigrants and 12% of white immigrants, said Ninez Ponce, the lead researcher on the UCLA study.

☆ Suspect in California's latest shooting rampage due in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Alexandra Ulmer | Thomson Reuters | U.S. National Affairs Correspondent Who Spent Four Years In Venezuela Covering President Maduro'S Administration | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A suspect is arrested by law enforcement personnel after a mass shooting at two locations in the coastal northern California city of Half Moon Bay, California, U.S. January 23, 2023 in a still image from video. HALF MOON BAY, Calif., Jan 25 (Reuters) - The man accused of shooting and killing seven farm workers near San Francisco in the latest of two back-to-back gun rampages in California that claimed 18 lives overall was due in court on Wednesday for his initial appearance before a judge. Chunli Zhao, 66, the lone suspect in Monday's massacre at two mushroom farms in the seaside town of Half Moon Bay, is expected to be formally presented with murder and other charges at the San Mateo County Superior Court in nearby Redwood City. The suspect was described as a resident of Half Moon Bay, a community of about 12,000 residents known for its foggy weather, fishing, and agriculture. San Mateo County jail records showed Zhao was booked on suspicion of premeditated murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses.

☆ Suspect in Half Moon Bay shooting rampage appears in California court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jorge Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/6] A suspect is arrested by law enforcement personnel after a mass shooting at two locations in the coastal northern California city of Half Moon Bay, California, U.S. January 23, 2023 in a still image from video. The hearing was held at the San Mateo County Superior Court in nearby Redwood City, California. The complaint against Zhao also alleged "special circumstances" accusing Zhao of "personally and intentionally" shooting to kill. IMMIGRANT VICTIMSHalf Moon Bay, a community of about 12,000 residents south of San Francisco, is home to both a luxury resort and a low-income farming community. Two days before the Half Moon Bay killings, another gunman 380 miles to the south opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a club frequented mostly by older patrons of Asian descent in Monterey Park.

☆ Defeated Republican charged with attacks on New Mexico Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - A failed Republican candidate in New Mexico was charged on Tuesday with contracting four gunmen to shoot at the homes of Democratic officials after he visited them to dispute his 2022 election defeat. Pena, described as a "radical right election denier" by Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, was arrested on Monday. Pena, who has previously been convicted of felonies such as burglary, faces a 1 p.m. pre-trial detention hearing on Wednesday. Pena wrote in July in the New Mexico Audit Force Telegram group in response to a claim of fraud in Nevada. Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Additional Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ At least 6 killed as Tornado, thunderstorms strike central Alabama
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Larry Fondren sorts through the rubble of his mobile home, which was destroyed when a tree fell on it as a tornado heavily damaged homes and destroyed mobile homes near Akron in Hale County, Alabama, U.S. January 12, 2023. Gary Cosby Jr./USA Today Network via REUTERSJan 12 (Reuters) - At least six people were killed in central Alabama on Thursday as thunderstorms and at least one tornado swept through the region, local officials said. Autauga County Coroner Buster Barber said that at least four people had been killed by flying debris hurled by the tornado. Ivey on Thursday declared a state of emergency for six Alabama counties hit hardest by the storm: Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa. More than 250 flights were canceled or delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

☆ Ex-academic forges a new career denying Trump's 2020 election loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

“The war is just getting started,” Clements told his 100,000 Telegram followers on Nov. 16. His rise in the movement began in January 2021, when a dispute with his employer, New Mexico State University, over the U.S. Capitol riot went public. ‘I will not take the jab’Clements’ swift rise in election-denier circles caused a stir at New Mexico State, where he continued to teach. Flynn co-founded the America Project, a well-capitalized right-wing group that has financed lawsuits and campaigns challenging the 2020 election results and the integrity of U.S. voting systems. One of their roles is to certify election results, which until the Trump era was typically a rubber-stamp formality.

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