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Cohen testifies before grand jury in Trump hush money probe

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen testified Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments he arranged and made on the former president’s behalf.A Trump loyalist turned adversary, Cohen spent around three hours answering questions in the secret proceeding. He is scheduled to return again for more testimony Wednesday, his lawyer said as the pair emerged from the courthouse.“Michael has spent a long and productive afternoon answering all questions, all facts, and completely responsive,” said Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis.The testimony comes at a critical time, as the Manhattan district attorney’s office weighs whether to seek charges against Trump over payments made during his 2016 campaign to two women who alleged affairs or sexual encounters with him.Before entering the courthouse for the session, Cohen, who orchestrated those payoffs, said his goa...

Mets’ hitters still adjusting to pitch clock with 2 weeks left till Opening Day

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

PORT ST. LUCIE — Buck Showalter’s spring training musings often veer between amusing and informative with the non sequitur somewhere in the middle. The pitch clock has been a particular point of fascination this spring and he keeps coming back to one question: What does it mean for beer sales?The veteran skipper has a point: Through Saturday, spring training games are lasting an average of 2:36, down 25 minutes from last spring. That’s 25 fewer minutes to buy beers and concessions.The pitch clock is to thank for the decrease in time and increase in the pace of play. Pitchers seem to like the new rule and the advantage it gives them to dictate that pace.The focus of the timer has, naturally, been on the pitchers. But it appears to be the hitters that have the most adjustments to make.“It can get fast,” Mets’ shortstop Francisco Lindor said before he departed camp to join Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. “The first couple at-bat...

Something old, something new: bridal jumpsuits, black dresses and repurposed gowns are welcome at the wedding

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

Kailee Knight Bull’s favorite holiday is Halloween and her favorite city is New Orleans, the voodoo capital of America. So when it came time for the neonatal nurse to wed her longtime boyfriend, she wanted a wedding dress as distinctive as she is.When she and Trevor Bull exchanged vows on Nov. 4, 2022, she was wearing all black, from her custom cathedral veil to the mermaid gown by Casablanca Bridal that was cut low in the back and embellished all over with an intricate sequined pattern reminiscent of a fleur-de-lis.The 29-year-old bride, who lives in Severna Park, Maryland, looked — and felt — stunning.“As soon as I saw a picture of the dress on Pinterest, I knew it was perfect,” she said, referring to the fashion, decorating and design website that people often use as a vision board for events.“I went on a manhunt for this dress. I called every bridal store in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia until I tracked one down that I could try on. It was sparkly and dramatic, G...

Giants bring back battery of punter Jamie Gillan, long-snapper Casey Kreiter

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

The Giants are keeping their battery intact.They’ve agreed to re-sign both punter Jamie Gillan and long-snapper Casey Kreiter on Monday, a source confirmed.Gillan’s contract is a two-year, $4 million deal that could be worth up to $5 million with incentives, per NFL Network. The team considers Gillan, 25, a developmental and ascending player.Kreiter, 32, is back for a fourth straight season in New York on a one-year deal, per ESPN.It’s possible the Giants aren’t done with their core special teamers, too. Kicker Graham Gano, 35, is a candidate for a contract extension.He is essentially entering the final year of his current deal with a $3.75 million base salary and $5.5 million cap hit. His 2024 season at the moment is an empty ‘void year’ carrying about $876,000 in cap chargers.An extension would reward the reliable Gano and help GM Joe Schoen free some extra cap space. ()

President Biden visits San Diego to discuss submarine deal

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- President Joe Biden landed in San Diego shortly after noon Monday for a meeting with the British and Australian Prime Ministers to discuss the countries' partnership and defense issues, as China's military influence has become a growing concern for world leaders.The leaders announced a historic deal in a joint press conference that would modernize Australia's naval fleet by equipping the country with nuclear-powered attack submarines through AUKUS, a trilateral security pact formed between the three countries in 2021 to develop submarine capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region.As part of the plan unveiled Monday, the three countries will roll out a phased approach to introduce these submarines with nuclear propulsion technology to the Australian military.This deal marks the second time the U.S. has shared these submarines since their development in the country over 60 years ago. US, UK try to halt fallout from Silicon Valley Bank collapse Over the next decade, up to f...

Abortion-rights proposal moves a step closer to Ohio ballot

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Backers of a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution can begin collecting the more than 413,000 voter signatures required to put the issue before voters this fall, after the petition cleared another hurdle Monday.The constitutional amendment moves to the signature-gathering phase after the Ohio Ballot Board confirmed the petition language contains only one proposed amendment.Abortion remains legal in the state up to 20 weeks’ gestation, under a judge’s order issued in a lawsuit challenging a ban once cardiac activity can be detected, or around six weeks into pregnancy. The Republican attorney general has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn the stay. The fall ballot proposal would assure access to abortion until what is called viability, when the fetus could survive outside the womb. It also would protect caregivers from being punished for performing the procedure or aiding the process.Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Right...

S&P/TSX composite down almost one per cent; U.S. markets mixed over bank failures

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

TORONTO — Worries about the financial system after two recent bank failures saw bank stocks pull U.S. markets mostly down Monday, while Canadian markets fell on weakness in energy and financials. The financial sector took a dive Monday as the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank prompted fears about the overall financial system, dragging both Canadian and U.S. markets, said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 186.02 points at 19,588.90.Gains in tech helped U.S. markets gain back their morning losses as the day progressed, though a selloff in the last hour brought the Nasdaq’s gains lower while the other main indexes posted small losses.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 90.50 points at 31,819.14. The S&P 500 index was down 5.83 points at 3,855.76, and the Nasdaq composite was up 49.96 points at 11,188.84.Tech shares were buoyed by optimism that the Federal Reserve will be less aggr...

EXPLAINER: What’s the status of the US death penalty?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

The first federal capital case tried under President Joe Biden ended with a split among jurors that means the life of an Islamic extremist who killed eight people in a New York City will be spared. It came at a rare federal death penalty trial in a state without the death penalty.That Biden’s Justice Department continued to pursue the death penalty for Sayfullo Saipov, who used a truck to mow down pedestrians and cyclists on a popular bike path, was a surprise to many given Biden’s opposition to capital punishment and his 2016 campaign pledge to end it federally. The jury’s failure to reach a unanimous decision means Saipov receives an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the October 2017 attack.The initial decision to seek the death penalty came under then-President Donald Trump, who tweeted a day after the attack that Saipov “SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!” But Attorney General Merrick Garland, under Biden, gave his prosecutors th...

7 killed in capsized San Diego boats were Mexican migrants

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

At least seven of eight people killed when two boats capsized in shallow but turbulent surf off the San Diego coast were Mexican migrants, Mexican officials said Monday.Preliminary identification was based on records found with people’s bodies when they were recovered, the Mexican consulate in San Diego said in a news release. The nationality of the eighth person was unknown.The consulate didn’t provide ages, genders or other information about the people killed in one of the deadliest maritime migrant smuggling operations off U.S. waters. Rescue authorities have said all were adults.A Spanish-speaking woman who called 911 said she was among eight people on a vessel that reached shore and that 15 people were on another boat that overturned. Authorities found two capsized boats in shallow water amid thick fog late Saturday. The Coast Guard suspended its search for remains on Sunday. Survivors may have escaped on land, including the woman who called 911. Authorities did not...

5 dead, 3 wounded in attack on Nicaraguan indigenous group

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:34:55 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Local authorities said Monday that at least five members of a Nicaraguan indigenous group were killed and three others wounded in an attack by suspected settlers over the weekend. Amaru Ruiz, director of the Del Río Foundation, said some of the victims’ bodies were mutilated.Ruiz said the attackers burned 16 houses in the community of Wilu, in northern Nicaragua, on Saturday. The victims belonged to the indigenous Mayangna group. “There has been yet another massacre,” said Ruiz, who believes settlers were responsible.The killings mark the latest chapter in a years-long string of attacks on indigenous people in the area by settlers eager to claim their land. Such killings often go unpunished in Nicaragua, where many of the settlers are former soldiers.The local indigenous regional government of Sauni As said in a statement that “all of the houses in the Wilu community have been burned,” adding that “families have been left without shelter, food or clothing.”T...