Prosecutors ask judge to issue protective order after Trump post appearing to promise revenge
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.
Prosecutors on Friday requested that U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issue a protective order concerning evidence in the case, a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order, different from a “gag order,” would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Chutkan on Saturday gave Trump’s legal team until 5 p.m. Monday to respond to the government’s request. Trump’s legal team, which has indicated he would look to slow the case down despite prosecutors’ pledge of a speedy trial, then filed a request to extend the response deadline to Thursday and to hold a hearing on the matter, saying it needed more time for discussion.
Chutkan swiftly denied that extension request Saturday evening, reaffirming that Trump must abide by Monday’s deadline.
Protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it’s “particularly important in this case” because Trump has posted on social media about “witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.”
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Simone Biles dazzles in her return from a 2-year layoff to dominate the US Classic
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Simone Biles spent two years trying to distance herself from those strange days in Tokyo and all the outside noise that came along with it.
She dove into theory and slowly — very slowly — returned to training even though she wavered on whether she was really up for a third Olympics and all of the pressure and expectations that come with it when you’re considered the greatest of all time.
It wasn’t until mid-spring that she committed to training seriously after talking about it over margaritas with her coaches. It wasn’t until late June that she committed to Saturday night’s U.S. Classic. And it wasn’t until she stepped onto the podium and heard the shrieks of support and the sea of handmade signs that the noise she’d been grappling with for 732 days finally fell silent.
She was back in her safe space. Back in front of a crowd. Back in control. Back to being the Simone Biles — albeit a more mature, married, 26-year-old version — who has spent a decade redefining her sport.
Confidence growing with every rotation, Biles soared to victory in her first meet since the Tokyo Games. Her all-around score of 59.100 was five points better than runner-up Leann Wong. And made all the more remarkable by the fact she didn’t really pour herself into preparing until after her wedding to Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens in late April.
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Russia promises retaliation after Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in 2nd sea attack in a day
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Moscow promised retaliation Saturday after Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday, the second sea attack involving drones in one day.
Ukraine struck a major Russian port earlier on Friday.
Moscow strongly condemned what it sees as a Ukrainian “terrorist attack” on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
“There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished,” she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
As Kyiv’s naval capabilities grow, the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly important battleground in the war.
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North Korean leader Kim tours weapons factories and vows to boost war readiness in face of tensions
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the country’s key weapons factories, including those producing artillery systems and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and pledged to speed up efforts to advance his military’s arms and war readiness, state media said Sunday.
Kim’s three-day inspections through Saturday came as the United States and South Korea prepared for their next round of combined military exercises planned for later this month to cope with the growing North Korean threat.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as the pace of North Korea’s missile tests and the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, have both intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.
Some experts say Kim’s tour of the weapons factories could also be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.
During Kim’s visit to an unspecified factory producing large-caliber artillery systems, he stressed the factory’s “important responsibilities and tasks in perfecting (the North’s) war readiness,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
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New York City high school student charged with hate-motivated murder in killing of gay dancer
NEW YORK (AP) — Police have arrested a 17-year-old high school student on a hate-motivated murder charge in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancer during an altercation between two groups of friends at a New York City gas station last weekend.
Police took the teenager into custody Friday in connection with the killing of the 28-year-old O’Shae Sibley, who was gay. Authorities declined to release the defendant’s name.
“Parents lost a child, a child, to something that was clearly a hate crime,” Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, said Saturday during a news conference outside the Brooklyn gas station where Sibley was killed July 29.
The stabbing occurred after the two groups got into a confrontation at one of the gas pumps, where Sibley was dancing with his friends to a Beyoncé song. Authorities said Sibley’s group was being taunted by the other group before the confrontation ended in violence.
Beyoncé would later pay tribute to Sibley on her website.
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McConnell is warmly embraced by Kentucky Republicans amid questions about his health
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell received a rousing welcome from the party faithful Saturday at a high-profile home-state political gathering amid renewed scrutiny of his health after the 81-year-old lawmaker froze up midsentence during a recent Capitol Hill news conference.
“This is my 28th Fancy Farm, and I want to assure you it’s not my last,” McConnell said at the top of his breakfast speech before the annual picnic that is the traditional jumping off point for the fall campaign season in Kentucky. It was his only reference, however vague, to his health.
McConnell, who is widely regarded as the main architect of the GOP’s rise to power in Kentucky, arrived to a prolonged standing ovation and promoted the candidacy of a protege running for governor this year.
Later at the Fancy Farm picnic, McConnell made a pitch for the GOP statewide ticket in November, which is led by Daniel Cameron, a former McConnell staffer who is the party’s nominee for governor. McConnell slammed Democratic policies from Washington to Kentucky. He bemoaned high inflation pinching family budgets and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s restrictions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
McConnell has been an annual fixture on the picnic stage in the tiny community of Fancy Farm, where he long has relished jousting with Democrats. Democrats in the crowd on Saturday greeted McConnell with cascades of boos and chanted “retire.”
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Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan handed 3-year sentence and moved to high-security prison
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested Saturday after a court handed him a three-year jail sentence for corruption, a development that could end his future in politics.
The court ruled that Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the country’s leading opposition figure, had concealed assets after selling state gifts.
Police moved quickly to take the former cricket star from his home in the eastern city of Lahore to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, senior police officer Ali Nasir Rizvi said. Later Saturday, he was transferred to a high-security prison notorious for its harsh conditions.
Critics say efforts to put the divisive politician behind bars are politically motivated and have intensified ahead of general elections to be held later this year. They argue that Khan’s popularity and a large support base, combined with his ability to mobilize massive crowds, pose a threat to the ruling coalition and its backers in Pakistan’s powerful military that has been the final arbiter of the country’s politics since independence from Britain in 1947.
This is the second time this year that Khan has been detained, joining other former Pakistani prime ministers who have been arrested and seen military interventions over the years. He has been slapped with more than 150 legal cases since his removal from office, including several on charges of corruption, terrorism and inciting people to violence over deadly protests after his arrest in May when his followers attacked government and military property across the country.
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Pilgrims brave scorching heat for pope’s vigil in Lisbon after Francis ditches Fatima peace prayer
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — An estimated 1.5 million young people filled a field in the Portuguese capital Lisbon on Saturday for Pope Francis’ World Youth Day vigil, braving scorching heat to secure a spot for the evening prayer and to camp out overnight for his final farewell Mass on Sunday morning.
Francis made only brief remarks before them, however, and ditched his prepared speech for the fourth time in two days. Instead, the 86-year-old pontiff delivered a lively, 10-minute off-the-cuff chat in his native Spanish about journeying together and helping one another. “No fear, thanks, ciao!” he said at the end before aides pushed him in his wheelchair to the side of the stage.
Temperatures had soared to 38 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Saturday in Lisbon and were forecast to top 40 C (104 F) on Sunday. The heat forced pilgrims to shelter under umbrellas and makeshift shades of plastic canvas sheets tied between trash bins in the otherwise exposed field on the edge of the River Tagus.
Crews blew misters at the pilgrims to try to cool them down as they made their way into the venue at the peak of the day’s heat, many flying their national flags. They formed long lines to fill water bottles from what organizers said were more than 400 faucets around the field.
Smoke from a spate of wildfires that broke out around Portugal during a weekend spike in temperatures cast a haze over the sky as they arrived on foot from all around the city for one of the liturgical highlights of the Catholic youth festival. Citing local organizers, the Vatican said an estimated 1.5 million people were on hand.
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Social media influencer Kai Cenat faces charges of inciting riot after thousands cause mayhem in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — Social media influencer Kai Cenat is facing charges of inciting a riot and promoting an unlawful gathering in New York City, after the online streamer drew thousands of his followers, many of them teenagers, with promises of giving away electronics, including a new PlayStation.
The event produced chaos, with dozens of people arrested — some jumping atop vehicles, hurling bottles and throwing punches.
Cenat was released early Saturday from police custody after being issued a desk appearance ticket, which police issue to require a suspect to appear in court to answer charges. A police spokesperson said he is to appear in court on Aug. 18.
The mayhem in New York City’s Union Square Friday afternoon put further focus on the hold social media influencers have on the people who follow and fawn over them.
“Our children cannot be raised by social media,” Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday during a press briefing on an unrelated crime.
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Syrian baby born under earthquake rubble turns 6 months, happily surrounded by her adopted family
JINDERIS, Syria (AP) — A baby girl who was born under the rubble of her family home destroyed by the deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria six months ago is in good health, loves her adopted family and likes to smile even to strangers.
The dark-haired baby Afraa survived 10 hours under the rubble after the Feb. 6 earthquake crushed to death her parents and four siblings in the northern Syrian town of Jinderis. When she was found, her umbilical cord was still connected to her mother.
Her story captivated the world at the time, and people from all over offered to adopt her.
After spending days at a hospital in north Syria, Afraa was released and handed over to her paternal aunt and her husband, who adopted her and are raising her along with their five daughters and two sons. Afraa was handed over to her aunt’s family days after a DNA test was conducted to make sure the girl and her aunt are biologically related, her adopted father, Khalil al-Sawadi, said.
On Saturday, baby Afraa was enjoying herself, swinging on a red swing hanging from the ceiling while al-Sawadi pushed her back and forth.
