Biden administration to end sanctions waiver on Venezuelan oil
President Nicolás Maduro did not hold free and fair elections as promised.
abcnews.go.com
Man sentenced to 47 years to life for kidnapping 9-year-old girl from upstate New York park
A man was sentenced Wednesday to 47 years to life in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl who went missing from a state park in upstate New York last year
abcnews.go.com
'Googlers against genocide' called out for office protests: This isn't free speech, it's 'entitlement'
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley reacted to Google employees disrupting company offices coast-to-coast in protest of the tech giant's ties to Israel.
foxnews.com
The Trump Trial’s Extraordinary Opening
This is The Trump Trials by George T. Conway III, a newsletter that chronicles the former president’s legal troubles. Sign up here.The defendant nodded off a couple of times on Monday. And I have to confess, as a spectator in an overflow courtroom watching on closed-circuit television, so did I.Legal proceedings can be like that. Mundane, even boring. That’s how the first couple of days of the trial in new People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, Indictment No. 71543–2023, felt much of the time. Ordinary—despite being so extraordinary. And, frankly, that was comforting. The ordinary mechanics of the criminal-litigation process were applied fairly, efficiently, and methodically to a defendant of unparalleled notoriety, one who has devoted himself to undermining the rule of law.Certainly the setting was ordinary. When the Criminal Courts Building, at 100 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, first opened in 1941, an architectural critic lamented that the Art Deco structure, a New Deal/Public Works Administration project, was “uncommunicative.” Eight decades later, it still has little to say. Raw and spartan, it’s a bit of a mystery to people who aren’t familiar with it (including me, a civil litigator who, despite having been admitted to the New York state bar some 35 years ago, practiced mostly in federal and Delaware courts). A pool reporter yesterday described the surroundings as “drab.”Drab indeed, but busy—very busy. There’s never a want of bustle here, of the sort you would expect. As the former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissman put it this week, 100 Centre is, “well, Dickensian—a beehive of activity with miscreants, state prosecutors, judges, defense lawyers, probation officers, court security [and] families—in dark, dingy halls and courtrooms.” It’s a bit like New York City as a whole: How it functions, with the volume it handles, never ceases to amaze.And how the court manages to keep track of things, Lord only knows. In contrast with the federal court or even New York’s civil courts, it has no electronic, publicly accessible docket. The Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County, Criminal Term, is, as one courthouse reporter said last month, “stuck in the past.” It’s a tribunal “where the official record is a disorganized and incomplete mass of paper with no accounting of what’s inside.” The records come in brown accordion folders—Redwelds, lawyers call them—and what judges and clerks decide to put in them is the record, and what they don’t is not.But somehow it works. Somehow the court manages to dispose of thousands of cases a year, involving all manner of defendants and offenses. A calendar emailed to journalists by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office listing the week’s anticipated court appearances gives you the flavor. It catalogs names seemingly of many ethnicities, with a couple of corporate entities to boot. A hodgepodge of alleged charges, including the violent and the corrupt: robbery, conspiracy, forgery, criminal mischief, identity theft, enterprise corruption, stalking, murder, attempted murder, sex trafficking, grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, possession of a forged instrument, offering a false statement for filing.And the list contained three cases involving the crime of falsifying business records, one of which was set for trial on Monday, April 15, in Part 59, Courtroom 1530—People v. Trump.Nothing on the calendar, other than the defendant’s readily recognizable name, would have told you there was anything special about the case. In that sense, it was ordinary. But the hubbub outside—a handful of protesters, multiple television cameras, and a long line for the press and other spectators—made clear that something somewhat special was afoot. An overflow courtroom down the hall from the main courtroom offered a closed-circuit television feed of the proceedings. Those who had lined up went through an extra set of security screeners and machines—mandated, we were told, by the United States Secret Service.But still, so much was ordinary—the stuff of the commencement of a criminal trial, housekeeping of the sort you’d see in virtually any court about to try a criminal case. That began promptly at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, when Judge Juan Merchan assumed the bench. There were loose ends for the judge to tie up, pending motions to decide. Merchan denied the defendant’s motion to recuse, reading, in even tones, an opinion from the bench. The motion was frivolous; the result unsurprising. And then the parties argued some motions in limine—pretrial efforts to exclude evidence.For example, would the notorious Access Hollywood tape that rocked the 2016 presidential campaign be played for the jury? The prosecution said it should be: An assistant district attorney said the tape would elucidate why the defendant and his campaign were so hell-bent, to the point of falsifying business records, on keeping additional instances of the defendant’s miscreant conduct with women out of the public eye. The defense, of course, argued that playing the tape would be prejudicial. After all, this wasn’t a case about sexual assault.The judge allowed that the tape’s existence provided context for the business-records charges, but ruled that actually showing the tape to the jury would be prejudicial. Instead, the jury would be given a transcript. And speaking of sexual assault, prosecutors tried to get in an excerpt from Trump’s deposition in the E. Jean Carroll sexual-assault and defamation cases in which Trump testified that he was a “star,” and that stars historically get to do to women what Trump said on the Access Hollywood tape that he liked to do to them. Judge Merchan rightly said no, he would not allow the jury to hear that. It would be too much, too beside the point of what this case (unlike the Carroll cases) is actually about.But as unusual and colorful as the factual predicate for the evidentiary motions was, the argument wasn’t all that interesting. It was rather low-key, in fact. Perhaps that was because none of the proffered evidence was new. But it was also because the arguing of pretrial evidentiary motions, however crucial they may be (although these, frankly, weren’t), is seldom scintillating. I can’t imagine that Donald Trump and I were the only ones watching who dozed off.Then came jury selection, which took the rest of Monday, all of yesterday, and will probably consume tomorrow and Friday as well. (The judge will be handling his other cases today.) That was a bit more interesting, but slow going at first. Again, the ordinary met the extraordinary. Ninety-six potential jurors were brought in. The judge provided an overview of the case in the broadest terms, describing the charges in a few sentences; explained what his role and what the jury’s would be; and read the names of the cast of characters (some would be witnesses, others would simply be mentioned, including—full disclosure—my ex-wife). Still, it was mundane. It was pretty much what a judge would say in any big case. And jury selection was a bit tedious; in a case like this, it simply has to be. Jurors were asked to give oral answers—some 42 of them, including a number with multiple subparts—to a written questionnaire. In substance: Where do you live? What do you do? What’s your educational background? What news sources do you read? What’s your experience with the legal system? Have you ever been to a Trump rally or followed him on social media? Have you belonged to any anti-Trump groups? And on and on and and on. But the most important inquiries came toward the end of the list: questions asking whether the prospective jurors could be fair. Occasionally the judge would interject, when an unusual or unclear answer was given. And once in a while there was a moment of levity: One woman—in response to a question about having relatives or close friends in the legal field—noted that she had once dated a lawyer. “It ended fine,” she volunteered, with a flatness of tone that betrayed no hint of nostalgia or loss.This process took well over a day, and included brief follow-up questioning—“voir dire”—by the lawyers for both sides. But the judge did take a shortcut, one that saved a great deal of effort: After describing the case, but before proceeding to the individual-by-individual, question-by-question process, he asked the entire group the bottom-line question: Do any of you think you couldn’t judge the case fairly? Roughly two-thirds of this first batch of potential jurors said they couldn’t. That was extraordinary—a reflection of the fact that everyone knows who the defendant is, and that not many people lack a strong opinion about him. And during the lawyers’ voir dire, a few interesting moments did occur, mostly when Trump’s lawyers pulled out social-media posts that they claimed showed possible bias on the part of the remaining candidates in the jury pool. One man was stricken by the court for cause because he once posted that Trump should be locked up. The Trump lawyers attempted, but failed, to get the court to strike a woman whose husband had posted some joking commentary about the former president. The judge’s response: That’s all you have? He allowed the juror to stay, and left it to counsel to decide whether to use their limited number of peremptory strikes.In the end, for two days, the extraordinary intertwined with the ordinary, as it should in a case like this one. As one young woman from the Upper East Side, now to be known as Juror No. 2, put it during the selection process, “No one is above the law.” Let’s hope that sentiment prevails.
theatlantic.com
Senate votes down first impeachment article against DHS Secretary Mayorkas
The first House-passed article of impeachment against Mayorkas was deemed unconstitutional.
foxnews.com
Bicyclist’s life saved by smartwatch — it automatically called 911 after horrific crash: ‘Apple thinks of everything’
Apple's digital guardian angel has come to the rescue again.
nypost.com
The girl who can't smile, plus 'Ozempic babies' and sleep-related disorders
The Fox News Health Newsletter brings you trending and important stories about health warnings, drug shortages, mental health issues and more in this weekly recap.
foxnews.com
‘The View’ co-host Ana Navarro calls out Keith McNally’s ‘counterintuitive’ Lauren Sánchez attack
The restaurateur wrote of Sánchez via Instagram, "Does anybody else find Jeff Bezos' New wife - Lauren Sanchez - ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING?"
nypost.com
Toddler dies after falling from third-story hotel window in South Dakota
One-year-old Madden Hein of Lakefield, Minnesota, has died two days after falling from a third-floor window at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, hotel.
foxnews.com
Melania Testifying Would 'Backfire' on Alvin Bragg: Ex-Trump Aide
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied any wrongdoing in the case.
newsweek.com
I Identify as a Pillow Princess. Is That Really So Bad?
I didn't think this would come as a surprise.
slate.com
The Self-Help Queen of TikTok Goes Mainstream
In 2006, Oprah Winfrey couldn’t stop talking about The Secret. She devoted multiple episodes of her talk show to the franchise, which started as a kind of DVD seminar and later became a best-selling book. Its author, Rhonda Byrne, claimed to have stumbled upon an ancient principle, one that can teach anyone to manifest anything they want: money, health, better relationships. Winfrey retroactively credited its core philosophy for bringing her success, and her endorsement helped bring the book international fame: It has now sold more than 35 million copies. But in the era of endless scrolling, an author doesn’t necessarily need Winfrey’s stamp of approval. They just need TikTok.Keila Shaheen figured this out last year, when her self-published book The Shadow Work Journal began to dominate the app’s feeds. A slim volume, the book purports to help people unpack their “shadow” self—the repressed unconscious—through various activities. In video after video, TikTok users show themselves filling out its exercises and talk about the journal as if it has magical powers. They learn about Carl Jung’s model of the psyche. They circle terms related to their trauma. They heal their inner child! If you use a new coupon on TikTok Shop, the app’s new built-in store, you too can heal, for just a couple of bucks! they say. (Many of those posting earn a commission from each sale, but pay that no mind.)The journal has sold more than 600,000 copies on TikTok alone, and more than 1 million copies in total, a feat usually accomplished by the Prince Harrys and Colleen Hoovers of the world. Shaheen, a 25-year-old writer with a marketing background, is the new breakout star of the self-help genre. She even outsold Winfrey’s latest book.[Read: The 24-year-old who outsold Oprah this week]Her story began in an untraditional way: Here is a young author, plucked from obscurity by a powerful app’s algorithm during a conveniently timed e-commerce push and turned into a best-selling phenom. Yet her next chapter is following an expected arc. She has signed a multi-book deal with Simon & Schuster to bring an updated version of The Shadow Work Journal to new audiences. Specifically, she is working with the brand-new imprint Primero Sueño Press, which will launch her book as its “flagship,” Shaheen told me, in addition to releasing a new Spanish translation later this year. The self-help queen of TikTok is officially going mainstream.Shaheen’s arc, however unusual it seems, actually makes a lot of sense. We live in the age of therapy-speak; talking about one’s mental health isn’t as stigmatized as it once was. And yet a lot of people are still struggling. Teenagers—many of whom say they use the app “almost constantly”—are experiencing hopelessness and sadness at record highs. TikTok is known for authenticity, at least when compared with the picture-perfect posts on Instagram—it is supposed to be messier, more real. The kind of place where you’d talk about your struggles while in your sweatpants. The Shadow Work Journal isn’t the only such success on the platform. One of Shaheen’s other books, The Lucky Girl Journal—which teaches readers how to manifest their own good fortune, rather than leaving things up to chance—has sold more than 25,000 copies on the app’s store. Don’t Believe Everything You Think, a self-published volume by Joseph Nguyen, a mental-health content creator with little notoriety outside social media, has sold about 60,000 copies on TikTok, and is currently in the top 10 most sold books on Amazon.It’s boom times for self-help on social media. Kathleen Schmidt, who helped publicize The Secret and now runs a public-relations company (and writes the Substack newsletter Publishing Confidential), first heard about Nguyen’s book when her 16-year-old daughter asked for a copy. “I can see why it has caught on,” she told me. “It’s very simplistic, and it gives you big promises, like You’ll stop suffering, you’ll understand how to let go of anxiety, and all that.” A lot of self-help books, she explained, are too complicated or ask the reader to do too much; the more successful books tend to be accessible. If The Secret were published today, she argued, “it probably would have gone viral on TikTok and would have had somewhat of the same effect—but without Oprah.”[Read: TikTok is doing something very un-TikTok]With all of this in mind, I asked Shaheen why she’d made the decision to go a more traditional route. It was over Zoom, during a meet and greet set up by her publisher (and attended, as far as I could tell, by just me, one other writer, and some folks from her team). “I think I was just at a time and place where I couldn’t control what was going on,” she said, of all the attention last year, “and it was very overwhelming for me.” She realized that if she “wanted to continue helping people and grow the impact of this journal,” then she “would need help from a traditional publishing company.” She said she’d entertained offers from various publishers before settling on Primero Sueño Press, which will take over the production of her books. And anyway, her books will still be available for purchase on TikTok Shop.One publishing house she hadn’t heard from is 8th Note Press—which is owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. It appears to have acquired three titles so far, and published its first book last month; a representative for TikTok told me that it has seen significant growth on TikTok Shop and success for a variety of books and book sellers, but did not comment on Shaheen’s decision to sign with a traditional publisher.Perhaps ByteDance has a little too much on its plate to prioritize courting authors. TikTok still faces the threat of a national ban in the United States. When defending itself in ads or before Congress, the app likes to tout how many small-business owners it supports—people like Shaheen. For some businesses, that’s definitely true. But with all the uncertainty about the platform’s future, a big, traditional publishing house can offer two things that never feel especially present on social media: stability and security. After all, Simon & Schuster has a pretty good track record. It publishes a little book called The Secret.
theatlantic.com
David Chang drops chili crisp trademark fight — apologizes after backlash
Momofuku sent seven cease-and-desist letters last month to mostly small businesses founded by Asian Americans who used one of two names for their products.
nypost.com
Serving style: All of Zendaya’s tennis-themed ‘Challengers’ red carpet looks
The A-lister has been serving up plenty of sports-inspired styles as she promotes her latest movie.
nypost.com
How Kim Jong Un May Have Secretly Aided the Attack on Israel
Reuters/KCNASouth Korea’s spy agency is examining whether North Korean technology was used in the ballistic missiles that Iran used in its attack against Israel last week.“We are keeping tabs on whether the North Korean technology was included in Iran's ballistic missiles launched against Israel, given the North and Iran's missile cooperation in the past,” the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, according to Korea Times.The United States has long been aware that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has provided missiles and ballistic missile technologies to Iran. Years ago, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, acknowledged that Iran had purchased Scud B and Scud C missiles from “foreign countries like North Korea” in the 1980s.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
This 4-bedroom in Queens asks $110K — but it’s no ordinary home
Docked at Marina 49 in Arverne, this houseboat needs some work, but has some potential for those who prefer a life at sea.
nypost.com
GOP senator defends Speaker Mike Johnson as Republicans revolt: ‘The man pisses excellence’
“The man pisses excellence," Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. "He’s doing the best he can under tough circumstances.”
nypost.com
NPR defends embattled CEO against ‘bad faith attack’ as critics unearth her far-left social media posts
NPR defended CEO Katherine Maher against "online actors with explicit agendas" as her old social media posts go viral for exposing her personal left-wing ideology.
foxnews.com
Are ‘Chicago Med,’ ‘Chicago Fire’ and ‘Chicago P.D.’ New Tonight? Here’s When ‘One Chicago’ Returns to NBC With New Episodes
One Chicago fans haven't gotten new episodes since April 3.
nypost.com
Senate Dismisses First of Two Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas
Democrats moved quickly to sweep aside the article of impeachment accusing the homeland security secretary of refusing to enforce immigration laws, calling it unconstitutional.
nytimes.com
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices question how much power Legislature should have
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices on Wednesday questioned the amount of power legislative committees should have, in a case brought against the legislature by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
foxnews.com
Why lawyers for accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann are demanding FBI files ahead of trial
Rex Heuermann, who is charged in the slayings of four women, returned to Suffolk County Supreme Court for a status hearing Wednesday as his attorney called for the additional investigative materials to be coughed up.
nypost.com
Boeing’s safety culture, manufacturing quality under fire as whistleblower claims he was told to ‘shut up’
"When you are operating at 35,000 feet," the size of a human hair can be a matter of life and death, Salehpour told the hearing.
nypost.com
Senate moves to scrap impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
The Senate moved Wednesday to put a premature end to the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which would make him the second Cabinet official in history to evade a conviction and removal from office — but the first to be acquitted without evidence being presented of his alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors.”...
nypost.com
3 Pennsylvania construction workers dead after being hit by truck on I-83
Three construction workers were killed early Wednesday on Interstate 83 in Pennsylvania after being hit by a truck while doing sealing work.
foxnews.com
Sophie Kinsella, "Shopaholic" book series author, reveals brain cancer
The author whose "Shopaholic" novels were adapted into the 2009 film "Confessions of a Shopaholic" announced she has a rare form of brain cancer.
cbsnews.com
Women in Menopause Are Getting Short Shrift
They could benefit from a diversity of hormones, empathy about their experience, and a frank approach to sexuality—all hallmarks of trans health care.
theatlantic.com
Kelly Ripa Was “Against” Having Husband Mark Consuelos Co-Host ‘Live’ Because She Feared Their Relationship Was “Not That Interesting”
"I always liken us to watching paint dry," she said.
nypost.com
Russia begins withdrawing peacekeeping forces from Karabakh, now under full Azerbaijan control
Azerbaijan and Russian officials announced Wednesday that Russian forces are being withdrawn from the Karabakh region in Azerbaijan; forces have been stationed there since the end of a war in 2020.
foxnews.com
Stepson of Ex ‘Real Housewives’ Star Arrested on Jan. 6 charges
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty/FBI Tyler Campanella, the stepson of former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Sigalit “Siggy” Flicker, was arrested Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to court records.An FBI affidavit states that phone records subpoenaed by the government show that Campanella’s phone, which was associated with Flicker’s account, was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.The FBI claims that an account linked to Flicker posted photos from inside the Capitol on the day of the riots, accompanied by a caption “I love patriots so much. Stay safe Tyler. We love you” and a “Stop the Steal” hashtag.Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese party at Tao Nightclub after WNBA draft
Clark and Reese, who were selected to play for the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky respectively, partied at separate tables, a source tells Page Six.
nypost.com
1st generation circus performer breaks Guinness World Record every show with unicycle 34.6 feet tall
Wesley Williams, a performer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, breaks a record with every show he performs in as he rides the world's tallest unicycle.
foxnews.com
Greece names a convicted politician from Albania’s ethnic Greek minority as candidate in EU election
Greece has added Fredi Beleris, a convicted politician from Albania’s ethnic Greek minority, as a candidate for the European Parliament election; the move adds to the tension between the 2 countries.
foxnews.com
Mail carriers face growing threats of violence amid wave of robberies
America's mail carriers don't just face bad weather and aggressive dogs — they're also increasingly targets of violent crime.
cbsnews.com
Pakistani security forces kill 7 militants trying to enter country
Pakistani security forces reportedly killed seven militants in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when they tried to enter from Afghanistan.
foxnews.com
Brian Cox slams Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘appalling’ acting in ‘Napoleon’: ‘A truly terrible performance’
Brian Cox didn't mince words when he bashed Joaquin Phoenix's acting in the Ridley Scott historical drama.
nypost.com
2024 RBC Heritage best bets, predictions: PGA Tour odds, picks
Coming off The Masters, we dive into the RBC Heritage in the hopes of more cash this weekend with these four best bets.
nypost.com
Mike Tyson’s training for Jake Paul fight shocks — and not in a good way
Mike Tyson looks like he hasn't run this decade.
nypost.com
5 important debt relief options to know
If you're facing mounting debt, there are a few good debt relief options you may want to consider right now.
cbsnews.com
DOJ in final stages of settlement negotiations with Larry Nassar victims: Sources
No deal has been finalized and negotiations remain at a sensitive stage, according to the sources.
abcnews.go.com
This Coway Airmega Air Purifier is 30% off this week on Amazon
Watch high prices go up in smoke!
nypost.com
Neil Young will make $2M annually on Spotify after returning to streaming service post-Joe Rogan boycott
The musician — who left the platform over Rogan's proliferations about the COVID-19 vaccine — is raking in roughly $170,000 each month on streaming profits alone, Page Six is told.
nypost.com
Catholic Boomers Are More Liberal Than Millennials
Catholics aged 50 and older hold more liberal views on contraception and are more likely to say their church should allow women into the priesthood.
newsweek.com
Haitian migrant, now a double homicide suspect, was allowed into US by Biden admin via controversial app
A Haitian migrant accused of killing two roommates in New York was paroled into the U.S. after making an appointment on the controversial CBP One app.
foxnews.com
How much would a $15,000 home equity loan cost per month?
Are you thinking about taking out a $15,000 home equity loan? Here's how much it will likely cost per month.
cbsnews.com
Pepsi recalls ‘zero sugar’ Schweppes ginger ale — because it contained sugar
The FDA said that PepsiCo launched an internal investigation which found that some of the products labeled "zero sugar" actually contained "full sugar."
nypost.com
NASCAR Cup Series: Is Chase Elliott back on track after recent rocky stretch?
Chase Elliott's victory at Texas was his first since October 2022. Is the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion out of the rut?
foxnews.com