Prosecutors began laying out their case against former President Donald Trump in a pivotal moment in the first criminal prosecution of a former American president. The prosecution gave a sweeping synopsis of the case, describing it as a criminal conspiracy and cover-up of sex scandals that threatened Trump’s 2016 election win. The prosecution detailed how Trump, his counsel Michael Cohen, and David Pecker, the publisher of The National Enquirer, engaged in a strategy to “catch and kill” negative stories.
Trump, who faces up to four years in prison if convicted, watched from the defense table, occasionally shaking his head. His lawyer insisted that Trump was innocent. The trial began with Pecker taking the stand as the first witness, explaining how The National Enquirer paid for stories through “checkbook journalism.”
The case centers on a $130,000 payment that Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence during the 2016 campaign. Prosecutors allege that Trump reimbursed Cohen and falsified business records to conceal his conduct.
In other news, the head of Israeli intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, resigned following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, becoming the highest-ranking Israeli official to step down since the incident. Modi, the Prime Minister of India, sparked controversy by referring to Muslims as “infiltrators” during a campaign event, raising concerns about inflaming right-wing vigilantes.
Additionally, the pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk is investing $8.6 billion to expand its facilities in Denmark, and Indigenous Australian artist Archie Moore won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. The question of whether online shopping is bad for the planet is explored, highlighting the environmental impact of packaging and overconsumption.
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