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Trump calls his indictment ‘unthinkable,’ claims he’s ‘completely innocent’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

By Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael GartlandDonald Trump claimed he is “completely innocent” and a victim of “political persecution” Thursday after becoming the first former president in American history to face a criminal indictment.The ex-president, who’s holed up at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, declared his innocence in a lengthy statement issued minutes after word emerged that a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels had voted to indict him on criminal charges.“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” said Trump, who’s the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 election.“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done,” he continued. “The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaig...

Trump indictment: What will the arrest process look like?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Every day, hundreds of people are taken into law enforcement custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump is expected to become one of them next week. Trump was indicted on charges involving payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, his lawyers confirmed Thursday. It’s the first criminal case ever brought against a former U.S. president.Trump — a Republican who assailed the case Thursday as a Democratic prosecutor’s “political persecution” of “a completely innocent person” — is expected to turn himself in to authorities next week, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it publicly. The person said the details of a surrender are still being worked out.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said it had contacted Trump’s lawyer to coordinate his su...

Franz Wagner ventures beyond numbers to help Magic rebound better

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

Although others also brought it to his attention, Orlando Magic second-year forward Franz Wagner didn’t need to be told where he needed to improve.“One thing I got to get better at is rebounding,” Wagner told the Orlando Sentinel during a conversation after the team’s Thursday practice at Georgetown University. “That was one of my focuses these last couple of weeks.”Wagner’s concerted effort on rebounding has been evident in the box score recently.He averaged 5.8 rebounds in 33.2 minutes in the Magic’s previous nine games entering Friday’s road game against the Washington Wizards (34-42).Wagner’s averaging 4.1 rebounds in 33 minutes for the season and was collecting 3.8 per game in his previous 66 games before the recent stretch.He grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in a March 16 road loss to the Phoenix Suns and Sunday’s home win against the Brooklyn Nets. His four-highest rebounding games have come in the last three ...

Who’s who in the Manhattan DA’s Donald Trump indictment

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

By The Associated PressAs Donald Trump fought his way to victory in the 2016 presidential campaign, key allies tried to smooth his bumpy path by paying off two women who had been thinking of going public with allegations of extramarital encounters with the Republican.The payoffs, and the way that Trump’s company accounted for one of them, are believed to be at the center of a grand jury investigation that led to a criminal indictment and could result in the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president.Here’s a look at key figures in the case:STORMY DANIELSA porn actor who’s also had bit parts in mainstream films like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” Daniels was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about what she says was an awkward and unexpected sexual encounter with Trump at a celebrity golf outing in Lake Tahoe in 2006. Trump denies having sex with Daniels.Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid the money i...

Among 160 years of presidential scandals, Trump stands alone

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

By RUSS BYNUM (Associated Press)Though far from the only U.S. president dogged by legal and ethical scandals, Donald Trump now occupies a unique place in history as the first indicted on criminal charges.Two others, like Trump, found themselves impeached by Congress — Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with a White House intern, and Andrew Johnson for pushing the limits of his executive authority in a bitter power struggle following the Civil War.Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over his role in the infamous Watergate break-in. And Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S. Grant both became forever tied to scandals in which close aides got prosecuted, though neither president was ever charged.Here’s a look at how Trump’s predecessors fared:BILL CLINTONClinton spent more than half his presidency under scrutiny in investigations that ranged from failed real estate deals to the Democratic president’s affair with a White House intern.Investigators took a len...

Column: Opening day at Wrigley Field melds the Chicago Cubs’ past with the future

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

Every opening day brings a reminder of something from the past, and the past is a prologue when it comes to the Chicago Cubs.The yin and yang of Cubs baseball was in evidence again Thursday at the season opener at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 in the first game of the pitch-clock era.Winning pitcher Marcus Stroman made history in the third inning with MLB’s first pitch-clock violation, new shortstop Dansby Swanson finished with three hits and drove in the season’s first run and the Cubs played stellar defense on a cold and sunny afternoon.It was their 8,368th game at Wrigley since April 20, 1916, when the Cubs moved into the ballpark at the corner of Clark and Addison streets, an afternoon the Chicago Tribune called “another epochal day in the history of baseball.”Wrigley has changed quite a bit since that 7-6, 11-inning win against the Cincinnati Reds. Even the old center-field scoreboard wasn’t around back then. But Cubs...

Outfielder Oscar Colás on making Chicago White Sox opening-day roster: ‘It’s not just getting here. It’s staying here.’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

Oscar Colás called his mother after finding out he earned a roster spot.“She was crying and screaming,” Colás said through an interpreter. “I got nervous because I thought something happened to her.”Just happiness for her son, who will be one of the options in right field for the Chicago White Sox.“It means a lot to me,” Colás said of the opportunity. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve been working for this for a very long time and now being here is very special.”Colás met with reporters Wednesday afternoon at Minute Maid Park on the eve of the season opener against the Houston Astros.Colás, a lefty, did not get the start Thursday as right-handed hitter Romy Gonzalez began the game in right field with left-hander Framber Valdez on the mound for the Astros.“I just thought Romy was a good matchup,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Thursday afternoon. “Romy had a really good spring. He’...

Red Sox notebook: Opening Day comeback bid falls short

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

Give the Red Sox credit for this much, they made things interesting in the end.On a day when it felt like the game was as good as done by the middle innings, the offense came to life and clawed its way back down the stretch, ultimately falling one swing short in their 10-9 Opening Day loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.The home team scored five runs of their runs from the eighth inning on, and in the bottom of the ninth, Masataka Yoshida came to the plate with two on, one out, and a chance to win the game with one swing.Boston’s new left-fielder grounded into what should have been a game-ending double play, but sloppy defense by Baltimore gave the Red Sox new life, albeit briefly. Jorge Mateo botched the throw to first, and Yoshida advanced to second on the error. That brought Adam Duvall to the plate with the tying run at second, but he struck out to end the game.How did Yoshida feel about his major league debut?“It was very cold, but my heart was burning.R...

University of Toronto study finds ‘forever chemicals’ in several fast food packaging items

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

A new study out of the University of Toronto has found so-called ‘forever chemicals’ in several fast food packaging items for the first time in Canada, prompting calls for action and greater oversight.“We as scientists can’t keep up with the proliferation with a large number of new chemicals that are being introduced and used,” Miriam L. Diamond, an earth sciences professor and one of the study leads, told CityNews.“We should not be conducting an experiment in real-time with our population and our ecosystem to figure out what the toxicity and adverse effects would be of these ‘forever chemicals.'”Diamond said she and the team of scientists collected packaging items (paper wrappers and bags as well as compostable bowls) from 42 different fast-food establishments. She said around half of the items contained PFAS (per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), which are used to help stop food and fluids from leaking through the packaging. Diamond ...

Freeland says budget lacked housing measures because 2022 funds still being spent

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:17 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has dismissed criticism that this week’s federal budget lacks measures to address Canada’s housing crisis, saying last year’s budget featured a $10-billion plan that is still being spent.Freeland said Thursday that last year’s budget allocated funds for a $4 billion housing accelerator program that was launched only this month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.She said the previous housing funding “hasn’t been spent yet,” and it’s up to municipalities across the country to apply for it through a recently opened portal for the accelerator fund.“This was a multi-year plan,” Freeland said at a news conference in Surrey, east of Vancouver. “You don’t deploy $10 billion in one month or in one year.”B.C. Premier David Eby, who attended the news conference with Freeland, said he recognized there are “significant parcels” of funding from the last budget that have not yet been deployed in the pro...