Eric Tucker

Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump have heard a recording of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president. A visibly irritated Trump leaned forward at the defense table and jurors appeared riveted as prosecutors on Thursday played the September 2016 recording that attorney Michael Cohen secretly made of himself briefing his celebrity client on a plan to buy Karen McDougal’s story of an extramarital relationship. Testimony resumes Friday.

National News |
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story

May 2, 2024 at 9:44 p.m.

Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump have heard a recording of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a...

A prosecutor told jurors that Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public. The statement came Monday at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial. A defense lawyer countered by saying Trump was innocent and by attacking the integrity of the onetime Trump confidant who’s now the government’s star witness. The opening statements offered the 12-person jury — and the voting public — a roadmap for viewing the allegations at the heart of the case and Trump’s expected defenses.

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Trump tried to ‘corrupt’ the 2016 election, prosecutor alleges as hush money trial gets underway

April 22, 2024 at 3:40 p.m.

A prosecutor told jurors that Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public. The statement came Monday...

Someone with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the massive container ship that caused the deadly collapse of a Baltimore bridge experienced apparent electrical issues hours before it left the port. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment, said Monday that alarms went off on the Dali’s refrigerated containers, likely indicating an inconsistent power supply. Earlier Monday, the FBI agents boarded the vessel amid a criminal investigation, according to another person speaking on the condition of anonymity. The Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six construction workers.

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Ship that caused bridge collapse had apparent electrical issues while still docked, AP source says

April 15, 2024 at 6:51 p.m.

Someone with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the massive container ship that caused the deadly collapse of a Baltimore bridge experienced apparent electrical issues hours before...

The U.S. House has passed a bill to reauthorize and reform a key U.S. government surveillance tool without including broad restrictions on how the FBI uses this crucial program to search for Americans’ data.

National Politics |
House passes reauthorization of key U.S. surveillance program after days of upheaval over changes

April 12, 2024 at 2:49 p.m.

The U.S. House has passed a bill to reauthorize and reform a key U.S. government surveillance tool without including broad restrictions on how the FBI uses this crucial program to...

The United States expects to face fast-moving threats to American elections this year as artificial intelligence and other technological advances have made interference and meddling easier than before, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday.

National Politics |
U.S. is bracing for complex, fast-moving threats to elections this year, FBI director warns

February 29, 2024 at 10:21 a.m.

The United States expects to face fast-moving threats to American elections this year as artificial intelligence and other technological advances have made interference and meddling easier than before, FBI Director...

Seeking to turn legal problems into political gain, former President Donald Trump arrived Monday to a crowd of supporters at a federal courthouse in Florida for a closed hearing in the criminal case charging him with mishandling classified documents.

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Trump appears at federal court in Florida for closed hearing in his classified documents case

February 12, 2024 at 2:49 p.m.

Seeking to turn legal problems into political gain, former President Donald Trump arrived Monday to a crowd of supporters at a federal courthouse in Florida for a closed hearing in...

A federal appeals court panel has ruled Donald Trump can face trial on charges he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The court on Tuesday rejected the Republican ex-president’s claims that he’s immune from prosecution. It’s the second time in as many months judges have spurned Trump’s immunity arguments and said he can be prosecuted for actions undertaken while in the White House and in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The court’s decision sets the stage for additional appeals from Trump, to either the U.S. Supreme Court or the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The trial was originally set for March, but it was postponed last week and the judge didn’t immediately set a new date.

National Politics |
Trump is not immune from prosecution in his 2020 election interference case, U.S. appeals court says

February 6, 2024 at 11:04 a.m.

A federal appeals court panel has ruled Donald Trump can face trial on charges he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The court on Tuesday rejected the...

The Justice Department says police officials who responded to the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, “demonstrated no urgency” in setting up a command post and failed to treat the killings as an active shooter situation. A Justice Department report released Thursday identifies “cascading failures” in law enforcement’s handling of one of the deadliest massacres at a school in American history. The report, the most comprehensive federal accounting of the haphazard police response to the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School, identifies a vast array of problems from failed communication and leadership to inadequate technology and training that federal officials say contributed to the crisis lasting far longer than it should have.

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The police response to the Uvalde shooting was riddled with failures, a new DOJ report says

January 18, 2024 at 4:53 p.m.

The Justice Department says police officials who responded to the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, “demonstrated no urgency” in setting up a command post and failed to treat the...

Prosecutors say a defense contractor at the center of one of the biggest bribery scandals in U.S. military history is expected to face additional charges following his return to the United States from Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner swap between the two countries. Leonard Glenn Francis, who is nicknamed “Fat Leonard,” faced a federal judge for the first time since snipping off his ankle monitor last year and disappearing weeks before a sentencing hearing on charges that he offered more than $500,000 in cash bribes to Navy officials, defense contractors and others.

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From fugitive to shackled prisoner, ‘Fat Leonard’ lands back in US court and could face more charges

December 21, 2023 at 6:38 p.m.

Prosecutors say a defense contractor at the center of one of the biggest bribery scandals in U.S. military history is expected to face additional charges following his return to the...

The United States has freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the extradition of a fugitive defense contractor.

National News |
10 Americans freed, fugitive contractor ‘Fat Leonard’ to be extradited under Venezuela prisoner swap

December 20, 2023 at 2:36 p.m.

The United States has freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the extradition...

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