Michael Cohen talks about hush money deals
Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen returned to the stand yesterday to face lawyers from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and Donald Trump's defense team in the case against the former president.
Cohen told jurors that he received monthly checks that purported to be part of a legal “retainer” agreement, most of which had the former president's signature, but were actually pornographic. They claim it was to reimburse him for the hush money he paid to star Stormy Daniels. That she had a sexual relationship with Trump. Mr. Cohen's testimony was the first and only personal testimony linking Mr. Trump to documents at the heart of the case.
Mr. Trump's lawyers sought to portray Mr. Cohen as an opportunist during focused questioning. Trump's lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, spoke to Cohen about his social media posts, efforts to monetize his feud with the former president, his own criminal history and his desire to meet Trump in prison. It approached.
analysis: The defense appeared to be trying to portray Cohen as “essentially Trump's stalker,” wrote colleague Maggie Haberman — once obsessed with the former president. Now he's a man equally obsessed with revenge.
What's next: Trump's lawyers said they may call expert witnesses but have not decided whether to call Trump himself.
Other information: In a blow to Trump, an appeals court upheld the judge's gag order.
Russia expands defense ministry purge
Russian security services detained a senior general, Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, early yesterday on “massive” bribery charges, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, a federal law enforcement agency. His detention comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly replaced his longtime defense minister, Sergei Shoigu.
Prosecutors said General Kuznetsov accepted bribes from “commercial interests” between 2021 and 2023, when he was working to protect state secrets. Prosecutors argued that security agents found $1 million worth of cash and luxury goods during a search of his home.
UN adjusts death toll in Gaza Strip
The United Nations has acknowledged that information on casualties during Israel's war in the Gaza Strip is incomplete and has begun to note that the number of deaths among women and children in the Strip is much lower.
The group now says 4,959 women and 7,797 children have been killed, down from at least 9,500 women and 14,500 children earlier this month. The total number of casualties (about 35,000) remains largely unchanged, but UN officials say about 10,000 of the dead are not included in the new breakdown because they are awaiting further identification information. said.
background: The change comes as the UN has switched to citing more conservative sources for its figures. The change has spurred debate over the reliability of these numbers, which many international officials and experts say are generally reliable.
Gaza: Israeli military leaders are frustrated by the lack of a plan to govern the territory after the war.
Other top news
British butlers are still struggling, but not as hard as they once were. These days, they not only polish silver and fold napkins, but also take on the role of private maître d's, who also manage people's lives.
Client requests can sometimes be unconventional. “The client pointed to the coastline and said, 'I'd like to have dinner on top of that mountain tonight, please make arrangements,'” said one veteran butler. A local restaurant was called and dinner for six and table settings were flown in by helicopter.
Life lived: Canadian author and Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro, widely known as a master of the short story, has died. She was 92 years old.
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fight on the streets of new york city
The streets of New York City have always been busy, but these days they are dangerously uninhabitable.
Residents clash over traffic, parking and trash piles. Cars and taxis fight for space, while buses swerve to avoid trucks parked in bike lanes. Electric bikes are everywhere. Although far fewer pedestrians are killed by motorists these days, last year was the deadliest year for cyclists since 1999.
“All of these things are trying to fit into a grid that was designed in 1811,” my colleague Dodai Stewart explains in the video. Relief may be on the way. The city is enacting the nation's first congestion pricing plan that would charge most drivers $15 to enter most of Manhattan below 60th Street.