NoneBEIRUT (AP) — Israel's military launched airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 31 while Israeli leaders appeared to be closing in on a negotiated ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. They issued evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs, and strikes landed across the city, including meters from a Lebanese police base and the city's largest public park. The barrage came as officials indicated they were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Security Cabinet prepared to discuss an offer on the table. Massive explosions lit up Lebanon's skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs Monday. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. No casualties were reported after many residents fled the targeted sites. Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel had issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatiyeh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday that 26 people were killed in southern Lebanon, four in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel province and one in Choueifat, a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs that was not subjected to evacuation warnings on Monday. The deaths brought the total toll to 3,768 killed in Lebanon throughout 13 months of war between Israel and Hezbollah and nearly two months since Israel launched its ground invasion. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been civilians , and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon's Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October, meeting heavy resistance in a narrow strip of land along the border. The military had previously exchanged attacks across the border with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that began firing rockets into Israel the day after the war in Gaza began last year. Lebanese politicians have decried the ongoing airstrikes and said they are impeding U.S.-led ceasefire negotiations. The country's deputy parliament speaker accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment in order to pressure Lebanon to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah. Elias Bousaab, an ally of the militant group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because “we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire.” Israeli officials voiced similar optimism Monday about prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country's ambassador to Washington, earlier in the day told Israeli Army Radio that several points had yet to be finalized. Though any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah were “close to a deal." “It can happen within days,” he said. Israeli officials have said the sides are close to an agreement that would include withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and a pullback of Hezbollah fighters from the Israeli border. But several sticking points remain. Two Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Netanyahu’s security Cabinet had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, but they said it remained unclear whether the Cabinet would vote to approve the deal. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations. Danny Danon, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, told reporters Monday that he expected a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah to have stages and to be discussed by leaders Monday or Tuesday. Still, he warned, “it’s not going to happen overnight.” After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted that there could be last-minute hitches that either delay or destroy an agreement. "Nothing is done until everything is done," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. The proposal under discussion to end the fighting calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. The withdrawals would be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, who have been largely sidelined in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing U.N. peacekeeping force . Western diplomats and Israeli officials said Israel is demanding the right to strike in Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is violating the terms. The Lebanese government has said that such an arrangement would authorize violations of the country's sovereignty. A ceasefire could mark a step toward ending the regionwide war that ballooned after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250 . The lack of a ceasefire has emerged as a political liability for Israeli leaders including Netanyahu, particularly while 60,000 Israelis remain away from their homes in the country's north after more than a year of cross-border violence. Hezbollah rockets have reached as far south into Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers died fighting in the ground offensive in Lebanon. The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest of Iran’s armed proxies , is expected to significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It’s not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition. A top Hamas official in Lebanon said the Palestinian militant group would support a ceasefire between its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and Israel, despite Hezbollah’s previous promises to stop the fighting in Lebanon only if the war in Gaza ends. “Any announcement of a ceasefire is welcome. Hezbollah has stood by our people and made significant sacrifices,” Osama Hamdan of Hamas' political wing told the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, which is seen as politically allied with Hezbollah. While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.” If the ceasefire talks fail, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, “it will mean more destruction and more and more animosity and more dehumanization and more hatred and more bitterness.” Speaking at a G7 meeting in Fiuggi, Italy, the last summit of its kind before U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office, Safadi said such a failure "will doom the future of the region to more conflict and more killing and more destruction.” Federman reported from Jerusalem and Metz from Rabat, Morocco. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Nicole Winfield in Fiuggi, Italy, and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report. Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Analysis: After Juan Soto's megadeal, could MLB see a $1 billion contract? Probably not soonDonald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save NEW YORK — Eager to preserve President-elect Donald Trump's hush money conviction even as he returns to office, prosecutors suggested various ways forward — including one based on how some courts handle criminal cases when defendants die. In court papers made public Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney's office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books. The proposals include freezing the case until Trump is out of office, or agreeing that any future sentence wouldn't include jail time. Another idea: closing the case with a notation that acknowledges his conviction but says that he was never sentenced and his appeal wasn't resolved because of presidential immunity. Former President Donald Trump appears in Manhattan criminal court May 30 during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York. The last is adopted from what some states do when a criminal defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether that option is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Judge Juan M. Merchan could innovate in what's already a unique case. People are also reading... OSU football: A prediction gone badly wrong Corvallis decides layout for new civic campus — with a side of strife As I See It: Six reasons why Trump won again Albany man pleads to numerous sex crimes The real reason Corvallis' Pastega Lights moved to Linn County 2025 to bring rate increases, new fee for hauling Corvallis waste Corvallis Samaritan hospital has new CEO Court dismisses jail-related Benton County whistleblower complaint Graduate employees reach deal with OSU to end strike Graduate strike at OSU continues. What's the holdup? Why did Trump win? Election debrief hosted by Corvallis group OSU football: Beavers add 18 players as signing period opens Corvallis woman cuts hair for homeless: 'The Lord gave me a calling' Family objects to Jefferson man’s sex offense sentence OSU men's basketball: What does the Beavers' high NET ranking mean? "This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding," prosecutors wrote. But at the same time, it wouldn't "precipitously discard" the "meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers." Expanding on a position they laid out last month, prosecutors acknowledged that "presidential immunity requires accommodation during a president's time in office," but they were adamant that the conviction should stand. They argued that Trump's impending return to the White House should not upend a jury's finding. Trump wants the case to be thrown out in light of his election. His communications director, Steven Cheung, called prosecutors' filing "a pathetic attempt to salvage the remains of an unconstitutional and politically motivated hoax." Trump has fought for months to reverse his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier. Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom May 30 at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. He claims they didn’t and denies wrongdoing. Trump portrays the case as a political attack ginned up by District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other Democrats. Trump's legal team argues that letting the case continue would present unconstitutional "disruptions" to his upcoming presidential term. Trump's attorneys also cited President Joe Biden's recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of tax and gun charges. Biden complained that his son was unfairly prosecuted for political reasons — and Trump's lawyers say he was, too. Trump's lawyers argued that the possibility of a jail sentence — even if it's after he leaves office — would affect his presidency. Prosecutors suggested Merchan could address that concern by agreeing not to put him behind bars. It's unclear how soon Merchan could decide what to do next with the case. He could grant Trump's request for dismissal, go with one of the suggestions from prosecutors, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump's parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. Former President Donald Trump gestures May 31 as he leaves a news conference at Trump Tower in New York. He was scheduled for sentencing late last month. After Trump's Nov. 5 election win, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president's sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump's prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump's conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. The hush money case was the only one of Trump's four criminal indictments to go to trial. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith ended his two federal cases, which pertained to Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in each case. Photos: A visual look at Donald Trump’s hush money trial Former President Donald Trump speaks outside the courtroom after a jury convicted him of felony crimes for falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool) Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan criminal court, on May 13, 2024, in New York. (Sarah Yenesel/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump talks to the media outside Manhattan criminal court in New York, on May 14, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, on April 30, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP) Michael Cohen, right, leaves his apartment building in New York, on May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings in Manhattan Criminal Court, on May 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, Pool) Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool) From left North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy look on as former President Donald Trump talks to the media as he arrives at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on May 14, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP) A supporter of former President Donald Trump reads a "Jews for Trump" sign outside Manhattan Criminal Court, on May 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Donald Trump, Jr. speaks to reporters across the street from former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York, on May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A supporter of former President Donald Trump and an anti-Trump protester fight outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Robert De Niro, center, argues with a Donald Trump supporter after speaking to reporters in support of President Joe Biden across the street from Trump's criminal trial in New York, on May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Donald Trump Jr. speaks outside Manhattan criminal court, on May 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Former President Donald Trump talks to the media after a day of testimony in his trial at Manhattan Criminal court in New York, on May 10, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP) Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, wears a tie with photographs of former President Donald Trump during a press conference outside Manhattan criminal court, on May 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Trump supporters wave flags and cheer as the motorcade carrying former President Donald Trump leaves the Manhattan Criminal court, on May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah) Former President Donald Trump, seen through a camera viewfinder, speaks to members of the media at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on May 2, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump gestures as he returns to court after a lunch break, at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on May 16, 2024. (Mike Segar/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 21, 2024 in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP) Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather in Collect Pond Park outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Former President Donald Trump closes his eyes, during his trial at Manhattan criminal court on May 16, 2024, in New York. (Mike Segar/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his criminal trial at the Manhattan criminal court in New York, on May 6, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump walks to the courtroom at Manhattan criminal court as jurors are expected to begin deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York, on May 29, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP) Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court, on April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, on May 20, 2024. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool) Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.Analysis: After Juan Soto's megadeal, could MLB see a $1 billion contract? Probably not soonFrance cruise past ill-disciplined ArgentinaIn today's digital-first business landscape, Praveen Sivathapandi stands out as a leader in solutions architecture, bringing over 18 years of experience across finance, healthcare, and logistics. Known for his technical expertise and commitment to transformative solutions, Praveen has shaped how enterprises structure their technology infrastructure, emphasizing adaptability, efficiency, and resilience. A Foundation in Architecture and Development Praveen's journey as a Senior Solutions Architect is rooted in a solid understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), where he has managed projects from conception through implementation. 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BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s military launched airstrikes across on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 31 while Israeli leaders appeared to be closing in on a with the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. They issued evacuation orders for Beirut’s southern suburbs, and strikes landed across the city, including meters from a Lebanese police base and the city’s largest public park. The barrage came as officials indicated they were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister ‘s Security Cabinet prepared to discuss an offer on the table. Airstrikes kill at least 31 Massive explosions lit up Lebanon’s skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs Monday. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. No casualties were reported after many residents fled the targeted sites. Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel had issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatiyeh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday that 26 people were killed in southern Lebanon, four in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel province and one in Choueifat, a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs that was not subjected to evacuation warnings on Monday. The deaths brought the total toll to 3,768 killed in Lebanon throughout 13 months of war between Israel and Hezbollah and nearly two months since Israel launched its ground invasion. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been , and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October, meeting heavy resistance in a narrow strip of land along the border. The military had previously exchanged attacks across the border with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that began firing rockets into Israel the day after the war in Gaza began last year. Lebanese politicians have decried the ongoing airstrikes and said they are impeding U.S.-led ceasefire negotiations. The country’s deputy parliament speaker accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment in order to pressure Lebanon to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah. Elias Bousaab, an ally of the militant group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because “we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire.” Hopes grow for a ceasefire Israeli officials voiced similar optimism Monday about prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country’s ambassador to Washington, earlier in the day told Israeli Army Radio that several points had yet to be finalized. Though any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah were “close to a deal.” “It can happen within days,” he said. Israeli officials have said the sides are close to an agreement that would include withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and a pullback of Hezbollah fighters from the Israeli border. But several sticking points remain. Two Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Netanyahu’s security Cabinet had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, but they said it remained unclear whether the Cabinet would vote to approve the deal. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations. Danny Danon, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, told reporters Monday that he expected a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah to have stages and to be discussed by leaders Monday or Tuesday. Still, he warned, “it’s not going to happen overnight.” After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted that there could be last-minute hitches that either delay or destroy an agreement. “Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. The proposal under discussion to end the fighting calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. The withdrawals would be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, who have been in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing . Western diplomats and Israeli officials said Israel is in Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is violating the terms. The Lebanese government has said that such an arrangement would authorize violations of the country’s sovereignty. A ceasefire could mark a step toward ending the regionwide war that ballooned after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, . The lack of a ceasefire has emerged as a political liability for Israeli leaders including Netanyahu, particularly while 60,000 Israelis in the country’s north after more than a year of cross-border violence. Hezbollah have reached as far south into Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers died fighting in the ground offensive in Lebanon. The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest of , is expected to significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It’s not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition. A top Hamas official in Lebanon said the Palestinian militant group would support a ceasefire between its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and Israel, despite Hezbollah’s previous promises to stop the fighting in Lebanon only if the war in Gaza ends. “Any announcement of a ceasefire is welcome. Hezbollah has stood by our people and made significant sacrifices,” Osama Hamdan of Hamas’ political wing told the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, which is seen as politically allied with Hezbollah. While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.” If the ceasefire talks fail, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said, “it will mean more destruction and more and more animosity and more dehumanization and more hatred and more bitterness.” Speaking at a G7 meeting in Fiuggi, Italy, the last summit of its kind before U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office, Safadi said such a failure “will doom the future of the region to more conflict and more killing and more destruction.” ___ Federman reported from Jerusalem and Metz from Rabat, Morocco. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Nicole Winfield in Fiuggi, Italy, and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Find more of AP’s war coverage at Sally Abou Aljoud, Joe Federman And Sam Metz, The Associated PressLions receiver Jameson Williams won't be charged for having a gun in a car
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina election officials won't order another recount in a close state Supreme Court race after a partial hand recount failed to suggest the trailing Republican candidate could overtake the Democratic incumbent. Following the completion of a machine recount of over 5.5 million ballots last week, Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs maintained a 734-vote lead over Republican Jefferson Griffin, who is currently a state Court of Appeals judge. Griffin then requested a partial hand recount in which randomly chosen ballots from 3% of the voting sites in all 100 counties were reexamined. The law says a statewide hand recount would have been required if the sample results differed enough so that the result would be reversed if the difference were extrapolated to all ballots. But the sample tabulations, which finished Tuesday, showed Riggs actually picking up more votes than Griffin. As a result, the State Board of Elections said a total recount won't be ordered. The election, however, has not been fully resolved. The five-member state board was scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday on protests previously filed by Griffin and three GOP legislative candidates who also are in very close elections. Riggs, one of two Democrats on the seven-member court, declared victory again on Tuesday, and her campaign renewed calls for Griffin to concede. Griffin didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The protests going before the state board, which question if well over 60,000 ballots should have been counted, cover three categories of voting. They include votes cast by people with voter registration records that lack driver’s licenses or partial Social Security numbers; overseas voters who have never lived in North Carolina but whose parents were deemed state residents; and military or overseas voters who did not provide copies of photo identification with their ballots. Separately Tuesday, a Court of Appeals panel unanimously declined Griffin's request to order the state board to rule on the protests before Wednesday's meeting to accelerate the process. The board could dismiss the protests or — if problems are found — order corrected ballot tallies, more recounts or new elections. Decisions by the board — with a 3-2 Democratic majority — can be appealed to state courts. Other protests filed by Griffin and the legislative candidates are being first considered by county boards. The state Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit last week seeking to block the State Board of Elections from ruling in any way to throw out the disputed ballots. The Democrats' lawyers say federal law prohibits such systematic challenges to voter eligibility for an election that has already passed. Some of the protests focus on activities that Republicans already sued over before the November election. Democratic officials and their allies held a news conference early Tuesday outside the state Supreme Court building and strongly criticized Griffin and other Republicans for initiating claims they say would disenfranchise legal voters. North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said she fears the state Supreme Court could ultimately side with Republicans and remove the challenged ballots. “We are trying to make sure that people are raising their voices, that we are filing lawsuits where we can,” Clayton said. “And we are also trusting the process of our board of elections officials to do their job and to count every single vote.” Griffin led Riggs by about 10,000 votes on election night, but that lead dwindled and flipped to Riggs as qualifying provisional and absentee ballots were added to the totals. Other types of protests filed by Griffin and the legislators are being considered by county boards. The Associated Press has not called the Supreme Court race and two of the three legislative races highlighted in the protests. In one of the two, Republican state Rep. Frank Sossamon trails Democratic challenger Bryan Cohn. A Cohn victory would mean Republicans fall one seat short of retaining their current veto-proof majority starting next month.Percentages: FG .347, FT .842. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
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Apple’s UK engineering teams have ‘doubled in size in five years’Luxury Group Charts New Territories Through Global Sotheby's Brand Partnership, Offering Once-in-a-Lifetime Auction ExperiencesOne of Donald Trump’s biggest legal cases is set to the dropped after a major ruling from the US Justice Department. Special Counsel Jack Smith has moved to drop the US President-elect’s interference case after he allegedly attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In a court motion filed on Monday local time, Mr Smith asked US District Judge Tanya Chutkan to throw out the case ahead of Mr Trump’s inauguration in January. Special counsel Jack Smith filed the court motion on Monday local time. Picture: AFP Donald Trump attends his criminal trial in New York in May. Picture: AFP MORE: Ivanka reveals ‘hurtful toll’ behind Trump snub He said the move would echo the department’s long-standing position not to prosecute a sitting president. “The Government’s position on the merits of the defendant’s prosecution has not changed,” Mr Smith said in the filing with Justice Chutkan. “But the circumstances have. It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President. “As a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.” In a post to social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump responded to the court filing, saying he had “persevered against all odds”. “These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless and should never have been brought,” he wrote. “It was a political hijacking and a low point in the history of our vountry that such a thing could have happened.” The case could be reopened when Mr Trump leaves the White House in four years time, however, his presidential transition team has hailed the move as a “major victory”. MORE: High roller Trump kids’ multimillion dollar digs Mr Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung labelled the move a “major victory for the rule of law.” “The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponisation of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country,” Mr Cheung said in a statement. Donald Trump points to his wife former US First Lady Melania Trump during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center on November 6. Picture: AFP Special counsel Jack Smith has called for the case to be wrapped up ... for now. Picture: AFP Other Trump cases Mr Trump is also accused of seeking to disenfranchise US voters with his false claims that he won the 2020 election. Mr Smith charged Mr Trump with mishandling top secret documents after leaving the White House, but that case was tossed out by a federal judge in Florida, a Trump appointee, on the grounds that Mr Smith was unlawfully appointed. Donald Trump attends his hush money trial in New York City in May. Picture: AFP Mr Smith had appealed that dismissal but is now expected to drop the appeal. The US Presidental elect has previously labelled both cases by Mr Smith as politically motivated, vowing to fire him after his inauguration. Mr Trump also faces two state cases — in New York and Georgia. He was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her from revealing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter. Stormy Daniels leaves Manhattan Criminal Court after testifying at former US President Donald Trump's trial in May. Picture: AFP Judge Juan Merchan has postponed sentencing while he considers a request from Mr Trump’s lawyers that the conviction be thrown out in light of the Supreme Court ruling in July that an ex-president has broad immunity from prosecution. In Georgia, Mr Trump faces racketeering charges over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election results in the southern state, but that case will likely be frozen while he is in office under the policy of not prosecuting a sitting president. All steam ahead Mr Trump has powering through with his cabinet picks this week ahead of his inauguration on January 20. On Saturday local time, Mr Trump announced conservative lawyer Brooke Rollins, his former White House domestic policy adviser, would run the Agriculture Department, with hedge fund manager Scott Bessent picked as Treasury secretary on Friday. However, three important jobs are yet to be decided. All eyes are now on Mr Trump’s selections for US trade representative, as well as the heads of the Council of Economic Advisers and the Small Business Administration - which are set to be selected in the coming days. More Coverage Ironic twist in Trump interest rates fiasco Tarric Brooker ‘Toxic’: Trump lashed over latest pick Matthew Sedacca and Jon Levine, The New York Post Originally published as ‘Major victory’: Trump’s massive new win Read related topics: Donald Trump World Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. More related stories Entertainment ‘Here with his mates’: Geldof’s emotional tribute to Liam Payne Sir Bob Geldof has unveiled one of the last recordings made by Liam Payne, in Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? charity track. Read more Entertainment Naomi Watts shares devastating family news Australian actress Naomi Watts has opened up about some family news, the second event this year that has left her heartbroken. Read more
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Remember what you searched for in 2024? Google does. Google released its annual “Year in Search” on Tuesday, rounding up the top trending queries entered into its namesake search engine in 2024. The results show terms that saw the highest spike in traffic compared to last year — ranging from key news events, notably global elections, to the most popular songs, athletes and unforgettable pop-culture moments that people looked up worldwide. Sports — particularly soccer and cricket — dominated Google's overall trending searches in 2024. Copa América topped those search trends globally, followed by the UEFA European Championship and ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the U.S. election led news-specific searches worldwide. Queries about excessive heat and this year's Olympic Games followed. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump topped searches in Google's people category this year — followed by Catherine, Princess of Wales, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who also led athlete-specific searches. Meanwhile, the late Liam Payne, Toby Keith and O.J. Simpson led search trends among notable individuals who died in 2024. In the world of entertainment, Disney and Pixar's “Inside Out 2” was the top trending movie of the year, while Netflix's “Baby Reindeer” led TV show trends. And Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” dominated song trends. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Queries for the Olympic village's chocolate muffin, made famous by Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen over the summer games, led Google's global recipe trends this year. The New York Times' “Connections” puzzle topped game searches. And in the U.S., country-specific data shows, many people asked Google about online trends like the word “demure” and “ mob wife aesthetic.” You can find more country-specific lists, and trends from years past, through Google’s “Year in Search” data published online. The California company said it collected 2024 search results from Jan. 1 through Nov. 23 of this year. Google isn't the only one to publish an annual recap or top trends as 2024 draws to a close. Spotify Wrapped, for example, as well as Collins Dictionary and Merriam-Webster’s words of the year, have offered additional reflections for 2024.