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Former President Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The grand jury indictment is under seal. At this point, it is unclear exactly what the former president has been charged with, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election. TRUMP SAYS DA BRAGG’S ‘OBSESSION’ WITH TRYING TO ‘GET TRUMP’ WILL ‘BACKFIRE’ AFTER GRAND JURY INDICTMENT These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels, revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018, were allegedly made to prevent them from going public with details of alleged affairs with Trump–affairs Trump has repeatedly denied.  Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021. TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS Here’s what you need to know about the payments:  In 2016, then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen, in the weeks before the presidential election, issued a $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. In September 2016, Cohen also arranged the $150,000 payment to McDougal, through the parent company of the National Enquirer, American Media Inc.  TRUMP-MANHATTAN DA CASE: BOB COSTELLO TESTIFIES TO GRAND JURY, SAYS MICHAEL COHEN IS A ‘SERIAL LIAR’ The payments to Daniels were first revealed in January 2018 in a Wall Street Journal report that said Cohen and Daniels’ lawyer negotiated a nondisclosure agreement to prevent her from publicly discussing the supposed sexual encounter with Trump. At the time, though, Cohen, Trump, and even Stormy Daniels denied the arrangement. In January 2018, Cohen said the alleged encounter between Daniels and Trump was a rumor that had circulated “since 2011.” And in a letter dated Jan. 10, 2018, obtained and reviewed by Fox News, Daniels also denied the allegations. FLASHBACK: TRUMP REP, FORMER PORN STAR DENY ‘HUSH MONEY’ CLAIMS “I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false,” Daniels wrote. “My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.” Daniels wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was “gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.” “Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the letter read. “If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn’t be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true.” TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO But in March 2018, Daniels changed her story. During an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Daniels claimed she had a one-time, unprotected sexual encounter with Trump. At the time, Trump said he was not aware of the payment made to Daniels. When asked in April 2018 why Cohen made the payment, Trump responded: “You have to ask Michael Cohen — Michael’s my attorney.” FLASHBACK: TRUMP SAYS HE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT $130G PAYMENT FROM MICHAEL COHEN TO STORMY DANIELS Initially, there were questions about whether the non-disclosure agreement that was signed by Daniels — but not by Trump — was valid. Daniels began legal efforts to depose Trump and Cohen over the payment. She also filed a defamation suit against Cohen, following a cease-and-desist letter sent by Cohen’s attorney that directed her to refrain from any further “false and defamatory” statements about Cohen following her tell-all “60 Minutes” interview. By 2017, Cohen was facing his own legal trouble. A federal investigation into Cohen began in 2017, a year before the FBI raided his home and business. In December 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison, after pleading guilty to federal charges that included lying to Congress, campaign-finance violations and tax evasion. The charges against Cohen arose from two separate investigations – one by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and the other by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. FLASHBACK: MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY, GETS 3 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TAX FRAUD, CAMPAIGN FINANCE VIOLATIONS, LYING Cohen pleaded guilty to misleading Congress about his work on a proposal to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow, and hiding the fact that he continued to speak with Russians about the proposal well into the 2016 presidential campaign. In the New York case, prosecutors accused Cohen of a years-long “tax evasion scheme” to avoid paying federal income taxes on more than $4 million made through a number of ventures, including through his ownership of taxi medallions, his selling of real estate in Florida and his consulting work for other clients. Cohen pleaded guilty to arranging the $130,000 payment to Daniels and a payment of $150,000 to model Karen McDougal to prevent them from going public with alleged affairs with Trump. Trump has repeatedly denied those alleged encounters. As for the McDougal payments, American Media Inc. allegedly bought McDougal’s story from her, in which she claimed a past affair with then-candidate Donald Trump, for $150,000 in September 2016—weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Federal prosecutors in SDNY decided in 2018 not to bring charges against American Media Inc. for spending $150,000 to buy, then conceal, McDougal’s story. TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT PROBES INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM STORMY DANIELS TO RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO At the time, American Media Inc., “admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election.” FLASHBACK: TRUMP, IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW, SAYS HE NEVER ‘DIRECTED’ MICHAEL COHEN ‘TO DO ANYTHING WRONG’ Meanwhile, as part of his plea deal and during the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation, Cohen said that Trump directed the payments.  As recently as this month, Cohen told Fox News Digital that the payments were made “at the direction of, in coordination with and for the benefit of Donald.” Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 through his own company and was later reimbursed by Trump’s company, which logged the payments as “legal expenses.” The Trump Organization “grossed up” Cohen’s reimbursement for Daniels’ payment for “tax purposes,” according to federal prosecutors who filed the 2018 criminal charges against Cohen for the payments.  Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing with regard to the payments made, and has repeatedly said the payments were “not a campaign violation,” but rather a “simple private transaction.”  Federal prosecutors in the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. FLASHBACK: COHEN SAYS TRUMP KNEW HUSH-MONEY PAYMENTS TO STORMY DANIELS, KAREN MCDOUGAL WERE WRONG The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021. FLASHBACK: FORMER FEC COMMISSIONERS: TRUMP-COHEN ‘HUSH’ PAYMENTS NOT NECESSARILY A VIOLATION The Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into Trump was opened in 2019 by then-DA Cyrus Vance. The probe was focused on possible bank, insurance and tax fraud. The case initially involved financial dealings of Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre estate Seven Springs in Westchester. The investigation last year led to tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization, and its finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty. FLASHBACK: FEC DROPS TRUMP-STORMY DANIELS HUSH-MONEY INVESTIGATION Alvin Bragg took over the investigation into Trump last January when he became district attorney. At the time, Bragg expressed doubts about the case, and suspended the investigation, leading two top prosecutors, Mark Pomerantz and Casey Dunne, to resign. Pomerantz published a book this year, criticizing Bragg. Despite federal prosecutors and the FEC opting out of bringing charges against Trump, Bragg continued to pursue felony charges against the former president, signaled by the empaneling of a grand jury in the investigation.
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President Biden accidentally referred to the town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi as “Rolling Stone” on Friday, in the wake of tornados that have devastated parts of the Mississippi Delta. Rolling Fork was hit by an EF4 tornado on March 25. The devastating whirlwinds killed at least 25 people in the region at the time, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. The tornado began near Rolling Fork and moved 30 miles northeast through Silver City. According to radar analysis, the tornado had the ability to lift debris over 20,000 feet in the air and was on the ground for 80 miles. “We’re not just here for today, I’m determined that we’re going to leave nothing behind. We’re going to get it done for you,” Biden said during the speech. “I’m making sure you got a place to sleep, food to eat, helping you rebuild your lives in Rolling Stone.” MISSISSIPPI TORNADOES: VIOLENT TWISTERS KILL AT LEAST 25 AND LEAVE 100-MILE DESTRUCTION PATH Biden repeated that gaffe again during the speech. “The town of Rolling Stone will be back, and we’ll be with you every step of the way,” Biden said.  The president realized that he used two different names for the town toward the end of the speech. RECOVERY EFFORTS CONTINUE IN TORNADO RAVAGED MISSISSIPPI WHERE AT LEAST 25 WERE KILLED “What did I say, I said Rolling Fork,” Biden stumbled. “Rolling Stone. I got my mind going here.” Former Rolling Fork Mayor Fred Miller said most of the town’s businesses were destroyed by the tornados, in addition to residential areas. “The west part of Rolling Fork is a residential area, and just a number of houses over there have been completely destroyed,” Miller said to FOX Weather. “Highway 61, where most of our businesses are, all of the businesses on 61 have been completely destroyed. People are trapped in a couple of the eateries, and people are trying to get them out now.” Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
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House GOP Caucus Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., slammed Rep. Nancy Pelosi as a “radical authoritarian” for suggesting former President Trump will need to “prove his innocence” following his indictment. A grand jury indicted the former president Thursday following Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s investigation into alleged hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the grand jury in a statement Thursday, saying, “No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former president will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.” Stefanik fired back in a statement Friday, saying that “guilty until proven innocent is not how it works in America.””Although radical authoritarian Nancy Pelosi no longer holds her speaker’s gavel, she is still considered a leader in the House Democrat Caucus,” Stefanik said. “Her comments on the unprecedented and corrupt indictment of former President Trump are deeply offensive, unAmerican, and completely counter to the American principles of equal justice under the law and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. These comments must be condemned by all.” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also criticized Pelosi, D-Calif., for her view of how the law works. “Nancy Pelosi says President Trump has to ‘prove his innocence.’ That’s not how it works in this country. But that’s how Democrats think. And it’s scary,” Jordan tweeted. Bragg has been investigating a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and a $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. RON DESANTIS SAYS HE WILL REFUSE ANY EXTRADITION REQUEST AFTER TRUMP INDICTMENT: ‘QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES’ Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted against charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, and the Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021. Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing with regard to payments made to Daniels and McDougal and has repeatedly said the payments were “not a campaign violation,” but a “simple private transaction.” Trump is expected to be arraigned in court Tuesday, a law enforcement source has told Fox News.
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The U.S. Capitol Police will boost its presence around Capitol Hill following the indictment of former President Trump, officials said Friday.  The Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and the USCP said they anticipate demonstrations across the country related to the Trump indictment, which was announced Thursday by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.  “While law enforcement is not tracking any specific, credible threats against the Capitol or state offices, there is potential for demonstration activity,” a note from the Sergeant-at-Arms said.  TRUMP SAYS ‘ILLEGAL LEAKS’ INDICATE HE’LL BE ARRESTED TUESDAY The Senate Operations Center and State Office Readiness Program were monitoring the situation, it said.  In New York, all NYPD officers were ordered to report to work Friday in uniform in anticipation of any potential threats related to the indictment.  “It’s just in preparation for anything that could happen,” an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday. The concerns come after Trump was indicted as part of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s years-long investigation into hush money payments. The payments included transactions of $130,000 made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.  “This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office said. “Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.” Trump’s legal team has denied any wrongdoing. 
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The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved an agreement with the state to revamp policing, nearly three years after a city officer killed George Floyd. The state Department of Human Rights issued a blistering report last year that said the police department had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade. City leaders subsequently agreed to negotiate a settlement with the agency. The City Council approved the court-enforceable agreement Friday on an 11-0 vote, but not before several members expressed harsh criticism of the Minneapolis Police Department and other city leaders over the years. MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS POTENTIAL SETTLEMENT IN MAJOR FLOYD LAWSUIT “The lack of political will to take responsibility for MPD is why we are in this position today,” council member Robin Wonsley said. “This legal settlement formally and legally prevents city leadership from deferring that responsibility anymore. And I hope this settlement is a wake-up call for city leaders, who the public has watched rubber-stamp poor labor contracts, have signed off on endless misconduct settlements, and then shrugged their shoulders when residents asked then why we have a dysfunctional police department.” The state agency launched its investigation shortly after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes, disregarding the Black man’s fading pleas that he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death sparked mass protests that spread around the world. It forced a national reckoning on racial injustice and compelled the Minneapolis Police Department to begin an overhaul. MINNEAPOLIS OVERSIGHT POLICE PANEL GETS RECORD AMOUNT OF APPLICANTS: ‘SEEMS UNBELIEVABLE’ Chauvin was later convicted of murder. He and three other officers who were at the scene are now serving prison terms. Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero signed the agreement after the council vote and were expected to brief reporters later Friday morning. The U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination, and that investigation could lead to a separate consent decree with the city. The state settlement, which still requires court approval, runs over 140 pages. It contains sections governing the use of force; stops, searches and arrests; the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras; training; officer wellness; responding to mental health and behavioral crises; and others. It also requires the appointment of an independent evaluator to monitor compliance.
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The top super PACs backing former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are ramping up attacks in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination. In an ad that starts running Friday on national cable TV, the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. targets DeSantis — who has not yet announced a presidential run — over his past support as a congressman for cuts to Social Security and Medicare. “Think you know Ron DeSantis? Think again,” the commercial’s narrator says. “In Congress, DeSantis voted three separate times to cut Social Security.” “The more you see about DeSantis, the more you see he doesn’t share our values. He’s not ready to be president,” the narrator charges at the end of the spot. 2024 FRICTION: TRUMP WORLD BELITTLES FORMER STAFFERS WHO JUMPED SHIP TO DESANTIS The ads will appear on the Fox News Channel, CNN and Newsmax, with MAGA Inc. shelling out just over $1.3 million to run the spots for a week, according to the national ad tracking firm AdImpact. It’s the first paid media effort by the super PAC to target DeSantis. Trump launched his third White House run in November and remains the clear polling front-runner in the GOP presidential nomination race. DeSantis, who currently sits on the 2024 sidelines, is expected to declare his candidacy for the White House later this spring or summer. He’s firmly in second place in the latest surveys, behind Trump but far ahead of the rest of the field of declared and potential GOP presidential contenders. DESANTIS ALLIES CLAIM FLORIDA GOVERNOR ‘LIVING RENT-FREE’ IN TRUMP’S HEAD The former president and his political team view DeSantis as the biggest threat in the emerging 2024 field, and Trump has been hammering the Florida governor for months, with those attacks increasing in recent weeks. The MAGA Inc. attack comes days after the recently launched pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down went up with a video titled “Waco Crickets,” which highlighted media reports indicating the loud and boisterous crowd at the Trump rally last weekend in Waco, Texas, turned mostly quiet when the former presidential repeatedly attacked the Florida governor.  The video, which was shared first with Fox News, was the first shot by Never Back Down to target Trump. WHO’S IN AND WHO’S ON THE SIDELINES — YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE Sources in DeSantis’ wider orbit have said any presidential campaign launch would come in the late spring or early summer, after the end of Florida’s current legislative session. However, the governor’s recent stops in the early voting states of Iowa and Nevada and a trip next month to New Hampshire are sparking more 2024 speculation. In speeches this year, the governor has pitched his numerous conservative policy victories in Florida as a roadmap for the entire nation.  Additionally, he has been traveling across the country, highlighting his “Florida blueprint” and promoting his newly released memoir, “The Courage to Be Free.” 
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The Biden administration’s top human resources office told federal agencies on Friday to establish policies that explain how federal workers will be allowed to transition to another gender in the workplace in ways that guarantee their privacy support. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released updated guidance on “gender identity and inclusion in the federal workplace,” which had not been changed since the end of the Obama administration in 2017. The new guidance was released on International Transgender Day of Visibility. The old OPM guidance told federal agencies to treat gender transitions with “sensitivity and confidentiality,” and offered other general advice on how to handle transitions. The new guidance asks agencies to go further by setting internal policies and procedures on how to handle transitions, and to “support transitioning employees” consistent with the broad goals laid out by OPM. BIDEN SAYS TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ‘SHAPE OUR NATION’S SOUL’ IN OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION According to OPM, agency policies should explain the “type of support a transitioning employee can expect from supervisors, managers, human resources personnel, and agency employee support services,” including access to employee assistance programs. Agency rules should list a federal human resources official who can support transitioning employees. CHURCH ASSEMBLY TO DEBATE URGING US GOVERNMENT TO ‘RENOUNCE THE SIN’ OF TRANSGENDER PROCEDURES FOR MINORS OPM also said agency rules should set out a procedure by which gender transitions will be reflected in the workplace. “The procedure would include, with the transitioning employee’s input and consent, when and which colleagues to notify of a transition; the timing for name changes and pronoun changes, where applicable and consistent with this Guidance, in email, IT systems, and employee profiles; and a process for any gender identity inclusion training for supervisors, managers, and coworkers if such training would be beneficial,” OPM said. According to OPM guidance, federal agencies are to make their gender transition policies available to everyone and to allow the use of sick leave for transitioning workers if they are receiving medical treatment during their transition, “just as with medical treatment for any other reason.” NASHVILLE TRANSGENDER SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MESSAGES TO FRIEND SHOW ‘MUCH DEEPER ISSUES,’ SAYS EX-FBI SPECIAL AGENT The guidance says more broadly that employees should have “control, to the extent possible, over when, with whom, and how much they share about their gender identity or sex characteristics. It says employees should be addressed by the names and pronouns that they use to describe themselves, and says agencies should use “correct names and pronouns” to avoid discrimination. “The isolated and inadvertent use of an incorrect name or pronoun will generally not constitute unlawful harassment, but, as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has explained, continued intentional use of an incorrect name or pronoun (or both) could, in certain circumstances, contribute to an unlawful hostile work environment,” it said.
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Dozens of protesters swarmed into the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday, demanding that lawmakers take action on gun violence as they appeared to mourn the loss of the transgender former student who shot and killed six people at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this week. While several people held up six fingers, video from the demonstration showed multiple protesters holding up seven fingers at one point in an apparent display of how many lives were lost in the shooting that took place Monday. “Every death is a tragedy, y’all. Seven lives,” one protester could be heard saying in the clip. Breitbart News reporter Spencer Lindquist captured the footage of the protesters and shared it to social media on Thursday, just days after three children and three employees were shot and killed by Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old transgender former student, on Monday at The Covenant School in Nashville. THREE DEMOCRAT STATE LAWMAKERS JOIN PROTESTERS INVADING TENNESSEE STATE CAPITOL Other videos from the protest showed demonstrators tussling and yelling at law enforcement officials at the Volunteer State Capitol as they called for legislative action to prevent additional school shootings. Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and custodian Mike Hill, also 61, were killed in the gunfire on Monday. Three 9-year-old students were also killed: Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney. Hale shot through a locked glass door and entered the school armed with two rifles and a handgun around 10:13 a.m. on Monday. ‘TRANS DAY OF VENGEANCE’ RALLY IN DC CANCELED IN WAKE OF NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING Officer Rex Engelbert, 27, arrived soon after the shooting began and immediately starting clearing classrooms with other officers in search of the shooter. When Hale started firing at other responding officers from the second floor, Engelbert ran upstairs with Officer Michael Collazo, 31, and confronted Hale, who was shot and killed. Three Democratic lawmakers in the Tennessee state House joined pro-gun control protesters at the Thursday evening demonstration in Nashville, including Democrat state Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson. “Power to the people,” Jones yelled through a megaphone on the chamber floor. Protesters at the Tennessee Capitol called for an assault weapon ban in the wake of the mass shooting, and federal lawmakers representing Tennessee are taking action. U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Haggerty, both Republicans from Tennessee, announced on Thursday they will be introducing the Securing Aid for Every (SAFE) School Act following the mass shooting. The bill would create a $900 million grant program for both public and private schools to train and hire former law enforcement officers and veterans to increase security for students. Fox News’ Houston Keene and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped a question on Friday regarding the indictment of former President Trump, but the president of Zambia chose to address the issue. Harris and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema held a joint press conference on Friday as the vice president begins wrapping up her travel on the African continent. The pair were asked for their reactions to news that the 2024 Republican presidential candidate was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS “I am not going to comment on an ongoing criminal case as it relates to the former president,” Harris told the reporter. However, Hichilema took the question and attempted to explain his feelings on the matter from the perspective of the Zambian government. “The indictment of President Trump — what does that mean to the rule of law? Let’s remove names from your question,” Hichilema told the reporter. “Let’s put what we decided we would do to govern ourselves in an orderly manner. [We] passed our constitutions — bedrock law. Then, secondary laws, other regulations create a platform or framework around which we agreed either as Americans or as Zambians to govern ourselves and so to live within those confines.” DEMS REACT TO TRUMP INDICTMENT: SCHIFF CALLS IT ‘SOBERING,’ WATERS KNEW ‘STORMY DANIELS WOULD GET HIM’ “And when there’s transgression against law it, does not matter who is involved. I think that is what the rule of law means. This is universal,” he continued. Hichilema went on to compare the Trump indictment and partisan tensions to corruption in his own nation. “And here, Vice President, we have a scenario now when we fight against corruption which has taken away resources from children and the sick — sometimes names are thrown into it and perceptions are created that are totally inappropriate,” Hichilema said. “Because transgressions against the law, if you take what belongs to the public, you have offended the law and the name does not matter.” DESANTIS SLAMS ‘SOROS-FUNDED’ MANHATTAN DA FOR ‘WEAPONIZING THE OFFICE’ AS TRUMP RUMORS SWIRL Trump was indicted as part of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s years-long investigation, possibly for hush money payments.  Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election.  These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital has learned.  Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.  Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as former Trump attorney Michael Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The FEC also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
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Maryland voters will decide next year whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the Maryland Constitution, after the House of Delegates voted Thursday to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The House voted 98-38 for a bill that already has cleared the state Senate by the three-fifths margin needed to bring the question before voters in 2024. A simple majority would be needed by voters to approve it. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, giving control over abortion to the states. Since then, states have been working to either restrict or strengthen abortion access. NEVADA CONSIDERS ENSHRINING ABORTION RIGHTS IN STATE CONSTITUTION Since November, three states have affirmed abortion protections in their constitutions, including California, Vermont and Michigan. Kentucky voters rejected a ballot measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion. Missouri voters could decide on whether to restore abortion rights, if constitutional amendments make it to the 2024 ballot. The proposals would amend the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights and pregnant patients, as well as access to birth control. Now, most abortions are outlawed in the state. There are exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for cases of rape or incest. In Ohio, supporters of a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution are in the signature-collecting phase to get more than 413,000 voters to put the issue on the fall ballot. The right to abortion already is protected in Maryland law. The state approved legislation in 1991 to protect abortion rights if the Supreme Court allowed abortion to be restricted. That law was petitioned to the ballot and voters approved the right in 1992 with 62% of the vote. Advocates argue that adding the protection to the state constitution would make it even harder for opponents to try to strip away abortion rights in the future. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in Maryland. A constitutional amendment in Maryland doesn’t require approval by the state’s governor, though Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has expressed support for it, as well as other bills the General Assembly is advancing to protect abortion rights this year. Another Maryland measure is designed to protect patients and providers from criminal, civil and administrative penalties relating to abortion bans or restrictions in other states. MISSOURI PROPOSALS MAY PUT ABORTION BACK ON BALLOT A separate data-privacy bill aims to protect medical and insurance records on reproductive health in electronic health information exchanges that can be shared quickly and widely across state lines. Another measure would ensure public colleges and universities in Maryland have a plan for student access near campuses to birth control, including emergency contraception and abortion pills. Maryland lawmakers have said the state already is seeing an increase in patients from other states. A new abortion provider is opening this year in western Maryland — just across from deeply conservative West Virginia, where state lawmakers recently passed a near-total abortion ban. The Women’s Health Center of Maryland in Cumberland, roughly 5 miles from West Virginia, will open its doors in June to provide abortions to patients across central Appalachia, a region clinic operators say is an “abortion desert.” Last year, Maryland lawmakers enacted a law over then-Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto to expand abortion access by ending a restriction that only physicians could provide abortions and requiring most insurance plans to cover abortion care without cost. The law enabled nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to provide abortions with training. Moore, in one of his first acts as governor, announced in January he was releasing $3.5 million to expand abortion training in the state. Hogan, a Republican, had declined to release the money while he was in office.
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