NTD News Today

After more than four weeks of testimony, jurors could begin deliberating as soon as next week to decide whether former President Donald Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. President Trump’s lawyers rested their defense early on May 21 without his taking the witness stand, moving the case closer to the moment the jury would begin to make their decision. After the defense rested, Justice Juan Merchan told jurors the court session could run late next Tuesday to accommodate the summations of both prosecution and defense—the last time the jury will hear from either side.

A 73-year-old British passenger died and seven others were seriously injured when a flight from London to Singapore hit “severe turbulence” over the Bay of Bengal. The Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER was forced to divert to Suvarnabhumi airport in the Thai capital of Bangkok. A spokesman at the airport said the passenger who died was believed to have suffered a heart attack.

President Joe Biden and members of his administration castigated International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan for requesting to charge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with war crimes and human rights violations in connection with the ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. That’s as three European Union nations—France, Belgium, and Germany—voiced support for the court’s decision.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization in his testimony on May 20 during the former president's trial in New York City. Mr. Cohen made the admission under cross-examination from defense attorney Todd Blanche. Mr. Cohen revealed that he had overstated the amount he needed to be reimbursed from paying tech company Red Finch, and had pocketed the difference.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage died in a helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan Province in the northwest of the country on May 19, according to a statement released by Iran’s cabinet. The Iranian regime's supreme leader Ali Khamenei approved Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, as the temporary president. Mr. Mokhber will preside over a temporary council until a new president is elected.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for both the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, according to a statement released by the office of ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. The ICC is also seeking warrants for Israel’s defense minister, as well as two other top Hamas leaders.

The Israeli military said on May 17 that its troops in Gaza had found the bodies of three Israeli hostages taken by the Hamas terrorist organization during its Oct. 7 attack, including 22-year-old German-Israeli Shani Louk. The military identified the other two bodies as those of a 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a 56-year-old man, Itzhak Gelerenter. All three were killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival, an outdoor dance party held near the Gaza border on Oct. 6 and into Oct. 7, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a press conference.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Thursday night despite President Joe Biden’s intervention to block them from obtaining his recorded interviews with special counsel Robert Hur. The measures would need to pass the full House before a referral is made to the Justice Department, but whether House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will bring the resolutions to the floor remains unclear.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pardoned former U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Perry, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting an armed Black Lives Matter protester who wielded an AK-47. Abbott issued a May 16 proclamation indicating that Perry has been granted a full pardon and the restoration of full civil rights of citizenship, while taking aim at Travis County District Attorney José Garza for allegedly directing the lead investigator to withhold exculpatory evidence and demonstrating “unethical and biased misuse” of his office in prosecuting Perry.

In former President Donald Trump’s New York trial, Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand for a second day of cross-examination as prosecutors said they have no plans to call further witnesses. Trump attorney Todd Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen about his lying under oath and pleading guilty to tax evasion. Speaking outside the courtroom, the former president said the trial is “finishing up,” and reiterated that “there’s no crime.”

President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over the tapes of his two-day interview with special counsel Robert Hur recorded during the latter's probe into the president’s alleged mishandling of classified information. The tapes are at the center of a dispute between House Republicans and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who today faces contempt proceedings for defying a subpoena for them.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in a serious but stable condition and is able to speak a little, the country’s president-elect said, a day after an assassination attempt that sent shock waves across Europe. The shooting was the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader for more than 20 years, and has drawn international condemnation. Slovak news media have claimed the shooter is a 71-year-old former shopping mall security guard and the author of three collections of poetry. There has been no official confirmation of his identity.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump agreed on May 15 to hold two campaign debates, with the first on June 27 to be hosted by CNN and the second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC—thus setting the stage for the first presidential face-off in just a few weeks.

The United States will provide Ukraine with $2 billion in foreign military financing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday at a joint press conference in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Mr. Blinken said that the support for Ukraine is coming at a "critical time" as the country faces a renewed Russian onslaught.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition in hospital Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt. The shooting took place after an off-site government meeting in the central Slovakian town of Handlova. The suspected gunman was among a small crowd of people waiting to greet the prime minister on the street outside the cultural center where the meeting took place, local media reported.

In a brief press conference held outside the Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s New York trial is ongoing, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) strongly criticized the proceedings on May 14, calling them a “travesty of justice.” Other Trump allies who showed up to support the former president included North Dakota's Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, former GOP candidate for president Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Republican Florida Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills.

The Biden administration announced that it will impose a 100-percent tariff—quadrupling the current levy—on electric vehicles imported from China in 2024. In addition to EVs, the White House has significantly increased tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells. The tariffs come in the midst of a heated election campaign between Presidents Biden and Trump, in which both candidates are vying to show who’s tougher on China.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that American military aid on its way to Ukraine would make a “real difference” on the battlefield, as the top diplomat made an unexpected visit to Kyiv to reassure an ally facing a fierce new Russian offensive. In increasingly intense attacks along the northeastern border in recent days, Moscow’s troops have captured around 100 to 125 square kilometers (40 to 50 square miles) in the Kharkiv region, including at least seven villages, according to open-source monitoring analysts.

Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for Donald Trump, took the witness stand in New York on May 13, with prosecutors hoping to use his testimony to make their case in the former president’s so-called hush money trial. Mr. Cohen originated the claims that led to the 34-count criminal indictment of President Trump, alleging that 11 invoices he billed and their corresponding check payments and vouchers were falsified business records created to cover up a scheme designed to influence the 2016 election. In his testimony, Mr. Cohen described working with the National Enquirer to suppress negative stories about Trump in the run-up to the presidential election.

Just blocks away from the Trump proceedings, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) went on trial in Manhattan federal court, accused of accepting bribes of gold and cash to use his influence to deliver favors that would help three New Jersey businessmen. Mr. Menendez, 70, sat with his lawyers and listened as Judge Sidney H. Stein told several dozen prospective jurors about the charges against Mr. Menendez and two of the businessmen. The judge said the trial was expected to last up to seven weeks.

Israel marked its first memorial day for fallen soldiers and the victims of terror since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering a speech at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Mr. Netanyahu also promised to continue the war until all hostages are returned and the Hamas terrorist organization is dismantled. The commemorative events were interrupted by protests, heckling, and violence. In a phone call to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israel's Defense Minister said the IDF is conducting a “precision operation” in Rafah. Mr. Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s opposition to a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, but declined to provide a “red line” that would cause the United States to cease backing Israel.

Former President Donald Trump announced on May 9 that the defense in his so-called hush money case has filed a new motion in the appellate division about his gag order. "I'm not allowed to talk to you about anything meaningful in the case, many good things are coming in the case," he said. He read from legal commentary and attacked the charges in the case, but without referencing any witnesses.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the United States will not provide Israel with the necessary weapons if it decides to enter population centers in Rafah to clear out the remaining Hamas bases. “I made it clear,” President Biden told CNN. “If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons.”

Serbian authorities arrested several Falun Gong practitioners ahead of a visit by Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, only to release them after Xi left the country. The Chinese regime has sought to export its persecution of Falun Gong—a spiritual discipline that consists of meditative exercises and moral principles—beyond its borders since 1999.

The Georgia Court of Appeals on May 8 agreed to review the decision a trial court judge issued that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to stay on the high-profile case against former President Donald Trump—as long as she took a special prosecutor off the case to avoid the appearance of impropriety. President Trump and eight codefendants that sought review will have 10 days to file their appeal. The court’s decision to hear the appeal before trial could cause further delays in the case.

In President Trump’s classified documents case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon reset deadlines on May 7, blowing past the original May 20 trial date with pretrial deadlines running through July. Judge Cannon did not set a new trial date in the order, saying she found it premature.

A Biden administration official has confirmed that the United States held up a shipment of over three-thousand bombs to Israel last week. This is reportedly over concerns that they might have been used in the Rafah operation, which the United States opposes. The official said the bombs could have an impact in dense urban settings. The Israeli military appeared to respond, saying, "When there are disputes, and there are, they are being resolved behind closed doors in a matter-of-fact way."

A key witness took the stand on May 7 in the so-called hush money trial of former President Donald Trump, setting up a dramatic moment in the case. Stormy Daniels, an adult film performer whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, appeared on the witness stand, and is expected to claim that she engaged in an affair in 2006 with the former president. President Trump has categorically denied any such encounter ever took place.

Israel's military has seized control of the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, after it launched a precise counter-terrorism operation in the area. The move comes as cease-fire and hostage negotiations with Hamas are still in the balance. The Hamas terror group says it has accepted a deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, but Israel said those terms are far from meeting their requirements, and is sending a delegation to Cairo for talks.

Ukrainian counterintelligence investigators have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top military and political figures, Ukraine’s state security service said Tuesday. Two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine, which protects top officials, were detained on suspicion of enacting the plan drawn up by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, a statement said.