First thing: Former Trump advisor John Bolton is indicted on charges of mishandling classified information US News
Good morning.
The Justice Department has brought federal charges against John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser turned one of his biggest critics, accusing him of transmitting and retaining top-secret information under the Espionage Act.
The 18-count indictment was handed up by a grand jury in federal district court in Maryland on Thursday. Bolton was accused of sending memos to two unnamed people about his daily activities while he was national security adviser, many of which contained highly classified information.
This is the third time in recent weeks that the Justice Department has brought criminal charges against a Trump critic. “I look forward to fighting to defend my legal conduct and expose his abuse of power,” Bolton said in a statement.
US non-profits ‘lock arms’ amid Trump’s threat to George Soros: ‘We will not be intimidated’
When Donald Trump picked left-wing billionaire George Soros as the next man on his growing list of retaliation targets, he was also targeting the long list of progressive causes Soros funds.
Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF) network, now run by his son Alex, is a major funder of nonprofits large and small, across sectors including democracy, voting rights, climate justice, racial justice, Palestinian rights, and higher education. Public documentation of the group’s giving shows that thousands of recipients around the world receive amounts ranging from small amounts to multi-million dollar grants; They include major nonprofit organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union.
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What did Trump say? Trump said in a presidential memo that the government needed to “investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence,” adding a comment that Soros was “on top of it all.”
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What did OSF say? “We have always been and will continue to adhere to our strict compliance practices and operate within the bounds of the law while also refusing to compromise our statutory and constitutional rights to freedom of expression and association, due process and the rule of law without challenge,” an OSF spokesperson said.
Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa argue in New York mayor debate
The three New York City mayoral candidates faced off Thursday night in the first of two televised debates, less than three weeks before voters head to the polls.
On stage were Democratic candidate Zahran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who is now running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June — and Republican candidate Curtis Saliwa. Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race several weeks ago, did not participate.
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What did they fight over? During the two-hour debate, the two candidates clashed over a variety of local and national issues, including crime, policing, affordability, housing and transportation, as well as how they would handle the Trump administration and the recent Gaza ceasefire agreement.
In other news…
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Volodymyr Zelensky will head to the White House today for a crucial meeting with Donald TrumpThis came hours after the US President announced that he had agreed to hold another summit with Vladimir Putin in Budapest after a “very productive” call.
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Donald Trump has filed an amended $15 billion defamation complaint against The New York Times. The refiled complaint, after a judge dismissed the initial lawsuit last month, also targets individual reporters and book publisher Penguin Random House.
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The World Health Organization has warned that infectious diseases are “out of control” in GazaWith only 13 of the 36 hospitals in the region operating partially.
Today’s stats: Global markets are falling and gold is hitting a record high of $4,378 per ounce Amid concerns about US banks
Global stock markets fell sharply and gold hit a record high after two US regional banks said they were hit with millions of dollars in bad loans and alleged fraud. Signs of credit stress shook markets across Europe and Asia. Nervous investors turned to safe-haven assets as gold hit a new record high of $4,378 (£3,262) an ounce, a weekly gain of almost 8.5%, its biggest gain since the 2008 financial crisis.
Don’t miss this: ‘Our world is flammable’ – Kathryn Bigelow On Artificial Intelligence, Andy Warhol, and Nuclear Armageddon
Kathryn Bigelow was thinking about death: her own, yours, and yours. History will always remember her as the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director, which she did in 2010 for The Hurt Locker. But in her new film, “House of Dynamite,” history may not have long to go. It’s the story of a nuclear missile being launched at an American city, and what happens next. Bigelow wants you to think about Armageddon.
CLIMATE CHECK: Nearly two dozen states sue to block Trump from ending $7 billion solar grant program
Nearly two dozen states have sued the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7 billion grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers. Arizona Attorney General Chris Mayes said canceling the program would affect 900,000 low-income families across the country.
Last thing: Trump is waving his flag everywhere, adding a “Trump bow” to presidential renewals
It has been more than two centuries since France celebrated Emperor Napoleon’s birthday by laying the foundation stone of the Arc de Triomphe. Now Donald Trump has imperial ambitions of his own. On Wednesday, the US President revealed plans to build a large arch in Washington, which he has already called the “Trump Arch.”
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