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Hutchinson’s testimony shatters any Trump defense of no criminal intent

Hutchinson’s testimony shatters any Trump defense of no criminal intent

George T. Conway III and Randall D. Eliason write: Some argue that prosecutors could face difficulty proving criminal intent if it appears that Trump sincerely believed he had won the election. But that argument is misguided. Even if Trump believed, however implausibly, that there really had been massive voter fraud, that would establish only his motive for acting, not his intent. But a righteous motive is not a defense. Put simply, criminal acts motivated by an honest belief in the…

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The American war on women

The American war on women

Ola Salem writes: “Karen” entered the American lexicon during the age of social media to refer to white women who behave in a way that seems entitled, creating a high-drama, public scene as they demand their (perceived) right or privilege over another person. Pop culture and media outlets now refer to 2020 as “the year of Karens.” But this girl-name-turned-synonym-for-obnoxiousness reveals more about our culture than meets the eye. It is not just about the calling out of racist, classist…

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Russia abandons Snake Island in ‘big victory’ for Ukraine

Russia abandons Snake Island in ‘big victory’ for Ukraine

Reuters reports: Russian forces abandoned the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island on Thursday, in a major victory for Ukraine that could loosen the grip of Russia’s blockade on Ukrainian ports. Russia’s defence ministry said it had decided to withdraw from the outcrop as a “gesture of goodwill” to show Moscow was not obstructing U.N. efforts to open a humanitarian corridor allowing grains to be shipped from Ukraine. Ukraine said it had driven the Russian forces out after a…

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Why does China own so much of Ukraine?

Why does China own so much of Ukraine?

Elisabeth Braw writes: Over the past few years, Chinese buyers have bought farmland in countries ranging from the U.S. and France to Vietnam. In 2013 Hong Kong-based food giant WH Group bought Smithfield, America’s largest pork producer, and more than 146,000 acres of Missouri farmland. In the same year, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps bought 9% of Ukraine’s famously fertile farmland, equal to 5% of the country’s total territory, with a 50-year lease. (In 2020, the U.S. imposed sanctions on…

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In new poll, 89% of Ukrainians reject ceding land to reach peace with Russia

In new poll, 89% of Ukrainians reject ceding land to reach peace with Russia

The Wall Street Journal reports: An overwhelming share of Ukrainians—some 89%—say it would be unacceptable to reach a peace deal with Moscow by ceding Ukrainian territory that Russian forces have seized in their invasion this year, a new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll finds. The survey, conducted in conjunction with a Ukrainian polling firm, also finds that 78% of Ukrainians approve of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s response to the Russian invasion, with only 7% saying he has handled the war poorly. With…

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Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony highlights legal risks for Trump

Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony highlights legal risks for Trump

The New York Times reports: It was one of the most dramatic moments in a presentation filled with them: Just before President Donald J. Trump went onstage near the White House last year and urged his supporters to “fight like hell” and march on the Capitol, an aide testified on Tuesday, he was told that some of them were armed. It was also a potentially consequential moment for any prosecution of Mr. Trump, legal experts said. Knowing that his crowd…

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The reason Liz Cheney is narrating the January 6 story

The reason Liz Cheney is narrating the January 6 story

Anne Applebaum writes: Cheney might not be popular in her own party, but nobody can deny that she is a Republican, from a famous Republican family, whose interests cannot be described by anyone as purely partisan. The most important witnesses are Republicans close to Trump. The testimony of Trump’s children, Trump’s lawyers, and Trump’s Cabinet cannot be wished away as something from a left-wing fever dream. Trump’s lawyers are effective because they are Trump’s lawyers. Cassidy Hutchinson, despite her youth…

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Pelosi receives communion in Vatican amid abortion debate

Pelosi receives communion in Vatican amid abortion debate

The Associated Press reports: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Pope Francis on Wednesday and received Communion during a papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, witnesses said, despite her position in support of abortion rights. Pelosi attended the morning Mass marking the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul, during which Francis bestowed the woolen pallium stole on newly consecrated archbishops. She was seated in a VIP diplomatic section of the basilica and received Communion along with the rest…

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Lessons from the terrible triumph of the anti-abortion movement

Lessons from the terrible triumph of the anti-abortion movement

Michelle Goldberg writes: The Senate can’t codify minimal reproductive rights because of the filibuster, which gives a minority of conservatives veto power over much of national policymaking. In states like Wisconsin, legislatures are so gerrymandered that it will take more than a popular-vote majority to undo their abortion bans. The right pretends that ending Roe returns abortion to the democratic process, but Roe’s demise was made possible by democracy’s erosion. That shouldn’t blind us, however, to the success of the…

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How ‘Stand Your Ground’ law erodes a homicide probe

How ‘Stand Your Ground’ law erodes a homicide probe

Robin Blackburn and Rasha Elass write: In the early hours of Oct. 11, 2021, in the rural town of Martindale, Texas, Terry Turner, a 65-year-old local, shot and killed an unarmed man who was sitting in a vehicle. Turner then called 911 and said he just “shot a guy,” claiming his victim had a gun. The victim was 31-year-old Moroccan national and U.S. immigrant Adil Dghoughi, a recent business school graduate who was in the midst of looking for a…

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How far do Putin’s imperial ambitions go?

How far do Putin’s imperial ambitions go?

Yaroslav Trofimov writes: At a ceremony honoring young geographers in 2016, President Vladimir Putin asked one boy about the capital of Burkina Faso and then quizzed another about where Russia’s borders end. “At the Bering Strait with the United States,” the 9-year-old boy ventured hesitantly. Mr. Putin, who chairs the board of the Russian Geographic Society, contradicted the boy to triumphant applause. “The borders of Russia,” he pronounced, “never end.” The scene, years before Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine unleashed…

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Ukraine war has left at least 345 million people facing food insecurity

Ukraine war has left at least 345 million people facing food insecurity

The Telegraph reports: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left the world on the brink of a “triple F” crisis with at least 345 million people facing food insecurity, the World Food Programme has warned. Matthew Hollingworth, the emergency coordinator for the WFP in Ukraine, said millions of extra people had been left vulnerable as a result of food, fuel and fertiliser shortages and a spike in prices triggered by the war. “We are extraordinarily concerned for more than 345 million…

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Turkey backs NATO membership for Sweden, Finland

Turkey backs NATO membership for Sweden, Finland

The Wall Street Journal reports: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is on a course to admit Finland and Sweden following an agreement with Turkey, a move that would add vast territory and new military abilities in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two Nordic countries, which had long shunned joining the alliance, abruptly changed their stance following Moscow’s attack on its neighbor on Feb. 24. Both countries applied for NATO membership a month ago, but Turkey had balked,…

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Ukraine war: Kremenchuk shopping centre attack claims fact-checked

Ukraine war: Kremenchuk shopping centre attack claims fact-checked

BBC News reports: Within hours of the attack on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, false and unproven claims began circulating online. Stories were spread by Russian Telegram channels and by Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations. They included rumours that the attack was “false” or “staged” – and were repeated on Russian television. On Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry released a statement claiming the shopping centre was “non-functioning” and that the bombing of…

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‘This is a bombshell’: Trump aides left speechless by Hutchinson testimony

‘This is a bombshell’: Trump aides left speechless by Hutchinson testimony

CNN reports: Aides to former President Donald Trump were left speechless amid the first half of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony on Tuesday, acknowledging to CNN that her testimony was “a bombshell” with potentially huge repercussions for Trump. Trump was already bracing for an explosive day of testimony from Hutchinson, who previously told the House select committee that the former President approved of rioters chanting violent threats against Vice President Mike Pence on January 6, 2021. “This is a bombshell. It’s stunning….

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Ocasio-Cortez wants justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh impeached for ‘lying under oath’

Ocasio-Cortez wants justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh impeached for ‘lying under oath’

The New York Times reports: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is calling for a House investigation into whether two Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade should be impeached for lying at their confirmation hearings about their views of the landmark abortion-rights case. In a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat and progressive firebrand, said that she thinks the justices, Neil Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh, were dishonest when discussing Roe at…

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