Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen goes back on the stand Thursday braced for another bruising day of cross-examination that is shaping up as the most crucial chapter in the first criminal trial of a former president. Cohen is the last prosecution witness, and his testimony is a sign that the trial – arising from a hush money … Read more
Putin to meet Xi in Beijing as world convulses from global conflicts
Olivia Smith
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will welcome Vladimir Putin to China on Thursday for the Russian president’s second visit in less than a year – the latest sign of their growing alignment amid hardening global fault lines as conflict devastates Gaza and Russia makes advances in Ukraine. Putin will arrive in China just over a week since entering a new … Read more
Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to two schools
Olivia Smith
School board members in Virginia’s Shenandoah County voted early Friday to restore the names of two schools that previously honored Confederate leaders – four years after those names had been removed. The 5-1 vote came after hours of public comment from people speaking on both sides of the issue. Vice Chairman Kyle L. Gutshall was … Read more
Choose between stability and ‘downward spiral’ China’s foreign minister tells Blinken during Beijing trip
China and the US face a choice between stability and a “downward spiral,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told counterpart Antony Blinken on Friday in Beijing, as the American diplomat kicked off a day of meetings with top Chinese officials. Blinken’s trip to China – his second in the space of a year – comes as the … Read more
Antony Blinken tackles a tough China visit. Will it help?
“Three, two, one – hut!” shouts quarterback Mu Yang, as he throws the ball across the field. His Beijing Cyclones teammate Henry Mu sprints to the corner for the catch, his studs thudding off the AstroTurf as he jumps for the ball. “I was so surprised to find American football here,” says Henry as he … Read more
Trump can’t be in two places at once in double courtroom drama
For most people, sitting in court at their own criminal trial would represent a defining moment of their life. But Donald Trump’s return to his hush money trial Thursday does not even represent the most critical courtroom drama of his day. The ex-president’s attention is certain to stray from what he has repeatedly complained is a “freezing” court … Read more