Fox host Mark Levin screams at camera in rant over Trump's indictment - The Independent

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Fox News host Mark Levin delivered an eight-minute on-air rant after news broke of Donald Trump’s indictment over his alleged mishandling of classified papers.

Appearing on Sean Hannity’s segment on Thursday night, Mr Levin became irate as he accused the Biden administration of weaponising what he called the “Department of Injustice” to advance a criminal case against Mr Trump.

None of the key players at the centre of the Palm Beach, Florida, case against the former president escaped the vicious rant. The radio personality especially honed in his criticism against US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel Jack Smith, who Mr Levin branded a “mob lawyer” and a “Soviet star prosecutor,” respectively.

“This is a disgusting mark in history by these bandits in the White House,” Mr Levin yelled to the camera. “Joe Biden is the crookedest crook that has ever been in the oval office... What’s going on here is a disgusting disgrace and it is a war on Trump, a war on the Republican party, and a war on the Republic”

Mr Levin went as far as claiming that Thursday, 8 January, was the “real insurrection,” not the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — which put the lives of elected officials in danger and left five people dead — all while unchallenged by Hannity.

The host of Life, Liberty & Levin, who once claimed he would “never” support Mr Trump, continued to spew more accusations against the FBI, the DoJ, and the Biden administration.

He noted he “[doesn’t] want to hear about the technicalities [in Trump’s case] and his [alleged] obstruction,” because it is a “documents” case and it should have never been criminalised.”

“For what? For what? And they indict him today? And they indict him today in Miami?” a flustered Mr Levin said. “Don’t be bamboozled by these cable channels and these fools telling you, ‘He’s not above the law,’ Are you kidding me?”

Mr Trump faces seven criminal charges, including the willful retention of national defence information, obstruction of justice and conspiracy related to his alleged unlawful retention of national defence information at Mar-a-Lago.

The scope of the evidence remains unclear as the indictment is under seal.

Mr Trump has already been indicted in New York in connection to hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels.

He faces more potential indictments in Georgia and Washington, DC, a prospect that could see him facing trial in four separate jurisdictions while running to return to the highest office in America.

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2023-06-09 23:23:16Z
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Ukraine army attacks Russian forces in southern Zaporizhzhia region - BBC

Reuters

By Jaroslav Lukiv

BBC News

Ukraine's military has launched attacks on occupying Russian forces in the key southern Zaporizhzhia region, Russian officials and military bloggers say.

They say Ukrainian troops - backed by tanks, artillery and drones - are trying to advance south of the town of Orikhiv for the second night running.

A senior Ukrainian defence official said the enemy was in "active defence".

Several military experts have said the focus of Ukraine's long awaited counter-offensive will be Zaporizhzhia.

They argue Kyiv is trying to regain access to the Sea of Azov, splitting the occupying Russian forces in the region into two detached groupings.

That would not only weaken Russia's combat capability but also eliminate a land bridge to Crimea, the southern peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ukraine has been planning a counter-offensive for months, but it has wanted as long as possible to train troops and to receive advanced military equipment from Western allies.

The government is deliberately saying little about its plans but its forces are now probing Russian positions at several points along the front line, looking for signs of weakness.

Meanwhile Russian attacks on Ukraine continue. Overnight it launched fresh cruise missile and drone strikes, with falling debris killing at least one person in Zhytomyr to the west of the capital Kyiv.

Heavy fighting in south

Russia seized most of the Zaporizhzhia region soon after President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion in February 2022. However the regional capital, the city of Zaporizhzhia, is controlled by Ukraine.

The recent fierce fighting in the area continued overnight, with several Russian pro-Kremlin military bloggers reporting late on Thursday that Ukraine had resumed attacks, noting the movement of armoured personnel carriers and drones directing artillery fire.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed local official, said Russian troops were holding their positions amid "active fighting" towards the city of Tokmak, seen as a key target for Ukraine as it seeks to advance to the Sea of Azov.

It is difficult to verify the competing claims by both sides. Earlier on Thursday Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian forces were currently "in active defence" in Zaporizhzhia and claimed advances were being made around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which has been largely destroyed during months of fighting.

• Ukraine counter-offensive 'ready to begin'

The Zaporizhzhia region is also home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is in an area controlled by Russian forces.

The plant is continuing to receive cooling water from the reservoir of the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro river, despite the dam's destruction on Tuesday which has seen water levels in the reservoir fall and large areas downstream of the dam flooded.

However the resulting emergency is threatening the region's water supplies, with the WHO also warning that cholera could spread.

It is also predicted to have serious long-term consequences for agriculture across one of the country's most fertile areas.

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Related Topics

• Russia-Ukraine war
• Volodymyr Zelensky
• Russia
• Zaporizhzhia
• Vladimir Putin
• Ukraine

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2023-06-09 06:29:18Z
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What is an indictment? Here's what Donald Trump is facing - The Independent

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Donald Trump on Thursday broke another legal barrier when he became the first former US president ever to be federally indicted.

The Independent has confirmed that a federal grand jury indicted Mr Trump in the investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified documents. According to reports, Mr Trump is facing seven separate counts of criminal activity including conspiracy to obstruct, willful retention of documents, and false statements. He was already under indictment for his role in an alleged scheme to make a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the buildup to the 2016 election.

Trump attorney James Trusty added on CNN that one of the charges relates to Section 1512 of the US criminal code, which covers witness tampering.

Now, Mr Trump is facing yet more legal headaches. In a post to Truth Social, he wrote that he has been summoned to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami to be arraigned next Tuesday at 3pm ET.

Here’s a rundown of what all the legal terminology means and how we might see Mr Trump’s case progress through the criminal justice system.

What is an indictment?

In the American legal system, an indictment is a formal notice that the state believes a person has committed a crime.

A prosecutor secures an indictment by presenting their case to a grand jury, which then votes on whether it believes there is enough evidence to charge a person with a crime.

All proceedings surrounding grand juries are sealed, and the burden of proof for prosecutors is lower than it is at a trial. Typically on 12 of the 16 to 23 grand jurors need to vote to indict a person as opposed to a trial where unanimous verdicts are often required.

An indictment does not determine guilt or innocence, but is a required procedural step in a criminal proceeding.

What is an arraignment?

After the state secures an indictment, it can take a case forward to an arraignment.

At an arraignment hearing, which takes place before a judge, defendants are read the charges facing them and the maximum penalties they carry and then are offered the opportunity to make a plea — either not guilty, no contest, or guilty.

If the defendant pleads guilty or no contest, the case most frequently moves to sentencing. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the judge will set the terms of bail for the defendant and the dates for subsequent events in the case including any pre-trial hearings and an eventual trial, which can sometimes occur months or years after the initial charging date.

So where is Trump in all of this?

The former president has now been indicted twice — once by the Manhattan District Attorney for his role in the alleged hush money scheme, and now by the US Justice Department in Florida for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and obstruction of justice.

Mr Trump was arraigned in New York in the former case in April, and will reportedly be arraigned in Miami in the federal case next Tuesday 13 June. Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in New York and will enter his plea in Florida when he makes his courthouse appearance there.

Though Mr Trump was arrested in the former case and will be arrested in the coming days in the federal case, he is not expected to be held in jail while awaiting a potential trial. Mr Trump is, of course, running for president again and is the current polling leader for the Republican nomination.

This might not be the last time Mr Trump is indicted this year, either: the former president and several of his advisers are also currently under investigation in Georgia for interfering in the 2020 election.

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2023-06-09 06:29:45Z
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Ukraine-Russia war latest news: Zelensky hails 'results' amid heavy fighting in Donetsk - The Telegraph

President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed what he described as “results” in heavy fighting in Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

“There is very heavy fighting in Donetsk region,” President Zelensky said in his daily video message, delivered in a train after visiting areas affected by the breach of the Kakhovka power dam.

“But there are results and I am grateful to those who achieved these results. Well done in Bakhmut. Step by step,” he said.

President Zelensky referred to other areas where fighting is going on, but said he would provide no details. Pictures posted on his Telegram account showed him meeting some of the country’s top generals in the field.

It comes as Ukraine sent Western tanks into battle for the first time in a major assault on the southern front that marked the launch of its long-awaited counter-offensive.

Follow the latest updates below

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2023-06-09 07:23:53Z
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Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 471 of the invasion - The Guardian

• Volodymyr Zelenskiy has visited the Kherson region that has been affected by flooding after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam. In a post to Telegram, Ukraine’s president said the main issues discussed during the visit were “the operational situation in the region as a result of the disaster, evacuation of the population from potential flood zones, elimination of the emergency caused by the dam explosion, organisation of life support for the flooded areas”.

• Zelenskiy later hailed what he described as “results” in heavy fighting in Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. “There is very heavy fighting in Donetsk region,” Zelenskiy said in his daily video message, delivered in a train after visiting areas affected by the breach of the Kakhovka power dam. “But there are results and I am grateful to those who achieved these results. Well done in Bakhmut. Step by step,” he said.

• A substantial Ukrainian force was pushing an assault against Russian positions in the south on Thursday, in an intensification of fighting that some Ukrainian officials and western analysts said marked the start in earnest of Kyiv’s much-vaunted counteroffensive. The combat against Russian positions south of Zaporizhzhia included western-supplied tanks and armoured vehicles and infantry backed by artillery. There were reports of intense fighting outside the town of Tokmak, a key Russian logistical hub.

• Russia on Thursday denied Ukrainian accusations that it backed pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and discriminates against ethnic Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea, accusing Kyiv of “blatant lies” at the UN’s top court.

• One of Russia’s longest-serving and most respected human rights campaigners Oleg Orlov went on trial on Thursday, facing the prospect of three years in jail if convicted of repeatedly discrediting Russia’s armed forces, his organisation said.

• The cooling pond at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is in danger of collapse as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and the draining of its reservoir, according to a French nuclear safety organisation. The UN’s atomic watchdog later said that the plant has months worth of water reserves that can be pumped to the power plant to cool reactors and other areas.

• The World Health Organization has rushed emergency supplies to flood-hit parts of Ukraine and are preparing to respond to an array of health risks including trauma, drowning and waterborne diseases such as cholera, officials said on Thursday.

• Ukraine could lose several million tons of crops because of flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the south of the country, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry said on Thursday.

• Russian shelling killed a civilian in the Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday as people were being evacuated because of flooding caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, Ukraine’s prosecutor general claimed. Police reported that an additional three people were injured.

• The investigations team of the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has released a new video in which it claims to have found a son of Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, whose name was previously not known to the public. Over the past year, Shoigu’s alleged son has been making cheesy pop songs in English while his father is sending tens of thousands of Russians to war in Ukraine, the Guardian’s Shaun Walker reported.

• Two missiles hit sites near the city of Uman in central Ukraine on Thursday, injuring eight people, the regional governor said. Ihor Taburets, governor of Cherkasy region, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the missiles hit an industrial site and a car wash in the evening. He said two of the injured were seriously hurt, according to preliminary information.

• The Russian embassy has said the responsibility for the “unfolding tragedy” in Kherson due to the destruction of the Kakhovka dam lies with Kyiv and western countries who have supplied Ukraine with weapons, in what they describe as a “terrorist plot” in a statement.

• Britain announced a new sanctions package against Belarus on Thursday for its role in facilitating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including import bans and new measures aimed at preventing internet propaganda.

• About 230 square miles (600 sq km) of the Kherson region was under water on Thursday, the regional governor said. Oleksandr Prokudin said 68% of the flooded territory was on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River. The average level of flooding in the Kherson region on Thursday morning was 5.61m (18.41ft), he said. He said almost 2,000 people had left flooded territory as of Thursday morning.

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2023-06-08 23:10:00Z
2109640738

Russian man killed in shark attack off Egypt’s Red Sea resort - Al Jazeera English

Coastline to remain off limits with a ban on swimming, snorkelling and other water sports activities until Sunday.

A Russian man has died after being attacked by a shark off the coast of Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Hurghada, officials have said.

The Environment Ministry said that the man was killed after being mauled by a tiger shark in the waters near Hurghada on Thursday.

The authorities closed off a 74-kilometre (46-mile) stretch of the coastline, and announced that it will remain off limits with a ban on swimming, snorkelling and other water sports activities until Sunday.

“An attack by a tiger shark on a beachgoer … led to his death,” the ministry posted on Facebook, without providing further details.

A video circulating online, purportedly of the attack, shows a man thrashing about in the water before being repeatedly attacked by a shark circling around him, and then being dragged under.

The ministry later said it had caught the shark and was examining it in a laboratory to try and determine the reasons for the rare attack.

The Russian Consulate in Hurghada identified the man as a Russian citizen but did not give his name.

Russian Consul-General Viktor Voropayev told state-owned TASS news agency that the Egyptian authorities had confirmed to him the death of the Russian national who was born in 1999.

“The victim was not a tourist, but a permanent resident of Egypt,” Voropayev told the news agency.

A diver who arrived on the scene just after the attack said people had rushed to help the victim after a lifeguard from a nearby hotel raised the alarm, but were not able to reach him in time.

History of shark attacks

Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, including Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, boast some of the country’s most renowned beach destinations and are popular with European tourists. Divers are attracted by the steep drop-offs of coral reefs just offshore, which offer a rich and colorful sea life.

Shark attacks are rare in the Red Sea coastal regions.

However, in 2022, there were two fatal attacks in Hurghada within days, killing an Austrian and a Romanian tourist.

In 2018, a Czech tourist was killed by a shark off a Red Sea beach. A German tourist was similarly killed in 2015.

In 2010, a spate of five attacks in five days unusually close to the shore of tourist hot spot Sharm el-Sheikh killed one German and injured four other foreign tourists.

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2023-06-08 20:18:58Z
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Ukraine dam: Dislodged mines a major concern as residents flee Kherson - BBC

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By James Waterhouse in Kherson & Thomas Mackintosh in London

BBC News

The breaching of a major dam in southern Ukraine will have a catastrophic effect on locating landmines, the Red Cross has warned.

Thousands of people have already been evacuated from parts of the Kherson region as water continues to surge down the Dnipro river which divides Russian and Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Both Ukraine and Russia blame each other for sabotaging the Kakhovka dam.

Three flood-related deaths have been reported in the Russian-held Oleshky.

Yevhen Ryshchuk, the town's exiled Ukrainian mayor, told public broadcaster Suspilne he believed there would be more casualties.

The BBC has been unable to verify claims by Ukrainian and Russian officials.

• Who benefits from breaching the dam?

Erik Tollefsen, head of the Red Cross's weapon contamination unit, warned dislodged mines had sparked major concerns not just for Kherson residents, but also those coming to help.

"We knew where the hazards were," he told AFP news agency. "Now we don't know.

"All we know is that they are somewhere downstream."

Nataliya Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's military South Command, told Ukrainian TV: "Many anti-infantry mines [in Russian-seized areas] have been dislodged, becoming floating mines.

"They pose a great danger," she said, explaining that they were likely to explode if they collided or hit debris.

Reuters

The dam in Russian-controlled Nova Kakhovka was breached in the early hours of Tuesday, leading to mass evacuations as water levels downstream rapidly increased.

Officials say 30 towns and villages along the river have been flooded and nearly 2,000 homes have been submerged in the city of Kherson - the region's capital controlled by Ukraine.

One woman, who arrived in Kherson on a rescue boat from the Russian-occupied east side of the river, explained how quickly the situation escalated after she heard about the disaster early on Tuesday.

"We managed to collect our things but the water kept rising. At that moment I was cooking buckwheat and my feet were already underwater. It started to flood really fast," Kateryna Krupych, 40, told the BBC.

"It feels like we lived a whole life in just one day."

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the Ukrainians are developing a plan to help people on both sides of the Dnipro river.

"We are saving everyone on the right [Ukrainian-controlled] bank and developing a plan to help people on the [Russian-held] left bank."

Of the 30 flooded towns and villages, 20 were controlled by Ukraine and 10 were temporarily occupied by Russia, he said.

Mr Klymenko also accused the Russians of leaving "people to fend for themselves".

Rising water levels were expected to peak in Kherson late on Wednesday, but officials fear a catastrophic impact on agriculture as the vast Kakhovka reservoir - upstream of the dam - empties into the Black Sea.

• What we know about Nova Kakhovka incident
• 'More and more water is coming every hour'

Kherson's regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said 1,700 have so far been evacuated while Kremlin-installed officials on the other side of the river say 1,200 people have been taken to safety.

Officials say more than 40,000 people - 17,000 in Ukraine-held territory west of the Dnipro and 25,000 in the Russian-occupied east - need to leave.

Unicef's Damian Rance said the charity has seen homes completely destroyed as concerns continue to linger around trapped residents.

"Safe water has been impacted in many of these locations as the water supply obviously came from the reservoir there, as has the electricity supplies that have been cut off."

Reuters

President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier on Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of people across the Kherson region were without drinking water.

Both sides blame each other for the destruction of the dam.

Ukraine says it was mined by Russian forces, and accuses Russia of doing little to help people in flooded areas of the Russian-occupied east bank of the river.

America's Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who chairs the upper chamber's influential Foreign Affairs Committee, told the BBC he was "not certain yet" that Russia was responsible for blowing up the dam.

"But then again the Russians have denied all the actions they've taken against critical infrastructure in Ukraine - and those actions we know have been taken by Russia," he added.

Russia says the damage was caused by Ukrainian shelling, and President Vladimir Putin it "a barbaric act" in a phone call with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This is just the latest difficulty to hit the city of Kherson. It was occupied by Russian forces soon after the war began last year, but liberated by Ukraine in November. Since then the city has been bombarded with shelling.

Viktoria Yeremenko, 57, told the BBC her house was destroyed in February and she moved to her son's apartment which has now been flooded.

"We managed to get out," she said. "There was panic, we had to leave quickly and grab the dogs. My brother is half paralysed too."

In recent years the Kakhovka dam has become a symbol of leverage between Kyiv and Moscow.

When Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, Kyiv closed down the dam and cut off Ukraine's southern peninsula from a major water supply.

Then last year, invading Russian forces were accused by Ukraine of planting the dam with explosives, which the Kremlin denied.

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Related Topics

• Europe
• Russia-Ukraine war
• Ukraine

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2023-06-07 23:41:26Z
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