On Thursday, former President Donald Trump became the first president to be indicted while in office, as a Manhattan grand jury charged him in relation to the 2016 hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday for his arraignment, and his attorneys plan to file "substantial" legal challenges. The district attorney's office has been investigating Trump's alleged role in the scandal and the arraignment will be closely watched to see what legal strategies are presented and what the outcome of the case will be.
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Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter known as the “Blade Runner”, was denied parole by a parole board in Pretoria, South Africa following a hearing. The board cited a new clarification on Pistorius’ sentence that was issued by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal and determined that Pistorius had not served the “minimum detention period” required to be released. This decision comes after Pistorius had served seven years of his 13-year sentence for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has been discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is now back in Braddock, Pennsylvania, to spend time with his family and constituents. He had been receiving treatment for clinical depression, and is "well on his way to recovery" according to his chief of staff. Fetterman expressed his gratitude for the support of his constituents and thanked the team at Walter Reed for their care.
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been released from a Romanian jail after winning an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest. The Bucharest Court of Appeal overturned the judge's decision, allowing Tate to remain under house arrest until Apr. 29. The decision has been met with mixed reactions, with Tate's supporters relieved and his detractors concerned about the implications for future cases.
On Wednesday, Russian authorities arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg. U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan has warned that Gershkovich is likely to face a sham, closed trial on espionage charges and endure tough treatment. This arrest is the latest in a series of incidents that have raised tensions between Russia and the West, and the international community is urged to pay attention to the case and take action.
A Delaware judge has ruled that a jury must decide whether Fox News acted with actual malice when it aired false allegations about the 2020 presidential election. The defamation case was brought against the conservative network by Dominion Voting Systems and emails and text messages from Fox News executives and on-air personalities will become public as part of the lawsuit. The outcome of the trial could set a precedent for how news networks cover future elections.
Delaware Judge Eric Davis has ruled that the historic defamation case against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp, brought by Dominion Voting Systems will proceed to a jury trial next month. The lawsuit seeks $1.6 billion in damages for false claims made about Dominion's role in the 2020 election, and could set a precedent for other companies to take legal action against news outlets for false reporting. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 12th in Wilmington, Delaware.
Monica de Leon Barba, a 29-year-old American woman, has been missing since Nov. 29 when she was last seen walking her dog home from work in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico. Her family found her dog on the street and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to her recovery. Her brother said she was visiting Tepatitlán when she was kidnapped and her family has described the last four months as "torturous."