US presidential candidates court Black voters in Midwestern swing state

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Joe Biden and Donald Trump won their parties’ presidential primaries in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin this week. With both their nominations secured, the candidates are fighting for a general election win in Wisconsin, which is one of a handful of swing states that could decide the 2024 race. VOA’s Scott Stearns reports the campaigns are working to win the support of Black voters in Wisconsin. …

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US pushes back at judge over Trump claim that classified records were personal

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. prosecutor leading the case against Donald Trump for retaining classified documents after leaving office pushed back at a federal judge after she signaled she may accept the former president’s claim that the records were his personal property.  U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a court filing late on Tuesday that his office would appeal any decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that would instruct jurors in the case to consider what he called Trump’s “fundamentally flawed legal premise.”  Trump, the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election, pleaded not guiltymore

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Trump Blasts Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order

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NEW YORK — Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15 hush-money criminal trial, suggesting without evidence that the veteran jurist was kowtowing to his daughter’s interests as a Democratic political consultant. The former president objected in particular to what he said was her specious social media photo showing him behind bars.  Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, posted on social media that the gag order issued Tuesday was “illegal, un-American, unConstitutional.” He said Judge Juan M. Merchan was “wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendmentmore

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US President Biden Wins Missouri Democratic Primary

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COLUMBIA, MISSOURI — U.S. President Joe Biden has won Missouri’s primary, the state Democratic Party announced.  Biden’s win was not in doubt; he has already beaten his major competitors. But the primary races are still closely watched by insiders for turnout and signs of protest voters.  Saturday’s primary was the Missouri Democratic Party’s first party-run presidential contest since a new law took effect in August 2022.  The party says about 20,000 voters participated.  Missouri Republicans opted to hold a caucus this year, which former President Donald Trump won.  Lawmakers have failed to reinstate the state-run primary despite calls to do somore

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Trump Faces Gag Order in New York Hush Money Criminal Case

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NEW YORK — Donald Trump on Tuesday was hit with a judge’s gag order sought by prosecutors in his upcoming criminal trial involving hush money paid to a porn star, restricting him from publicly commenting about witnesses and court staff.  Ahead of the former U.S. president’s trial, which is scheduled to begin April 15 in the New York state court, Justice Juan Merchan granted a request for the order made last month by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.  The prosecution sought an order blocking Trump from “making or directing others to make” statements about witnesses concerning their role in themore

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Biden, Trump Win Louisiana’s Presidential Primary

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washington — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won Louisiana’s primary on Saturday, collecting more delegates after they clinched their party nominations.  Biden also appeared in Missouri’s Democratic primary, with results not expected to be reported until next week.  None of the races were in suspense. Biden and Trump have beaten their major competitors. But the primary races are still closely watched by insiders for turnout and signs of protest voters.  For Biden, some liberals are registering their anger with Israel’s war against Hamas following the militant group’s October 7 attack. More than 30,000 people, two-thirds of them womenmore

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US Congress Averts Government Shutdown, Passing $1.2 Trillion Bill

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress early Saturday overwhelmingly passed a $1.2 trillion budget bill, keeping the government funded through a fiscal year that began six months ago and sending it to President Joe Biden to sign into law and avert a partial shutdown. The vote on passage was 74-24. Key federal agencies including the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, which houses the Internal Revenue Service, will remain funded through September 30 after the bill was passed in the Democratic-majority Senate. But the measure did not include funding for mostly military aid to Ukraine, Taiwan or Israel, which aremore

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Judge Allows Trump to Appeal Ruling Keeping DA on Georgia Election Case

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case is allowing Donald Trump to appeal a ruling letting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis remain on the prosecution.  Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday granted a request by defense attorneys to ask the Georgia Court of Appeals to review the judge’s decision. It’s now up to the appeals court to decide whether the court will hear it.  McAfee in a ruling last week denied the defense’s request to disqualify Willis from the case or dismiss the indictment over her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The judgemore

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Ex-Trump Aide Navarro Reports to Prison to Serve Contempt Sentence

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MIAMI, FLORIDA — Peter Navarro, Donald Trump’s former White House trade advisor, reported to a Florida prison on Tuesday to begin serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress. Navarro, 74, is the highest-ranking former member of the Trump administration to spend time behind bars for actions stemming from the former Republican president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Navarro was found guilty of two counts of contempt in September for refusing to comply with a subpoena to testify before the congressional panel that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Navarro,more

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Top US Congressional Leaders Say Spending Deal Reached

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WASHINGTON — The top Republican and Democrat in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday said they had reached a deal to keep the government funded through the rest of the fiscal year that began in October, setting off a race to pass it before a weekend shutdown deadline.  The last sticking point was funding for the Department of Homeland Security, as a surge in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has become a major issue in the election rematch between Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.  Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer revealedmore

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Biden Jokes About His Opponent’s Age — and His Own — During Roast

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washington — The big news this week, U.S. President Joe Biden said at a weekend Washington roast, was that two candidates had clinched their party’s nomination for president. But one was too old, too mentally unfit for the job, he said.  “The other’s me,” Bidden quipped.  The digs against Republican Donald Trump kept coming from the president at the annual Gridiron Club and Foundation Dinner, as Biden deflected ongoing criticism that his memory is hazy and he appears confused, instead highlighting moments when the 77-year-old Trump has slipped up, too.  “Don’t tell him, he thinks he’s running against Barack Obama, that’smore

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Judge: DA Must Step Aside or Remove Special Prosecutor in Trump Case

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday.  Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee did not find that Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade amounted to a conflict of interest that should disqualify her from the case. However, he said, the allegations created an “appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team.  “As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public couldmore

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Trump Arrives at Hearing on Whether to Dismiss Classified Documents Case

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FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA — Donald Trump arrived Thursday at a federal courthouse in Florida, where a judge will hear arguments on whether to dismiss the criminal case accusing the former president of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House.  The motorcade carrying the 2024 Republican presumptive presidential nominee arrived shortly before the hearing was set to begin before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.  The dispute centers on the Trump team’s interpretation of the Presidential Records Act, which they say gave him the authority to designate the documentsmore

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Biden Talks About Roads, Bridges, While Protesters Shout About Death in Gaza

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Milwaukee, Wisconsin — U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday visited Wisconsin, a key swing state that he narrowly won in 2020, meeting with community members at a once shuttered but now thriving children’s community center to sell them on how he believes his economic policies are making their lives better. Biden’s approval ratings in the Badger State have recently slumped, and on Wednesday afternoon, as Biden chatted privately with campaign volunteers at his new campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, less than a block away, several dozen protesters took aim at one reason why. “Free, free, free Palestine!” the group members yelled asmore

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Hunter Biden Rebuffs Republicans’ Invite to Appear for Public Hearing

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WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden on Wednesday rejected an invitation from Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to appear for a public hearing next week alongside former business associates, an inquiry his attorney dismissed as a “carnival side show.”  In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Abbe Lowell, the president’s son’s attorney, blasted Republicans’ efforts to bring his client before a public hearing after he sat for a nearly seven-hour deposition last month.  “Your latest step — this March 6 invitation — is not a serious oversight proceeding,” Lowell said in the letter. “It is your attempt to resuscitate yourmore

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Judge in Georgia Election Case Dismisses Some Trump Charges

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against former President Donald Trump, but many other counts in the indictment remain.  Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in an order that six of the counts in the indictment must be quashed, including three against Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee.  But the order leaves intact other charges, and the judge wrote that prosecutors could seek a new indictment on the charges he dismissed.  The six charges are about soliciting elected officials to violate their oaths of office. Thatmore

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Biden, Trump Issue Dire Warnings as Rematch Looms in Georgia

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atlanta, georgia — U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump warned of dire consequences for the country if the other wins another term in the White House as the pair held dueling rallies in Georgia on Saturday fresh off strong wins in Super Tuesday contests that positioned them for an all-but-certain rematch this November. The state was a pivotal 2020 battleground — so close four years ago that Trump has been indicted here for asking election officials to “find 11,780 votes” and overturn Biden’s victory. Both parties are preparing for another closely contested race in the state this year.more

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What to Expect for Biden, Trump in Georgia’s Presidential Primaries

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WASHINGTON — Emerging from their near-clean sweeps of Super Tuesday contests, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump head to Georgia, where they’ll campaign for votes in Tuesday’s presidential primary in a state that will play a pivotal role in deciding their fates in November. For Trump, the day will likely have additional significance, as voters in Georgia and three other states may award him enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination for president. Biden’s first possible date to clinch has also moved up to March 12. Aside from that, Georgia’s presidential primary will be largely anti-climactic. Trump’s main rivalmore

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