FBI seizes mayor’s phones as campaign investigation intensifies
FBI agents seized New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ electronic devices early this week in what appeared to be a dramatic escalation of a criminal inquiry into whether his 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government and others to funnel money into its coffers. The devices — at least two cellphones and an iPad — were returned to the mayor within a matter of days, according to two people familiar with the situation. Law enforcement investigators with a search warrant can make copies of the data on devices after they seize them. A lawyer for Adams and his campaign said that the mayor was cooperating with federal authorities.
Judge puts off decision on whether to delay Trump documents trial
A federal judge on Friday put off until at least March the fraught and consequential decision of whether to delay the start of former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges of illegally holding on to a trove of highly classified national security secrets after he left office. But acknowledging “the evolving complexities” in the proceeding, the judge, Aileen Cannon, also said it would be “prudent” to push back several deadlines she had set for pretrial motions to be filed, especially those involving the classified materials at the heart of the case.
Suspect in Jan. 6 attack surrenders after manhunt
Gregory Yetman, a former member of the New Jersey Army National Guard, surrendered to authorities Friday on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Law enforcement officials had been searching for him for at least two days after he fled authorities serving an arrest warrant. Yetman turned himself in to the police department in Monroe Township, New Jersey, according to an FBI spokesperson. The case against Yetman is being brought by federal prosecutors in Washington, and he is expected to make his first court appearance Monday.
Christie sets Israel trip and invites his rivals
Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who is running for president, will go to Israel on Sunday, pressing what he sees as his foreign policy advantage in the race and challenging the other Republicans seeking the White House nomination to join him. The trip will be his second to a war zone since opening his presidential bid. In August, he paid a surprise visit to Ukraine and met with that country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The details of his itinerary in Israel remain under wraps for security purposes.
A new drug is developed to combat gonorrhea
A new antibiotic, the first to be developed in decades, can cure gonorrhea infections at least as effectively as the most powerful current treatment, a large clinical trial has found. The drug, zoliflodacin, is taken as a single dose, and it has not yet been approved for use in any country. But the drug was developed in a way that experts hope will make it widely accessible and will prevent widespread drug resistance. With more than 82 million new infections recorded worldwide in 2020, gonorrhea is among the most common sexually transmitted diseases.
Women lead the nominees for the Grammys
SZA, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, indie supergroup boygenius and eclectic bandleader Jon Batiste are among the top nominees announced Friday for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, leading a class of contenders dominated by young women. SZA, an R&B singer-songwriter born Solána Rowe, has nine nominations — more than any other artist this year — for her album “SOS.” “Kill Bill,” its standout hit, is up for both record and song of the year at the next ceremony, set for Feb. 4 in Los Angeles. Swift and Rodrigo will face off against SZA in all three top categories.
Actors to start voting on contract on Tuesday
The union representing movie and television actors said Friday that its 76-member national board voted with 86% support to send a tentative contract with studios to members for ratification. The ratification process will start Tuesday and end the first week in December. Actors can go back to work immediately. Members are expected to approve the contract, which Fran Drescher, the union’s outspoken president, valued at more than $1 billion over three years. She highlighted the “extraordinary scope” of the agreement, noting that it included protections around the use of artificial intelligence, higher minimum pay, better health care funding, and improved hair and makeup services on sets, among other gains.
Germany’s stifling of pro-Palestinian voices pits historical guilt against free speech
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, governments across Europe have grappled with how the conflict has played out in their own countries. Some, citing security fears, have imposed stiff restrictions on pro-Palestinian protests. Nowhere has the debate over what is legal and legitimate expression of dissent been more fraught than in Germany. Germany sees severely restricting criticism of Israel as a necessary part of atoning for the Holocaust. But many in its immigrant communities — Arabs and also many progressive Jews and Israelis — say the restrictions not only violate free speech, but are discriminatory.
South Korean president’s war against ‘fake news’ raises alarms in country
Allies of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s are attacking what they see as an existential threat to South Korea. In this case, the accused is not a foreign spy, but a Korean news outlet that has published articles critical of Yoon and his government. The president, a former prosecutor, is turning to lawsuits, state regulators and criminal investigations to clamp down on speech that he calls disinformation, efforts that have largely been aimed at news organizations. Since Yoon was elected last year, police and prosecutors have repeatedly raided the homes and newsrooms of journalists whom his office has accused of spreading “fake news.”
Britain’s prisons are dangerously close to capacity
The prison system in England and Wales is dangerously close to capacity, with 98% of available spaces full, according to data released by Britain’s Ministry of Justice on Friday that experts said underscored an ongoing crisis within the criminal justice system. The reality of overcrowded prisons and an accompanying rise in inmate violence and self-harm poses a stark challenge to the Conservative government as it plans to extend sentencing for the most serious crimes. The Ministry of Justice said the prison population was 87,704, meaning there are around 1,200 places left before the system reaches maximum “operational capacity.”
Biden and Xi to seek to stabilize relations in California meeting
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to meet in San Francisco on Wednesday for a discussion that Biden’s advisers say is meant to stabilize relations even as it features topics on which the two fiercely competitive countries disagree. The Biden administration said the two leaders would have the highly choreographed discussion as they attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. In a call with reporters Thursday, two senior advisers to Biden said the meeting was intended to be wide-ranging, with Biden prepared to bring up issues including Taiwan, election interference, the war in Ukraine, and the war between Israel and Hamas.
Thousands wait at Ukraine border after Polish truckers blockade it
Thousands of trucks were lined up at several border crossings between Ukraine and Poland on Friday, preventing goods from being delivered to Europe and causing traffic jams lasting several days as Polish truckers blocked checkpoints over what they said was unfair competition from their Ukrainian counterparts. Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said in a statement Thursday afternoon that more than 20,000 vehicles were blocked on both sides of the border, adding that the protest was already affecting the economies of Ukraine and the European Union. The figure could not be independently confirmed, but there was little dispute that the disruption has been significant.
By wire sources