Month: June 2023

GARDNERVILLE, Nev. – Even among the Star Spangled suits, cowboy hats emblazoned with the American flag and “Let’s Go Brandon” baseball caps, Greg Cesarz stood out. Cesarz wore a custom “DeSantis 47” baseball jersey with “Yale” stitched across the front, which is the alma mater of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Cesarz says he’s a fan of DeSantis for one general reason: Covid. “He didn’t let Covid ruin the state,” he said. “It’s a shower. I want it to turn our country into Florida.” It was a sentiment heard again and again in interviews with more than a dozen people who attended…

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — For nearly three years, a harsh crackdown on dissent in Belarus by its authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has filled the country’s penal camps with thousands of political prisoners, with new arrests reported daily. At the same time, a government campaign has gotten rid of many independent lawyers, making it increasingly difficult for detainees to mount any kind of legal defense. Siarhej Zikratski is among the lawyers forced to leave Belarus under threat of arrest. More than 500 of his colleagues have been disbarred and left the profession since 2020, with many moving abroad after facing reprisals…

In the past month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, has filed articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden and four senior officials, each alleging a mix of wrongdoings ranging from “intentionally failing to secure the our land” to “arming the ‘Injustice’ Department”. An impeachment is the presentation of formal charges against a public official by the House; a trial is held for these charges before the Senate. The impeachment push for the Georgia Republican and Trump loyalist comes as pressure mounts over former President Donald Trump’s legal troubles. Trump, who was twice impeached by the House while president but acquitted…

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — For nearly three years, a harsh crackdown on dissent in Belarus by its authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has filled the country’s penal camps with thousands of political prisoners, with new arrests reported daily. At the same time, a government campaign has gotten rid of many independent lawyers, making it increasingly difficult for detainees to mount any kind of legal defense. Siarhej Zikratski is among the lawyers forced to leave Belarus under threat of arrest. More than 500 of his colleagues have been disbarred and left the profession since 2020, with many moving abroad after facing reprisals…

There has always been a performative aspect to American politics. Politicians say or do things to attract attention, rather than to contribute to governance. But it has become widespread in recent years. Former President Donald Trump epitomizes the bombastic approach, saying anything to anger his supporters, even to the point of violence, and get the attention of the media, no matter how out of touch with reality they are. Unfortunately, however, Trump is not alone. Politicians of all ideological stripes now see attention-grabbing verbiage as an end in itself, making statements and issuing promises with little or no basis in…

Listen and subscribe: apple | Spotify | Google | Wherever you listen Sign up for our weekly newsletter of the best NYC podcasts. New Yorker staff writers Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer and Evan Osnos examine former President Donald Trump’s indictment in Miami on thirty-seven federal charges, including obstruction of justice and willful withholding of security material national In a speech at his New Jersey golf club, the former president called the charges “false and fabricated” and the prosecution “election interference” and “political persecution.” With few exceptions, congressional Republicans defended him and attacked the Justice Department and the FBI; perhaps…

CNN — A boat carrying 120 people has caught fire off the Philippine island of Bohol, the country’s coast guard said Sunday. Videos shared by the Philippine Coast Guard show flames rising from the back of the MV Esperanza Star, with billows of black smoke. The coast guard said it has deployed its own vessels to fight the fire and rescue passengers. “The Philippine Coast Guard is conducting firefighting and rescue operations in response to a maritime incident involving a passenger cargo ship, MV Esperanza Star, which caught fire in waters near Panglao, Bohol, on June 18,” the organization wrote…