A tense day in courtroom for Stormy Daniels
Legal professionals for Donald Trump once more sought to make Stormy Daniels look as if she was mendacity yesterday about her account of a 2006 sexual liaison. However Daniels — who took the $130,000 hush-money cost on the coronary heart of the 34 felony prices Trump is going through — pushed again.
“You made all this up, proper?” a lawyer requested.
Daniels responded with a forceful “No.”
Throughout a combative cross-examination — which began on Tuesday and continued yesterday — Daniels swung between vulnerability and defiance. When the protection attacked her for hawking gear to supporters, she responded by likening it to Trump’s personal merchandising.
Susan Necheles, Trump’s lawyer, searingly questioned Daniels for greater than two hours. As Necheles tried to undermine her credibility, Daniels constantly parried. In a single trade, Necheles recommended that Daniels, due to her profession in porn, had a whole lot of expertise with “phony tales about intercourse.”
Daniels shot again, “The intercourse within the movies could be very actual, identical to what occurred to me in that room.”
A Daniels-Trump recap: They met in July 2006, however their lives intersected over the subsequent decade and past. Right here’s a breakdown of the timeline.
Hopes for a Gaza deal shrank as talks stalled
Excessive-level negotiations in Cairo have been placed on maintain yesterday; the Israeli and Hamas delegations left, as did the C.I.A. director, dealing a blow to hopes a deal could possibly be reached quickly.
Right here’s the most recent.
The pause is a setback, provided that some had seen indicators earlier within the week {that a} deal is likely to be shut. Nonetheless, one official stated that negotiators have been deciphering the suspension as a pause quite than a derailment.
Israel’s actions in Rafah might set the tone for future discussions. On Wednesday, President Biden acknowledged that Israel had used American bombs to kill civilians in Gaza. He stated the U.S. would additionally withhold artillery if Israel have been to go forward with a significant operation in Rafah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel reacted defiantly to Biden’s feedback: “If we have to stand alone, we’ll stand alone.” Fears are rising {that a} rift with the U.S. might have an effect on Israel’s capacity to proceed its battle. Netanyahu is caught between allies demanding a cease-fire deal and right-wing calls for in his personal nation to go ahead with the invasion.
A view from the sky: These satellite tv for pc pictures of Rafah, taken after Israeli forces entered the town, present widespread injury and clusters of Israeli armored autos.
Ukraine strikes deep in Russia
Ukraine struck an oil refinery far inside Russia, officers on either side stated yesterday, as Kyiv works to weaken Russia’s army and its vitality business.
The drone strike on the power, which is one in every of Russia’s largest and lies greater than 700 miles (over 1,100 kilometers) from Ukraine’s border, exhibits that Kyiv is more and more capable of attain targets additional inside its enemy’s territory.
Background: This assault, together with others on two oil depots, have been a part of an ongoing marketing campaign. Kyiv hopes to disrupt Russia’s army logistics by focusing on the amenities that provide gasoline for its tanks, ships and planes. Ukraine additionally hopes to undermine Russia’s vitality business, which is central to its financial system.
Affect: An vitality professional in Belgium stated the strikes had taken greater than 10 p.c of Russia’s oil-refining capability off line, quickly decreasing its capacity to show its crude oil into merchandise like gasoline, diesel and petrol.
MORE TOP NEWS
Majid Khan, a former courier for Al Qaeda, spent 20 years in Guantánamo Bay and was tortured in C.I.A. custody. Within the yr since his launch, he has reunited along with his spouse, met his daughter and had a son. They now dwell in Belize.
“Life is a check,” he stated. He sees the subsequent chapter of his life as a chance to make issues proper. He was harm, he stated, and did issues that harm others. “Might God forgive.”
For extra, take heed to the most recent season of the “Serial” podcast, which is about Guantánamo.
Lives lived: Steve Albini, a musician and audio engineer who helped outline the sound of ’90s various rock, died at 61. Hearken to a few of his important recordings.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
New pals: Our tech columnist spent the previous month hanging out with some A.I. companions. That is what he discovered.
Extra medication, much less violence: Altering attitudes have prompted Britain’s movie scores board to rerate some traditional motion pictures, like “Mary Poppins.”
How loneliness impacts the mind
Everybody feels lonely now and again. However for some individuals, loneliness turns into entrenched in a manner that’s unhealthy for his or her well being. Power loneliness may even change individuals’s brains.
Neurologically, power loneliness is related to modifications in areas essential for social cognition, self-awareness and processing feelings. For years, scientists have identified a few connection between loneliness and Alzheimer’s illness and different kinds of dementia. A research revealed late final yr recommended an affiliation with Parkinson’s illness. It is usually linked to despair.
So what are you able to do? It sounds apparent, however a typical suggestion is to place your self in locations and conditions the place you may meet individuals and make new pals. Cognitive habits remedy may assist tackle the basis downside for why it is likely to be laborious so that you can work together with others.