Nation & World Glance
Judge dismisses some charges against Trump in the Georgia 2020 election interference case
ATLANTA – The judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against former President Donald Trump and others, but the rest of the sweeping racketeering indictment remains intact.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott Mcafee quashed six counts in the indictment, including three against Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee. But the judge left in place other counts – including 10 facing Trump – and said prosecutors could seek a new indictment to try to reinstate the ones he dismissed.
The ruling is a blow for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who already is facing an effort to have her removed from the prosecution over her romantic relationship with a colleague. It’s the first time charges in any of Trump’s four criminal cases have been dismissed, with the judge saying prosecutors failed to provide enough detail about the alleged crime.
The sprawling indictment charges Trump and more than a dozen other defendants with violating Georgia’s Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The case uses a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Defense attorneys applauded the ruling, which came after challenges to the indictment from Trump, former New York mayor and current Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys John Eastman, Ray Smith and Robert Cheeley. They have all pleaded not guilty.
Israel says it plans to direct Palestinians out of Rafah ahead of anticipated offensive
TEL AVIV, Israel – The Israeli military said Wednesday it plans to direct a significant portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost town of Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the center of the territory ahead of its planned offensive in the area.
The fate of the people in Rafah has been a major area of concern of Israel’s allies – including the United States – and humanitarian groups, worried an offensive in the region densely crowded with so many displaced people would be a catastrophe. Rafah is also Gaza’s main entry point for desperately needed aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a Rafah offensive is crucial to achieve Israel’s stated aim of destroying Hamas following the militants’ Oct. 7 attack in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 taken hostage and brought into Gaza. Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed more than 31,000, according to Gaza health officials, left much of the enclave in ruins and displaced some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said moving those in Rafah to the designated areas, which he said would be done in coordination with international actors, was a key part of the military’s preparations for its anticipated invasion of Rafah, where Israel says Hamas maintains four battalions it wants to destroy.
Storm carrying massive ‘gorilla hail’ threatens parts of Kansas and Missouri
ST. LOUIS – Volatile weather was honing in on parts of Kansas and Missouri Wednesday night, with some storms bringing massive chunks of hail.
The National Weather Service just after 8 p.m. CST said that the Kansas City metro area was under a severe thunderstorm warning for a storm that contained hail described as the size of apples, softballs or baseballs.
“If you are in this warning, get away from windows and shelter inside now!!!” the National Weather Service posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The weather service said the storm had previously produced “softball-sized hail,” or 3.5-inch (8.89-centimeter) chunks.
Traffic came to a standstill for a time on part of Interstate 70 because of the falling hail, the National Weather Service said on X. Images of large hail chunks – with one bigger than the golf ball shown next to it – and at least one cracked windshield were shown on KSHB-TV.
The National Weather Service continued issuing tornado warnings Wednesday night in the areas around Topeka and moving to the north, while severe thunderstorm warnings were issued northeast of
Kansas City in Missouri.
Prosecutor urges jury to convict Michigan school shooter’s dad, says he could have prevented tragedy
PONTIAC, Mich. – A prosecutor urged jurors to convict the father of a Michigan school shooter on Wednesday, saying he ignored the “easiest, most glaring opportunities” to prevent the killing of four students, especially when confronted with his son’s violent classroom drawing.
Instead of taking Ethan Crumbley home, James Crumbley left Oxford High School with his wife and made Doordash runs, passing near their home during deliveries, prosecutor Karen Mcdonald said.
He didn’t check the house for a gun similar to one in the drawing until news of the shooting started to spread in the small community. That’s when he frantically called 911 and said the gun was missing – and his 15-year-old son could be the killer.
“There were 1,800 students at Oxford High School,” Mcdonald said. “There was one parent who suspected their son was a school shooter, and it was James Crumbley. You know what that’s called? That’s called foreseeability.”
Parents are not responsible for everything their kids do, she said later, but “this is a very egregious and rare set of facts.”
Plan to install new leaders in Haiti appears to crumble after political parties reject it
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A proposal to install new leadership in Haiti appeared to be crumbling Wednesday as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition.
The panel would be responsible for selecting an interim prime minister and a council of ministers that would attempt to chart a new path for the Caribbean country that has been overrun by gangs. The violence has closed schools and businesses and disrupted daily life across Haiti.
Jean Charles Moïse, an ex-senator and presidential candidate who has teamed up with former rebel leader Guy Philippe, held a news conference Wednesday to announce his rejection of the proposed council backed by the international community.
Moïse insisted that a three-person presidential council he recently created with Philippe and a Haitian judge should be implemented. “We are not going to negotiate it,” he said in a loud voice as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “We have to make them understand.”