AP-Newswatch

Michael Cohen pressed on his crimes and lies as defense attacks key Trump hush money trial witness

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers are pressing former attorney Michael Cohen on his criminal history and past lies as they work to convince jurors not to believe the star witness’ pivotal testimony in the hush money trial. Cohen was back in the hot seat Thursday a third day of testimony. Defense lawyers are painting Trump’s fixer-turned-foe as a spurned former employee who will say whatever it takes to put the presumptive Republican presidential nominee behind bars. Cohen’s cross-examination is a crucial moment for Trump’s team to try to chip away at Cohen’s credibility, which could determine the former president’s fate in the case. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

House panel advances Garland contempt after White House blocks access to Biden special counsel tape

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee voted to move forward with an effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress hours after the White House blocked access to an audio recording of President Joe Biden’s interview with the special counsel who oversaw an investigation into his handling of classified documents. The House panel voted Thursday afternoon to advance the contempt maneuver. A similar vote is scheduled for later Thursday with the House oversight committee. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday accused Biden of suppressing the tape because he’s afraid to have voters hear it during an election year. A transcript of the interview shows Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details but having deep recall in other areas.

US military says Gaza pier project is complete and aid will soon flow as Israel-Hamas war rages

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has finished installing a floating pier in the Gaza Strip. Officials said Thursday that they’re poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The final construction sets up a complicated delivery process more than two months after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered it to help starving Palestinians as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting prevent food and other supplies from making it into Gaza. American officials insist U.S. troops will not set foot in Gaza, though they acknowledge the danger of operating near the war zone.

House to vote on requiring delivery of bombs to Israel in GOP-led rebuke of Biden policies

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans plan to deliver a rebuke to President Joe Biden for putting a pause on a shipment of bombs to Israel that could be used in an assault on Rafah. They are voting Thursday on a bill that has practically no chance of being enacted but puts pressure on Democrats as it mandates delivery of the weapons. The Biden administration is seeking to discourage Israel from its offensive on the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah. This month, it put on hold a weapons shipment of 3,500 bombs. Republicans were outraged at the move and argued it represented the abandonment of the closest U.S. ally in the Middle East.

Slovak authorities charge ‘lone wolf’ with assassination attempt on the prime minister

BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovak authorities charged a man with attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Robert Fico, saying he acted alone in a politically motivated attack that left the longtime leader in serious but stable condition. Fico’s pro-Russia views have contributed to deep divisions in the small European country that borders Ukraine. The shooting attack Wednesday shocked the nation and reverberated across the continent weeks ahead of elections for the European Parliament. Slovakia’s current president and its president-elect urged people to dial back the sharp rhetoric that has characterized the country’s political debate. But some Fico allies took aim at Slovakia’s media for contributing to polarization.

Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, spurning a conservative attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says the Supreme Court’s rejection of a conservative-led attack that could’ve undermined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is “an unmistakable win” for consumers. The justices ruled Thursday the way the bureau is funded does not violate the Constitution. The bureau was the brainchild of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who says the court followed the law. Payday lenders had objected to a bureau rule limiting their ability to withdraw funds directly from borrowers’ bank accounts. The bureau was created to regulate consumer finance including mortgages and car loans. Republicans and their financial backers oppose it. A bureau spokesman says the court has made clear the bureau is here to stay.

Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent Thursday to the federal register recognizes medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the most dangerous drugs. The plan signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland wouldn’t legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. The Drug Enforcement Administration will take public comment on the proposal to move marijuana from its classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside some anabolic steroids. The U.S. Cannabis Council trade group applauds the proposed change.

US prisoners are being assigned dangerous jobs. But what happens if they are hurt or killed?

PHOENIX (AP) — An Associated Press investigation into prison labor in the United States found that prisoners who are hurt or killed on the job are often being denied the rights and protections offered to other American workers. These prisoners are being placed in dangerous jobs, sometimes with little or no training. They pick up trash along busy highways, fight wildfires, and operate heavy machinery. They work on industrial-sized farms and meat-processing plants tied to the supply chains of large, iconic companies, from McDonald’s to Target. But incarcerated workers and their families often have little or no recourse when things go wrong.

Shaken by the Fico assassination attempt, the EU wonders if June elections can be free of violence

BRUSSELS (AP) — In an increasingly vitriolic political climate, the last thing needed in the runup to the June European Union elections was an assassination attempt on one of the bloc’s most controversial figures. The sheer violence of five shots targeted at Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico merely for doing his job had a whole continent worried ahead of the June 6-9 polls. The EU’s political landscape is becoming increasingly polarized, with no holds barred between mainstream parties on the one hand and the bellicose populists and extremists on the other.

Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba

HAVANA (AP) — The 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace the Catholic Church as the guiding force in the lives of Cubans. But religion seems omnipresent in Cuba 65 years later. Buddhists, Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Afro-Cuban Santeria practitioners often gather to pray, sing and worship across the Communist-run island. Critics say Cuba is still falling short on religious tolerance. Cuban academics and local religious leaders agree that more strides need to be made. But they also say progress has been achieved. Some call it a time of a Cuban religious revival.