The Full Belmonte, 6/13/2023
Trump will face judge in historic court appearance over charges he mishandled secret documents
By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
“MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump was set to make his first court appearance Tuesday in a historic criminal case charging the former president with hoarding top secret government documents, boastfully displaying them to visitors and trying to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.
Trump approached his Miami court date with characteristic bravado, insisting as he has done through years of legal woes that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But the gravity of the moment is unmistakable as he answers to 37 felony counts that accuse him of willfully retaining classified records that prosecutors say could have jeopardized national security if exposed.
The case is laden with political implications for Trump, who currently holds the dominant spot in the early days of the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it also poses profound legal consequences given the prospect of a years-long prison sentence. Even for a defendant whose post-presidential life has been dominated by investigations, the documents probe has stood out for both the apparent volume of evidence amassed by prosecutors and the severity of the allegations.
The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, is the latest in an unprecedented public reckoning this year for Trump, who faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race. He’s sought to project confidence in the face of unmistakable legal peril, attacking Smith as ‘deranged,’ pledging to stay in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.
‘They’re using this because they can’t win the election fairly and squarely,’ Trump said Monday in an interview with Americano Media.
The court appearance is also unfolding against the backdrop of potential protests and unrest. Some high-profile backers have used barbed rhetoric to voice support. Trump himself has encouraged supporters to join a planned protest Tuesday at the Miami courthouse, where he is expected to surrender to authorities.
Some Trump supporters were also planning to load buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, raising concerns for law enforcement officials who are preparing for the potential of unrest around the courthouse. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city would be ready, and police chief Manuel A. Morales said downtown could see anywhere from a few thousand up to 50,000 protesters. He said the city would divert traffic and possibly block streets depending on crowd size…” Read more at AP News
Haley changes tune, calls Trump ‘reckless’
Her criticism marked a departure from Republicans’ initial reaction to Trump’s indictment.
‘If this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security,’ Nikki Haley said. | Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo
“Nikki Haley on Monday called Donald Trump ‘reckless.’ Tim Scott described the federal charges brought against him as ‘serious allegations.’
It was far from an outright condemnation. But their comments marked a significant departure from the two presidential contenders’ initial reaction to Trump’s indictment. Just days after Republicans rushed to Trump’s defense, their remarks served as a sign the tide could be turning in the Republican presidential primary field’s willingness to go on offense against the former president….” Read more at POLITICO
Supreme Court won’t review North Carolina’s decision to nix license plates with Confederate flag
JESSICA GRESKO
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on April 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it won’t review North Carolina’s decision to stop issuing specialty license plates with the Confederate flag.
As is typical, the court did not comment in declining to hear the case, which challenged the state’s decision. The dispute was one of many the court said Monday it would not hear. It was similar to a case originating in Texas that the court heard in 2015, when it ruled the license plates are state property.
The current dispute stems from North Carolina’s 2021 decision to stop issuing specialty license plates bearing the insignia of the North Carolina chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The chapter sued, claiming that the state’s decision violated state and federal law. A lower court dismissed the case, and a federal appeals court agreed with that decision.
North Carolina offers three standard license plates and more than 200 specialty plates. Civic clubs including the Sons of Confederate Veterans can create specialty plates by meeting specific requirements.
In 2021, however, the state Department of Transportation sent the group a letter saying it would ‘no longer issue or renew specialty license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag or any variation of that flag’ because the plates ‘have the potential to offend those who view them.’
The state said it would consider alternate artwork for the plates’ design if it does not contain the Confederate flag.
The organization unsuccessfully argued that the state’s decision violated its free speech rights under the Constitution’s First Amendment and state law governing specialty license plates.
In 2015, the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ Texas chapter claimed Texas was wrong not to issue a specialty license plate with the group’s insignia. But the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Texas could limit the content of license plates because they are state property….” Read more at AP News
North Carolina Republicans seek to strip Democrat governor of elections board control
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Tom Ross, center, a former president of the University of North Carolina system, speaks while former UNC system President Margaret Spellings, left, and Gov. Roy Cooper, right, listen at an Executive Mansion news conference on Monday, June 12, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C. Ross and Spellings were co-chairs of a commission that examined governance issues for the UNC system (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson)
“RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Senate Republicans filed legislation Monday to strip Gov. Roy Cooper of power to appoint State Board of Elections members, intensifying a yearslong struggle over state government powers between the GOP-led General Assembly and the Democratic governor.
The unveiling of the bill came almost two hours after a panel Cooper created recommended changes designed to ease the current GOP dominance of University of North Carolina governing boards.
The dueling proposals escalate the clash between Cooper and the General Assembly to reshape the balance of power within government in the final weeks of the year’s main legislative session. Still, Republicans maintain the upper hand after regaining veto-proof control of the legislature in April.
The current state board has five members appointed by the governor — three Democrats and two Republicans from candidate lists made by state party leaders….” Read more at AP News
Officials say driver lost control of gas-filled tanker before fire collapsed main East Coast highway
By RON TODT, MIKE CATALINI and MARC LEVY
“PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver of a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline lost control on an off-ramp and flipped the tanker truck on its side in a wreck that set it afire and destroyed a section of the East Coast’s main north-south highway, Pennsylvania’s top transportation official said Monday.
In the first official accounting of a wreck that threw hundreds of thousands of morning commutes into chaos and disrupted untold numbers of businesses, state Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said the driver was northbound ‘trying to navigate the curve, lost control of the vehicle, landed on its side and ruptured the tank.’
The driver was feared dead, and a relative of a New Jersey truck driver who has not been heard from since Sunday told The Philadelphia Inquirer that investigators had contacted the family in an effort to identify human remains recovered from the wreckage.
Pennsylvania State Police said a body was turned over to the Philadelphia medical examiner and coroner, but did not identify the remains or respond when asked if they belonged to the driver….
Interstate 95 will be closed in both directions for weeks as the summer travel season kicks into high gear. The elevated southbound portion of I-95 will have to be demolished, as well as the northbound side, Carroll said. Motorists should avoid the northeast corner of the sixth-largest city in the country, transportation officials said.
The accident also disrupted the automotive route from Canada to Florida through the Boston, New York and Washington metropolitan areas, increasing Americans’ dependence on air travel and on the interstate rail network.
Videos shared on social media showed a number of close calls around the accident, with people driving through the area as flames licked upward from the fire below….” Read more at AP News
‘Unbelievably excited’ - wheelchair users react to new Delta airplane seat design
By Francesca Street, CNN
Hamburg, GermanyCNN —
“A new airplane seat concept that allows wheelchair users to stay in their own chair throughout a flight was revealed this week by a subsidiary of US airline Delta, a move welcomed as a ‘huge step’ by potential customers.
‘Unbelievably excited,’ is how power wheelchair user and avid traveler Cory Lee described his reaction after a working prototype of the design was demonstrated by Delta Flight Products (DFP) at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany, a symposium spotlighting airplane cabin innovations….” Read more at CNN
The Denver Nuggets have won the NBA Finals for the first time in the team's history
Denver Nuggets players, coaches and owners hold up the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy after the team's victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of basketball's NBA Finals, Monday, June 12, 2023, in Denver.
David Zalubowski/AP
“The Denver Nuggets won the NBA Finals Monday night, making it the first title in the team's 47-year NBA history.
The Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat by a score of 94-89, winning the best-of-seven series in five games.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, a 28-year-old from Serbia, led the team with 28 points and 16 rebounds and was named the NBA Finals most valuable player….” Read more at NPR
Pat Sajak will retire from 'Wheel of Fortune' after more than 4 decades as host
Pat Sajak, left, and Vanna White, from "Wheel of Fortune," attend a ceremony honoring Harry Friedman with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Nov. 1, 2019, in Los Angeles. Sajak is taking one last spin on "Wheel of Fortune," announcing Monday, June 12, 2023, that its upcoming season will be his last as host.
Richard Shotwell/nvision/AP
“LOS ANGELES — Pat Sajak is taking one last spin on "Wheel of Fortune," announcing Monday that its upcoming season will be his last as host.
Sajak announced his retirement from the venerable game show in a tweet.
‘Well, the time has come. I've decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all,’ the tweet said.
Sajak, 76, has presided over the game show, which features contestants guessing letters to try to fill out words and phrases to win money and prizes, since 1981. He took over duties from Chuck Woolery, who was the show's first host when it debuted in 1975.
Along with Vanna White, who joined the show in 1982, Sajak has been a television mainstay. The show soon shifted to a syndication and aired in the evening in many markets, becoming one of the most successful game shows in history. Sajak will continue to serve as a consultant on the show for three years after his retirement as host….” Read more at NPR
Golden Globes Are Sold and Hollywood Foreign Press Is No More
After a series of ethics, finance and diversity scandals, the embattled awards show will continue but the group that was behind it for decades will not.
June 12, 2023
“The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of entertainment journalists from overseas that, despite frequent missteps, built the Golden Globe Awards into a marquee event, died on Monday after a series of scandals. It was 80.
The end of the embattled H.F.P.A. was announced after California officials agreed to a complicated reorganization plan that will allow the Golden Globe Awards to continue.
Eldridge Industries, a holding company owned by the billionaire investor Todd Boehly, and Dick Clark Productions, which is part of Penske Media, agreed to buy the foreign press association’s Golden Globe assets for an undisclosed price. The proceeds will go to a new nonprofit, the Golden Globe Foundation, which will continue the H.F.P.A.’s philanthropic efforts; it gave more than $50 million to entertainment-related charities over the last three decades.
Members of the foreign press association — primarily freelance entertainment journalists — will become employees of a yet-to-be-named for-profit entity that will try to expand the Golden Globes as a brand, according to an Eldridge spokesman. The former members (there are fewer than 100) will earn $75,000 annually for five years, with duties that include watching films and television shows and voting for the awards; and producing promotional materials, including writing articles for a Golden Globes website. It was unclear if the members could continue freelancing (mostly celebrity interviews) for publications overseas….” Read more at New York Times
‘Hair,’ ‘Everwood’ actor Treat Williams killed in Vermont motorcycle crash
FILE - Actor Treat Williams attends the world premiere of "Second Act" in New York on Dec. 12, 2018. Williams, whose nearly 50-year career included starring roles in the TV series “Everwood” and the movie “Hair,” died Monday, June 12, 2023, after a motorcycle crash in Vermont, state police said. He was 71. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
“DORSET, Vt. (AP) — Actor Treat Williams, whose nearly 50-year career included starring roles in the TV series “Everwood” and the movie “Hair,” died Monday after a motorcycle crash in Vermont, state police said. He was 71.
Shortly before 5 p.m., a Honda SUV was turning left into a parking lot when it collided with Williams’ motorcycle in the town of Dorset, according to a statement from Vermont State Police.
‘Williams was unable to avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle. He suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, where he was pronounced dead,’ according to the statement.
Williams was wearing a helmet, police said.
The SUV’s driver received minor injuries and wasn’t hospitalized. He had signaled the turn and wasn’t immediately detained although the crash investigation continued, police said.
Williams, whose full name was Richard Treat Williams, lived in Manchester Center in southern Vermont, police said….” Read more at AP News