Violent rhetoric in defense of Trump
The federal indictment of former President Donald Trump last week has unleashed a wave of calls by his supporters for violence and an uprising to defend him. The rhetoric is raising concerns of a dangerous atmosphere ahead of his court appearance in Miami tomorrow.
The indictment — the first time a former U.S. president has faced federal charges — accuses Trump of mishandling classified documents he kept upon leaving office and then obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim them. It presents evidence of a shocking indifference toward some of the country’s most sensitive secrets and actions even more blatant than was previously known.
Trump on Saturday cast both his indictments by prosecutors and his current run for president as part of a “final battle” with “corrupt” forces that he maintained are destroying the country.
Remarks from close allies of Trump — including a member of Congress — have portrayed the charges as an act of war, and some have called for retribution, which political violence experts say increases the risk of action.
Context: The indictment puts the nation in an extraordinary position, given Trump’s status as not only the former president but also the current front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination to face President Biden, whose administration will now be seeking to convict his potential rival of multiple felonies.
The other case: The indictment came about two months after prosecutors in New York filed charges against Trump in a case connected to hush money payments made to a porn actress before the 2016 election.
What’s next: Trump is expected to surrender to the authorities tomorrow in Miami. But a trial is not guaranteed and may not be scheduled for months, as both sides will most likely argue over the merits of the case.
Ukraine claims first counteroffensive gains
Fighting raged yesterday in at least three sectors of the front in Ukraine, as the Ukrainian military claimed its first, small territorial gains in the initial stages of its counteroffensive.
Ukraine had been silent about the course of the combat in the opening week of the military operation, but it seems to be at a stage of probing attacks and feints. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine signaled on Saturday that the counteroffensive had begun, but “at what stage, I will not disclose in detail,” he said.
Gains: A Ukrainian unit claimed to have taken Blahodatne, in the eastern region of Donetsk, and a separate unit said it had reclaimed the nearby village of Neskuchne. It remained to be seen whether the announcements also signaled that Ukraine had managed to break through Russian lines of defense.
What’s at stake: The outcome of the counteroffensive will influence discussions of future Western support for Ukraine, as well as debates about how to guarantee the country’s future. Definitions of success for the counteroffensive vary.
Scotland’s former leader is arrested
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, was arrested yesterday by police officers investigating the finances of the Scottish National Party, which dominates the country’s politics. Sturgeon led the party until her unexpected resignation in February.
The investigation into the party began in 2021 and was reported to have followed complaints about the handling of around 600,000 British pounds, or nearly $750,000, in donations raised to campaign for a second vote on Scottish independence. (A first referendum was held in 2014, with Scots voting against independence, 55 percent to 45 percent.)
Details: The authorities are thought to be looking into whether money intended to fight for a second vote on independence was diverted to another purpose, and to be investigating why Sturgeon’s husband made a loan to the party.
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Asia Pacific
Dinosaur fossils have long been extraordinarily rare in Australia, and the continent has been a missing piece in scientists’ understanding of dinosaurs globally.
But a new understanding of how to search for ancient remains has reinvigorated a region of western Queensland, rewriting the country’s fossil record and creating a dinosaur boom as tourists flock to paleontological digs.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Will A.I. usher in the “Singularity”?
For decades, Silicon Valley has anticipated the moment when a new technology would come along and change everything. It would unite human and machine — probably for the better but possibly for the worse — and split history into before and after. The name for this milestone: the Singularity.
It could happen in several ways. One possibility is that people would add a computer’s processing power to their own intelligence, becoming supercharged versions of themselves. Or maybe computers would grow so complex that they could truly think, creating a global brain. In either case, the resulting changes would be drastic, exponential and irreversible.
The Singularity is a slingshot into the future, and if you listen to the industry’s extravagant claims, wild assertions and warnings, it seems the long-promised virtual paradise is finally at hand.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
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Justin Porter is an editor on the Briefings newsletter team at The Times.