In the news today: Prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump election case; a rare Israeli strike in central Beirut; and what happens next when containers are lost at sea. Also, tarantula mating season is underway in Colorado. |
Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event, Tuesday, in Waunakee, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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Prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump election case
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Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and “resorted to crimes” in his failed bid to cling to power, according to a court filing unsealed Wednesday that offers new evidence from the landmark criminal case against the former president. Read more.
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The filing from special counsel Jack Smith’s team offers the most comprehensive view to date of what prosecutors intend to prove if the case charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the election reaches trial. The filing cites previously unknown accounts offered by Trump’s closest aides to paint a portrait of an “increasingly desperate” president who, while losing his grip on the White House, “used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.”
“So what?” the filing quotes Trump as telling an aide after being advised that his vice president, Mike Pence, had been rushed to a secure location after a crowd of violent Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. “The details don’t matter,” Trump said, when told by an adviser that a lawyer who was mounting his legal challenges wouldn’t be able to prove the false allegations in court, the filing states.
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The brief was made public over the Trump legal team’s objections in the final month of a closely contested presidential race in which Democrats have sought to make Trump’s refusal to accept election results central to their claims that he is unfit for office. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called the brief “falsehood-ridden” and “unconstitutional” and repeated allegations that Smith and Democrats were “hell-bent on weaponizing the Justice Department.”
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Rare Israeli strike in central Beirut kills 7 as troops battle Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
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An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian first responders. Israel has been pounding areas of the country where the militant group has a strong presence but has rarely struck in the heart of the capital. Read more. |
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There was no warning before the strike late Wednesday, which hit an apartment in central Beirut, not far from the United Nations headquarters, the prime minister’s office and parliament.
The strike came after at least eight Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week. The region was meanwhile bracing for Israeli retaliation following an Iranian ballistic missile attack.
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Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following the strike in Beirut, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs, without providing evidence. Human rights groups have in the past accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on towns and villages in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Thousands of shipping containers have been lost at sea. What happens when they burst open?
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Most of the world’s everyday goods are shipped in metal boxes across the ocean. In the past 15 years, more than 20,000 shipping containers have fallen off cargo ships at sea, dumping everything from plastic pellets to hazardous chemicals into the ocean. The Associated Press follows what happens next when containers are lost at sea. Read more.
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Cargo ships can lose anywhere from a single container to hundreds at a time in rough seas. Experts disagree on how many are lost each year. Others say the real number is much higher, as the shipping council data doesn’t include the entire industry and there are no penalties for failing to report losses publicly.
The ocean pollution and debris left behind are harming coastal communities that depend upon the sea for livelihoods, as well as endangered species and deep-sea marine life. Scientists are studying the cascade of changes wrought by a single container found by chance on the seabed. By changing the flow of water and sediment, the container completely changes the micro-ecosystem around it — impacting seafloor species that scientists are still discovering.
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A male tarantula looks for a mate on the plains near La Junta, Colo., Sept. 27. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
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Spider lovers scurry to Colorado town in search of mating tarantulas
Love is in the air on the Colorado plains. It’s tarantula mating season, when male spiders scurry out of their burrows in search of a mate, and hundreds of arachnophiles flock to the small farming town of La Junta to watch them emerge in droves. |
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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