NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records arising from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign.
The plea came during a history-making arraignment in a lower Manhattan courtroom, with Trump becoming the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal prosecution.
The arraignment, though procedural in nature, amounts to a remarkable reckoning for Trump after years of investigations into his personal, business & political dealings. The case is unfolding against the backdrop not only of his third campaign for the White House but also against other investigations in Washington & Atlanta that might yet produce even more charges.
A silent & stone-faced Trump, his lips pursed in apparent anger, entered the courtroom shortly before 2:30 p.m. He left court about an hour later, also without commenting.
Before the arraignment, he narrated his feelings in real time, describing the experience as “SURREAL” as he traveled from Trump Tower to lower Manhattan to face a judge.
It represents the new split-screen reality for Trump as he submits to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance & victimhood at celebratory campaign events.
“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,” the voluble ex-president posted on his Truth Social platform. “Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”
Trump, who was impeached twice by the U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, is the first former president to face criminal charges.
The singer-turned-rapper and actor was found dead Saturday at his house in Lancaster, CA ... multiple sources tell us Aaron's body was found in his bathtub. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they received a 911 call at 11 AM Saturday that a male had drowned in the tub.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... homicide detectives have been dispatched to the scene, but we have no information or evidence of foul play. It's standard operating procedure for homicide detectives to investigate such death scenes.
TMZ obtained a photo of sheriffs' cars and paramedics outside Aaron's home ... and the property is surrounded with caution tape.
Aaron shot to fame back in the late 1990s as a pop singer, releasing four studio albums, starting with his self-titled debut album in 1997 when he was only 9 years old.
After his first album sold a million copies, Aaron's second album, "Aaron's Party," tripled that number ... and from there he became a regular on Nickelodeon.
Aaron also used to tour with the Backstreet Boys during their heyday ... his older brother Nick was part of the hugely popular boy band.
AC transitioned into rap as his music career progressed ... and he also appeared on "Dancing With The Stars" and acted in the Broadway production "Seussical."
Aaron had tons of legal and substance abuse issues over the years ... infamously going on "The Doctors" a couple years ago and talking about all the pills he was taking. He also went to rehab numerous times.
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 12, 2022 at 3:25pm
Elias Theodorou, a former UFC fighter and winner of "The Ultimate Fighter Nations," died Sunday at age 34. Theodorou had been battling stage 4 liver cancer, though he had not revealed that information publicly.
Theodorou launched himself onto the world stage in 2014, defeating Sheldon Westcott by TKO to win his season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The Canadian middleweight would go on to compile an 8-3 record in the Octagon, never losing back-to-back fights & only suffering defeats to longtime contenders Thiago Santos, Brad Tavares & Derek Brunson.
After the Brunson loss in May 2019, the UFC released Theodorou from his contract. He would fight 3 more times outside the promotion, winning all three bouts. His final fight came in December 2021 when he defeated former WEC & Bellator fighter Bryan Baker.
Theodorou was also known for several activities out of the cage. He served as a "ring boy" for Invicta FC, carrying ring cards in the style of "ring girls" who have been a staple of combat sports for nearly 6 decades.
Theodorou was also an outspoken advocate for medical cannabis use, especially the use of cannabis for fighters. In 2020, he became the first professional athlete in North America fighter to receive a Therapeutic Use Exemption for cannabis use.
In 2015, Theodorou was a part of the cast for The Amazing Race Canada 3.
NEW YORK - At least 34 people were shot including 10 who were killed during another bloody weekend in New York City.
A 16-year-old boy was shot in the head in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn Sunday. His body was found at the entrance to a park, according to police. An 18-year-old man was also shot in the head and was in critical condition. A 17-year-old was shot in the leg and was in stable condition, police said.
In Flatbush, a 32-year-old man was shot in the face and chest in the area of East 16th Street on Sunday. He later died.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted late Sunday, “This is heartbreaking. His life was just beginning.” De Blasio added, “Sending my thoughts and prayers to the families of these boys. No parent should ever have to bury a child.”
Police have made no arrests.
Seven people were killed on Sunday alone. The shootings were part of a surge in gun violence in New York City.
Since July 19, murders were up 24 percent in the city while shootings were up 69 percent from the same time period a year earlier.
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Brussels, Belgium (CNN) Three explosions that ripped through the Belgian capital of Brussels on Tuesday killed at least 34 people and wounded about 170 more, according to Belgian media, and raised the reality of terror once again in the heart of Europe.
"We were fearing terrorist attacks, and that has now happened," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters.
Belgian federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said late Tuesday morning that it was too soon to know exactly how many people died in the bombings. Yet Belgian state broadcaster RTBF, citing emergency services, reported 20 dead at the Maalbeek metro station and 14 more killed at Brussels' international airport.
After the blasts -- which came days after the capture of Europe's most wanted man, Salah Abdeslam, in a bloody police raid -- Belgian authorities again hit the streets looking for those tied to Tuesday's carnage and who might launch more attacks.
Citing judicial sources, RTBF reported that raids were underway midday Tuesday around Brussels, targeting people linked to the attacks.
At least one of the two airport explosions was a suicide bombing, Van Leeuw said. A blast happened there outside the security checkpoints for ticketed passengers and near the airline check-in counters, an airline official briefed on the situation said.
The subway station blast happened in the Brussels district of Maalbeek, near the European quarter, where much of the European Union is based.
Richard Medic, who arrived at the station shortly after that explosion, wasn't surprised by the carnage after all that Europe has gone through recently, including the November's massacre in Paris that ISIS claimed responsibility for.
"I think, after the Paris attacks, we were assuming like this would happen," the Brussels resident told CNN. "And it was a matter of time."
Yet Jef Versele, who was in the airport's departure hall when the blasts occurred, said that he thinks Belgians should not hole themselves up and instead should continue to travel "to prove that we're not afraid of those who have done (the attacks)."
That doesn't mean being in the middle of it all, though, isn't frightening.
"You cannot believe it; you cannot believe it," Versele told CNN. "It was so insane. Not in my backyard."
Europe, U.S. on alert as well
Belgian authorities bolstered security after Tuesday's attacks, including shutting down all Brussels metro stations and evacuating the city's airport.
This comes as the terror threat level in Belgium went up four -- its highest. That step-up means that army soldiers can be sent onto the streets to meet security needs.
In addition to the airport, Belgium's Royal Palace was evacuated after the attacks. And broadcaster RTBF reported the National Pensions Office in Brussels had also been cleared after two suspicious packages were found inside.
The ramifications were felt outside the Belgian capital as well.
As far away as the United States, authorities in places like New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles took special precautions like increased K9 sweeps of subways and additional police patrols. This was especially true around airports, subway stops and train stations, with scenes like those in the U.S. capital -- where police pulled out and checked travelers at random -- not uncommon.
Similar, if not more intense measures were enacted around Europe.
Eurostar, a high-speed railway that goes to England and France, noted a number of schedule and other changes, including canceling service between London and Brussels.
NATO, the military alliance that is headquartered in Brussels, increased its own alert level and expressed solidarity with Belgium.
"This is a cowardly attack, an attack on our values and on our open societies," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. "Terrorism will not defeat democracy and take away our freedoms."
British police have increased their presence at certain locations, including transport hubs like London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, according to Scotland Yard.
And France deployed 1,600 more police around the country, according to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
That sentiment was echoed by Belgium's Michel during what he called "a dark time for our country."
"More than ever, I call on everybody to show calm, but also solidarity," the Prime Minister said. "We are facing a difficult, challenging time. And we should face up to this challenge by being united."
Airport witness: Windows broken, ceiling parts down
The darkness set in not long after the sun rose in Brussels. Anthony Barrett said he heard something about 8 a.m. local time from his hotel across from the terminal building.
"When I opened the curtains and looked out, I could see people fleeing," he told CNN.
Barrett saw stretcher after stretcher carrying people out of the airport, with luggage trollies also used to transport the wounded.
In the airport's departure hall, Versele noticed "people ... shouting and running around" after the first blast, then even more pandemonium after the second explosion, which was, "in my eyes, much more powerful."
That blast blew out windows, created a lot of smoke and caused parts of the ceiling to fall, he added.
"People were on the floor," Versele said, estimating he saw 50 to 60 people on the floor seemingly unable to walk. "... It was quite a mess."
Traveler Jeffrey Edison had cleared security and was out by the gate, several hundred yards from the departure lounge, where the explosions occurred. He told CNN he didn't hear the blasts but "suddenly saw" 200 to 300 people rushing toward him from the security checkpoint.
He says it took authorities around 25 minutes to tell the passengers what had happened, before evacuating the area and leading the passengers to the runways.
Soccer star: 'I wish for Brussels to act with dignity'
About an hour later, during the tail end of Brussels' rush hour, another blast went off at the Maalbeek metro station.
Sander Verniers was heading toward there when this explosion occurred, producing "strong winds going (through his train) and some noises that shouldn't be there." Belgian troops met the passengers as they got off the train and walked along the tracks.
"We all had to get out," Verniers told CNN. "There was a lot of smoke."
Kristalina Georgieva, the vice president of the European Commission, said that all the organization's institutions are at "alert level orange" and that all meetings on its premises and outside have been canceled.
Belgium's Prime Minister deflected a question about whether there's any link between Tuesday's bloodshed and Abdeslam's capture, saying it is too early to tell.
He said Tuesday that he had "no information" about who was responsible for the attack, adding that authorities will find that out, but right now their focus is on caring for the victims.
Belgian national soccer team captain Vincent Kompany tweeted that he was "horrified and revolted (that) innocent people (are) paying the price again," but he urged people not to encourage those wishing to lash out.
"We must reject hate and its preachers," Kompany said. "... I wish for Brussels to act with dignity."
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- It's not a good idea to give Ronda Rousey some extra motivation.
Hurt by comments about her family and moved by the death of a close friend and idol, Rousey got off to a quick start and knocked out home-crowd favorite Bethe Correia only 34 seconds into the first round at UFC 190 on Saturday night.
Rousey defended her bantamweight title by throwing a rapid sequence of punches at the Brazilian's head, landing a combination of right and left strikes that sent her opponent face-first into the ground and disappointed the local fans packing the HSBC Arena.
It was yet another impressive performance by Rousey, who improved to 12-0 in her incredible MMA career.
She has been crushing her opponents inside the octagon, but this victory seemed special.
Rousey came into the fight upset with Correia after the Brazilian made a comment apparently referencing to Rousey's father's suicide. Rousey said Correia crossed the line, so she would try to embarrass her in front of her fans.
"I hope that nobody really brings up my family anymore when it comes to fights," she said. "I hope this is the last time."
Before the fight, Correia had said she didn't know about what happened to Rousey's father and never intended to attack her personally.
Rousey also was extra motivated after the death of Hall of Fame wrestler Roddy Piper, who was one her greatest idols and inspired her to take the "Rowdy" nickname. She had said she would be fighting for him.
"We've lost a really close friend, `Rowdy' Roddy Piper, who gave me his permission to use his name as a fighter, so I hope he and my dad had a good time watching this today," Rousey said.
The UFC's biggest star, Rousey arrived in Rio as the overwhelming favorite against Correia (9-1) after winning her previous three title defenses in a combined 96 seconds. She needed only 14 seconds to beat Cat Zingano at UFC 184 earlier this year.
"It kind of went how I expected it," Rousey said. "I planned to instead of trying to force a clinch, overwhelm her (by) striking first so that she would want to clinch first, and that's exactly what happened."
Rousey, who has been redefining the sport, has won 11 of her fights in the first round while being taken to the third round once. She has finished most of her opponents with her signature armbar, but this time it was her striking force that made the difference.
"I guess she can't really say anything about my hands anymore," Rousey said of Correia.
Rousey's next opponent will likely be fellow American Miesha Tate.
In the second-to-last fight on the main card on Saturday, Mauricio Rua topped Rogerio Nogueira with a unanimous decision in a fight between veteran Brazilian light heavyweight fighters. It was a rematch of fight between the two in 2005, when Rua won a contest that lasted 38 minutes.
"I knew he was going to be well prepared, but I won, I got the victory," Rua said.
In other fights Saturday, top-ranked strawweight fighter Claudia Gadelha of Brazil defeated Mexican-born Jessica Aguilar with a unanimous decision after three rounds; heavyweight Antonio Silva of Brazil beat Soa Palelei of Australia with a second-round knockout; Stefan Struve of the Netherlands beat Brazil's Minotauro Nogueira with a unanimous decision.
ORLAND, Calif. (Associated Press) — A college visit by more than 40 high school students turned tragic when a FedEx tractor-trailer veered across a grassy highway median and slammed into their bus in a fiery wreck that left 10 people dead, authorities said.
Someone kicked out a window on the bus, and many of those aboard squeezed through and ran for their lives to the other side of Interstate 5 before the vehicle exploded in flames.
The 44 teenagers aboard, nearly half of from the Los Angeles school district, were on their way to Humboldt State University in far Northern California.
Steven Clavijo, a high school senior from Santa Clarita who planned to enroll the school, was trying to catch a nap when he felt the vehicle begin to shake from left to right and then he heard a loud boom.
"We knew we were in major trouble," he said.
After he escaped, two more explosions soon followed. Clavijo and other survivors looked on knowing others were still trapped in the inferno.
Both drivers were killed, along with three adult chaperones and five teenage students, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Towering flames devoured both vehicles just after the crash, and clouds of smoke billowed into the sky until firefighters doused the fire, leaving behind scorched black hulks of metal. Bodies were draped in blankets inside the burned-out bus.
Three buses were traveling as a convoy and only one was involved in the crash, said Earl Perkins, assistant superintendent of operations for the Los Angeles schools district.
Nineteen of the students on the bus were from the Los Angeles schools, Perkins said.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate.
"Every piece of paper associated with this will be looked at," said Eric M. Weiss, an NTSB spokesman.
The crash happened a little after 5:30 p.m. on the interstate near Orland, a small city about 100 miles north of Sacramento.
The bus was one of two that the admissions office at Humboldt State had chartered to bring prospective students from Southern California to tour the Arcata campus, Humboldt's Vice President of Administrative Affairs Joyce Lopes said.
The bus was owned by Silverado Stages, a tour bus company based in San Luis Obispo. The company said in a statement on its website Thursday night that it was assisting authorities in gathering information.
"Our top priority is making sure that the injured are being cared for," the company said.
Crisis counselors were also being made available at Los Angeles schools.
Sabrina Garcia, a high school senior from Los Angeles, said the tour began Thursday, with buses taking students in Southern California on the ride to the campus for a three-day stay. She said she decided to postpone the tour because she had a school project to complete.
"I was devastated when I heard about the crash, and relieved that I didn't attend," Garcia said. "I can't imagine how those kids feel. You think you're going somewhere safe with your school — and you end up in an accident."
A CHP dispatcher says the bus and truck were on opposite sides of the freeway when the truck crossed the median and slammed into the bus, causing an explosion and fire.
Investigators say the truck driver might have been trying to avoid a passenger car that was also involved in the crash, which shut down north and southbound traffic on the freeway.
"There was a small white sedan in front of the truck," Heitman said. "The FedEx vehicle did sideswipe the sedan before it crossed the median."
No one in the car was injured.
A first responder who helped set up a triage at the scene said 36 or 37 people were hurt, with injuries that included burns, broken legs and noses and head lacerations.
"The victims were teenage kids. A lot of them were freaked out. They were shocked. They still couldn't grasp what happened," said Jason Wyman of the Orland Volunteer Fire Department.
Eleven people were taken to Enloe Medical Center in Chico. Two of those patients were listed in critical condition Friday morning, the hospital said.
At least seven people were hospitalized at other facilities. Two of them were in critical condition and five others in fair condition.
A FedEx spokeswoman said the company was cooperating with authorities as they investigate.
Charter bus tragedy: Students among several killed in fiery California crash
California Bus Crash - 10 Students Killed In Fiery Crash
We are sad to report that Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly of the group Kriss Kross has passed away today at the age of 34. Details have not yet surfaced, but Big Boi of Outkast just tweeted R.I.P. to the rapper.
Sad to hear the loss of my lil homie, Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly. I met him and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith in ’93. Their song “Jump” had been #1 on the billboard charts for eight weeks. Everyone knows Kriss Kross for their music and the crazy way they used to dress, but once they started working with So So Def, they became family.
Kriss Kross just performed at the 20th anniversary of So So Def.
Around 7:45 I received a phone call from his cousin saying they had found Kelly at the house just 20 minutes earlier and he was unresponsive.
I just received confirmation that he has passed.
We have received further confirmation of Chris' death from Atlanta TV station WXIA.
Rapper Chris Kelly of 1990's rap group "Kris Kross" was found dead on Wednesday evening.
According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner, Kelly was discovered unresponsive at his home. He pronounced dead at Atlanta Medical Center - South Fulton shortly after 8 p.m.
The cause of death has not yet been determined. No further details were immediately released.
R.I.P. Chris
**UPDATE** May 2nd
The investigation into Chris' death is underway. According to MyFoxAtlanta and WSBTV it is believed he succumbed to a drug overdose.
TMZ reports that Chris's mother and uncle told police he had a long history of drug abuse. The night before Chris died he took a mixture of heroin and cocaine, known as "speedballs." The rapper felt sick Wednesday morning before passing out. His mother called 911 after finding him unresponsive.
His mother, Donna Kelly Pratte and So So Def, the label he and his partner, Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith, found fame on released a joint statement.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce that our beloved Chris Kelly has passed away on May 1. To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music. But to us, he was just Chris – the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him. His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him.”
The hip hop world is also mourning the loss of Mac Daddy. LL Cool J, Da Brat, Nicki Minaj, Keri Hilson and more have tweeted their condolences.
Teddy P stopped by Los Angeles radio station Power 106 recently for a pretty funny interview with Big Boy's Neighborhood.
The singer talked about wanting to join the Illuminati, blowing ridiculous money on 34 cars, how he and his wife pick out the women they bring home to have sex with and more.
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