Day 1 of Trump’s criminal trial featured haggling over what salacious evidence could be shown to the jury — which could take days or even weeks to be seated. A top psychology group warns that common features on social media platforms are “risky” for kids’ mental health. And an 81-year-old man killed an Uber driver after both were targeted by scammers.
Here’s what to know today.
Search continues for ‘fair and impartial’ jurors in Trump’s historic trial
Donald Trump made history yesterday as the first former president to stand trial on criminal charges — and quickly put in stark relief the polarizing impact on the public.
After the first 96 prospective jurors were brought into a New York courtroom, Judge Juan Merchan asked if any of those assembled could not be “fair and impartial.” More than half raised their hands and were excused from serving on the jury.
The jury selection process got off to a slow start because lawyers from both sides spent much of the day arguing over some of the more sensational evidence in the case. Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office want to use material — including the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, headlines from the National Enquirer from the 2016 GOP presidential primary and the timing of Trump’s alleged affair with another woman — to show why Trump was eager to bury negative stories about him during the 2016 presidential election.
Merchan said prosecutors could use a transcript of the “Access Hollywood” tape but not the tape itself. He also greenlit the request to show jurors Enquirer headlines and said he would allow testimony about the alleged affair.
Trump, who spent much of the day seated at the defense table flanked by his attorneys, called the case “an assault” on the nation and repeatedly attacked the prosecution for waging “election interference.” Merchan said Trump must be in the courtroom for every day of the trial and warned that the former president risks jail time if he disrupts the proceedings. Here’s what else happened on Day 1 and what comes next.
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Jury selection may take days — or weeks — to be completed as both sides try to weed out those who walk into the Manhattan courthouse with deep-seated bias. Today is the second day of voir dire.
More Trump trial coverage:
- The scene outside the courthouse where Trump’s trial was underway “smacked of a Ringling Brothers production,” complete with a smattering of pro-Trump demonstrators and high-profile gawkers, including Nancy Pelosi’s daughter who said “I never miss a freak show,” senior politics reporter Jonathan Allen wrote in an analysis. Inside the courtroom, “the solemn nature of the work ahead was evident.”
Israel and Iran’s longstanding conflict comes into full view
Israel’s war Cabinet convened yesterday to weigh its options for responding to Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack. World leaders have urged restraint — and Israel could heed that call, four U.S. officials said.
According to the officials, Israel’s response will be limited in scope and will likely involve strikes against Iranian military forces and Iranian-backed proxies outside Iran. However, the U.S. assessment is based on conversations between American and Israeli officials that happened before Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday night, and the U.S. officials stressed that they have not been briefed on Israel’s final decision. They also don’t know when a response will happen; it could be any time, the officials said.
Whatever Israel decides, the stakes after Iran’s attack could not be higher. In the eyes of some foreign policy hawks, the attacks could be perceived as a grave provocation that demands a furious rejoinder. Other analysts have warned that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides to hit back hard, it could plunge the wider Middle East into war.
While Israel and Iran have been enemies since the late 1970s, the bitter conflict has long been confined to secret assassinations, audacious cyberattacks, nuclear sabotage and war-by-proxy. Neither side had openly and directly attacked the other before Saturday. Now, that subtly covert struggle is in full view.
More coverage of war in the Middle East
- House Speaker Mike Johnson has outlined a plan to pass aid for Israel through Congress, separating it from support for Ukraine and Taiwan in a bid to overcome conservative objections to funding Kyiv’s war effort. Follow live updates.
- The University of Southern California has sparked condemnation from a leading Muslim group after it canceled a planned commencement speech by its
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