The Daily Populous

Wednesday May 1st, 2024 night edition

image for Trump gets jail warning for violating hush money trial gag order; Stormy Daniels ex-lawyer testifies

Prosecutors on Tuesday questioned the former attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, whose hush money payment is at the center of the New York criminal trial of Donald Trump.

The attorney, Keith Davidson, took the stand after an explosive morning in the historic trial, when Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan held the former president in contempt of court for repeatedly violating his gag order.

Trump did so nine times in online posts targeting jurors and likely witnesses in the trial, Merchan ruled.

He found that prosecutors failed to show that Trump violated the gag order in one other post they had flagged.

The judge read the order aloud before the trial resumed with more testimony from a banker who worked with the former president's lawyer on a $130,000 hush money payment in late 2016 to Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump years earlier.

Davidson is set to continue testifying when the trial resumes Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Michael Cohen, the former Trump attorney who paid Daniels, applauded the gag order ruling Tuesday morning.

In a hearing last week on the gag order violations, prosecutors told Merchan that Trump "knows what he's not allowed to do and he does it anyway." »

German ambassador attacked by Palestinians during visit to West Bank

Authored by i24news.tv

The German Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority, Oliver Owcza, faced a violent attack during his visit to the West Bank on Tuesday.

Palestinian students at Birzeit University near Ramallah targeted the diplomat, hurling stones, damaging his vehicle, and forcing him to flee the scene.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1785241104729702581 This post can't be displayed because social networks cookies have been deactivated. »

US poised to ease restrictions on marijuana in historic shift, but it’ll remain controlled substance

Authored by apnews.com
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After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule.

“Today, the Attorney General circulated a proposal to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III,” Justice Department director of public affairs Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement.

Critics point out that as a Schedule III drug, marijuana would remain regulated by the DEA. »

Catholic Group Defrocks AI Priest After It Gave Strange Answers

Authored by futurism.com

The Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers released an AI priest called "Father Justin" earlier this week — but quickly defrocked the chatbot after it repeatedly claimed it was a real member of the clergy.

The AI priest also told one user that it was okay to baptize a baby in Gatorade.

"No, I have never been a priest, a deacon, a bishop, or held any official role in the Catholic Church. »

Biden administration plans to reclassify marijuana, easing restrictions nationwide

Authored by nbcnews.com
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After the proposal is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period.

Each substance under the Schedule I classification is defined as a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

President Joe Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services in October of 2022 to review marijuana’s classification. »