FORMER President Donald Trump sits in the court room with his lawyers at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Thursday, April 25 2024. He was convicted on 34 felony counts (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)
Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump on Monday asked a judge to toss out his “hush money” conviction on the grounds that it would pose “disruptions to the institution of the presidency.”
[Trump won in both the Electoral College and the popular vote, but the latest count of ballots show Trump with 49.82 percent of the vote to 48.27 percent for Kamala Harris, short of a majority.]
The prosecution must file its response to the motion to dismiss byMonday, Dec. 9.
Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal a $130,000 payment to actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed they had had sex.
Martial law lifted in South Korea
YOON SUK YEOL
President of South Korea (Wikipedia).
Faced with opposition from his parliament and huge demonstrations in the streets, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lifted martial law.
According to The New York Times, his declaration of martial law had “incited political chaos” and led to calls for his immediate removal from office.
Yeol had been elected by a narrow margin in 2022 but soon was involved in controversy over alleged corruption and harassment of political enemies, who he called “anti-state forces” trying to disrupt the nation.
He called out the military to enforce martial law, but lifted it six hours later when the National Assembly demanded it.
Ukraine pushes for NATO membership
Ukraine is pushing hard for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, hoping that would guarantee it from further attacks from Russia.
One proposal advanced by Ukrainian and other sources is that Ukraine could agree to “temporarily” cede that part of its territory now occupied by Russian forces in exchange for membership in NATO.
The terms of the NATO treaty include the policy that an attack on one of its members would be treated as an attack on all. That would insulate Ukraine against a further invasion, as it would bring Russia into a direct military confrontation with many nations, including the United States.
Weather: Cool and then warm
In our West Orange County cities we can expect to see temperatures fall and then rise and fall for the next few days. The forecast for Wednesday is for a daytime high of 64 with an overnight low of 45. Thursday will be slightly warmer at 66 (46), then a lot warmer on Friday at 78 (47), then a bit cooler on Saturday at 76 (46). It should be sunny all those days.
Great Thoughts
“For every minute you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
