Former President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he expects to be arrested Tuesday, citing “illegal leaks” from New York prosecutors, and Miami was struck by spring break crime, leading to a city curfew. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Monday, March 20, 2023.
Trump expects indictment Tuesday
Former President Trump is facing what he believes is his imminent arrest over alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. New York prosecutors have been investigating a $130,000 payment Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen made to Daniels in 2016, when Trump was running for president.
The payment was allegedly made to keep her quiet about an alleged affair, which Trump has denied. Trump called the investigation a “witch hunt” and said illegal leaks from the D.A.’s office are indicative of an indictment this week.
According to the New York Times, the Manhattan Grand Jury could call on Cohen’s former legal advisor today. The testimony of attorney Robert Costello would be used to discredit Cohen, and Cohen has reportedly been asked to be available if needed in the ongoing investigation.
The Manhattan DA’s office has not commented on the reports of potential charges coming down Tuesday against the former president.
China’s president visits Putin
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting Moscow today, just days after the International Criminal Court charged Putin with committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Over the weekend, Putin was also seen touring through parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces since last May. It’s unknown what Chinese and Russian officials may be discussing today. China has claimed they are neutral in the conflict, despite having a “no limits” relationship with Russia. The face-to-face meeting is their first since the war began.
20 years since Iraq war began
Today marks two decades since the U.S. forces invaded Iraq. Then-President George W. Bush said the invasion was to protect the world from grave danger and to disarm Iraq under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. While the war was ultimately successful in toppling Saddam, it came at a heavy cost. ISIS militants swarmed Iraq, the U.S. spent 8 years of boots on the ground and lost around 4,600 service members. More than 250,000 Iraqis also died in the conflict.
Spring break crime leads to curfew
The city of Miami is a popular vacation destination for spring breakers, but for those visiting the city, there were no late night parties thanks to a city curfew.
The city cited two fatal shootings and large unruly crowds as reasons for the city to shut down overnight from midnight to 6 a.m. Officials declared a state of emergency and are meeting Monday to discuss further potential restrictions in order to decrease the risk of crime.
This isn’t the first time Miami has had to enact a curfew because of spring breakers. A curfew was imposed last year during the same time period.
Twitter’s two-factor authentication
Have you logged onto twitter lately? Millions of users could be locked out of their accounts starting today. In recent weeks Twitter has been warning users that two-factor-authentication would end Monday. That’s where users can take additional steps to secure their account.
That feature is now exclusive to Twitter Blue subscribers, which costs $8 a month. Elon Musk says the decision comes down to money. Musk said phone companies are scamming Twitter with two factor authentication costing the company $60 million a year.
New Mexico looking for bear huggers
If you love the outdoors and don’t mind interacting with the occasional bear, then a job may be waiting for you in New Mexico. The state’s Department of Game and Fish posted a job on Facebook that says it is looking for professional bear huggers. The post includes photos showing workers cuddling baby bears.
The agency is actually looking to hire conservation officers and interactions with bears is only one part of the job. The listing says the department is looking for someone who likes to hike in strenuous conditions, has the courage to crawl into a bear den, and will trust co-workers to keep them safe during the process.
The department says the job is guaranteed to bring someone the experience of a lifetime. Those interested have until March 30 to apply.
