
NoneTopline Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped the federal government’s two criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump on Monday due to his impending inauguration—but there’s still a chance the federal government could try to revive the cases in the future after Trump leaves office, though it would have to overcome some legal hurdles. Key Facts Crucial Quote Smith’s motions to dismiss Trump’s cases “could be an effort to keep the cases alive in the long term,” former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade wrote in an op-ed for MSNBC Tuesday, noting that by insisting the cases be dismissed without prejudice, the special counsel “blocks Trump’s attorney general from dismissing the cases for all time.” “It may be that a future attorney general ... will lack the appetite to resuscitate the cases against Trump in 2029,” McQuade added. “But Smith has done all he can to preserve that possibility.” What To Watch For It will be years before it’ll be clear whether a second round of Trump indictments will actually happen. The charges would probably be contingent on a Democratic president replacing Trump when he leaves office, as a GOP successor would be unlikely to try and punish Trump. Even if Democrats took back the White House in 2032 or 2036, it would then be too late under the statute of limitations to bring charges, even excluding the time when Trump was in office. It’s also still too early to say whether indicting Trump again would be a priority for the federal government by the time he leaves office, given Trump’s advanced age and the fact he will not be eligible to run for president for a third term. He will be 82 years old when he leaves office in January 2029. Can Trump Pardon Himself? Another potential step Trump could try to take to shield himself from future legal liability would be to pardon himself while he’s in office, though it’s a legal grey area whether he would be allowed to do so. The Justice Department said in a 1974 memo during Richard Nixon’s presidency presidents are not allowed to pardon themselves, citing the “fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case.” That memo isn’t legally binding, however, and since Nixon resigned and was pardoned by Gerald Ford rather than trying to pardon himself, the issue hasn’t been tested in practice. If Trump tried to pardon himself, the issue would likely become tied up in court and ultimately be left to the Supreme Court to decide. What About Trump’s State Cases? While his federal cases have been dropped, Trump’s two other criminal cases in state court are still pending—at least for now. Trump has already been found guilty on 34 felony counts in New York for falsifying business records, but his sentencing has been delayed while Judge Juan Merchan determines whether to grant Trump’s request to throw the verdict out altogether in light of his election. Even if Merchan denies Trump’s request and keeps the case alive, it’s unlikely Trump will be sentenced before Inauguration Day, and prosecutors said they believe it would be appropriate for Trump’s sentencing to wait until after he leaves office. Trump has also been charged in Georgia state court for trying to overturn the 2020 election. That case has not yet gone to trial and remains pending , though Trump’s lawyers are expected to try and have it thrown out based on him being elected president. If the court keeps the case alive, the proceedings are expected to be paused until Trump leaves office. Key Background Trump was indicted in the two federal cases last year, becoming the first sitting or former president to ever be federally charged. While the cases were supposed to go to trial earlier this year—with the election case slated for trial in March and the documents case in May—Trump managed to successfully delay the cases past Election Day, ultimately killing them. The election case was paused for months while the Supreme Court deliberated whether Trump should be immune from prosecution, ultimately ruling in July to shield him from some criminal charges—a major hurdle that would likely pose issues even if Trump is charged again after leaving office. While Smith argued the charges could go forward even in light of the Supreme Court’s decision, it was already too late for the case to go to trial by Election Day. Cannon dismissed the documents case in July after already indefinitely postponing the trial date, as the Trump-appointed judge slow-walked rulings leading up to the trial. Smith then appealed the case to the 11th Circuit, but there was not enough time for it to issue any ruling on whether the charges should be revived before Trump’s election. Tangent While Smith dropped the government’s charges against Trump in the documents case, he did not end separate cases against Trump aides Walter Nauta and Carlos deOliveira, who were charged with helping Trump conceal classified documents. Those cases are still continuing on at least for now, with Smith arguing in a new filing Tuesday the charges should be revived after Cannon dismissed them. It’s unlikely the cases will continue on for much longer, though, as Trump’s appointees at the Justice Department are likely to drop the charges after he takes office. Trump allies who were charged alongside the ex-president in the Georgia 2020 election case—including Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows—will also still have to face prosecution and likely go to trial while Trump’s in office, however, even if his own trial gets delayed or dropped entirely. He will not be able to have his allies’ charges dropped or pardon them, given the case is in state court and not federal court. Further Reading
Rasmus Hojlund scored twice after coming off the bench and Manchester United rallied to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday. The Denmark striker netted in the 88th minute after collecting Bruno Fernandes' pass off a free kick to seal the victory and put United into the top eight of the standings. Hojlund replaced Marcus Rashford in the 56th and scored an equalizer six minutes later after Amad Diallo's shot was deflected by goalkeeper Martin Jedlička into his path for an easy finish. The 21-year-old Hojlund also scored twice in the previous round, when United beat Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt 3-2, and has five goals in his six appearances in the second-tier competition. “It feels good to have scored two goals but I am more happy with the win,” Hojlund said. "My instructions? Go out there and score two goals! Just to use my qualities, run the channels and be assertive in front of goal.” United had come off two straight losses in the English Premier League, 2-0 away to Arsenal, and 3-2 at Old Trafford to Nottingham Forest that left the club 13th and eight points adrift of the top four as progress looked slow under new coach Ruben Amorim. Matěj Vydra, who previously played for Burnley and Watford, opened the scoring three minutes into the second half. United has 12 points from six games after three wins and three draws in Europa League play — good enough for seventh place. The top eight qualify directly to the Round of 16. The teams placed No. 9 to No. 24 go into a two-legged playoff. Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form in a 1-1 draw at Rangers, leaving the north London team in ninth place. The Scottish side is eighth. Substitute Dejan Kulusevski was fed by fellow substitute Dominic Solanke to score 15 minutes before time and salvage a point at Ibrox Stadium. Spurs were held 2-2 at home by Roma in the previous round and lost 3-2 to Galatasaray before. The draw came after losing 4-3 to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday. Hamza Igamane netted for Rangers at the start of the second half off a cross from James Tavernier in what was a return to Glasgow for Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou, who led Celtic for two seasons. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro Rodríguez scored one each for Lazio in the second half to defeat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam and move to the top of the standings with 16 points from six games. Bilbao is level on points but in second on goal difference. Anderlecht beat Slavia 2-1 in Prague to move into third place. Lyon jumped to fourth by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2. The German team is fifth. Among other results, substitute Sergio Peña equalized in stoppage time for Malmö to hold unbeaten Galatasaray 2-2. The Turkish club is sixth in the standings. PAOK routed Ferencvaros 5-0. Roma showed signs of improvement by beating Braga 3-0 for a second straight victory that came after the struggling club earned its first win under new coach Claudio Ranieri, 4-1 over visiting Lecce in Serie A. Braga goalkeeper Matheus received a red card in the 68th with the score 2-0. Rangers host Tottenham later Thursday. Conference League A youthful Chelsea lineup made the most of a long trip to Kazakhstan by beating Astana 3-1 to stay perfect in the UEFA Conference League. Marc Guiu struck twice within five minutes early in the first half. The 18-year-old forward opened the scoring on a solo effort in the 14th and added his second after meeting a cross from Pedro Neto from the right in freezing conditions in the city of Almaty. Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored three in the competition. Renato Veiga, who is 21, headed home the third before Marin Tomasov scored for the hosts late in the first half. Neto was the only player to remain from the squad that beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday to move to second in the Premier League. Chelsea has 15 points atop the standings of third-tier competition with one more game to play in the league phase. Fiorentina crushed LASK 7-0 and Legia Warsaw lost 2-1 at home to Lugano. Swedish team Djurgarden beat Vikingur 2-1 in Iceland. ___ AP soccer: Karel Janicek, The Associated Press
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HALIFAX - Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston named an expanded 21-member cabinet Thursday during a ceremony in downtown Halifax that excluded reporters in a departure from a long-standing tradition of open coverage. In an address that was livestreamed, Houston said his newly re-elected government would continue to deal with issues that matter to Nova Scotians, including health care, housing and affordability. “This term will also be very focused on growing our economy and continuing to lower taxes,” the premier said. “We have to grow our economy to be better able to support the services that Nova Scotians have a right to expect.” Before the election, in which the Tories won 43 of the legislature’s 55 seats, Houston led a 17-member cabinet. The government allowed only one television outlet to have a pool camera at the ceremony held at the Halifax Convention Centre, citing “limited capacity” inside the building that occupies a full city block. Journalists who tried to enter Thursday were turned away by building security. Houston was asked by reporters as he arrived why the media were not being given access to the new cabinet members. “It’s all live streamed ... It’s a really exciting day, you guys have lots of access, and you guys know that,” he said. Reporters were allowed to attend the swearing-in ceremony held at the same venue after the Tories were first elected in 2021, although it was during the COVID-19 pandemic and they were placed in a separate room to monitor the event before interviewing ministers. In the new cabinet, Houston will be joined by veterans John Lohr, who becomes finance minister, Becky Druhan, who moves from education to justice, and Michelle Thompson, who continues as minister of health. There are five new members, including political newcomer Leah Martin as minister of Communications Nova Scotia and L’ nu affairs and Fred Tilley, a former Liberal who crossed the floor just before the Nov. 26 election and becomes minister of public works. The other new ministers are Dave Ritcey in the tourism portfolio, Nolan Young, who is minister of labour, and Scott Armstrong as minister of opportunities and social development — formerly the Department of Community Services. In another departmental change, veteran minister Colton LeBlanc will head the new Department of Growth and Development, which was formerly known as economic development and will now also oversee housing. Composed of 14 men and seven women, the cabinet will see Barbara Adams return as minister of seniors and long-term care and serve as deputy premier. Tim Halman retains the environment portfolio and Tory Rushton stays on in natural resources, while Kim Masland moves from public works to the Department of Emergency Management. The former community services minister, Brendan Maguire, takes over education and also assumes the duties of advanced education from Brian Wong, who was dropped from cabinet along with Susan Corkum-Greek, the former minister of economic development. Alex Marland, a political scientist at Acadia University, said the government could have found room for reporters had it wanted to. “This isn’t a new government, so there are some experienced hands who at a minimum could have been made available,” Marland said. He added that in general, there are governments that feel the need to control their message, and that also tend to be cautious with newer ministers who lack media training. “If this is a pattern and it persists, that’s going to be a problem for the Houston government,” he said. “But if this is a one off and by January things are a little different because people have gone through media training, then a lot of it will be forgotten.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024. — With files from Lyndsay ArmstrongGabriel mimics Gyokeres in cheeky goal celebration in Arsenal win over Sporting in Champions League
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For a quarter of Americans, keeping their home clean is more difficult than their full-time job, according to a recent survey. The survey of 2,000 Americans looked at their cleaning habits and challenges, especially when it comes to hosting, and found that keeping a tidy house is harder than their nine-to-five for nearly one in four (24%). How Much Time People Spend Prepping for Guests When having guests over, people will spend an hour, on average, straightening up just before they arrive. Forty-one percent said they worry that guests will notice grimy nooks and crannies while they’re over and almost half (48%) confessed that they don’t notice how dirty their home is until they have guests over, but once company is in the house, they can’t unsee their cleaning blindspots. The majority (57%) disclosed that they’re embarrassed when visitors come over and their home is less clean than they’d like, and most (80%) admitted they want to impress their visitors with how tidy their house is. In fact, 29% went so far as to say they’d forgo buying new clothes for a year in exchange for a squeaky-clean home without any dust or grime and a third (34%) admitted that their social schedules revolve around their cleaning schedules. Conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by BISSELL for the launch of the Steam Shot OmniReach Handheld Steam Cleaner & Sanitizer, the study found that parents will spend four hours per week cleaning up their homes while non-parents will spend three hours doing so, on average. Uncovering a few of their cleaning blindspots, the study found the least-cleaned places in the house are window blinds (29%), baseboards (27%), fans (23%) and windowsills (24%). And although a quarter (24%) have yet to perfect their cleaning routine, 71% said it’s important to them to sanitize and clean their house without harsh chemicals. According to the results, it’s even more important to parents than non-parents (72% vs. 69%). Nearly a fifth of parents (19%) reported they already used all-natural cleaning products prior to having kids and another 38% said they began to do so after becoming parents. “The best cleaning session is fast, satisfying and effective,” said Vana Kokkinos, brand manager of steam cleaning at BISSELL. “If you haven’t perfected your cleaning routine already, start fresh in 2025 with tools that make the job a breeze. To help with this, look for cleaning brands and products that prioritize your time and health as much as you do, are environmentally friendly and can quickly eliminate germs and bacteria.” When deciding which cleaning products to use in the home, 83% of parents said the health of their children is a major consideration. Other motivators for selecting one cleaning product over another include the efficacy (92%), ability to kill germs and bacteria (90%), versatility (86%) and environmental impact of the product (68%) according to respondents. The Financial Cost of Ineffective Cleaning Products Uncovering the price tag on ineffective cleaning products, respondents estimated they’ve wasted more than $600 on useless cleaning products and tools over the years, on average. And although most people (59%) are planning to keep their homes cleaner than ever in the new year, 79% wish they had a cleaning magic wand to help them out. But without such a tool, respondents shared some of their best cleaning tips and tricks such as “clean as you go,” “don’t let small jobs pile up,” “always dust and sweep before you polish and mop,” “steam clean the microwave, wash windows, iron out carpet stains” and “always have music playing.” “The survey results demonstrate the motivations for keeping a clean house go beyond just peace of mind. According to the study, health and wellness along with social perceptions and community building are also top of mind when tidying up,” said Kokkinos. “There are ways to make sure cultivating a healthy, clean home isn’t so daunting, and having the right tools can really make the difference when tackling some of the toughest messes. “Things like using a hand-held steamer make it easy to quickly clean and sanitize buildup and grime on appliances, windowsills, baseboards and other tough-to-tackle places, giving you more time back in your day to spend with loved ones.” Survey Methodology: Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by BISSELL and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Dec. 10 and Dec. 13, 2024.
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