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Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler slapped President Biden with "Four Pinocchios" over his false claim that his son Hunter never made money from China. Kessler began Tuesday's fact-check of the president by revisiting comments he made in both presidential debates in 2020 when he repeatedly denied claims that Hunter did business with China. "But now, nearly three years later, Biden’s assertions have been directly rebutted by Hunter himself," Kessler wrote. "In court testimony last week, the younger Biden acknowledged that he in fact had been paid substantial sums in China — the first official confirmation that this was the case." The fact-checker laid out how Hunter Biden accompanied his father while he was vice president on an official trip to China in 2013 and "by Hunter's own admission, he used the trip to connect with a Chinese business partner, even introducing the partner to his father." "Twelve days after he flew to Beijing, Hunter Biden joined the board of a just-formed investment advisory firm known as BHR (Bohai, Harvest and Rosemont), whose partners included Chinese entities, including the man he introduced to his father," Kessler wrote. "Separately, after Joe Biden left public office, Hunter Biden in 2017 inked a deal with CEFC China Energy, a Chinese energy conglomerate. The Washington Post reported last year that documents, including emails found on a Hunter Biden laptop that emerged during the final weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign, showed that over the course of 14 months, the CEFC and its executives paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter Biden and President Biden’s brother, James. The Post did not find evidence that Joe Biden personally benefited from or knew details about the transactions with CEFC," he said. FULL STORY

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday following an indictment of Donald Trump reiterated that he had no right to overturn the 2020 election results, saying a group of “crackpot lawyers” had told the former president otherwise. Speaking publicly for the first time since Trump was indicted for his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, which culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Pence told reporters at the Indiana State Fair that he had hoped it wouldn’t come to an indictment in the matter. But Pence reiterated what he has said for months — that he had no right as vice president to overturn the election as Trump and some of his allies claimed. “For my part, I want people to know that I had no right to overturn the election and that what the president maintained that day, and frankly has said over and over again over the last two and a half years, is completely false,” Pence said. “And it’s contrary to what our Constitution and the laws of this country provide.” “You know, I’m a student of American history. And the first time I heard in early December somebody suggest that as vice president I might be able to decide which votes to reject and which to accept, I knew that it was false … I dismissed it out of hand,” Pence added. “Sadly, the president was surrounded by a group of crackpot lawyers that kept telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear.” FULL STORY

Special counsel Jack Smith said Tuesday that the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol was “fueled by lies” told by former President Donald Trump. The indictment of Trump on four new federal criminal charges, all related to the former president’s effort to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election, lays out some of those lies one by one. Even in listing 21 lies, the 45-page indictment does not come close to capturing the entirety of Trump’s massive catalogue of false claims about the election. But the list is illustrative nonetheless – highlighting the breadth of election-related topics Trump was dishonest about, the large number of states his election dishonesty spanned, and, critically, his willingness to persist in privately and publicly making dishonest assertions even after they had been debunked to him directly. Here is the list of 21. 1. The lie that fraud changed the outcome of the 2020 election, that Trump “had actually won,” and that the election was “stolen.” (Pages 1 and 40-41 of the indictment) FULL DETAILS

Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted in connection with the events surrounding the 6 January 2021 riots at the US Capitol. The Republican politician denies wrongdoing and has described the case as "ridiculous". He has already been charged in two other cases - with mishandling classified files and falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star. Here are some of the key questions surrounding the case. What are the charges? Mr Trump, who lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden, has been charged with plotting to overturn his defeat. He is accused of four counts: conspiracy to defraud the US conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding obstruction of an official proceeding conspiracy against the rights of citizens These charges relate to Mr Trump's actions over a period of more than two months from soon after election day (3 November) until the day he left the White House on 20 January. The first count refers to alleged attempts to obstruct the collection, counting and certification of votes. The second and third deal with alleged attempts to obstruct the certification of electoral college votes in the US Congress on 6 January, which culminated in the Capitol riots. The fourth charge is about alleged attempts to interfere with citizens' right to vote and to have their votes counted. Four takeaways from Trump's third indictment The man who could bring down Donald Trump Who is the hard-line judge on Trump's election case? FULL FEATURE ....includes How serious are the charges compared to other indictments ? What happens next ? Could Trump go to prison and still run for President ? Could Trump pardon himself ?

A Russian drone strike has hit Ukrainian port facilities at Izmail on the River Danube, a short distance from Nato member state Romania. A grain warehouse and an elevator for loading grain were damaged. Almost 40,000 tonnes of grain destined to African countries, China and Israel were damaged, Ukraine said. Russia began targeting Ukraine's ports after abandoning a UN deal that enabled the safe grain export between both countries across the Black Sea. "These are the very ports that have become the foundation of global food security today," Ukrainian minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on his Twitter. Video, filmed from the Romanian side of the Danube roughly 3km (1.9 miles) away, showed an extensive fire raging in the port area of Izmail early on Wednesday. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis condemned Russia's continued attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure "in the proximity of Romania" as unacceptable. Odesa regional leader Oleh Kiper said emergency services were working on the site of the latest Russian attack and there were no reports of any casualties. FULL STORY

Ex-US President Donald Trump has lashed out at prosecutors on the eve of his court appearance on charges of plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The "unprecedented indictment" shows the "corruption, scandal, & failure" of the US under Joe Biden's presidency, he wrote on social media. Security is being ramped up in Washington DC for Thursday's hearing. Mr Trump already faces two other criminal cases as he campaigns for the White House next year. But the election case he was charged with on Tuesday is widely seen as the most serious one of all. Who are Trump's six alleged co-conspirators? Five takeaways from Trump's third indictment Could Trump go to prison and other key questions In an all-capital-letters post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Mr Trump, who was at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, thanked his followers and said: "I never had so much support on anything before." FULL STORY

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of using the latest indictment against former President Trump — which stems from his efforts to remain in power following the 2020 election — to “distract” from recent information GOP-led committees have gathered about President Biden and his son Hunter Biden. In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, McCarthy listed several points Republicans have been hammering in their investigations into the Biden family’s business dealings. “And just yesterday a new poll showed President Trump is without a doubt Biden’s leading political opponent,” McCarthy continued. “Everyone in America could see what was going to come next: DOJ’s attempt to distract from the news and attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, President Trump.” While pointing the finger at the DOJ and Biden, McCarthy did not engage with any specific allegations in the Trump indictment, a tactic that has become typical for the Speaker in recent weeks when speaking to the press about charges against Trump. FULL STORY

Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be pardoned for five of the numerous offences for which she was jailed for a total of 33 years, state media reported on Tuesday. The Nobel Laureate, who last week moved from prison to house arrest in the capital, Naypyitaw, has been in detention since the military seized power in a coup in early 2021. She is appealing the convictions for the various offences ranging from incitement and election fraud to corruption. She denied all of the charges. Myanmar Radio and Television reported the pardons on Tuesday but an informed source said she would remain in detention. FULL STORY

Costa Coffee is the United Kingdom’s largest coffee chain and the world’s second largest coffee chain after Starbucks. Anti-LGBTQ social media users are threatening to boycott the world’s second-largest coffee chain after a photo of one of its mobile cafe vans, which bore an illustration of a transgender person, began to circulate online Monday. The hashtag #BoycottCostaCoffee garnered traction after outspoken critics took issue with the illustration, which shows a trans person with scars from a double mastectomy, also known as top surgery. Others tweeted in support of the illustration, saying it brought visibility to trans people. It was not immediately clear when the illustration was first displayed or how many cafe vans it was printed on. James Esses, co-founder of the anti-trans group Thoughtful Therapists, told NBC News he learned of the cafe van mural when one of his followers sent him a photo of it through X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Esses posted the photo to his account Monday, writing to Costa Coffee, “Could you kindly explain why you are glorifying irreversible surgery,” among other comments. FULL STORY

Editor’s Note: Norman Eisen served as counsel to House Democrats in the first Trump impeachment and as White House ethics czar and ambassador to the Czech Republic in the Obama administration. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. CNN — The remarkable new charges brought against former President Donald Trump in the federal classified documents case are absolutely necessary. Already facing 37 criminal charges, Trump now faces three additional charges – one count for willful retention of national defense information and two counts for obstruction of justice. He has denied all counts against him. Many experts agree that special counsel Jack Smith already had a strong case. So, why would he bother to file a superseding indictment, adding a third defendant – Mar-a-Lago worker Carlos De Oliveira – at the risk of further delaying a trial that has already been pushed back by US District Judge Aileen Cannon? A close look at the new charging document shows that the benefits to the special counsel and his case are well worth the costs in delay and otherwise. Two parts of the original indictment – which alleged Trump violated the Espionage Act and obstructed justice – have been strengthened in the updated version. On the Espionage Act charges for retaining national defense materials, prosecutors have added an additional count based upon an Iran attack plan document that Trump allegedly shared with a book writing team at his Bedminster estate in July 2021. FULL ARTICLE

The US government's credit rating has been downgraded following concerns over the state of the country's finances and its debt burden. Fitch, one of three major independent agencies that assess creditworthiness, downgraded it from the top rating of AAA to AA+. Fitch said it had noted a "steady deterioration" in governance over the last 20 years. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the downgrade "arbitrary". It was based on "outdated data" from the period 2018 to 2020, she said. Investors use credit ratings as a benchmark for judging how risky it is to lend money to a government. The US is usually considered a highly secure investment because of the size and relative stability of the economy. However, this year saw another round of political brinkmanship over government borrowing. In June the government succeeded in lifting the debt ceiling to $31.4 trillion (£24.6 trillion) but only after a drawn-out political battle, which threatened to push the country into defaulting on its debts. "The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance" relative to peers, said Fitch in a statement. FULL STORY

The special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 US election has formally charged the former president with crimes. The 45-page indictment contained four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. LIVE - latest updates, reaction and analysis Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing and said that the charges - the third separate criminal indictment he is facing - are part of "un-American witch hunts" against him. Below, we break down what these charges relating to the inquiry into election interference mean. Conspiracy to defraud the United States Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding Obstruction of an official proceeding Conspiracy against rights FULL DETAILS

He is currently overseeing two separate criminal investigations into a former American president, but Jack Smith is no stranger to bringing high-stakes cases. Over the past two decades, Mr Smith, 54, has pursued public officials in the US and abroad - with a mixed record of success. The veteran prosecutor has cut a low profile since his appointment as special counsel in the two investigations of Donald Trump by the US Department of Justice. In announcing his selection last November, Attorney General Merrick Garland called him "the right choice to complete these matters in an even-handed and urgent manner". Mr Trump meanwhile has characterised Mr Smith as a "deranged" man at the forefront of a "political witch hunt" against him. The special counsel has now indicted the ex-president on 40 felony counts over his alleged mishandling of classified documents. He has also charged Mr Trump separately over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Much like the man he is now investigating, John Luman Smith is a New York native. A Harvard Law School graduate, he began his prosecutorial career in 1994 as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney's office. FULL STORY

Summary Donald Trump has been charged with four counts after a grand jury examined his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result Charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States and an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to oversee investigations into Trump, including his involvement in the 6 January riot which occurred while Congress was certifying Joe Biden's victory Trump has been summoned to appear in court on Thursday in Washington DC before a judge He already faces charges brought by Smith's team over alleged mishandling of classified documents in Florida The former president also faces trial in New York City for falsifying business records in hush money payments to an adult film star More on this

A former Australian childcare worker has been charged with more than 1,600 offences after allegedly sexually abusing 91 children, filming it, then distributing the content online. Police allege the man preyed on young girls over a 15-year period at a dozen centres in Australia and abroad. He was arrested in August 2022, but it has taken police a year to investigate and identify alleged victims. Authorities say it is one of the most "horrific" cases they have ever seen. The 45-year-old man is facing 246 counts of rape and 673 counts of indecent assault against children - many of them in aggravated circumstances. The most serious charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He also faces hundreds of charges for filming and distributing child abuse material. Police allege he recorded all of his abuse, and say they found 4000 images and videos on his electronic devices. The offending allegedly occurred in 10 childcare centres in Queensland, and one each in New South Wales and an unnamed overseas country. The man worked at other childcare centres, but the Australian Federal Police (AFP) says it is "highly confident" he did not offend at those centres. Speaking to media on Tuesday, AFP Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough said the case would be "deeply distressing" for the community. "It's beyond the realms of anyone's imagination, what this person did to these children. You try not to be shocked after a long period of time in the police... but this is a horrific case," she said. The 87 Australian children who were allegedly abused - some of whom are now adults - have been identified and their families contacted. FULL STORY

Government bows to pressure from industry over costs of switching over to British marking The UK will retain the EU’s product safety mark indefinitely, in the latest climbdown from proposed post-Brexit changes, after the government bowed to pressure from industry and manufacturers. The CE (Conformité Européenne) mark is used by the bloc to certify that a wide range of items – from electrical goods and construction materials to medical devices and toys – meet safety standards. The safety marking had been expected to be replaced by a new UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark for goods sold in Great Britain from the end of 2024, after several extensions to the deadline for the changeover. Businesses had called on the government to extend the use of the CE mark, saying that forcing them to meet new UK rules, which would initially duplicate EU product standards, would add significant costs at a time when many have been trying to get over the disruption caused by the pandemic and stubbornly high inflation. The UKCA mark would not have been recognised in the EU, so would have been required only for goods to be sold in Great Britain. FULL STORY

Court hears it was David Hunter’s wife’s ‘wish’ to die and that her husband ‘had only feelings of love for her’ A retired British miner who suffocated his terminally ill wife in Cyprus after she “begged him to” has been released after spending nearly two years behind bars. David Hunter, 76, admitted killing Janice Hunter, 74, his spouse of 52 years, at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in December 2021. Ms Hunter had been suffering from blood cancer and the court was told she had “begged” her husband to end her life. Hunter was handed a two-year prison sentence on Monday but was released shortly after the sentencing, having already spent 19 months in a Cypriot prison. Speaking outside Paphos District Court after walking free, a visibly emotional Hunter told reporters: “I can’t describe it. I’m sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I can’t. “When you’re under pressure for two years, not knowing which way it’s going to go.” His daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, said she feels her “heart has been put back together” since his release, adding: “Today is the start of us being able to rebuild our lives.” FULL STORY

More than 31,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in China’s capital Beijing in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri, which has ripped through the city and brought the strongest rainfall seen in years. Other provinces including Hebei, Tianjin and eastern Shanxi have also been inundated by heavy rainfall after the typhoon moved across northern China, the country’s meteorological administration said. The heaviest downpour was recorded in the Fangshan area which saw 500.4mm (19.7 inches) of rainfall on average, while Beijing’s overnight average rainfall clocked 140.7 mm (5.5 inches), the city’s observatory said. Authorities have warned of heavier rainfall in southern and western areas early Monday as remnants of the typhoon continue to impact the country. One of the strongest storms to batter China in years, Doksuri – which translates to Eagle – swept into China’s southern regions on Friday and caused widespread flooding over the weekend in the southern province of Fujian, forcing hundreds of thousands out of their homes. FULL STORY

Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, gave details about calls between President Biden and his son as he testified to the House Oversight Committee about his business dealings with the younger Biden on Monday. But Republicans and Democrats were at odds over the meaning of those calls. Archer served alongside Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, beginning in 2014, while the elder Biden was vice president and deeply involved in Ukraine policy. Archer is widely believed to have facilitated Hunter Biden's entry onto Burisma's board. House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer said Archer testified that the value of adding Hunter Biden to Burisma's board was "the brand" and said that the then-vice president brought the most value to "the brand." He also testified that Burisma would have gone under if not for "the brand," Comer said, adding that the elder Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand." FULL STORY

Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, made his first court appearance on Monday after being charged by the Justice Department in an alleged plot with Donald Trump and Walt Nauta, the former president’s personal aide, to illegally keep classified documents at the Palm Beach, Fla., estate. De Oliveira was charged with four counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators. Appearing in federal court in Miami, he was informed of the charges against him but did not enter a plea because did not have a lawyer listed who is able to practice in Florida, where the case will be tried. He was released on a $100,000 bond pending trial, and the arraignment was rescheduled for Aug. 10. FULL STORY

Oscar-winning actor Judi Dench says that a degenerative eye condition has left her unable to read scripts or see on set. Dench, 88, told UK newspaper the Daily Mirror’s Notebook magazine on Sunday that it’s hard to learn lines with her condition. “I mean I can’t see on a film set anymore,” said Dench. “And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But you know you just deal with it. Get on. It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.” Dench, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role as Elizabeth I in the 1998 film “Shakespeare in Love,” revealed in 2012 that she had been diagnosed with the eye condition, called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Despite these difficulties, Dench said she will try to work “as much as I can.” FULL STORY

Big, bright lunar displays will bookend August as the moon nears its closest point to Earth. When the moon reaches this position in its orbit while also appearing full, the result is a supermoon — and there will be two this month. The first of the supermoons will peak at 2:32 p.m. ET on Tuesday, which means lunar gazers in Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa and the Middle East can catch the orb glowing at its fullest in the night sky at a distance of about 222,158 miles (357,530 kilometers) from Earth, according to calculations from retired NASA astronomer Fred Espenak. For viewers in the United States, rest assured the moon will look round during the evening of August 1. Supermoons generally look brighter and bigger than other full moons because of their proximity, though it’s not always perceptible to the naked eye. This week’s full moon is also called the “sturgeon moon” because it occurs around the time of year that, historically, indigenous populations found the large freshwater fish were easily caught in the Great Lakes, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Stateside, you can best catch a glimpse of the sturgeon supermoon after sunset Tuesday, looking toward the southeast. Then, on August 30, a full moon will appear at the closest point to our planet this year — about 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) away — making it an elusive super blue moon. A blue moon, in common parlance, refers to a second full moon that occurs within the same calendar month, which typically happens only once every two and a half years. The most recent blue moon, for example, occurred in October 2020. The August 30 super blue moon will reach its peak at 9:36 p.m. ET, according to the almanac. The celestial orb will also be visible the night of August 31, local weather conditions allowing. FULL DETAILS

Officials from the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection on Monday morning observed that the new “X” on top of the building formerly known as Twitter’s headquarters was being dismantled, according to Patrick Hannan, the department’s spokesman. The news comes after the company was issued a notice of violation (NOV) Friday for work without a permit for the new sign, which flashes at night, that adorns the building. “Over the weekend, the Department of Building Inspection and City Planning received 24 complaints about the unpermitted structure, including concerns about its structural safety and illumination. This morning, building inspectors observed the structure being dismantled. A building permit is required to remove the structure but, due to safety concerns, the permit can be secured after the structure is taken down,” Hannan said in an email to CNN. “The property owner will be assessed fees for the unpermitted installation of the illuminated structure. The fees will be for building permits for the installation and removal of the structure, and to cover the cost of the Department of Building Inspection and the Planning Department’s investigation,” he added. CNN has reached out to the company formerly known as Twitter for comment. FULL STORY

US actor Paul Reubens, who rose to fame in the 1980s as the character Pee-wee Herman, died at 70 on Sunday after a private struggle with cancer. "Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit," said a statement released by his estate on Monday. Reubens' iconic cult Herman character led to a TV series and multiple films. But he put aside the role for nearly 20 years after being arrested for indecent exposure in 1991 at a movie theatre. In a posthumously released statement on his Instagram account the actor spoke about keeping his diagnosis private. "Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years," the statement said. "I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you." His estate added that he was an "iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness". FULL STORY