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The state of Arkansas is refusing to pay a Jewish doctor for a talk he delivered at a public university because he declined to promise not to boycott Israel. Dr. Steve Feldman, a dermatologist, delivered a Zoom lecture to University of Arkansas at Little Rock medical students in February, for which he was entitled to a $500 honorarium from the state. But Feldman said that the state is withholding payment because he refused to sign a pledge, required for public contractors under Arkansas law since 2017, to commit to not boycotting Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/arkansas-jewish-doctor-denied-payment-over-failure-to-promise-not-to-boycott-israel/

Judge gives Trump until Sunday to change his mind about testifying in his rape and defamation trial NEW YORK CITY — Lawyers for the prosecution and defense both rested their case Thursday in the rape and defamation lawsuit brought against former President Donald Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll, but testimony in the case may not yet be over. Judge Lewis Kaplan said late Thursday that he would give Trump until 5 p.m. Sunday evening to change his mind about taking the witness stand in his own defense to rebut Carroll’s testimony that he raped her in a changing room in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then lied about it. If Trump decides to testify, his lawyers must file a motion to reopen the case “for the sole purpose of testifying,” the judge said. Kaplan clarified that he will not necessarily grant the motion, simply that he would consider it. https://news.yahoo.com/judge-gives-trump-until-sunday-to-change-his-mind-about-testifying-in-his-rape-and-defamation-trial-221420292.html

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Foreign language posts removed. 3. English is the only permitted language anywhere on ASEAN NOW, except within the Thai language forum, where using Thai is allowed.

A Florida woman, unable to get an abortion in her state, carried to term a baby who had no kidneys. Deborah Dorbert’s son Milo died in her arms on March 3, shortly after he was born, just as her doctors had predicted he would. “He gasped for air a couple of times when I held him,” said Dorbert, 33. “I watched my child take his first breath, and I held him as he took his last one.” Her doctors told her it was too late to terminate the pregnancy in Florida, which bans nearly all abortions after 15 weeks. The only options were to go out of state to get an abortion or to carry the baby to full term, and Dorbert and her husband didn’t have the money to travel. READ MORE https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/02/health/florida-abortion-term-pregnancy/index.html

As ocean surface temperatures soar to record highs, the World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday it expects a shift toward El Niño by this fall, which could shake up weather patterns and trigger more extreme weather events in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Forecasters expect the temporary El Niño pattern to alter rainfall patterns, elevate average air temperatures and contribute to more intense storm systems. The El Niño pattern, which is a temporary and natural climate anomaly, will layer on top of the warming attributable to human-caused climate change. Both trends push average air and sea temperatures higher. READ MORE https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/record-ocean-temps-predicted-el-nino-weather-forecasters-watch-rcna82698

Across most Commonwealth realms - those countries in which he is monarch - the debate over whether to move to a republic is a live issue, albeit to varying degrees. Here, BBC correspondents describe the mood in a selection of nations where King Charles is still head of state - and explore the chances of those countries replacing the monarchy any time soon. READ MORE https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65426265

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In a world first, scientists have observed the moment that a dying star consumed a planet — a fate that eventually awaits Earth. While astronomers have previously seen planets just before and just after being engulfed by a star, this is the first time that a planetary demise has been observed, according to a team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology. “The fact that the solar system planets would get engulfed into the sun in the future was something I had read first in high school, so it was surreal to realize that we may have found the first ever example of catching a similar event in real time!” study lead author Kishalay De, a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/03/world/star-swallows-planet-study-scli-intl-scn/index.html

A New York judge has tossed out Donald Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times, and ordered the former president to pay all attorneys fees, legal expenses, and associated costs. Trump filed the lawsuit in 2021, alleging that the newspaper, three of its reporters and his niece Mary Trump engaged in an “insidious plot” to obtain his private records for a Pulitzer-winning story about his tax issues. While the court tossed out Trump’s claims against the newspaper and its reporters, the claims against the ex-president’s niece have yet to be ruled upon. https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-tosses-trumps-lawsuit-against-ny-times-orders-him-to-pay-legal-fees

Former President Donald Trump’s second criminal indictment looks all but certain to go down this summer. You could even mark it in your calendar: Sometime between July 11 and Sept. 1. That’s because Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has formally asked local officials to beef up security during that window, when she plans to announce charging decisions in her long-running investigation of Trump’s attempt to reverse his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. She wouldn’t need all that extra security if she weren’t planning to go after Trump himself, former prosecutors and legal experts say. https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d9gyq/trumps-next-criminal-charge-is-practically-on-the-calendar

The FBI on Tuesday arrested a Florida man accused of setting off an “explosive device” in the US Capitol tunnel during the attack on January 6, 2021. In one of the most violent scenes of the Capitol riot, a line of police officers protected an entrance to the building against violent rioters who used poles, bats, fists, stolen riot shields, chemical spray and, according to court documents, small explosives to attack the officers. Daniel Ball, 38, of Homosassa is facing multiple charges in connection with his involvement in the Capitol attack after being arrested last week by the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly assaulting seven people including two law enforcement officers in unrelated charges in Florida. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/03/politics/florida-man-charged-explosion-capitol-riot/index.html

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POUNDBURY, England — If you want to understand King Charles III, and his strong views on human desire and drain pipes, on social order and painted doors, this is the place. The 74-year-old monarch, to be crowned on Saturday, built this town. From scratch. Dismissed by his critics as a feudal Disneyland for nostalgists. Celebrated by its residents as livable and lovely. Officially, Poundbury is an “autonomous urban extension,” a community of about 4,600 residents, at the edge of Dorchester in south England, just a few miles from the sea. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/02/poundbury-king-charles/ No Paywall Archive Link

At least eight students and a security guard are dead after a shooting at a school in Serbia's capital Belgrade. Another six pupils and a teacher were injured in the attack and have been taken to hospital, the interior ministry said in a statement. Police arrested a 14-year-old student at the Vladislav Ribnikar school in central Belgrade in connection with Wednesday morning's attack. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65468404

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As the former president threatens to skip first Republican primary debates, party leaders are working to remake the system for staging general election debates next year. Top Republicans summoned the bureau chiefs of the five major television networks to the party’s Capitol Hill headquarters this spring for a secret meeting aimed at breaking the country’s 35-year-old system for presidential debates. With everyone in the same room, the Republican National Committee’s leadership wanted to know if the networks would agree to broadcast 2024 general election debates that were sponsored by a third-party organization other than the Commission on Presidential Debates, according to six people with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/02/2024-election-debates-republicans/ No Paywall Archive Link

Topic: Donald Trump says it's 'great to be home' as he arrives in Aberdeen for first UK visit since 2019 Lets keep it that way or posts may be removed.

A post with unattributed graphs and comments on moderation has been removed along with a number of trolling posts making unsubstantiated claims. If you post a graph or make specific claims ensure you cite the source with a link or your post will be removed. Topic is: COVID-19 infections on the rise with 1,811 cases and 10 deaths last week

Florida Republicans on Tuesday handed Gov. Ron DeSantis another legislative victory after lawmakers signed off on a sweeping anti-immigration measure that will guarantee millions of dollars more for a controversial program the governor used to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. DeSantis, who is expected to announce a run for president in the coming weeks, has repeatedly faulted President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and regularly criticizes the administration’s handling of the surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. at the southern border. The governor and his Republican allies contended that the newly approved bill will send a “message” to the Biden administration, while Democrats countered the legislation was overtly cruel and intimidating to migrants. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/02/desantis-anti-immigration-florida-00095012

Fox News host Jesse Watters on Tuesday claimed that he is able to identify illegal immigrants in New York at a glance—and when pressed to explain himself, insisted simply that he “can tell” because he’s “a city guy.” Watters then claimed to have witnessed migrants firsthand in New York City, where the Fox News studios are located. “I saw on the way into work an illegal immigration family digging through the trash looking for recyclables,” Watters said, prompting co-host Jessica Tarlov to ask him how he was so sure. “You can tell,” claimed Watters, whose explanation didn’t fly with Tarlov. “I can tell! I’m a city guy. You don’t want me to get into it, but I can tell.” https://news.yahoo.com/jesse-watters-says-tell-illegal-012756715.html