Romania's top court annuls first round of presidential vote won by far-right candidate

Source: Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court on Friday annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election, days after allegations emerged that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round.

The Constitutional Court’s unprecedented decision — which is final — came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia organized thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu across platforms such as TikTok and Telegram.

The court, without naming Georgescu, said that one of the 13 candidates in the Nov. 24 first round had improperly received “preferential treatment” on social media, distorting the outcome of the vote.

Georgescu denounced the verdict as an “officialized coup” and an attack on democracy, as did the second-place finisher, reformist Elena Lasconi of the center-right Save Romania Union party.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/romania-election-president-georgescu-court-585e8f8f3ce7013951f5c7cf4054179b

Mayor Eric Adams leaves door open to GOP switch, sparking criticism from Democratic rivals

Manslaughter charge against Daniel Penny dismissed, jury to continue deliberating lesser charge Monday

Source: CNN

A judge granted a motion from Manhattan prosecutors to dismiss the more serious charge of second-degree manslaughter against Daniel Penny on Friday in his trial over the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway last year.

The ruling clears the way for the jury to consider a remaining lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. It came after a Manhattan jury said they were deadlocked twice on the manslaughter charge and Penny’s defense attorneys renewed their motion for a mistrial.

Over defense objections, Judge Maxwell Wiley agreed with prosecutors, who argued that dismissing the first count of second-degree manslaughter eliminates the defense’s concern about a compromise verdict.

Penny, 26, a former Marine, now faces a single charge of criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death, which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison, significantly less than a potential maximum sentence of 15 years tied to the more serious charge. The judge could also choose to sentence Penny to no prison time if he is convicted.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/06/us/daniel-penny-jordan-neely-trial-verdict/index.html

Mayor Adams says undocumented New Yorkers aren't owed due process, defying Constitution

Mayor Adams says undocumented New Yorkers aren't owed due process, defying Constitution

Source: Gothamist

Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday incorrectly asserted that undocumented immigrants are not entitled the right to due process under the U.S. Constitution, aligning himself with a notion previously expressed by President-elect Donald Trump.

“The Constitution is for Americans,” Adams told reporters at his weekly City Hall press conference. “I’m not a person that snuck into this country. My ancestors have been here for a long time.”

Legal experts disputed Adams’ statement.

“The mayor’s claim has no basis in law,” said Elora Mukherjee, the director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School. “The laws set forth in the Constitution generally apply to everyone present in U.S. soil whether or not they are a citizen and regardless of their immigration status.”

Read more: https://gothamist.com/news/mayor-adams-says-undocumented-new-yorkers-arent-owed-due-process-defying-constitution

John Fetterman says Hunter Biden, Trump both deserve pardons after 'politically motivated' trials

Source: NBC News

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said Thursday that the federal cases against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and the New York hush money case against President-elect Donald Trump were both “politically motivated” and deserving of pardons.

Biden issued a broad pardon for his son Hunter over the weekend. Trump was convicted by a New York state jury earlier this year on charges of falsifying business records related to payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film performer, ahead of the 2016 election. Pardons in state cases like that one are handled at the stat level, not the presidential level.

Fetterman told a small group of reporters in the Capitol that the tax and gun cases against Hunter Biden were “politically motivated” and “weaponized for political gain,” comparing them to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump.

“The same thing was done with Trump with the New York case. And that was bulls--- too,” the Pennsylvania senator said. “And that was weaponized for political gain.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/john-fetterman-says-hunter-biden-trump-both-deserve-pardons-politicall-rcna183094

NYC Mayor Adams requests meeting with Trump's border czar Homan

Source: ABC News

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams long hampered by the Biden administration's immigration policy said on Tuesday that he has requested a meeting with incoming border czar Tom Homan.

"I would love to sit down with the border czar and hear his thoughts on how we are going to address those who are harming our citizens," Adams said during a news conference. "Find out what his plans are, where our common grounds are. We can work together."

Adams has for months been calling for violent migrants to be deported and seemed to welcome the Trump administration's differing philosophy.

"If you come into this country and this city and think you are going to harm innocent New Yorkers, and innocent migrants and asylum seekers, this is not the mayor you want to be under," Adams said. "I'm an American. Americans have certain rights. The Constitution is for Americans. I'm not a person who snuck into this country."

Read more: https://abc7ny.com/post/new-york-ctiy-mayor-eric-adams-requests-meeting-trumps-border-czar-tom-homan/15620163/

What type of Coquito do you prefer around the holidays?

'Tis the season once again! My favorite drink, Coquito, is back! Which flavor do you favor? Recently, I have observed a variety of new flavors emerging. Up to this point, I have only prepared the traditional and Nutella versions. While both are delightful, I prefer the latter. So, how about you?

Some Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning his son Hunter

Source: Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son for federal crimes after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law.

“He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who along with Biden and other White House officials insisted for months that Hunter Biden would not get a pardon.

That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats, angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump, who has argued that multiple indictments and one conviction against him were a matter of Biden and Democrats turning the justice system against him.

“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote of Biden on the social media platform X.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-pardons-his-son-hunter-biden-267044df999f1944c05e0ed6c95957cd

Mayor Dies in Police Chase Days After Entire Force Resigns

Source: Yahoo! News

A South Carolina mayor died while being pursued by law enforcement on Tuesday, just days after the town’s entire police force quit due to a “hostile work environment.”

McColl Mayor George Garner II veered into eastbound traffic and collided head-on with an 18-wheeler during the police chase. Garner was connected to an active investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, sources told WBTW, though details of the investigation are not clear.

“The pursuit not related to any laws being broken. The pursuit was taking place in an effort to protect the well-being of Mr. Garner,” the coroner said, adding that more information will be released in the coming days.

On Nov. 21, just five days before the crash, police chief Bob Hale and his five officers resigned from their post. Hale announced the departure in a Facebook post, where he said he left because of “repeated acts of harassment” and “personal attacks” on his character by a town council member.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/mayor-dies-police-chase-days-184154570.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=YW5kcm9pZC1hcHA6Ly9jb20uZ29vZ2xlLmFuZHJvaWQuZ29vZ2xlcXVpY2tzZWFyY2hib3gv&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJjL21ECiWHyd58ZFATV8RxKNLa-qG5xdL--fwR58cRS2BMBCCp3-XdjXoDeGl2Wv8VY51nO2iAs0OYGhmfbEoqPiRxyq2YfMeCjFV7K2NpW5qY64xiuiaR8HSqPp6hN7gkv_O0g5-dYgN1Z2aGVoomMCFOln3Vj21qOg1EzqaFF