The Guardian
Trump indicted by grand jury

Story by Josh Taylor • Yesterday 4:53 pm - 31-3-2023

A grand jury has voted to indict former US president Donald Trump in New York over a US$130,000 hush money payment made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. It is the first time in US history that a sitting or former US president has faced a criminal indictment.

The specific charges currently remain under seal but the focus of the long-running investigation had been around the payments made to Daniels in order to buy her silence over the alleged affair during the 2016 election campaign.

Trump responded to the news on Truth Social saying: “They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York.”

He is expected to surrender on Tuesday, US time, where he will likely be presented with charges and enter a plea. It’s not clear if he will be handcuffed or not, but there will be fingerprints taken and a mugshot, and a judge will decide on bail.

Trump is already fundraising off the announcement, sending out an email to supporters calling the indictment a witch-hunt that will backfire on US president Joe Biden. He is also reportedly privately pushing for lawmakers in Congress to investigate the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who has become the target of complaints from Republican politicians and friendly media.

It is the first indictment to be announced in any of the ongoing investigations involving the former president. If Trump is convicted, it would not prevent him from running for president.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Born in the South of the US
Stormy Daniels is the professional name of Stephanie Gregory Clifford, a woman born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1979.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

She started dancing at a young age
She began working as an exotic dancer at the age of 17. Her first job was at the Gold Club in Baton Rouge

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Trying to go public with her story
According to CBS, Stormy tried to sell her story to InTouch for $15,000 in 2011. It was never published, however, because Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen threatened to sue her and the publication.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Michael Cohen got involved
Before and during Trump's political career, his lawyer Michael Cohen would do a number of 'dirty' legal jobs for him. In 2018, Cohen would be convicted of fraud, lying to Congress, and violating campaign-finance laws, among other offenses.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Keeping Stormy quiet
It was the campaign finance charge that involved Stormy Daniels. Cohen insisted that the adult star stay silent about her meetings with Donald Trump in 2006 and 2007. To take the demand a step further, Cohen offered her $130,000 to keep quiet about the affair during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Alleged misuse of campaign funds
The hush money for Stormy allegedly came out of campaign funds - and that is prohibited. According to the New York Times, Cohen admitted that he violated campaign-finance laws at the direction of Trump and "for the principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Stormy talked anyway
The payment of $130,000 was made in exchange for Daniels signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Although she took the money, Stormy would end up breaking that agreement when she recounted the events in an interview for '60 Minutes.'

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Trump and Stormy's legal battles
After she spoke out in 2018, the actress and Trump got into a series of legal battles. Among the things they fought about in court was the question of whether Stormy Daniels was allowed to speak about her relationship with Trump and whether the NDA was a valid document.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

And if it were true, 'the money came from me'
As the government investigated the $130,000 hush money payment, Trump walked back some of his comments. On a 'Fox & Friends' broadcast in 2018, he said that perhaps, indeed, money had been paid to the actress. But if it were so, he insisted, it had come directly from his pocket and not from the campaign.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Cashing in on the scandal
While the investigation has been ongoing, Stormy has capitalized on her new notoriety. In 2018, she immediately came into action and turned her story into a living. For one, she went on tour with the 'Making America H o r n y Again Tour' - a play on Trump's slogan of 'Making America Great Again.'

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

She looks great even in a mugshot
It did not all go smoothly. In July 2018, she was arrested for violating an Ohio state law by allegedly touching three undercover detectives at a strip club in Columbus.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Full Disclosure
Yet, in October 2018, Stormy Daniels published her book 'Full Disclosure,' in which she recounts various aspects of her life and describes in detail her problems with Donald Trump and Michael Cohen.

Showbizz Daily
Stormy Daniels: the adult star who could put Trump behind bars

Story by Zeleb.es • 8h ago - 27-3-2023

Stormy on Michael Cohen's Podcast
Michael Cohen spent roughly a year in jail and then 1.5 more years under home arrest for his illegal acts with the Trump organization. He was also disbarred. Cohen decided to make lemonade from the lemons in his life and produced the podcast 'Mea Culpa.' Strikingly, one of his guests was Stormy Daniels! In 2021, she appeared on his show as a gesture of reconciliation between the two.

GIZMODO AU
This Weird Australian Drone Is a Tailsitter Biplane That Can Launch From a Helipad

Kelsey D. Atherton - Published 5 days ago: March 21, 2023 at 3:00 pm

“The platform ideally will be operated as a predominantly autonomous system most of the time. Take-off and landing and the transition from vertical to horizontal flight will be fully autonomous,” said Mic Crump, principal technologist for autonomy for BAE Systems Australia. “Autonomous technologies aren’t intended to replace the human in the modern battlefield, but rather to augment them.”

To make the STRIX useful to the humans commanding it, it is designed to have a range of nearly 805 km while carrying 159 kg of payload. This can include sensors and communications relays, as well as bombs or missiles. With a human operator remotely guiding the drone, autonomous systems can handle the basics of flight while a human controller would be expected to make the important decisions. The airframe of the STRIX is designed to fit into a shipping container, and launch upon assembly once wheeled out.

One reason Australia and the United States are so interested in planes that can launch without runways is the expectation that, should war be fought in the Pacific and against China, such runways will be hard to maintain and secure. (This war planning often, though not always, focuses on the operational problems of supply and repair, without spending too much time factoring the risk of nuclear exchange cutting short such a war with apocalyptic fury). In order for a campaign to work from the island chains of the Pacific and any land beyond that, being able to operate armed drones from cleared fields and helipads expands how the war can be effectively fought, instead of relying on paved and reinforced 1,829 m stretches of runway.

For now, STRIX is a concept, though a prototype is in development, and BAE claims the drone could be ready to enter service as soon as 2026.