Latest news with #politicalpersecution
CNN
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
George Clooney on if he fears political persecution from Trump
George Clooney on if he fears political persecution from Trump CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewed actor George Clooney on the set of his Broadway play, "Good Night, and Good Luck," which is focused on Edward R. Murrow's famous battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Clooney discussed whether he personally fears being targeted by the Trump administration. Watch CNN's special presentation of George Clooney's 'Good Night, and Good Luck' on Saturday, June 7 at 7pm ET streaming live on 01:42 - Source: CNN Vertical Top News 11 videos George Clooney on if he fears political persecution from Trump CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewed actor George Clooney on the set of his Broadway play, "Good Night, and Good Luck," which is focused on Edward R. Murrow's famous battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Clooney discussed whether he personally fears being targeted by the Trump administration. Watch CNN's special presentation of George Clooney's 'Good Night, and Good Luck' on Saturday, June 7 at 7pm ET streaming live on 01:42 - Source: CNN DNC Trolls Trump with Taco Truck The Democratic National Committee parked a taco truck outside the RNC headquarters in Washington DC Tuesday, as a way to troll the president over an acronym created by a Financial Times commentator about the president's frequent walk backs and pauses to his tariff's. 00:52 - Source: CNN Greta Thunberg sails to Gaza Greta Thunberg has set sail with eleven other activists to Gaza. The activist group they're part of, The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is attempting to bring aid and raise international awareness over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the territory. 01:00 - Source: CNN Cassie Ventura's friend testifies Diddy held her over a balcony Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Cassie Ventura who goes by Bana, testified today about an incident with Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 2016 when she said that she was 'held over a 17-story balcony' by the music mogul. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports. 01:48 - Source: CNN Record rain floods Mexico City, traps people Mexico City was hit with record rainfall that didn't relent for more than five hours Monday night, marking the heaviest rain since 2017, according to water management officials. CNN's Valeria León walks a flooded avenue of the nation's capital after emergency crews worked through the night to rescue several trapped drivers. 00:43 - Source: CNN ICE chief defends agents wearing masks during immigration raids Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is defending federal immigration agents for wearing masks during raids across the US, citing safety concerns. The tactic has sparked backlash and raised questions about transparency and accountability. 00:58 - Source: CNN Analysis: Why Ukraine's drone attack on Russia just changed the world CNN's Jim Sciutto explains why Ukraine's large-scale drone attack on Russian air bases thousands of miles behind the front lines struck fear into the heart of every global superpower 01:05 - Source: CNN Social media video appears to show escaped inmate A video posted online appears to show Antoine Massey, one of two men who remains on the run after escaping a New Orleans jail, declaring his innocence. Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair told CNN that the US Marshals Service received the video Monday and that the agency is looking into it. 01:08 - Source: CNN Three attacks in two months: American Jews on edge CNN's Bianna Golodryga breaks down the three high-profile recent attacks on Jewish elected officials, diplomats and community events that are putting American Jews and government officials on edge. 01:58 - Source: CNN Police shut down All-American Rejects backyard gig in college town The All-American Rejects played a backyard gig in Columbia, Missouri, as part of their House Party Tour protesting against expensive arena shows. Police eventually shut it down, but not before letting the band play one final song. 01:05 - Source: CNN
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bolsonaro's Plan to Stage a Trumpian Comeback Might Save Lula's Presidency
Jair Bolsonaro's insistence he can pull off a Donald Trump-like comeback in Brazil's looming election has paralyzed his fervent right-wing movement, effectively blocking the search for a successor to the ineligible former president. Unable to run thanks to an eight-year political ban and facing charges that he attempted a coup after the 2022 vote, Bolsonaro is nevertheless clinging to control over the future of the Brazilian right. Pointing to polls that show him as the strongest candidate, he describes himself as victim of political persecution.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bolsonaro Wants to Stage a Trumpian Comeback. It Might Save Lula's Presidency
Jair Bolsonaro's insistence he can pull off a Donald Trump-like comeback in Brazil's looming election has paralyzed his fervent right-wing movement, effectively blocking the search for a successor to the ineligible former president. Unable to run thanks to an eight-year political ban and facing charges that he attempted a coup after the 2022 vote, Bolsonaro is nevertheless clinging to control over the future of the Brazilian right. Pointing to polls that show him as the strongest candidate, he describes himself as victim of political persecution.
CNN
28-05-2025
- Health
- CNN
Russian Harvard Researcher Kseniia Petrova Awaits Bail Hearing Amid Deportation Proceedings
A US district court judge in Vermont ruled that Kseniia Petrova, the Harvard Medical School researcher from Russia accused of smuggling frog embryos, could be released from ICE custody on bail. The researcher remains in custody until a bail hearing on criminal charges, expected next week. Petrova, 30, was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport on February 16 and detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The bail hearing was held in Burlington, Vermont, federal district court before Chief District Judge Christina Reiss Wednesday, though Petrova joined via Zoom from a facility in Louisiana where she is being held. Petrova is among the hundreds of foreign academics whose visas have been revoked amid Trump's deportation crackdown. Petrova is facing deportation to Russia, where her attorneys say she fears persecution due to her previous political activism against the war in Ukraine. 'Ms. Petrova has presented compelling evidence of improper government conduct—including efforts to jail and prosecute her—over a minor customs violation,' her attorneys wrote in a brief to the court this week. 'If re-detained by ICE, there is a substantial and well-founded risk that she will be unlawfully removed to Russia—despite her past political persecution there.' Petrova failed to declare the biological materials and lied to federal officers about carrying them into the country as she was going through a customs search at the airport in February, the Department of Homeland Security has said. During an inspection federal officers found the biological materials even though Petrova said she didn't have any such materials, the complaint said. Messages were also found on Petrova's cell phone which indicated she had been warned by colleagues about the need to follow proper protocol when bringing materials through the airport, court documents show. 'I'm told this would normally result in a warning or a fine. Instead, my visa was revoked and I was sent to a detention center in Louisiana, where I have spent the past three months with roughly 100 other women. We share one room with dormitory-style beds,' Petrova wrote in an essay published this month in The New York Times. In an unusual escalation earlier this month, Petrova, who has been fighting deportation proceedings since her arrest, was also charged with felony smuggling charges in Massachusetts. Massachusetts US Attorney Leah Foley said Petrova lied to officials about having biological material in her baggage. 'The rule of law does not have a carve out for educated individuals with pedigree,' Foley said in a recorded video statement. 'The US visa that Ms. Petrova was given, which was revoked by customs officials as a result of her conduct, is a privilege, not a right.' While Petrova has admitted to failing to declare the frog samples, the airport incident should have resulted in a fine and been treated as a minor violation, Petrova's lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky has said. Instead, Petrova's visa was immediately revoked, and she was detained in what her attorney has described as a government overstep. Following the government's new charges, a federal magistrate judge ordered Petrova's transfer to Massachusetts. Petrova's attorney filed habeas and bail motions in Vermont where she was held shortly after her initial detention before being transferred to Louisiana. A habeas motion requires the person holding a detainee to justify the detention. Attorneys for the Department of Justice have told the court Petrova's bail motion should be considered moot given the new criminal charges and because Petrova has been transferred from ICE to criminal custody at the Richwood Correctional Facility in Monroe, Louisiana, documents show. 'Ms. Petrova is not in the immediate custody of any of the defendants named in her original habeas petition and her challenge to her prior immigration detention is moot,' government attorneys wrote in the brief. In their response, Petrova's attorneys accuse the government of trumping up criminal charges in a bid to prevent her bail and motions from being heard in federal court. 'The government should not be encouraged to bring criminal charges against ICE detainees in order to moot their habeas petitions. This is especially important since it is the government's position that the mere arrest under criminal charges—whether genuine or pretextual—would suffice to moot an ICE detainee's habeas petition,' Petrova's attorneys wrote. Petrova is eager to get back to her lab, where she uses a one-of-a-kind microscope that can accomplish the 'almost impossible' task of measuring certain tissue samples without damaging them, she wrote in her New York Times essay. It's a development she calls 'utterly revolutionary' – and one that could aid in the research of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's. 'There is a data set that I'm halfway finished analyzing. I want to go home and finish it,' Petrova wrote.
Al Jazeera
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Former President Bolsonaro's coup trial opens in Brazil
The trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is set to begin, with charges that he plotted a coup d'etat and led a 'criminal organisation' to overturn the result of the October 2022 election, in which he was narrowly defeated by current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The country's Supreme Court is expected to hear testimony from high-ranking military and political figures from Monday over the next two weeks. The 70-year-old far-right leader, a former army captain, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Bolsonaro denies the allegations, claiming he is a victim of 'political persecution'. More than 80 witnesses are set to testify via videoconference, including Generals Marco Antonio Freire Gomes and Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, who served as commanders of the army and air force under Bolsonaro. In previous statements to federal police, both men said Bolsonaro had 'raised the hypothetical possibility' of using legal means to annul the 2022 election and justify a military intervention. According to prosecutors, the alleged plot included plans to declare a state of emergency, hold new elections and assassinate President Lula. A 900-page federal police report details the scheme, which prosecutors say ultimately collapsed due to a lack of support within the military. The charges also encompass the January 8, 2023 riots in Brasília, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace one week after Lula's inauguration. Though Bolsonaro, a close ally of United States President Donald Trump when they were both in power, was in the US at the time, prosecutors argue he backed the violence, calling it the 'last hope' of those seeking to overturn the election. Seven of Bolsonaro's former aides are being tried alongside him, including four former ministers, a former navy commander, and the head of Brazil's intelligence services during his presidency. This marks the first time a Brazilian president has faced coup charges since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. Bolsonaro, who has often expressed admiration for that era, is already banned from holding public office until 2030 after making claims about Brazil's electronic voting system. Despite the ban, Bolsonaro has indicated a desire to return to politics. But speaking to UOL last week, he likened the charges to a 'telenovela scenario' and warned that a conviction would be a 'death penalty, political and physical'. Bolsonaro was heavily criticised when he was Brazil's leader during the COVID-19 pandemic and when his policies and spread of misinformation contributed to the nation having the highest overall death toll in Latin America, and the second highest in the world after the US, from the coronavirus. Earlier this month, he was recently discharged from hospital after undergoing major abdominal surgery, the latest in a series of procedures stemming from a stabbing attack in 2018.
