Cuba Receives Humanitarian Aid Convoy Amid U.S. Sanctions 
Trump Administration Settles Lawsuit Barring Federal Agencies from Pressuring Social Media Censorship 
Trump Administration Opens Two New Investigations Into Harvard Over Discrimination and Antisemitism 
Trump Seeks Quick End to U.S.-Iran Conflict Amid Ongoing Middle East Tensions 
Trump's Overhaul of American History: Museums, Monuments, and Cultural Institutions 
U.S. Deploys Elite 82nd Airborne Troops to Middle East Amid Iran Tensions 
Trump Says Iran Offered Major Energy Concession Amid Ongoing Negotiations 
Russia Strikes Kharkiv and Izmail as Cross-Border Drone War Escalates 
US-Iran Ceasefire Talks Underway: What You Need to Know 
Iran-Israel Missile Strikes Continue Amid Mixed Signals on U.S.-Iran Diplomacy 
Taiwan Arms Deal on Track Despite U.S.-China Summit Uncertainty 
Russia-Iran Military Alliance Deepens With Drone Shipments Amid Middle East Tensions 
WTO Reform Talks Begin in Cameroon Amid Global Trade Tensions 
Denmark Election 2026: Frederiksen Eyes Third Term Amid Trump-Greenland Tensions 
FEMA Reinstates $1 Billion Disaster Prevention Grant Program After Court Order 
G7 Foreign Ministers Gather in France Amid Global Tensions and U.S. Policy Uncertainty 
Denmark Election 2025: Social Democrats Suffer Historic Losses Amid Migration and Cost-of-Living Tensions 
A judge in the United States rejected the request of the lawyer representing former President Donald Trump for a mistrial. The decision follows the lawyer’s accusation that the judge was biased against the former president even in the presence of a jury.
ABC News reported that the judge denied the request made by Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina in an 18-page filing at a federal court in Manhattan on Monday. Tacopina accused Judge Lewis Kaplan of being biased against the former president even as the jury was present during the proceedings that started last week. Tacopina said the effect of Kaplan’s rulings “manifests a deeper leaning toward one party or another,” citing the comments where Tacopina alleged that the judge “openly expresses favoritism.”
Kaplan denied the motion for the mistrial before testimony was to resume on Monday but did not cite the reason why.
It should be noted that mistrial requests are rarely granted but can serve as the basis for possible appeals. It appears likely that Tacopina was hoping that Kaplan would grant a version of his requests, according to the Associated Press. This includes Tacopina asking for Kaplan to correct the record on the rulings that might have mischaracterized the evidence or grant Tacopina more latitude in questioning accuser E. Jean Carroll.
Carroll filed a lawsuit against the former president in November for rape under a law in New York that would allow victims of sexual assault to sue their abusers for attacks that happened even decades ago. The proceedings resumed on Monday with Tacopina cross-examining Carroll for the second day while Trump himself flew to Scotland.
Carroll has alleged that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman in midtown Manhattan in 1996. Trump has long denied the accusation but has later resorted to publicly insulting the former columnist, who has since added a defamation claim to her case.
This is not the only legal battle that the former president is also facing in New York as a court filing by his lawyers on Monday said Trump should be able to talk about the evidence in a criminal case made against him over a hush money payment to an adult film star. The filing comes ahead of the hearing that will take place on Thursday.
