Jury deliberations enter a second day in the criminal trial
of former President Donald Trump,
and a volcano in Iceland erupts,
sending lava more than 160 feet into the air.
The Morning RUNDOWN starts now
from the Straight Arrow News studio,
bringing the stories that matter to you
from across the United States and around the world.
This is the MORNING RUNDOWN.
Today is Thursday, May 30th.
Thank you for joining us.
I'm Kara Rucker. This morning,
the jury and Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York
will reconvene for a second day of deliberations after no
verdict was reached on Wednesday.
The jury deliberating for around 4 1/2 hours as they
decide whether Trump is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying
business records.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case.
The judge dismissing the 12 jurors for the day following
their request to rehear parts of the testimonies delivered by
Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen and the former publisher of
the National Enquirer, David Packer.
The jurors also asking the judge to rehear part of
the instructions he gave to them before sending them into
a private room to begin deliberations.
Trump spoke outside the courthouse after the judge read the
jury instructions.
In listening to the charges from the judges,
As you know, very conflicted
and corrupt because of the confliction.
Very, very corrupt.
Mother Teresa could not be these charges.
These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged.
The whole country's a mess between the borders and
fake elections and you have a trial like this.
Our Ray Bogan has a full report on the judge's
instructions to the jury.
You can find that story now on the Straight Arrow
News app.
Justice Samuel Alito declined requests from Democratic lawmakers to recuse
himself from 2 Supreme Court cases involving former President Donald
Trump and January 6th due to flags flown outside his
properties. Alito explained in letters to House and Senate Democrats
that he had no involvement with the flags,
which included an upside down American flag and an appeal
to Heaven flag.
The justice says he had no awareness of their current
perceived meanings.
The upside down flag became a popular symbol among Trump
supporters contesting President Biden's victory.
He asserted that a reasonable person would not see a
need for recusal.
Alito says his wife put up the flags emphasizing her
independence and legal rights regarding their properties.
AUS District Court Judge is dead after being struck by
a car outside the federal courthouse in downtown Reno,
NV on Wednesday. Washoe County Sheriff confirmed the news in
a post on X calling the death of the 80
year old Judge Larry Hicks tragic.
Judge Hicks was appointed by President George W Bush in
2001. Authorities say the driver involved in the crash stayed
at the scene and is cooperating in their investigation.
The global relief program World Central Kitchen has paused its
operations in Rafa,
citing ongoing Israeli attacks. World Central Kitchen says aid workers
have relocated N amid a series of strikes that resumed
Wednesday morning.
These followed an airstrike on Sunday in Rafa that the
Hamas run Health ministry says killed at least 45 people
sheltering in tents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called that incident a tragic
mishap.
Despite the challenges, World Central Kitchen says it managed to
provide
100,000 meals in Gaza on Monday and aims to increase
their effort.
The group recently resumed operations in Gaza,
4 weeks after an airstrike killed seven of its workers.
A massive volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday spewed lava
more than
160 feet into the air.
Authorities had to evacuate the seaside town of Grundovic,
including the country's biggest tourist attraction,
the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.
This marks the 5th and most powerful eruption in the
region since December.
However, most of the 4000 residents of Grundovic were permanently
evacuated in November because of the ongoing volcanic activity.
Finally, this morning, researchers studying a pair of ancient Egyptian
skulls say they may have discovered signs of the earliest
attempts at cancer surgery.
In a study published Wednesday in the Frontiers of Medicine
journal,
researchers showed images of the skulls that date back more
than 4000 years ago.
The skulls, 1 male and one female,
have been held in the Duckworth Lab at Cambridge University.
According to the study, marks were found around cancerous growths,
indicating the ancient Egyptians were either trying to treat the
cancer through operations or conducting a medical autopsy.
Either way, the researchers called these findings a milestone in
the history of medicine.
These are your top stories for this Thursday.
We'll see you back here tomorrow.
Until then, I'm Kara Rucker.
Have a great day.