Reuters World News - Trump walks into the history books

Episode Date: April 4, 2023

It’s arraignment day for former President Donald Trump in New York. NATO welcomes its newest member, Finland. A Wisconsin election that could shape the 2024 presidential election. Why Mexico doesn��t want sulfur dioxide balloons. Plus all the latest news from around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Manhattan finds itself at the epicenter of the political world. Donald Trump is set to walk through the doors of the courthouse at 100 Center Street and into the history books as the first former president ever to be criminally charged. Stay with us for the latest on Trump and the most important headlines from around the world. It's Tuesday, April 4th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. I'm Christopher Waljester in Chicago. I'm Carmel Crimmons in Dublin.

In New York right now, the massive media presence makes it clear what a seismic event this is. Across the street from the courthouse, a heavy police presence is ready to greet protesters. That includes young Republicans and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who says she'll be there to support the former president. New York mayor, Eric Adams, had this warning for them. Control yourselves. New York City is our home, not a playground for your miss. placed anger.

The forecast right now in New York is for a sunny spring day, and while the mayor says he's not expecting huge crowds, it remains to be seen if Trump supporters will show up. One of his fans, Greg Reed, had this to say in Florida. Yeah, I'll travel around anywhere on the East Coast to see him, but he does his all for us. I'm going to get my all for him. The former president spent the night in Trump Tower. His Secret Service Motorcade is soon expected to weave its way downtown for the four miles to the courthouse. There, he's expected to plead not guilty to charges related to hush money payments to a porn star.

His lawyers are also expected to argue to keep cameras out of the courtroom. Lawyer Joe Takapina says the former president is eager to prove his innocence. He's gearing up for a battle. You know, this is something that obviously we believe is a political persecution. and I think people on both sides of the aisle believe that. It's a complete abuse of power. Trump's legal peril has already begun to pay off with some of his voters. Reuters reporting revealed some voters who were leaning towards DeSantis

had switched back to Trump over the indictment. Trump is set to make a prime time address back in Florida after the hearing. You can follow all the latest developments from New York and Florida today at roiders.com and by downloading our mobile app. Now to other top stories around the world today. This is a historic week. We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcoming the latest member of the military alliance.

Finland will formally join NATO on Tuesday in a major security shift triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's a diplomatic and strategic defeat for President Putin, who wanted to use the invasion to block NATO's expansion. Finland's membership will roughly double NATO's border with Russia. Sweden is also hoping to join the alliance, but its membership is being held up by Hungary and Turkey. Russia is blaming for the bombing that killed a prominent pro-war blogger in a St. Petersburg cafe. They have detained a Russian woman as a suspect in the case.

In a video released by investigators, 26-year-old Daria Thropova admits bringing a statuette that later exploded to the cafe. Unconfirmed Russian media reports say she told investigators she'd been set up and had not known the statuette contained a bomb. Footage of the event shows Vladlin Tartaski handling the figurine and showing it off to his audience before he was killed.

Ukraine is denied involvement in the blast and says domestic terrorism is to blame. The US has killed a senior Islamic state leader in Syria. Khalad Aid Ahmed al-Jaburi was responsible for planning Islamic state attacks in Europe. It's the latest blow to an organisation that once struck fear across the Middle East. The United Nations estimates it currently has between 5,000 and 7,000 members and supporters spread between Syria and Iraq. At least one person has been killed and dozens injured after a passenger train derailed in the Netherlands.

Dutch emergency services said the night train collided with a construction crane. Investigations have been launched into the cause of the collision. French junior social affairs minister Marlene Scappa is facing a backlash from members of her own party for posing on the front cover of Playboy magazine. Skapa was photographed in a white dress to accompany a 12-page interview about women's and LGBT rights. She is a long-time advocate for women's rights and has brought in legislation outlawing catcalling and street harassment. Far from the Manhattan political spectacle, a Wisconsin election could have major repercussions for the 2024 presidential race.

Political correspondent Joseph Axe explains why today's race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court is so important. This is probably the most consequential election of 2023. The winner of this election will determine whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court is controlled by a conservative majority or a liberal majority. And in the next few months, the court is expected to decide whether abortion should be legal or illegal in the state. Wisconsin is undoubtedly going to be a key swing state, as always. And in 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court made a number of consequential rulings on things like, like absentee ballot rules and polling hours.

And after the 2020 election, the court narrowly rejected Donald Trump's effort to overturn his loss to Joe Biden by just a four-three vote. And so a lot of people have pointed to this race as having enormous stakes when it comes to democracy and the future of our elections. And here in Chicago, we're also headed to the polls. There's much to be learned at the national level

from the Chicago mayoral runoff race between two Democrats. Brandon Johnson and the more conservative Paul Valis will test the party's stance on key issues like crime, education, and taxes. Plenty happening in business and markets today, Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure a funding lifeline.

The satellite launch company never really recovered from a rocket failure in January. Disney's CEO Bob Iger has fired back at Republican Governor Rhonda Santos in an ongoing battle between the Mouse House and the state. Eiger told Disney's annual shareholder meeting that DeSantos's recent actions against the company were anti-business and anti-Florida.

Speaking of shareholder meetings, Credit Suisse will face the wrath of investors today. The Swiss Bank is holding its first annual meeting since its hasty takeover by UBS last month. That deal largely wiped out stockholders. The biggest names in wrestling and mixed martial arts are joining forces. The WWE will combine with UFC

to form a publicly listed entertainment giant valued at $21 billion. Endeavors, Ari Emanuel, and WWE founder Vince McMahon will run the company together. It will be listed under the ticker symbol TKO. NASA's first lunar mission in more than 50 years will include the first woman and the first black astronaut to head to the moon. Christina Cook here announces the space organization's plans for the Artemis II launch. It's not just a symbol of exploration.

It's actually a beacon for science. It's a beacon for understanding where we came from. Victor Glove will be the first African-American to pilot a lunar flight. The expedition is scheduled for November 2024. We are ready. We are going to the moon. For all humanity. We are artists.

And now to Mexico and another international standoff over balloons. This time it's a U.S. company releasing sulfur dioxide balloons to try and cool the atmosphere. Mexico's banned the practice. It's uncharted territory for both scientists and nations grappling with a changing climate. Our climate reporter Cassandra Garrison is in Mexico City with this explanation. They said that they were trying to cool temperatures on Earth using a scientific technique called solar geoengineering that's meant to mimic the cooling effect of ash clouds after

of volcanic eruption by dispersing reflective particles into the stratosphere that actually deflect sunlight away from the earth and in turn bring down temperatures on the planet. There are currently no international norms or regulations around solar geoengineering. Right now, very little is known about its effects, but some of the side effects could include changes to weather patterns or negative impacts on agriculture and food security. And that's why there's such a need for some sort of international protocol. I'm Cassandra Gerson, reporting from Mexico City for Reuters. Leonardo DiCaprio is in court in D.C. for the trial of Fuji's rapper Pras Michelle. Praz is accused of buying influence on behalf of Malaysian financier Jeul Lowe as a part of the

1MDB scandal. Lowe is known for paying celebrities to attend his parties. On the stand, DeCaprio described one night where Lowe organized a flight from Australia. to Las Vegas to try to ring in the new year, twice. And that's a wrap for today's edition of Reuters World News. Kim will be back on Wednesday. Don't forget, you can follow us on your favorite podcast platform or download the Reuters app.