- A federal jury in New York City has found that Donald Trump sexually abused advice columnist E Jean Carroll and awarded more than $2m in damages. She will receive an additional $3m in damages for defamation. Trump called the verdict a “disgrace” and Reuters reported he plans to appeal.
- California’s senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, is poised to return to the Senate after a three-month health absence. Democratic leaders praised her return despite growing calls for her resignation.
- Former Fox News star Tucker Carlson will be reviving his show on Twitter, after being abruptly dismissed from the network last month.
- New York Republican representative George Santos, who has been accused of countless lies and fabrications, has been charged by federal prosecutors for unspecified crimes and will likely appear in court this week.
- Congressional leaders met with President Joe Biden at the White House this afternoon to discuss the debt limit, but said little progress was made. They plan to meet again on Friday to discuss a compromise and avoid a default.
- Congressional leaders met with President Joe Biden at the White House this afternoon to discuss the debt limit, but said little progress was made.
- The meeting was meant to address a deadlock in Congress ahead of a 1 June deadline after which the US government could default on its debts. Ahead of the discussion, the Republican House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, said he would not support a short-term increase in the debt limit.
- He and other Republicans have sought to pass conservative legislative priorities and proposed spending cuts in exchange for votes that would raise the debt ceiling.
- “I didn’t see any new movement,” he said this evening following the meeting.
- Democratic leader Chuck Schumer meanwhile said Republicans were taking the debt limit “hostage” and “must take default off the table”.
- Schumer added that the lawmakers agreed to have staff “start sitting down as early as tonight, certainly tomorrow, to see where we can come to agreement on the budget and appropriations process”. The same leaders will meet with Biden again on Friday.
- New York Republican representative George Santos has been criminally charged by federal prosecutors, CNN is exclusively reporting.
- The disgraced lawmaker, who has admitted to a number of falsehoods and fabrications and been accused of many more, is expected to appear in federal court as early as Wednesday, CNN reported.
- The nature of the charges are not yet clear, but Santos had been under investigation over alleged false statements regarding campaign finance filings and other issues.
- In addition to the criminal charges, Santos has faced inquiries related to complaints alleging sexual harassment and campaign finance violations. He is currently under investigation by the House ethics committee.
- His alarming behavior has ranged from political misconduct to more bizarre incidents, including allegedly stealing cash raised for a veteran’s dying dog, lying about being a producer on a Broadway musical about Spider-Man and falsely claiming his mother survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- Santos has admitted to smaller infractions including fabricating his résumé but denies many of the other allegations, and has meanwhile announced a bid for re-election.
