International
Trump, portrayed by his former lawyer: Fixation for silencing porn actress and reluctant to pay
The testimony of Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, during this Monday’s session in the criminal trial faced by the former president in New York portrayed him as someone with such a fixation for silencing the ‘affair’ with porn actress Stormy Daniels as a will to try to dodge payments.
Emails, invoices and even a recording of an audio of Trump himself were provided today by the Prosecutor’s Office during Cohen’s statement, which assured that the former president, accused of forging accounting documents to silence Daniels and thus protect his 2016 campaign, prioritized his political career over his marriage.
“I want it to be hidden until the elections are passed (2016). If I win, it will have no relevance because I will already be president; if I lose, I won’t even care,” Cohen paraphrased Trump to add that Trump’s obsession with silencing the adult film performer “was for the campaign, not for Melania (his wife).”
Melania – who has not accompanied the former president on any day of this trial – and Trump met in 1998, when he was 52 years old and she was 28, and the couple arrived at the altar in 2005, just a year before the alleged slip with Daniels; an adventure that, if proven, would have happened when she was pregnant.
Despite Cohen’s quiet face, these harsh statements provoked some of Trump’s most agitated-headed denial movements today. Meanwhile, a hundred journalists and ordinary citizens scrutinized their gestures with maximum expectation from the court or a surrounding room to follow the process.
Cohen, sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for illicit financing of the Republican presidential campaign two years earlier, defined as “catastrophic” the possibility that the alleged sexual relationship between him and Daniels would come to light.
“Women are going to hate me… Men may think it’s cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign,” the former head of the U.S. Executive allegedly said according to Cohen’s account.
Trump agreed to seal an agreement in 2016 with Daniels’ former lawyer, Keith Davidson, to send the story to limbo for $130,000, but the transfer was postponed again and again, and the porn actress’s legal team began to become impatient to the point of threating with publishing the story in the Daily Mail media, according to the lawyer, who is now disabled.
He then detailed multiple meetings with Allen Weisselberg, former financial director of the Trump Organization, to solve the problem.
Among the proposals that were considered were, according to Cohen, creating an event of the institution whose entries were aimed at paying for it or presenting it as a “business opportunity” to the related tabloid The National Enquirer to buy the story and apply the ‘catch and kill’ technique, for which history would never see the light.
The former president, who even boasted with his condition of “billionaire”, avoided the payment and this then fell to Cohen, according to his version, who agreed to advance the money and then receive it through a screen company and under the false concept of legal services provided to the Trump Organization.
Finally, the premium that was paid to advance the money was “disappointing” for Cohen, who said that he was very angry with this undisclosed amount and that he let Weisselberg know: “I expressed how angry he was in a very clear language (…) I was even surprised how irritated I was,” he said as Trump sketched a half-smile.
Cohen also corroborated today the scheme set out by the Prosecutor’s Office in which, as a former lawyer for the former president, he allegedly worked hand in hand with the former editor of The National Enquirer, David Pecker, to acquire the exclusive rights of other extramarital Trump scandals and exercise ‘catch and kill’, as well as favoring the publication of positive news towards the future Republican candidate, along with other negative news about his political rivals.
International
Mexico City Mayor Invites U2 to Perform at Iconic Zócalo Plaza
Irish rock band U2, which spent Tuesday and Wednesday filming a new music video for its song Street of Dreams in the Historic Center of Mexico City, received an invitation to perform at the capital’s iconic Zócalo square from Mayor Clara Brugada.
Brugada shared the invitation through social media posts accompanied by photos and a video showing her meeting with the band members.
“This is an invitation for you to perform in our wonderful public square, the Zócalo. You are welcome here, and we would love to have you,” Brugada said in the video while handing a document to Bono, the band’s lead singer.
Bono responded by saying that the group would like “to begin its new tour in Mexico City.”
Referencing one of the band’s most famous songs, In the Name of Love, Brugada said she was greeting Bono along with The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr..
“Welcoming U2 to our capital means celebrating music, connection and the emotion that can be felt in every corner of this city,” Brugada wrote in one of her messages. “We are a city open to the world, vibrant and full of stories shared from the stage to the streets.”
She also described the Zócalo as “the country’s most important public square” and a cultural landmark for Latin America.
Over the years, the Zócalo has hosted massive concerts by internationally renowned artists and bands including Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, Manu Chao, Café Tacvba, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Tigres del Norte, La Maldita Vecindad, Silvio Rodríguez, Joan Manuel Serrat, Rosalía and Shakira, drawing hundreds of thousands of fans.
International
Marco Rubio Urges China to Help Restrain Iran Amid Gulf Tensions
Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington hopes to persuade China to take a more active role in stopping Iran from escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf, arguing that the crisis directly threatens Asian commercial interests.
“It is in China’s interest to resolve this situation. We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to stop what it is doing now and trying to do in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said during an interview with journalist Sean Hannity on Fox News while traveling aboard Air Force One.
The top U.S. diplomat said the conflict and concerns over the possible disruption of the Strait of Hormuz have already affected China’s interests.
Rubio noted that “a Chinese cargo ship was struck over the weekend,” referring to the exchange of attacks reported last Friday between Iran and the United States.
The remarks come amid growing international concern over rising tensions in the region and the potential impact on global trade routes and energy supplies.
International
Trump floats Vance-Rubio potential Republican ticket for 2028 election
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubiocould potentially form a Republican presidential ticket for the 2028 elections.
Speaking during a dinner with law enforcement officials as part of National Police Week, Trump publicly praised both officials and said they could make “an ideal team” for the next presidential race.
“Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” Trump asked attendees before adding that the pair “sound like a good combination.”
The president highlighted his vice president’s performance in office, stating that their current partnership has been highly effective. “JD is perfect, that has been a perfect formula,” Trump told reporters later.
He further suggested that a Vance-Rubio pairing could represent a strong presidential and vice-presidential ticket, although he stopped short of offering any formal endorsement.
“I think it sounds like a presidential candidate and a vice-presidential candidate,” he said, while clarifying that his remarks should not be interpreted as an official backing of any future campaign.
So far, neither Vance nor Rubio has publicly confirmed any intention to run in the 2028 presidential election.
Rubio previously sought the Republican nomination in 2016 but withdrew after losing the primary race to Trump. Later, in a December 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, he said he would be among the first to support Vance if he decided to run for the White House.
Vance, meanwhile, has recently dismissed speculation of any political rivalry with Rubio amid growing discussion about potential future GOP leadership.
Mexico City Mayor Invites U2 to Perform at Iconic Zócalo Plaza
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International1 day agoTrump floats Vance-Rubio potential Republican ticket for 2028 election
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Central America1 day agoPanama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory
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International30 minutes agoMarco Rubio Urges China to Help Restrain Iran Amid Gulf Tensions
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International27 minutes agoMexico City Mayor Invites U2 to Perform at Iconic Zócalo Plaza