5 things to know for May 13: Trump Trial, Gaza, Ukraine, Severe weather, Bob Menendez

By CNN Newsource

Published May 13, 2024 4:30 AM

By Andrew Torgan, CNN

(CNN) — Thousands across British Columbia, Canada, were urged to evacuate from blazing wildfires over the weekend. The resulting smoke could last for the next two days — leading to poor air quality and reduced visibility in US states such as Minnesota.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and on With Your Day.

1. Trump Trial

Donald Trump’s former lawyer is expected to take the stand today as a key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s case against the former president. Michael Cohen will testify about his role in negotiating the $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, as well as how he was reimbursed through retainer payments in 2017. Those allegations are at the heart of the charges against Trump. With Cohen’s testimony, however, comes all of the baggage that accompanies the former president’s longtime fixer. Cohen himself was federally charged with campaign finance violations, tax crimes and lying to Congress in previous testimony. He’s changed his story as he turned from loyal Trump defender to chief antagonist after pleading guilty to federal charges in 2018.

2. Gaza

Top US officials offered stark warnings Sunday against an Israeli invasion of Rafah, predicting that a major ground offensive in the southern Gaza city would lead to widespread civilian casualties, spark a Hamas insurgency and create a power vacuum the terror group would later seek to fill. The alarm bells from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan came after President Joe Biden delivered an ultimatum last week that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would cause him to pause certain weapons transfers. Blinken and Sullivan both said Biden made the determination because he didn’t want American weapons used in what he estimated would be a bloody, ill-advised operation. At least 360,000 people have fled Rafah ahead of Israel’s planned invasion, the UN says.

3. Ukraine

The situation in the northern Kharkiv region of Ukraine has “significantly worsened,” according to Ukraine’s top general, after Russia claimed to have captured additional villages — expanding its surprise cross-border offensive. The precise goal of Russia’s new push, which began late last week, is unclear. It may be to create a buffer zone designed to reduce Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, or possibly even a renewed assault on the city of Kharkiv, less than 20 miles to the south. According to information from the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia now claims control over nine Ukrainian border villages northeast of Kharkiv.

4. Severe weather

Flash flooding could strike across the US South this week as yet another round of severe storms drench already saturated ground — including parts of Texas, where hundreds of people were rescued during torrential downpours last week. More than 13 million people are under flood watches today into Tuesday in an expanse stretching from Central Texas to the Florida Panhandle, including rain-weary areas just north of Houston. The South has been battered by several rounds of rain in recent days, including severe storms that moved through Texas and into Louisiana on Sunday, bringing some tennis ball-sized hail and prompting the National Weather Service to issue tornado watches and flash flood warnings.

5. Bob Menendez

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey faces his second, distinct bribery and corruption trial in seven years — with jury selection expected to start today. The trial involves gold bars, envelopes of cash, a Mercedes and more that, prosecutors say, Menendez received in exchange for granting favors for people from Egypt and Qatar and trying to influence a New Jersey prosecution. Menendez, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be tried alongside two New Jersey businessmen who are co-defendants. His wife, Nadine, also has been charged but will be tried separately. All four have pleaded not guilty.

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Auroras light the sky during rare solar storm
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IN MEMORIAM

Roger Corman, a colorful producer and director whose low-budget movies — including the original “Little Shop of Horrors” — helped establish major Hollywood talents like Jack Nicholson and directors James Cameron and Martin Scorsese, has died. He was 98. Dubbed the King of the B Movies, Corman’s brand of unabashed exploitation fare flourished in the 1950s and ‘60s, including a series of films adapting the works of Edgar Allan Poe, most of them starring Vincent Price.

TODAY’S NUMBER

67
That’s how many minutes it took Alejandro Tabilo to achieve what other tennis players have unsuccessfully tried to do on countless occasions — beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The Chilean defeated the top seed 6-2 6-3 in the third round of the Italian Open on Sunday in what was the first meeting between the pair.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“I think what you’re gonna find, and especially in Washington, [is] people pride themselves in being awful.”
— Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pushing back on his critics during remarks at a judicial conference in Alabama and lamenting what he described as the “nastiness” and “lies” directed at him and calling Washington a “hideous place.”

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY …

Why are so many cicadas emerging? An expert explains
Saad Bhamla, assistant professor at Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, explains why billions of cicadas are expected to emerge in a rare double brood, their loud noise, and why more urine will be in the air.

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