First Witnesses Take Stand In Trump’s NY Trial; Columbia Cancels In-person Classes Amid Protests

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign finance trial in New York resumed on April 22, with opening statements from both sides and the first witnesses taking the stand. Trump called on would-be demonstrators to “go out and peacefully protest” the case. Before heading into the courtroom, the former president said,”This is election interference, everybody knows it.” Prosecutors alleged that then-candidate Trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to influence the 2016 election. The defense argued that Trump is innocent and the case should never have been brought. Columbia University canceled in-person classes and new demonstrations broke out on other U.S. college campuses as tensions continue to grow over the Israel-Hamas War. On Sunday, a rabbi at Columbia sent a WhatsApp message to more than 200 Jewish students, urging them to leave the New York City campus if they did not feel safe. Following arrests last week at Columbia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up encampments on other campuses around the country. The Supreme Court is considering whether banning homeless people from sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. The case is considered the most significant to come before the high court in decades on homelessness, which has reached record levels in the United States.