CONTEMPTABLE TRUMP

Trump special counsel Jack Smith files protective order over ex-president's threatening Truth Social post saying 'If you go after me, I'm coming after you', over fears of witness intimidation

Donald Trump on Thursday told the magistrate in Washington DC that he understood he could not make any threats to those involved in his case

On Friday, the 77-year-old wrote on his social media network: 'IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!' - an apparent threat to those who may cooperate

Hours later, Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the prosecution, sought a protective order, citing Trump's post as evidence he may threaten witnesses

By HARRIET ALEXANDER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

 5 August 2023

The special counsel overseeing a Donald Trump indictment has sought an emergency protective order just hours after the ex-president made a social media post viewed as threatening to witnesses.

Jack Smith entered Trump's post - saying 'IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU' - into evidence on Friday night, shortly after it was posted.

Smith says the post shows Trump cannot be trusted to keep confidential information disclosed to defendants ahead of a criminal trial confidential.

Trump - who's favorite to win the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination - also faces allegations of trying to intimidate witnesses being lined-up to testify against him. Defendants are provided with discovery - the evidence against them - but cannot publicize it.

Smith warned the post indicated Trump was determined to attack his critics by any means necessary.

'If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details - or, for example, grand jury transcripts - obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case,' Smith wrote.

Donald Trump is pictured on Friday speaking in Montgomery, Alabama. Shortly before the event he posted a threat on social media against those involved in the case

Trump had dinner with Melania, Fox's Maria Bartiromo after court date

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On Thursday, the judge in his case - which deals with Trump's efforts to overturn the election - reminded Trump it is a crime to intimidate a juror, bribe anyone or obstruct the administration of justice.

Asked if he understood the standard disclaimer, Trump responded that he did.

Yet on Friday, Trump posted a threat against those involved in the case, leading Smith to fear that Trump could use the discovery material against those involved.

Smith said the proposed protective order was not 'overly restrictive,' noting that it would still enable Trump to use discovery materials in his defense.

'All the proposed order seeks to prevent is the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public,' Smith wrote.

'Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

'And in recent days, regarding this case, the defendant has issued multiple posts - either specifically or by implication - including the following, which the defendant posted just hours ago.'

Smith then included a screenshot of the Truth Social post.

A Trump spokesperson said the post was 'political speech' and dismissed claims that it was threatening.

'The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch Brothers and the Club for No Growth,' they said.

Jack Smith, the special counsel, is pictured on August 1 explaining the decision to charge Trump on four counts relating to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election

Trump: Deranged Jack Smith. Doesn’t he look deranged? You’ve seen the pictures with the purple robe. He’s a deranged human being. This guy is a lost soul. Bad guy. He’s a deranged sick person pic.twitter.com/06mF1tJ7PE— Acyn (@Acyn) August 5, 2023

Smith has already requested a protective order in his other case, which deals with Trump's mishandling of classified documents.

Lawyers for Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nauta did not oppose the requested protective order, according to that filing: they are yet to respond to Smith's latest request.

After making his Truth Social threat, Trump on Friday night was on stage at a rally in Montgomery, Alabama, where he mocked Smith.

'Deranged Jack Smith. Doesn't he look deranged?' Trump asked the crowd.

'You've seen the pictures with the purple robe. He's a deranged human being.

'Somebody said you should treat him nicer, maybe he'd be nice. But let me tell you.

'This guy is a lost soul. Bad guy. He's a deranged sick person.'

DOJ asks judge to issue protective order after Trump posts apparent threat of revenge

August 5, 2023
The Associated Press


Former President Donald Trump gestures after speaking at a fundraiser event for the Alabama GOP on Friday.Butch Dill/AP

The Justice Department on Friday asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order in the case a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order — which is different from a so-called "gag order" — would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Such protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it's "particularly important in this case" because Trump has posted on social media about "witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him."

Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Trump's Truth Social platform from earlier Friday in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, "If you go after me, I'm coming after you!"

Prosecutors said they are ready to hand over a "substantial" amount of evidence — "much of which includes sensitive and confidential information" — to Trump's legal team.

They told the judge that if Trump were to begin posting about grand jury transcripts or other evidence provided by the Justice Department, it could have a "harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case."
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The latest Trump indictment lists 6 unnamed co-conspirators. Here's what we know

Prosecutors' proposed protective order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses' lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on "sensitive materials," which would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants.

A Trump spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the former president's post "is the definition of political speech," and was made in response to "dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs."

The indictment unsealed this week accuses Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden as his legal challenges floundered in court.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his Republican allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a "bedrock function of the U.S. government," repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

5 things to know about the latest charges against Donald Trump

Trump faces charges including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress' certification of Biden's electoral victory.

It's the third criminal case brought this year against the the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it's the first case to try to hold Trump responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

After his court appearance on Thursday before a magistrate judge, Trump characterized the case as a "persecution" designed to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. His legal team has described it as an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

Smith has said prosecutors will seek a "speedy trial" against Trump in the election case. Judge Chutkan has ordered the government to file a brief by Thursday proposing a trial date. The first court hearing in front of Chutkan is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Trump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in the New York case stemming from hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in the federal case in Florida stemming from classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

'I am coming for you', Trump tweets after Judge's warning on arraignment

ByVedanth Shinde

Aug 05, 2023 

Former President Trump released on terms, warned not to break them; next court hearing scheduled for Aug. 28. Trump slams back with a tweet lamenting threat.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya has permitted the former president to withdraw his second arraignment in court on Thursday with no limitations to his travel or financial security.

Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya warned Trump before he left court. Here's what stood out(REUTERS)

Trump immediately dropped a fiery tweet, making pointed and threatening remarks toward prosecutors, judges, and juries “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”

Donald J. Trump(Twitter)

On Thursday, Upadhyaya let the former president leave his second arraignment in federal court without imposing any travel restrictions or a cash bond on him. But, she also reminded him of the terms of his release and warned him not to break them.

She also scheduled the next court hearing in the case for Aug. 28.

The terms of his release were similar to those set by a judge in Miami federal court.

Trump argued ‘not guilty’ to the allegations connected with claims of mishandling of classified documents recovered from his Florida resort.

The unprecedented arraignment of former President Donald J. Trump on charges linked with his apparent endeavors to have tampered with the 2020 official elections closed with a couple of customary cautions from the judge who led the session.

Refrain from conversing about the case with any witnesses

One who abstains from compelling witnesses receives additional consideration. The 45th US president was informed that he is denied from discussing the ongoing process of the case with any witnesses.

Upadhyaya mentions, Trump might actually speak with a witness about the situation within the sight of his lawyer.

Upadhyaya also reminds former President Trump that it is an offense to threaten a witness or endeavor to fight back against any individual who could provide testimony.

IT IS A CRIME TO TRY TO INFLUENCE A JUROR OR TO THREATEN OR ATTEMPT TO BRIBE A WITNESS OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO MAY HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CASE, OR TO RETALIATE AGAINST ANYONE FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CASE TO THE PROSECUTION, OR TO OTHERWISE OBSTRUCT THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

The board didn't find the witness; The New York Times revealed that witness Cassidy Hutchinson, Trump's helper, had gotten the contact, provoking the Jan. 6 board to climb the meeting highlighting her public declaration.

Why Jan. 6? Possible witness tampering to DOJ?

The Jan. 6 committee said it referred a possible case of witness tampering to the Justice Department. The committee’s vice chair, Liz Cheney, said a former Trump White House aide received a call from someone who tried to influence her testimony.

The witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, told the committee, “(A person) let me know you have your deposition tomorrow. He wants me to let you know that he’s thinking about you. He knows you’re loyal, and you’re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition.”

The committee did not name the caller, but The New York Times reported that it was former President Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

The committee moved up Hutchinson’s public hearing after learning about the call.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump pleads not guilty to charges he tried to overturn election loss

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ‘unsubstantiated’ Donald Trump’s election fraud theories in Iowa

As Trump hung over the table with his hands folded, The judge let Trump know that the main state of delivery is that he commits no offenses. In failing to do so, the former President could be revoked.

While Trump might actually confront his fourth indictment in Georgia with links to theinvestigation of electoral obstruction in the 2020 presidential race, criminal allegations in Georgia are probably not going to abuse the release conditions.

The warning given by the judge is likely to apply to criminal charges carried out after the trial, so an indictment in the state of Georgia wouldn't mean Trump neglected to consent to his terms of release.

Trump need not appear in federal court for his next hearing, which is to take place in Washington on August 28th. Upadhyaya told Trump his appearance would be waived at the next hearing if he was represented by his lawyer.

Texas abortion ban temporarily lifted for medical emergencies

Published

Image caption,

"I cried for joy when I heard the news," says lead plaintiff Amanda Zurawski

Women in Texas with serious pregnancy complications will be exempted from the southern US state's abortion ban, a judge has ruled.

Judge Jessica Mangrum said there was a lack of clarity in the legislation, siding with women and doctors who had sued Texas over the ban in March.

Doctors would not be prosecuted when exercising their "good faith judgement" for provision of abortions, she added.

The temporary injunction will be in force until the lawsuit is complete.

Friday's ruling is expected to be appealed by the state.

The Texas law that bans all abortions except in dire medical circumstances is seen as one of the strictest in the US.

Breaking the ban can carry a $100,000 (£78,000) fine and up to life in prison.

The legislation was introduced in 2022 - shortly after the Supreme Court overturned its 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision, meaning that millions of women across the country lost the constitutional right to abortion.

This case is the first brought on behalf of women who have been denied abortions since then.

• Top US court ends constitutional right to abortion

In her ruling in the city of Austin, Judge Mangrum wrote that women were "delayed or denied access to abortion care because of the widespread uncertainty regarding physicians' level of discretion under the medical exception to Texas's abortion bans".

She also said that doctors must be allowed to determine what constituted medical emergencies that would risk a woman's health or even life.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is suing Texas, hailed the ruling.

"Today's ruling alleviates months of confusion around what conditions qualify as medical emergencies under Texas' abortion bans, giving doctors permission to use their own medical judgment in determining when abortion care is needed," the group said.

Lead plaintiff Amanda Zurawski said that "for the first time in a long time, I cried for joy when I heard the news".

Ms Zurawski says her life was put at risk last year when she was denied an abortion.

• She was denied an abortion - then she almost died

The lawsuit filed last March against Texas presses for a binding interpretation of the medical emergencies in the current law.

The Texas attorney general's office argues that the exceptions being pushed by the plaintiffs would effectively allow ways of bypassing the ban.

"It would, for example, permit abortions for pregnant females with medical conditions ranging from a headache to feelings of depression," office lawyers say.

The temporary injunction is intended to last until the lawsuit is decided. But under Texas law, a ruling is automatically stayed as soon as it is appealed.

Fall abortion battle propels huge early voter turnout for an Ohio special election next week

A sign urging voters to vote “no” on Issue 1 in Ohio’s Aug. 8 special election stands planted in the grass on the outskirts of a parking lot in front of the Franklin County Board of Elections in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. Ohioans are voting on whether to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution – a decision that could impact another upcoming November vote on abortion rights in the state. 

Ohio residents line up to vote early in-person on Issue 1 in front of the Franklin County Board of Elections in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. Ohioans are voting on whether to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution – a decision that could impact another upcoming November vote on abortion rights in the state.

 (AP Photo/Samantha Hendrickson)

BY SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON
 August 4, 2023S

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A hastily called summer special election over a Republican-pushed measure that would make it harder for Ohio voters to pass future constitutional amendments, including one on the November ballot to guarantee abortion rights, has driven off-the-charts early turnout before Tuesday’s final day of voting.

Early turnout has been so heavy that some election offices are straining to manage the load and trying to recruit additional poll workers.

“This is gubernatorial-level turnout,” said Regine Johnson, deputy director of the board of elections in Stark County. As of Thursday, the board was about 100 volunteers short of the number it targeted as the minimum to be fully staffed

The early signs of a highly motivated electorate follows robust turnout in a handful of other states where voters have affirmed abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a little over a year ago.

AP Election Brief | What to expect in Ohio’s special election

Issue 1, the question before Ohio voters on Tuesday, was placed on the ballot this spring by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The measure does not specifically deal with abortion. Instead, it would erect several hurdles for voters to pass amendments to the state constitution, including raising the threshold to pass an amendment from a simple majority to 60%.

But if Issue 1 passes, it could be fatal to an amendment seeking to ensure the constitutional right to abortion that already is on the November ballot. In the 2022 midterm elections, AP VoteCast found that 59% of Ohio voters said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, just shy of that 60% mark.

Calling a special election in the middle of summer vacation season was seen by some as a cynical move because Republicans had just eliminated August elections with legislation signed into law only recently — specifically because those elections have historically generated such low turnout.

Not this time.

As of Wednesday, more than 533,000 people had voted by mail or in-person since early voting began July 11, according to data collected by The Associated Press. That’s nearly double the final early voting figures for Ohio’s two previous midterm primary elections, which included races for governor and Congress. In the May 2022 primary, for example, 288,700 people voted early, according to AP data.

It’s also more than three times the roughly 142,000 early ballots cast by mail or in-person during last year’s August elections, although drawing a comparison is tricky. August special elections traditionally have been held in even-numbered years and are intended for local races and issues. The last statewide question on an August ballot in Ohio was in 1926.

Voters have been waiting in long lines and sometimes for over an hour at many early polling places, even as heat waves have swept the Midwest and the rest of the country this summer. Tom Simmons of Clintonville, just north of the capital, Columbus, stood in line on a sunny Thursday morning and said he planned on voting in favor of Issue 1.

“I don’t think purely partisan politics should change amendments,” Simmons said.

In his view, a 60% threshold would encourage more bipartisanship on hot-button topics.

The polarizing battle over abortion in the state, with the constitutional amendment seeking to protect reproductive rights before voters in the fall, has driven the narrative for the campaigns supporting and opposing Issue 1. Both sides have invested heavily in get-out-the-vote strategies.

Voters do not register by political party in Ohio, but data from L2, a political firm that tracks early in-person and mail voting, indicates that Democratic-leaning voters are turning out in higher numbers than Republican-leaning ones.

As of Tuesday, voters identified by L2 as Democrats had cast more than 52% of ballots, compared with 40% by voters identified as Republicans. Independents cast the remaining ballots, according to the firm, which models party affiliation using the partisan primary a voter most recently participated in.

So far, women are turning out in higher numbers than men, according to L2.

Sheila Harrell, from the Columbus suburb of Westerville, voted against Issue 1 on Thursday — a decision heavily influenced by the upcoming November vote on abortion rights.

“As a woman, you should have that right,” Harrell said, adding that parents also should be able to seek abortion care for their children in Ohio instead needing to travel for it. She recalled a case that generated nationwide attention last year, when a 10-year-old girl had to travel to Indiana for an abortion after being raped.

Sammi Cain of nearby Worthington also was voting early Thursday and said she planned to cast a “no” ballot. She does not see a need to change the state constitution and sees the measure as a way for Ohio’s political leaders to stifle voters’ voices.

Cain, a transgender woman and a veteran, believes her “no” vote is a way to make sure everyone, including people in the LGBTQ+ community, have equal rights.

“From my perspective, it looks like Republicans are just trying to take away the essential voting rights from literally the American people and they’re going to try to consolidate as much power as they can, so I’m basically just trying to stop that,” Cain said. “They’re not just going to stop at abortion rights.”

The voter motivation seen so far in Ohio is similar to what Kansas experienced a year ago, when it was the first state where voters weighed in on abortion rights since the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe.

In that August election, voters in the Republican-leaning state affirmed abortion rights decisively. Voters rejected, by 59%, a proposed amendment to the state constitution to declare that it does not grant a right to abortion, which would have allowed lawmakers to greatly restrict or ban it.

More than 900,000 people voted in that primary election, nearly twice the number that turned out for a 2018 August primary. An aggressive grassroots campaign got Democratic and unaffiliated voters to the polls, quashing the usually Republican-heavy voting population but also gaining some support from GOP registered voters.

Elections officials across Ohio have been feeling the pressure of such a high-stakes election, especially after the Legislature abruptly reversed itself and called for the special election. In a tight 90-day time frame during what is usually a break period, county election boards have scrambled to train poll workers and find available polling locations.

Despite the heavy turnout and short window to prepare, several county officials said they feel ready for the election thanks to early planning.

In the first week of early voting, Franklin County’s early polling place processed more than 1,500 voters a day. Since then, the number has more than doubled, said Antone White, director of the county’s Board of Elections.

He said that number is likely to remain steady until Tuesday because the mail-in ballot deadline passed earlier this week. He thinks the final overall turnout may even surpass that of last November’s midterm election.

“The scale has far exceeded our expectations,” he said.

Associated Press writers Chad Day in Washington, Christine Fernando in Chicago and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and researcher Ryan Dubicki in New York contributed to this report.
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Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Pope presides over solemn Way of the Cross prayer as Portugal government weighs in on LGBTQ+ protest

Pope Francis arrives at Lisbon’s Parque Eduardo VII to preside over a ‘Via Crucis’ (Way of the Cross) with young people participating into Sunday’s 37th World Youth Day in the Portuguese capital, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Francis is in Portugal through the weekend to preside over the jamboree that St. John Paul II launched in the 1980s to encourage young Catholics in their faith. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

BY NICOLE WINFIELD, BARRY HATTON AND PIETRO DE CRISTOFARO
 August 4, 2023

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis led an estimated 800,000 people in a meditation on the scourges of violence, poverty and intolerance Friday at World Youth Day, as the Portuguese government weighed in on an incident of intolerance directed at LGBTQ+ pilgrims attending the big Catholic youth festival.

Lisbon’s central Eduardo VII park was packed for Francis’ evening Way of the Cross prayer, one of the most solemn events in the days-long gathering. St. John Paul II launched these festivals of faith in the 1980s to try to inspire the next generation of Catholics, and young people from around the world have flocked to Lisbon in droves for Francis’ first edition since the coronavirus pandemic.

Francis had to quiet them down as the crowd erupted in the traditional World Youth Day chant of “This is the youth of the pope,” when he arrived on stage at sunset. He seemed to want to get right down to the seriousness of the dramatic re-creation of Christ’s crucifixion, urging them to “think of your own suffering, your own miseries, fears, desires.

Saying there was no greater love than dying for others, as Jesus did, he urged them to not be afraid of loving. “Loving is a risk, but a risk worth taking.”

After he spoke, the crowd was led in prayer though a series of meditations that touched on problems facing young people today: violence, addiction, social media pressures, broken families, economic crises, intolerance and alienation.

The prayer took place against the backdrop of an incident of intolerance against LGBTQ+ Catholics attending World Youth Day that took on greater weight Friday when the Socialist government issued a statement demanding that pilgrims respect one another.

According to participants, a group of about 10 people, reciting the Lord’s Prayer in Latin and holding up crucifixes, tried to disrupt a Mass being celebrated in a Lisbon church for members of the LGBTQ+ Catholic community. According to the presiding priest, the Rev. Jose Nunes, the LGBTQ+ group was wary of possible trouble and had tipped off the police, who were keeping watch and led the protesters away after the Mass incident, Nunes told Portuguese radio station TSF.

Police did not immediately respond to an AP request for details of the incident.

In a statement Friday, Portugal’s secretary of state for equality and migrations, Isabel Almeida Rodrigues, called for respect of the human rights of LGBTQ+ people, noting that such principles are enshrined in the Portuguese Constitution.

“Bearing in mind that unfortunately this was not a unique episode in this World Youth Day — which summons all people to a common goal in the fight against hate speech and violence against all people — it is important to remember that people LGBTI+ are among the most stigmatized groups of people and the target of episodes of violence, based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sexual characteristics,” the statement said.

Minority rights and liberal issues have been a political banner of Portugal’s center-left Socialist Party. In power for the past eight years, the government has pushed through laws allowing abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia in this mostly Catholic country.

The incident at the Mass came as Francis has emphasized the inclusive message of the church that he has championed throughout his 10-year papacy. During the World Youth Day opening ceremony on Thursday, he told the crowd that “in the church, there is room for everyone.” He led the crowd of a half-million people in a chant of “todos, todos, todos” or “everyone, everyone, everyone” to make his point.

That message of inclusivity has resonated in particular with LGBTQ+ Catholics, who have long felt ostracized by a church that considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered.” Francis, though, has offered a message of welcome to LGBTQ+ Catholics, starting from his very first World Youth Day in 2013, when he famously said “Who am I to judge,” when asked about a purportedly gay priest.

Dignity USA, a group of LGBTQ+ Catholics, has a delegation in Lisbon and said overall the reception had been positive, with a few moments of tension, including the Mass incident.

“We’ve been able to trade our rainbow pens, our rainbow prayer cards,” member Sam Barnes said Friday. But a transgender participant in the Mass, who identified herself as Victoria, said the liturgical protest was an unfortunate reminder of the problems LGBTQ+ Catholics face.

“It’s important that everyone, independent of their sexuality, can have their faith and their relation with God,” Victoria said, adding that despite such incidents she has felt very accepted in Lisbon.

In another incident captured on social media and broadcast on Portuguese television, two World Youth Day participants told a transgender participant to put away her flag.

The Mass had been organized by the Centro Arcoiris, an offshoot of a much larger Portuguese LGBTQ+ Catholic group called Sopro. They set up a “Rainbow Center” to welcome LGBTQ+ pilgrims to World Youth Day, outside the official organization

In an interview published Friday by the Spanish Catholic magazine Vida Nueva, Francis referred to his frequent meetings with members of the transgender community and his message of welcome.

“The first time a group of transsexuals came to the Vatican and saw me, they left weeping, saying I had given them my hand, a kiss, as if I had done something exceptional,” Francis was quoted as saying. “But they’re children of God!”

The Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit who runs an outreach program for LGBTQ+ Catholics, said he had dined in Lisbon with the Arcoiris group the night before the Mass was disrupted. He said they had been looking forward to the liturgy, which he did not attend.

Recalling that the incident occurred on the same day as Francis’ “todos, todos, todos” comment, Martin tweeted: “LGBTQ people are part of todos.”
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Once nearing extinction, Brazil’s golden monkeys have rebounded from yellow fever, scientists say


A golden lion tamarin sits in a tree in the Atlantic Forest region of Silva Jardim, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Friday, July 8, 2022. There are now more golden lion tamarins bounding among branches of the Brazilian rainforest than any other time since modern conservation efforts to save the species started in the 1970s, a new survey released Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, reveals.

 (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)

A group of golden lion tamarins are seen in a tree during an observation tour at a private partner property of the golden lion tamarin ecological park, in the Atlantic Forest region of Silva Jardim, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday, June 16, 2022. There are now more golden lion tamarins bounding among branches of the Brazilian rainforest than any other time since modern conservation efforts to save the species started in the 1970s, a new survey released Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, reveals. 

(AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)

BY CHRISTINA LARSON
August 1, 2023

There are now more golden lion tamarins bounding between branches in the Brazilian rainforest than at any time since efforts to save the species started in the 1970s, a new survey reveals.

Once on the brink of extinction, with only about 200 animals in the wild, the population has rebounded to around 4,800, according to a study released Tuesday by the Brazilian science and conservation nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association.

“We are celebrating, but always keeping one eye on other threats, because life’s not easy,” said the nonprofit’s president, Luís Paulo Ferraz.

Golden lion tamarins are small monkeys with long tails and copper-colored fur that live in family groups led by a mated pair. Usually, they give birth annually to twins, which all family members help to raise by bringing them food and carrying them on their backs.

The monkeys, which live only in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, are still considered endangered.

The population survey was conducted over roughly a year. Researchers went to specific locations and checked whether monkeys responded to recordings of the tamarins’ long call, which basically means “I’m here. Are you there?” said James Dietz, a biologist and vice president of the U.S.-based nonprofit Save the Golden Lion Tamarin.

The new population figures are notable because the species had experienced a sharp decline from a yellow fever outbreak. In 2019, there were 2,500 monkeys, down from 3,700 in a 2014 survey.

Scientists intervened by vaccinating more than 370 monkeys against yellow fever, using shots adapted from a formula for humans — a fairly novel approach for conservation.

Scientists “cannot pinpoint a single exact cause for the recovery,” but believe several factors may be at play, said Carlos R. Ruiz-Miranda, a State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro biologist who advised on the population study.

Firstly, the yellow fever outbreak has subsided, perhaps due to a combination of the virus’ natural cycle and the vaccination campaign.

The animals may also be benefiting from an increase in forest habitat, said Dietz, who is also a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Biology Institute. Between 2014 and 2022, the amount of connected forest habitat increased 16%, mostly through forests regrown on converted cattle pasture, he said.

Currently about three dozen farmers and ranchers in the Atlantic Forest region participate in such reforestation programs.

“It makes me so happy to see the tamarins playing free on my farm. They don’t only live in protected areas,” said Ayrton Violento, a farmer and entrepreneur in the small city of Silva Jardim. His family’s Fazenda dos Cordeiros has planted native fruit trees and also manages a tree nursery for native Atlantic Forest seedlings to plant on other farms.

“Recently, every year I see more tamarin families, more frequently,” he said.

Ferraz, of the nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association, said that despite the good news, he was still concerned about a renewed risk of trafficking for the illegal pet trade. The problem was rampant in the 1960s, but had almost disappeared in recent decades due to enforcement.

In July, the anti-poaching nonprofit Freeland Brazil reported that Suriname’s forest service had seized seven golden lion tamarins and 29 endangered Lear’s macaws believed to have been trafficked from Brazil for sale in Europe.

“We have seen the resilience of the species, but also know they are still vulnerable,” said Ferraz.
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Follow Christina Larson on Twitter at @larsonchristina
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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This story has been corrected to show that Deitz is vice president, not president, of Save the Golden Lion Tamarin.

Many stars at Women’s World Cup juggle parenthood while playing on the world stage

Australia’s Katrina Gorry, center, plays the ball next to Nigeria’s Ifeoma Onumonu, right, and Christy Ucheibe, left, during the Women’s World Cup Group B soccer match between Australia and Nigeria In Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, July 27, 2023. Nigeria won 3-2. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Jamaica’s Cheyna Matthews shields her eyes as rain intensifies during the Women’s World Cup Group F soccer match between France and Jamaica at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Sophie Ralph)

BY ANNE M. PETERSON
 August 3, 2023

Alex Morgan was speaking to reporters at the Women’s World Cup when she had to excuse herself to Facetime her young daughter before the toddler’s bedtime back home in the United States.

Just another day for a working mom.

Forget about orange slices, players such as Morgan, Katrina Gorry of Australia and Cheyna Matthews of Jamaica are redefining what it means to be a “soccer mom.”

There have been plenty of elite athletes who have also juggled parenthood, but the level of support the mothers are receiving while on the job at the Women’s World Cup is improving.


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Morgan’s daughter, Charlie, has now joined her mother at the World Cup as the United States prepares for a Round of 16 match against Sweden on Sunday in Melbourne, Australia.
Morgan has been reflective about being both a parent and a player at soccer’s biggest international tournament. In 2019, when the United States won its second straight World Cup trophy and fourth overall, now 3-year-old Charlie hadn’t even been born.

Now that the American star has a daughter, she’s had to balance her job with trying to lead the United States to an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup title.

“I have become a little bit more patient with my daughter and in life in general. But I think the biggest thing about it is that I get to bring my daughter with me. On all of these trips, I get to show her what mom does and surround her by just so many strong and confident women,” Morgan said.

There are three moms on the U.S. team: Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Julie Ertz. Other moms at this World Cup include Konya Plummer of Jamaica, Amel Majri of France, Vanina Correa of Argentina and Melanie Leuopolz of Germany.

Morgan, Ertz and Dunn have all become mothers since winning the World Cup in 2019, and all three are benefitting from the battles that prior players fought to make sure that moms — and their kids — were supported while representing the United States abroad.

The U.S. women have enjoyed subsidized child care at tournaments for 25 years, but now, thanks to collective bargaining agreements that were struck last year with U.S. Soccer, the men have it, too. Those agreements guaranteed that both national teams were paid equally and received similar benefits.

“It was important to us and to the women that everything was equal, and we were very transparent about that,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner, who brought his wife and son to the men’s World Cup in Qatar late last year. “We’re going to take advantage of the different benefits that the other team might have had.”

Majri is the mother of a 1-year old daughter, Maryam, who accompanied her to a training camp in April. Her daughter’s presence was supported by French coach Herve Renard.

“There needs to be organized facilities, with a nanny. It won’t affect the team, and psychologically speaking, it’s very important. In order for her to have peace of mind and to perform well, the two need to be associated,” Renard said. “There is progress to be made in terms of assistance. We’re going to manage what they do in the USA. Maybe one day we’ll end up with four or five kids among us, and if things run smoothly, it won’t be an issue.”

In 2020, FIFA adopted rules to protect women who choose to become parents, including mandatory maternity leave of at least 14 weeks, and continued pay at a minimum of two-thirds of their salary. The rules also require clubs to make sure women are reintegrated after childbirth and that they have necessary medical support.

“No female player should ever suffer a disadvantage as a result of becoming pregnant, thus securing greater employment protection for women in football,” FIFA said in announcing the new rules.

While all of the Americans have their kids with them at the World Cup, others choose to leave them at home.

“Being a mom and leaving them at home is hard, but it is obviously a personal decision to be here. They are enjoying it from home, they didn’t ask to come,” said Correa, Argentina’s goalkeeper, and the mother of twins. “They have told me they are proud that I’m here. I know they are with me and it gives me the energy and drive to be here.”

Moms at the World Cup are helping show that parenting and soccer can mix, but some are slow to catch on. A television commentator came under fire for his comments about Gorry, who had IVF treatments and gave birth to her daughter, Harper, in 2021.

“Certainly motherhood has not blunted her competitive instincts, that’s for sure,” the Australian broadcaster said during the Matlidas’ tournament-opener against Ireland.

Ertz gave birth to son, Madden, last year and worked hard to get back in time for the World Cup. It was tough for Ertz because she had not played for the team since the 2021 Olympics because of injuries and her pregnancy.

“I think the truth is, I had no idea what my timeline was going to be where typically, like, obviously, pregnancy changes for your body changes it for so long versus like an injury, which usually has a timeline,” she said.

Madden has a village caring for him at the World Cup, including his dad, Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz — and of course all his `aunts’ on the U.S. team.

“Like anything else in life, you figure it out, and we’re doing it together as a family,” Julie Ertz said. “It’s just a really cool opportunity to be able to share with them.”
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup

Pioneering mothers are breaking down barriers to breastfeeding in Olympic sports

When Clarisse Agbégnénou won her sixth world judo title, confirming the reigning Olympic champion as one of the athletes to watch at next year’s Paris Games, the French star’s smallest but greatest fan was less wild about her mother’s newest gold medal than she was about her breast milk. 

BY JOHN LEICESTER
 August 4, 2023

PARIS (AP) — When Clarisse Agbégnénou won her sixth world judo title, confirming the reigning Olympic champion as one of the athletes to watch at next year’s Paris Games, the French star’s smallest but greatest fan was less wild about her mother’s newest gold medal than she was about her breast milk.

After a peckish day of few feeds — because mum had been busy putting opponents through the wringer — 10-month-old Athéna made amends that night.

“She didn’t let my boobs out of her mouth,” Agbégnénou says. “I was like, ‘Wow, okay.’ I think it was really something for her.”


French judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou gestures during an interview with The Associated-Press in Paris, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Breast-feeding and high-performance sports were long an almost impossible combination for women athletes, faced for decades with the cornelian choice of career or motherhood, because it was so tough to have both. But that’s becoming less true ahead of the first Summer Games where men and women will compete in equal numbers and with pioneering super-mums showing that it’s possible (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Breastfeeding and high-performance sports were long an almost impossible combination for top female athletes, torn for decades between careers or motherhood, because having both was so tough.

But that’s becoming less true ahead of the 2024 Olympics, where women will take another step forward in their long march for equality, competing in equal numbers with men for the first time, and with pioneering mothers like Agbégnénou showing that it is possible to breastfeed and be competitive.

They don’t pretend that late-night feeds, broken sleep, pumping milk and having to eat for two people are easy. But some female athletes are also discovering that juggling their careers with the rigors of motherhood can pay off with powerful emotional well-being.

Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Agbégnénou said she stunned even herself by coming back so quickly from childbirth to win at the worlds in May, with Athéna in tow and expecting to be fed every few hours.


French judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou breast-feeds her baby Athena at an unknown location in France, Oct. 17, 2022. Breast-feeding and high-performance sports were long an almost impossible combination for women athletes, faced for decades with the cornelian choice of career or motherhood, because it was so tough to have both. But that’s becoming less true ahead of the first Summer Games where men and women will compete in equal numbers and with pioneering super-mums showing that it’s possible (Nadia Benabdelouamed via AP)

In training, Agbégnénou would stop for quick feeds when Athéna needed milk, nestling her hungry baby in the folds of her kimono, while other athletes in the judo hall paid them no mind, carrying on with their bouts.

“I was sweating on her, poor baby,” she says. “But she didn’t pay attention. She just wanted to eat.”

Women who have breastfed and carried on competing say that support from coaches and sports administrators is essential. Agbégnénou credits the International Judo Federation for allowing her to take Athéna to competitions. IJF officials sounded out other competitors and coaches about whether the baby was a nuisance for them and were told, “‘No, she was really perfect, we didn’t hear the baby,’” she says.

“It’s amazing,” she says of her peers’ acceptance and support. “They are part of my fight and I am really proud of them.”

As well as Agbégnénou, three other women also asked and were allowed to nurse their babies at IJF World Tour competitions in the past six years, with arrangements made each time that enabled the moms “to care for the child and to not disturb other athletes’ preparation,” says the governing body’s secretary general, Lisa Allan. She says the IJF is now drawing up specific policies for judokas who are pregnant or postpartum because ”more and more athletes are continuing their careers whilst balancing having a family.”

The Paris Olympics’ chief organizer, Tony Estanguet, says they’re also exploring the possibility of providing facilities for nursing athletes at the Games.

“They should have access to their children — for the well-being of the mothers and the children,” he said in an AP interview. “The status of athletes who are young mothers needs to evolve a bit. We need to find solutions to perhaps make it easier for these athletes to bring babies” into the Olympic village where athletes are housed.

For some breastfeeding athletes, being a pioneer is part of the kick.

French judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou gestures during an interview with The Associated-Press in Paris, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Breast-feeding and high-performance sports were long an almost impossible combination for women athletes, faced for decades with the cornelian choice of career or motherhood, because it was so tough to have both. But that’s becoming less true ahead of the first Summer Games where men and women will compete in equal numbers and with pioneering super-mums showing that it’s possible (AP Photo/Michel Euler

Two-time Olympic rowing champion Helen Glover, now aiming for her fourth Summer Games, gave birth to twins at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, breastfed them and then came out of what she’d intended to be retirement to compete at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021. Glover was the first rower to compete for Britain at the Olympics as a mother.

Glover’s eldest, Logan, lost interest in her milk about the time of his first birthday, but twins Kit and Willow kept feeding to 14 months old. She says that mixing her punishing rowing training with long feeds for two babies was “very draining. It was taking every calorie I had.”

“But I could do it because it was my own time and my own choice,” she says.

“Everyone should have the choice,” Glover adds. “Our bodies ... are sometimes very changed through childbirth and pregnancy and breastfeeding. So the answers are never going to be one-size-fits-all. But I think it’s really exciting that these conversations are even being had.”

For some athletes, Milk Stork has also been a help. The U.S.-based transporter ships working moms’ milk when they’re separated from their babies. It says it shipped milk pumped by athletes who competed at the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo and also transported 21 gallons (80 liters) of milk from coaches, trainers and other support staff at the Olympics that year.

The daughter of British archery athlete Naomi Folkard was just 5 1/2-months old and breastfeeding exclusively when her mother traveled to Tokyo for her fifth and final Olympic Games.

Nursing mothers successfully pushed to be able to take babies to those Olympics, held with social distancing and without full crowds because of the coronavirus pandemic. Rather than put her daughter, Emily, through the ordeal of having to live apart from her, in a Tokyo hotel outside of the athletes’ village, Folkard reluctantly left her behind with a large stock of frozen milk. She built that up over months, pumping into the night so Emily wouldn’t go hungry while she was in Japan.

But that created another problem: Because Folkard’s breasts had become so good at making milk, she had to pump regularly at the Games to stop them from becoming painfully swollen. She threw that milk away.

“I was having to get up in the night and pump just because my supply was so much,” she says. “It wasn’t great for performance preparation really. But I did what I had to do to be there.”

And with each drop, progress.

“There’s still a long way to go, but people are talking about it now. Women aren’t retiring to have children. They’re still competing,” Folkard says.

“I feel like things are changing.”
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More AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports