Trump's tactics are in danger
Donald Trump's most important goal in his various criminal proceedings has so far been to delay them, if possible until after the presidential election in November. Then, the theory goes, he could use his power as a newly elected president to either stop or otherwise bury the troublesome proceedings. At one point, it looked as if Trump might be successful with this delaying tactic. But perhaps he rejoiced too soon.
The decision by a Washington, DC, appeals court not to grant Trump presidential immunity from prosecution in his January 6 trial makes it more likely that he could be convicted before the election. The judges have given Trump another time-consuming appeal loop. The only option left is to go directly and quickly to the Supreme Court as the last resort. Nobody can predict how the Supreme Court will decide. But if the nine judges reject Trump with his rather far-fetched immunity petition, which there is some evidence for, the trial against him could start soon in Washington. A trial beginning in April or May seems to be possible again.
The Washington criminal case is particularly explosive for Trump: it essentially concerns his attempts to torpedo the 2020 election using allegedly illegal methods. Most legal experts agree that the weight of evidence against Trump here is overwhelming. In addition, it is quite unlikely that Trump will meet a sympathetic jury at his trial in the US capital. Here the Democrats won the 2020 election with 92 percent of the vote, Trump got five percent.
You can read more background information here: Nobody is above the law - not even Donald Trump
Are 50 Hamas hostages already dead?
Sad news comes from Israel. According to military experts there, at least 31 of the remaining 136 Hamas hostages are believed to be dead. The number could possibly be even higher, around 50. The news of the hostages' deaths is likely to increase pressure on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to significantly reduce the fighting in Gaza and agree to a hostage deal. The relatives of the hostages in particular want to finally see action from Netanyahu. Many accuse him of the continued attacks on supposed Gaza positions endangering the lives of the hostages.
It remains to be seen whether a barter trade will take place soon. The haggling over a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in return for the release of the remaining hostages is entering a new round. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is once again acting as a mediator. He is stopping in Israel today on his Middle East trip to talk about the crisis. The terrorist organization Hamas is now said to have responded to the offer of a possible deal brokered by Qatar. Blinken said during a stopover in Qatar that a solution was possible, but that further negotiations would still have to be carried out. Representatives of Qatar were somewhat more optimistic and spoke of a positive development.
You can read more about the background here: 31 hostages in Gaza dead according to Israeli military
Germany, the new Italy
Another strike: From today on, Lufthansa passengers will once again have to have good nerves. This time, the Ver.di union has called on the airline's ground staff to stop working for 27 hours. The group assumes that it will only be able to adhere to ten to 20 percent of the original flight plan. In Germany, conditions prevail, at least in the sense that they used to only exist in Italy: strike follows strike, follows strike, follows strike.
The constant strikes can be a real disadvantage for the location. It's definitely bad for the German image. Take air traffic, for example: Many international airline passengers have long considered Lufthansa to be a problem airline that they should avoid if they want to get themselves and their luggage reliably from A to B. One wonders who is really responsible for the eternal strike: the employees and trade unionists who want to use their strike power and squeeze out 12.5 percent more wages this time. Or is it the management that is always trying to save costs with new tricks and tricks in order to please the big investors who approve their own contracts?
Either way, it is to be hoped that this tariff dispute will soon come to an end. At least in time for the next holidays. In principle, you can often no longer take the train in Germany.
You can read more about this here: Lufthansa warns: Don't come to the airport on Wednesday
Read the current SPIEGEL editorial here
Take off your rose-colored glasses!
“Berlin should work,” Kai Wegner once demanded. But the city works better, especially for his CDU. He is converting the city into a family business. This is getting more and more embarrassing.
Click here for the current daily quiz
The starting question today: What is the minimum age in Germany for the right to vote in the 2024 elections to the European Parliament?
Loser of the day...
...is the American internet commentator Tucker Carlson. Exactly, this is the man who had to leave his old channel Fox News after viewers there were lied to a little too much about alleged fraud in the 2020 US presidential election. Carlson has now spent the past few days in Moscow interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin. You could say that he wasn't in the best company, but he was still in the right company.
Carlson now has a show on the social media channel "X", formerly Twitter, to stay relevant. There he has been relativizing and trivializing the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine for months. This is probably exactly why he received the audience in the Kremlin. Other Western journalists who also regularly seek interviews with Putin say they only receive rejections, such as CNN presenter Christiane Amanpour and BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg. The Kremlin ruler is clearly not keen on overly critical questions.
Carlson and his supporters from the Trump camp still celebrate the interview as a journalistic masterpiece and act as if other Western journalists deliberately did not want to interview Putin, which is obviously not true. The best thing would be if the Russians kept Carlson there - as a real friend of Russia, so to speak. But they probably won't do us that favor.
The latest reports from the night
Geert Wilders receives rejection in coalition negotiations:
After his election triumph, the Dutch right-wing populist Geert Wilders wanted to forge an alliance with three other right-wing parties, but one has now collapsed the negotiations. Wilders is disappointed.
Taylor Swift threatens student with lawsuit over flight data tracker:
For years, a young American has been collecting public flight information from celebrities - and publishing it on social media. Taylor Swift's lawyers are now taking action. They fear stalking.
DFB distances itself from criticism of female referees:
The club reacted to a 4-0 defeat by 1. FC Nürnberg with harsh criticism of the performance of female referees and called for the introduction of male referees. The DFB calls the criticism “very strange.”
I would particularly like to recommend this text to you today:
What bothers me about the debate about willingness to perform:
Longer. Harder. More. Representatives from top politics and business often agree at the moment: citizens should do more. But would more working hours really catapult the gross domestic product? We know from studies »that longer working hours do not necessarily make you more productive. On the contrary, in countries where working hours are reduced, people often work more productively afterwards," writes Sara Weber in her column. Their thesis: Politicians and companies could do something themselves - for example, actively tackle the daycare crisis or abolish spouse splitting so that care work could be shared more fairly. Sara analyzes that the stress level at work should not be forgotten either. And of course not good pay either. Sara's conclusion: "I am convinced that what we need is not more willingness to perform on the part of workers, but a new understanding of performance: one that not only looks at what people do for the economy, but also for society."
I wish you a good start to the day.
Yours, Roland Nelles, US correspondent