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The Justice Department probes into Donald Trump’s conduct appear to be ramping up, as special counsel Jack Smith approaches key allies of the former president with knowledge of his activities surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

In recent weeks, Smith has subpoenaed both former Vice President Mike Pence and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, two figures with strong visibility into Trump’s actions leading up to and on the day of the deadly riot.

The Justice Department has also sought to pierce the attorney-client privilege connected to Trump’s lawyer in the Mar-a-Lago probe, Evan Corcoran, alleging he may have given legal advice in furtherance of a crime.

Approaching high-level targets is often a late-stage move for prosecutors, a sign the investigative stage of Smith’s Jan. 6 work could be winding down.

Meanwhile, the approach with Corcoran relays that the team will take an aggressive posture with anyone involved in the probe they believe may have committed criminal activity.

“We can draw a few conclusions from it that are fairly apparent. One is that Jack Smith is conducting a very aggressive investigation. Issuing a subpoena to an attorney is itself an aggressive step that requires high levels of supervisory approval of the United States Department of Justice,” said Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor.

“I don’t think a prosecutor subpoenas Mike Pence unless they are far along in speaking to a number of other witnesses.”

The tactics are not without their challenges.

Pence has said he will challenge the subpoena, and it’s up to a federal judge to compel testimony from Corcoran.

Still, it’s a sign of progress in the dual probes, including with the Jan. 6 investigation, which has been perceived as presenting a much more complex case for any possible prosecution of Trump.

The documents case largely relies on showing willful retention of national defense information, something observers see as more straightforward given the lengthy battle to secure the return of classified records from Mar-a-Lago. The warrant to search the property also cited potential obstruction of justice.

Trump’s culpability for Jan. 6, however, is more complex, with possible statutes for prosecution requiring the demonstration of Trump’s intent.

“A lot of people believed that because the Mar-a-Lago case would be an easier case to prove that [Smith would] focus attention there and put the January 6 investigation on the back burner or put that second in line, and that has not been the case,” Mariotti said.

“I think it’s evidence that his investigation — at least to this Jan. 6 piece — is fairly far along.”

Danya Perry, a former federal prosecutor, said the moves also show the Mar-a-Lago probe into Trump has not been sidelined by the discovery of classified documents among the belongings of other former presidents.

“Obviously the special counsel has not decided to hang it up, which I think some people thought [he might] when news came out about a number of other former White House officials having classified documents,” Perry said.

“That side of the ledger, the classified documents side, it does seem to be focused on the potential obstruction issues given that he’s been trying to get testimony out of Corcoran.”

For his part, Pence is planning to roll out a novel legal strategy to sidestep the subpoena, one that hinges on his role on Jan. 6 as the presiding officer of the Senate.

His team is expected to argue that under his former position as president of the Senate, his work technically falls under the legislative branch, and he is therefore protected under the “speech and debate” clause of the Constitution, according to a source familiar with the former vice president’s plans.

Investigators likely want to speak to Pence about a number of meetings and conversations related to whether the then-vice president had the authority to buck his ceremonial duty to certify the election.

Mariotti says asking about more widely attended meetings they may have discussed with prior witnesses allows them to “test the veracity of what he says” before asking about conversations that were exclusive to the vice president and Trump.

“The ordinary course would be to interview all those other people, and then try to pursue Mike Pence with the knowledge that you already have from others,” he said.

But Perry warned that the Pence subpoena is no guarantee that Smith has completed his work talking to other witnesses.

“Jack Smith was probably aware that they’re going to invoke executive privilege. And so realized it would be a slog and so maybe wanted to get the ball rolling,” she said.

“Smith has certainly spoken with other witnesses,” she said, but could have initiated a subpoena sooner rather than later with the understanding that “it would be efficient for him to start a court battle now.” 

Trump and his side have in some ways been just as aggressive in trying to push back against Smith’s investigations or shape the public narrative around them. The former president has routinely complained about Smith’s wife’s donations to Democratic candidates.

Trump’s team has said it will assert executive privilege over any potential testimony by Pence in the case, and it may seek to do the same should Meadows testify.

One former Trump White House official told The Hill that the former president’s team is confident that revelations that President Biden had classified documents at his home and office from his time as vice president will help shield Trump from possible charges in that matter, despite key differences in the Trump and Biden cases.

The former Trump official acknowledged Smith’s probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election will likely hover over the former president until it concludes, and Democrats and even some Republicans backing other candidates are likely to wield it against Trump on the campaign trail. 

But, the official argued, any suggestions that the investigation will end Trump’s candidacy or put him out of politics is just “wishcasting.”

Spokespeople for Trump’s 2024 White House campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Perry said the process is likely to stretch into the campaign season.

“We’re just at the beginning, I think, of a bunch of fights that are going to play out in front of different courts and probably then travel up and down the court system,” she said, noting the potential for challenges from Pence, Trump and Meadows.

“They are going to play out over many, many months, if not longer,” she said.

“It’s not going to be lightning fast. It’s going to be more glacial.”

And the special counsel’s probes are not the only legal headache for Trump.

This week a judge allowed the partial release of a report compiled by a Georgia grand jury tasked with reviewing Trump’s interference in the state following the 2020 election. Top China diplomat mocks US response to China balloon as ‘hysterical’ Four rail-borne risks moving through American communities

Though the jurors determined the report should be released, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis warned that doing so could compromise the proceedings for “multiple” future defendants in a case where charging decisions are “imminent.”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney largely sided with Willis, determining that only the introduction and conclusion of the report should be released, along with one section discussing potential perjury that did not name any witnesses who appeared before the grand jury.

While the report’s three pages were slim on substantive details, they made two conclusions clear: There was no widespread fraud in the state that could have altered Trump’s loss there, and that at least one witness may have lied to the grand jury.

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Politics

‘Shameful’ that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

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'Shameful' that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

It is “shameful” that black boys growing up in London are “far more likely” to die than white boys, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has told Sky News.

The commissioner told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that relations with minority communities “is difficult for us”.

Sir Mark, who came out of retirement to become head of the UK’s largest police force in 2022, said: “We can’t pretend otherwise that we’ve got a history between policing and black communities where policing has got a lot wrong.

“And we get a lot more right today, but we do still make mistakes. That’s not in doubt. I’m being as relentless in that as it can be.”

He said the “vast majority” of the force are “good people”.

However, he added: “But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.”

Sir Mark, who also leads the UK’s counter-terrorism policing, said it is “not right” that black boys growing up in London “are far more likely to be dead by the time they’re 18” than white boys.

“That’s, I think, shameful for the city,” he admitted.

The Met Police chief’s admission comes two years after an official report found the force is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

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Police chase suspected phone thief

Baroness Casey was commissioned in 2021 to look into the Met Police after serving police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

She pinned the primary blame for the Met’s culture on its past leadership and found that stop and search and the use of force against black people was excessive.

At the time, Sir Mark, who had been commissioner for six months when the report was published, said he would not use the labels of institutionally racist, institutionally misogynistic and institutionally homophobic, which Casey insisted the Met deserved.

However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who helped hire Sir Mark – and could fire him – made it clear the commissioner agreed with Baroness Casey’s verdict.

After the report was released, Sir Mark said “institutional” was political language so he was not going to use it, but he accepted “we have racists, misogynists…systematic failings, management failings, cultural failings”.

A few months after the report, Sir Mark launched a two-year £366m plan to overhaul the Met, including increased emphasis on neighbourhood policing to rebuild public trust and plans to recruit 500 more community support officers and an extra 565 people to work with teams investigating domestic violence, sexual offences and child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from 8.30am on Sunday.

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World

Backlash as Air India crash report points to possible human error – here’s what experts think

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Backlash as Air India crash report points to possible human error - here's what experts think

As investigators continue to piece together the full picture, early findings of the Air India crash are pointing towards a critical area of concern — the aircraft’s fuel control switches.

The flight, bound for London Gatwick, crashed just moments after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board the plane and at least 19 on the ground.

According to the preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the two engine fuel control switches on the plane were moved from the “RUN” to “CUTOFF” position.

These switches control fuel flow to the engines and should only be used when the aircraft is on ground, first to start the engines before a flight and later to shut them down at the gate.

They are designed so they’re unlikely to be changed accidentally, pointing to possible human error on the Air India flight.

The findings include the final conversation between the pilots and show there was confusion in the cockpit as well.

When one pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel, he responded to say he did not do so.

Pic: Takagi
Image:
The Air India plane before the crash. Pic: Takagi

Moments later, a Mayday call was made from the cockpit, but the plane could not regain power quickly enough and plummeted to the ground.

Captain Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, an organisation dedicated to aviation safety, told Sky News: “This exchange indicates that the engine shutdowns were uncommanded.

“However, the report does not identify the cause – whether it was crew error, mechanical malfunction, or electronic failure.”

Previous warning of ‘possible fuel switch issue’

“The Boeing 787 uses spring-loaded locking mechanisms on its fuel control switches to prevent accidental movement,” Mr Singh explained.

But a previous bulletin from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “warned that these switches might be installed with the locking feature disengaged,” he said.

This could “make them susceptible to unintended movement due to vibration, contact, or quadrant flex”, he added.

A tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The plane’s tail lodged in a building. Pic: Reuters

Speaking to Sky News, aviation expert Terry Tozner said: “The take-off was normal, the aircraft rotated at the correct speed left the ground and almost immediately, the cut-off switches were selected to off, one then two.

“But nobody has said with any clarity whether or not the latch mechanisms worked okay on this particular aircraft. So we can only assume that they were in normal working order.”

In India, there has been a backlash over the findings, with some saying the report points to pilot error without much information and almost dismisses the possibility of a mechanical or electric failure.

Indian government responds

India’s civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has been quick to respond, saying: “We care for the welfare and the wellbeing of pilots so let’s not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let us wait for the final report.

“I believe we have the most wonderful workforce of pilots and crew in the whole world.”

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India plane crash survivor carries brother’s coffin

Both pilots were experienced, with around 19,000 flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on Boeing 787s.

The report says the aircraft maintenance checks were on schedule and that there are no signs of fuel contamination or a bird strike.

So far, no safety recommendations have been issued to Boeing or General Electric, the engine manufacturers.

Concern over destroyed flight recorder

Mr Singh said “the survivability of the flight recorders also raises concern”.

The plane’s rear flight recorder, designed to withstand impact forces of 3,400 Gs and temperatures of 1,100C for 60 minutes, “was damaged beyond recovery”.

Read more:
Everything you need to know about the crash
Air India’s lone survivor is nothing short of miracle

“The Ram Air Turbine (RAT), which deploys automatically when both engines fail and power drops below a threshold, was observed as deployed in CCTV footage when the aircraft was approximately 60ft above ground level,” Mr Singh said.

“This suggests that the dual engine failure likely occurred before the official timestamp of 08:08:42 UTC, implying a possible discrepancy.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi/X/AP
Image:
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the crash site. Pic: X/AP

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Mr Singh said it was also “of particular note” that the plane’s emergency locator transmitter (ELT) did not send any signal after the crash.

“Was the ELT damaged, unarmed, mis-wired, or malfunctioning?” he said.

The report has generated more questions than answers on topics including human error, power source failures and mechanical or electrical malfunction.

The final report is expected to take a year. Meanwhile, families grapple with the unimaginable loss of loved ones in one of the worst disasters in India’s aviation history.

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Environment

Tesla launches new software update with Grok, but it doesnt even interface with the car

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Tesla launches new software update with Grok, but it doesnt even interface with the car

Tesla has launched a new software update for its vehicles that includes the anticipated integration of Grok, but it doesnt even interface with the car yet.

Earlier this week, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla would integrate Grok, the large language model developed by his private company, xAI, into its vehicles.

Today, Tesla started pushing the update to the fleet, but there’s a significant caveat.

The automaker wrote in the release notes (2025.26):

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Grok (Beta) (US, AMD)

Grok now available directly in your Tesla

Requires Premium Connectivity or a WiFi connection

Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car – existing voice commands remain unchanged.

First off, it is only available in vehicles in the US equipped with the AMD infotainment computer, which means cars produced since mid-2021.

But more importantly, Tesla says that it doesn’t send commands to the car under the current version. Therefore, it is simply like having Grok on your phone, but on the onboard computer instead.

Tesla showed an example:

There are a few other features in the 2025.26 software update, but they are not major.

For Tesla vehicles equipped with ambient lighting strips inside the car, the light strip can now sync to music:

Accent lights now respond to music & you can also choose to match the lights to the album’s color for a more immersive effect

Toybox > Light Sync

Here’s the new setting:

The audio setting can now be saved under multiple presets to match listening preferences for different people or circumstances:

The software update also includes the capacity to zoom or adjust the playback speed of the Dashcam Viewer.

Cybertruck also gets the updated Dashcam Viewer app with a grid view for easier access and review of recordings:

Tesla also updated the charging info in its navigation system to be able to search which locations require valet service or pay-to-park access.

Upon arrival, drivers will receive a notification with access codes, parking restrictions, level or floor information, and restroom availability:

Finally, there’s a new onboarding guide directly on the center display to help people who are experiencing a Tesla vehicle for the first time.

Electrek’s Take

Tesla is really playing catch-up here. Right now, this update is essentially nothing. If you already have Grok, it’s no more different than having it on your phone or through the vehicle’s browser, since it has no capacity to interact with any function inside the vehicle.

Most other automakers are integrating LLMs inside vehicles with the capacity to interact with the vehicle. In China, this is becoming standard even in entry-level cars.

In the Xiaomi YU7, the vehicle’s AI can not only interact with the car, but it also sees what the car sees through its camera, and it can tell you about what it sees:

Tesla is clearly far behind on that front as many automakers are integrating with other LLMs like ChatGPT and in-house LLMs, like Xiaomi’s.

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