A lawyer for Donald Trump in his hush money trial has turned to the 2016 deal the National Enquirer’s parent reached with former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The $150,000 agreement gave American Media exclusive rights to McDougal’s account of any relationship with “any then-married man." McDougal claims she and Trump had an affair. Trump denies it. The contract also called for McDougal to work for various American Media titles. Pecker earlier testified the provision was really about keeping McDougal’s story from becoming public and influencing Trump’s chances at the presidency. But Pecker added Friday that American Media had pitched itself as a venue to help McDougal restart her career.

Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close

Alphabet and Microsoft are leading the U.S. stock market toward its first winning week in the last four. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 130 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 2.1%. Google's parent company jumped after breezing past analysts’ expectations for profit and announcing a dividend. Microsoft climbed after also topping forecasts. They helped offset a slide for Intel after it gave a forecast for profit that fell short of analysts' expectations. Treasury yields eased after a report on inflation for March came in close to expectations.

Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of U.S. college campuses following last week’s arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University. The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself. Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups. The groups largely act independently, though students say they’re inspired by peers at other universities.

Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are digging in at Columbia University for a 10th day, part of a number of demonstrations roiling campuses from California to Massachusetts. Hundreds have been arrested across the nation, sometimes amid scuffles with police. In New York, Columbia is negotiating with student protesters who have rebuffed police and doubled down. Other schools have been quick to call law enforcement to douse demonstrations before they can take hold. Columbia officials have said they will seek other options if the negotiations with protesters fail.

A court in Romania’s capital has ruled that a trial can start in the case of influencer Andrew Tate, who is charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that prosecutors’ case file against Tate met the legal criteria but did not set a date for the trial to begin. Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling will be appealed. Tate, was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year. They have denied the allegations.

Andrew Tate's trial on charges of rape and human trafficking can start, a Romanian court rules