A look at key events that triggered South Korea's snap presidential election

A look at key events that triggered South Korea's snap presidential election

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — After months of political turmoil, South Koreanshead to the pollsnext week to elect a president to succeeddisgraced former leader Yoon Suk Yeol,who was ousted from office over his ill-fated decision to impose martial law in December. Here is a timeline of events that led to Tuesday's tense snap election: Dec. 1 According to their criminal indictments, Yoon meets with his defense minister to discuss gridlock in the National Assembly as liberal opposition lawmakers use their majority to impeach senior officials and prosecutors and cut government budgets. Prosecutors say Yoon told the minister he wanted to take "emergency measures" against the opposition, something they allege he had been saying for months. Dec. 3 In a televised announcement at 10:29 p.m.,Yoon tells the nationhe's declaring martial law, portraying the National Assembly as a "den of criminals" paralyzing government affairs. As lawmakers begin rushing to the National Assembly, the military's martial law command issues a proclamation declaring sweeping government powers, including the suspension of political parties' activities and control over media. It says anyone who violates the decree can be arrested without a warrant. Hundreds of heavily armed troops encircle the legislature, apparently to prevent lawmakers from gathering to vote on the martial law declaration. Dec. 4 At around 1 a.m., 190 lawmakers, including 18 from Yoon's own conservative People Power Party, vote unanimously to lift martial law. Troops and police begin to retreat from the National Assembly shortly after. At 4:30 a.m., martial law is formally lifted following a Cabinet meeting. Dec. 7 Yoon apologizes and says he won't shirk legal or political responsibility for declaring martial law. He survivesan impeachment voteboycotted by most ruling party lawmakers. Dec. 12 Yoon defends his martial law decree as an act of governance and denies rebellion charges, vowing to "fight to the end" in the face of attempts to impeach him. Dec. 14 The National Assemblyimpeaches Yoonon a 204-85 vote. His presidential powers and duties are suspended and Prime MinisterHan Duck-soo, the country's No. 2 official, takes over. Dec. 31 The Seoul Western District Court issues a warrant to detain Yoon for questioning. Jan. 15 Anti-corruption investigators and police raid the presidential compound anddetain Yoon,who is the first sitting president to be detained. Jan. 19 The Seoul Western District Court grants law enforcement authorities' request for a formal arrest warrant for Yoon, citing concerns he could destroy evidence. His arrest triggers ariot by his supporters,who break into the court, smashing windows and equipment. Dozens are arrested. Jan. 26 The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicts Yoonon charges of masterminding an attempted rebellion, describing his power grab as an illegal bid to seize the legislature and election offices and arrest political opponents. March 7 The Seoul Central District Courtorders Yoon released from detention,citing unresolved issues about whether investigators had the proper authority to detain him. He is released the following day. April 4 The Constitutional Court upholds Yoon's impeachment andremoves him as president,forcing a snap election within 60 days to choose his successor. The government the following week announces June 3 as election day. April 8 The government announces the presidential election will be held on June 3. April 27 The main liberal opposition Democratic Party nominates former party chiefLee Jae-myungas its presidential candidate. Opinion polls project him as the clear frontrunner in the weeks leading up to the election. May 3 The conservative People Power Party nominates Yoon's former labor minister,Kim Moon Soo,as its presidential candidate. May 11 The People Power Partycancels then reinstates Kim's presidential candidacywithin hours, after a failed attempt to replace him with former Prime Minister Han, in a chaotic U-turn that underscores its disarray. May 18 Lee, Kim, and two other minor candidates participate in the first presidential debate, which focuses on restoring political stability following the martial law saga and addressing trade challenges posed by the policies of U.S.President Donald Trump. May 29 The two-day, early voting begins in about 3,570 polling stations ahead of the formal June 3 vote.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

A look at key events that triggered South Korea's snap presidential election

A look at key events that triggered South Korea's snap presidential election SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — After months of political turmoil...

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The internet thinks this video from Gaza is AI. Here's how we proved it isn't.

The internet thinks this video from Gaza is AI. Here's how we proved it isn't.

New video posted to social media from southern Gaza became the center of a heated internet debate about whether it was generated using artificial intelligence. The video, which started circulating Tuesday, shows a person in a camouflage-print face covering and baseball cap making a heart sign and a "shaka" sign with their hands in front of a large crowd of Palestinians gathered along rows of fences,waiting for food aid at the Tal as Sultan distribution site in Rafah. A combined analysis from NBC News and Get Real Security, a cybersecurity company that specializes in detecting generative AI, found no evidence of AI generation or manipulation in the video. NBC News geolocated the video to inside the Tal as Sultan aid distribution site, recently constructed by Israel's civilian policy unit — the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories — in partnership with the Gazan Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF's chief spokesperson confirmed with NBC News that the video was originally distributed by its team but could not confirm the identity of the person in the video. The foundation said in a statement, "Any claim that our documentation is fake or generated by AI is false and irresponsible." Satellite imagery from Planet Labs anddrone videorecorded taken by the Israeli military show the same row of light poles and lines of fencing in the video. Additional collapsed structures and foliage rise behind and between the poles across a dirt lot in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea. Shortly after the video was posted to X, users began fighting in the comments about its authenticity. "This video is AI generated,"a user wrote. "Nothing can be believed because it could just as easily have been AI generated." Hany Farid, a co-founder of Get Real Security and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told NBC News, "I am not seeing any obvious signs that this video is AI-generated." "We see strong continuity in features as the camera pans back and forth, something that generative AI struggles with," Farid said, noting specific details like the crisp "Ray Ban" logo on the side of the sunglasses worn by the person sporting the baseball cap, as well as the consistency of the shadows made by various objects in the video. Farid noted that the audio track appears to be consistent with what's shown in the video itself — down to the sound of the wind and someone saying in English: "Isn't that crazy? Look at that." A reverse image search revealed that the person making gestures to the crowd was wearing a pair of Oakley S.I. gloves, which U.S. contractors have been seen wearing in Gaza as recently as January. AI-generated videos have emerged around the war in Gaza. In February, President Donald Trump posted afake videoto his Truth Social account that showed Elon Musk throwing money and Trump drinking by a pool with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Even more common are real videos from previous conflicts around the world mislabeled as depicting certain events in Gaza. "Generative-AI is a double-edged sword," Farid said. "It can create harmful and fake content that muddies the water of a conflict. It also casts a long shadow and can be used to deny uncomfortable or inconvenient facts."

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

The internet thinks this video from Gaza is AI. Here's how we proved it isn't.

The internet thinks this video from Gaza is AI. Here's how we proved it isn't. New video posted to social media from southern Gaza b...

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Elon Musk officially leaves the White House

Elon Musk officially leaves the White House

Elon Musk's days working at the White House are over. The billionaire Tesla CEO, enlisted by President Donald Trump to cut waste in the federal government, started offboarding from his role Wednesday night, a White House official told NBC News. Musk's move came a day after he criticized a Republican bill to fund much of Trump's agenda. Musk commented on his exit Wednesday on X, his social media platform. He called for the "DOGE mission" to become "a way of life throughout the government," referring to his Department of Government Efficiency initiative. "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,"wrote Musk, the richest person in the world. NBC News has reportedthat special government employees, a class of temporary worker that included Musk, can typically work up to 130 days in a calendar year, though the days can be split up. The White House first publicly acknowledged Musk's role on Feb. 3, so he was most likely nearing the end of that tenure. Musk's official departure came at a charged moment in his relationship with Trump. On Tuesday, CBS News' "Sunday Morning" shared a clip of him sharing his disappointment in the "massive spending bill" that he said "undermines" the work of his DOGE operation, which has aimed to reduce federal spending by slashing the size of the federal workforce, cutting government programs and eliminating grants deemed wasteful. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the Republican funding package would add $2.3 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years,largely dueto the extensions of Trump's 2017 tax cuts and new expenditures that outweigh the savings. Musk initially set out to cut upwards of $2 trillion dollars through the operation, though he later significantlywalked backthat goal. Now he leaves the government with DOGE having thus far fallen well short of the trillions of dollars of savings that he had once touted on the campaign trail. As of Wednesday evening, the DOGE government websiteclaimed $175 billion in savings, though itsclaimshave been found to bequestionable. Trump responded to Musk's criticisms Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office, defending the funding package. The president said the legislation would deliver on several of his key priorities, but he also noted the complexities of passing such a sprawling bill through a sharply divided House. "My reaction's a lot of things. No. 1, we have to get a lot of votes. We can't be cutting a — you know — we need to get a lot of support, and we have a lot of support. We had to get it through the House," Trump said. Musk was among the most visible people in the early days of the second Trump administration, securing the president's favor after fueling his 2024 presidential campaign withupwards of $250 million dollars, according to campaign finance reports. The tech mogul was frequently seen alongside Trump, often wearing a Trump hat while appearing with one of his young children. Musk appeared to relish his role as Trump's waste and fraud czar, taking the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Februarywith a sizable chainsawto tout his cost-cutting initiative. Musk also at one pointthreatened to use his wealthto fund challengers to any Republicans that dared to oppose Trump's agenda. But behind the scenes, tensions mounted between Musk and other Trump administration members, with some of those making their way to the public through news reports abouttense meetingsandshouting matches. Musk also took some of his grievances public, includingcriticism of Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, Musk's public profile suffered — as did the perception of his most consumer-centric business, Tesla. Public poll numbers showed that he and DOGE wererelatively unpopular, and Tesla vehicles and dealershipsbecame the target of protests and vandalism. Tesla's stock is down 11% so far this year. Trump continued to support Musk, at one point in March turning the South Lawn of the White House intoan impromptu Tesla showroomand buying one of the vehicles. Musk's power, both in terms of his cash contributions as well as his political clout, took a hit in late March when Republicanslost a high-profile judicial election in Wisconsinin which Musk spent heavily and became a target for Democrats. Musk had maintained that his participation in the Trump administration and DOGE was temporary, but in recent weeks he has signaled that he may pull back from politics more broadly. Last week, hesaid he planned to scale down his sizable spending on politics, though said he would spend in the future if he saw a reason to do so. "I don't currently see a reason," he said. While Musk has said DOGE will continue to operate, it's unclear just how much pull it will have without him at the helm.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Elon Musk officially leaves the White House

Elon Musk officially leaves the White House Elon Musk's days working at the White House are over. The billionaire Tesla CEO, enlisted by...

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Federal court blocks Trump's tariffs. Here's what to know

Federal court blocks Trump's tariffs. Here's what to know

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court in New York handed PresidentDonald Trumpa big setback Wednesday,blocking his audacious planto impose massive taxes on imports from almost every country in the world. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and justify the sweepingtariffs. The tariffs overturned decades of U.S. trade policy, disrupted global commerce, rattled financial markets and raised the risk of higher prices and recession in the United States and around the world. The U.S. Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over civil cases involving trade. Its decisions can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington and ultimately to the Supreme Court, where the legal challenges to Trump' tariffs are widely expected to end up. Which tariffs did the court block? The court's decision blocks the tariffs Trump slapped last month onalmost all U.S. trading partnersand levies he imposed before that on China, Mexico and Canada. On April 2, Trump imposed so-called reciprocal tariffs of up to 50% on countries with which the United States runs a trade deficit and 10% baseline tariffs on almost everybody else. He later suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to give countries time to agree to reduce barriers to U.S. exports. But he kept the baseline tariffs in place. Claiming extraordinary power to act without congressional approval, he justified the taxes under IEEPA by declaring the United States' longstanding trade deficits "a national emergency." In February, he'd invoked the law to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, saying that the illegal flow ofimmigrantsand drugs across the U.S. border amounted to a national emergency and that the three countries needed to do more to stop it. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to set taxes, including tariffs. But lawmakers have gradually let presidents assume more power over tariffs — and Trump has made the most of it. The tariffs are being challenged in at least seven lawsuits. In the ruling Wednesday, the trade court combined two of the cases — one brought by five small businesses and another by 12 U.S. states. The ruling does leave in place other Trump tariffs, including those on foreign steel, aluminum and autos. But those levies were invoked under a different law that required a Commerce Department investigation and could not be imposed at the president's own discretion. Why did the court rule against the president? The administration had argued that courts had approved then-President Richard Nixon's emergency use of tariffs in a 1971 economic and financial crisis that arose when the United States suddenly devalued the dollar by ending a policy that linked the U.S. currency to the price of gold. The Nixon administration successfully cited its authority under the 1917 Trading With Enemy Act, which preceded and supplied some of the legal language later used in IEPPA. The court disagreed, deciding that Trump's sweeping tariffs exceeded his authority to regulate imports under IEEPA. It also said the tariffs did nothing to deal with problems they were supposed to address. In their case, the states noted that America's trade deficits hardly amount of a sudden emergency. The United States has racked them up for 49 straight years in good times and bad. So where does this leave Trump's trade agenda? Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade official who is now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, says the court's decision "throws the president's trade policy into turmoil." "Partners negotiating hard during the 90-day day tariff pause period may be tempted to hold off making further concessions to the U.S. until there is more legal clarity," she said. Likewise, companies will have to reassess the way they run their supply chains, perhaps speeding up shipments to the United States to offset the risk that the tariffs will be reinstated on appeal. The trade court noted that Trump retains more limited power to impose tariffs to address trade deficits under another statute, the Trade Act of 1974. But that law restricts tariffs to 15% and only for 150 days with countries with which the United States runs big trade deficits. For now, the trade court's ruling "destroys the Trump administration's rationale for using federal emergency powers to impose tariffs, which oversteps congressional authority and contravenes any notion of due process," said Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University. "The ruling makes it clear that the broad tariffs imposed unilaterally by Trump represent an overreach of executive power.'' _____ AP Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Federal court blocks Trump's tariffs. Here's what to know

Federal court blocks Trump's tariffs. Here's what to know WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court in New York handed PresidentDonald Trump...

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Asian shares and US futures jump after court rules against Trump's sweeping tariffs

Asian shares and US futures jump after court rules against Trump's sweeping tariffs

Asian shares have advanced and U.S. futures jumped after afederal court blockedPresidentDonald Trumpfrom imposingsweeping tariffson imports under an emergency-powers law. The court found the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has cited as his basis for ordering massiveincreases in import duties, does not authorize the use oftariffs. A three-judge panel ruled on several lawsuits arguing Trump exceeded his authority, casting doubt on trade policies that have jolted global financial markets, frustrated trade partners and raised uncertainty over the outlook for inflation and the global economy. The Trump administration filed an appeal, and it was unclear if the White House will respond to the ruling by pausing all of its emergency power tariffs in the interim. Many of Trump's double-digit tariff hikes are paused for up to 90 days to allow time for trade negotiations, but the uncertainty over their eventual outcome has stymied businesses and left consumers wary about what lies ahead. "Just when traders thought they'd seen every twist in the tariff saga, the gavel dropped like a lightning bolt over the Pacific," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. The ruling was, at the least, "a brief respite before the next thunderclap." The future for the S&P 500 was up 1.6% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.5% to 38,263.36. American's largest ally in Asia has been appealing to Trump to cancel the tariffs he has ordered on imports from Japan and to also stop 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos. The ruling also pushed the dollar sharply higher against the Japanese yen. It was trading at 146.06 yen early Thursday, up from 144.87 yen late Wednesday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 8,418.90. In South Korea, which like Japan relies heavily on exports to the U.S., the Kospi surged 1.4% to 2,707.77. Shares also were helped by the Bank of Korea's decision to cut its key interest rate to 2.5% from 2.75%, to ease pressure on the economy. On Wednesday, U.S. stocks cooled, with the S&P 500 down 0.6% at 5,888.55. It's still within 4.2% of its record after charging higher amid hopes that the worst of the turmoil caused byTrump's trade warmay have passed. It had been roughly 20% below the mark last month. The Dow industrials lost 0.6% to 42,098.70, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5% to 19,100.94. Trading was relatively quiet in the countdown to Wednesday's main event for financial markets, the latest quarterly earnings release forNvidia. That came after trading ended for the day. Before that, the AI darling's stock slipped 0.5%. It jumped 4.9% in after-hours trading. Like Nvidia,Macy'sstock also swung up and down through much of the day, even though it reported milder drops in revenue and profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock ended the day down 0.3%. Several other retailers likewise delivered better-than-expected results for the latest quarter. Abercrombie & Fitch soared 14.7% after its profit and revenue topped analysts' expectations. CEO Fran Horowitz credited broad-based growth across its business around the world, and strength for its Hollister brand offset weakness for its Abercrombie brand. Dick's Sporting Goods added 1.7% after topping analysts' expectations for the latest quarter, and it stood by its financial forecasts it earlier gave for the full year. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.47% from 4.43% late Tuesday. The bond market showed relatively little reaction after the Federal Reserve released theminutesfrom its latestmeeting earlier this month, when it left its benchmark lending rate alone for the third straight time. The central bank has been holding off on cuts to interest rates, which would give the economy a boost, amid worries about inflation staying higher than hoped because of Trump's sweeping tariffs. In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 60 cents to $62.44 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 56 cents to $64.88 per barrel. The euro slipped to $1.1239 from $1.1292. ___ AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Stan Choe contributed.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Asian shares and US futures jump after court rules against Trump's sweeping tariffs

Asian shares and US futures jump after court rules against Trump's sweeping tariffs Asian shares have advanced and U.S. futures jumped a...

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