10 things you need to know today: April 3, 2023

1. Trump to fly to New York to face charges over hush money to porn star

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to fly from Florida to New York on Monday as he prepares to surrender and face criminal charges related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. New York officials, bracing for protests, tightened security around the court where Trump will be arraigned, fingerprinted, and photographed Tuesday. He faces more than 30 charges in a sealed grand jury indictment believed to focus on corporate financial documents allegedly falsified to cover up payments to Daniels to prevent her from speaking publicly about an affair she says she had with Trump years earlier, which he denies. Trump plans to speak at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida after the arraignment.

Reuters

2. Blinken demands journalist's release in call with Russian counterpart

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by phone to demand that the Kremlin release Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained last week on espionage charges while reporting in Russia's Ural Mountains. Blinken told his Russian counterpart that Washington is gravely concerned about Gershkovich's "unacceptable" detention. The White House and the Journal have said Gershkovich was doing his work as a reporter, not spying. The discussions came as Russia took its turn as head of the United Nations Security Council. Letting Russia hold such a position shows the "complete bankruptcy of such institutions," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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The Washington Post

3. Death tolls reaches 32 after tornadoes hit South, Midwest

The death toll from tornadoes that ripped across the South and Midwest rose to 32 on Sunday. More dangerous weather is forecast after confirmed or suspected twisters were reported in at least eight states. Nine fatalities were reported in McNairy County, Tennessee, 100 miles east of Memphis — four in a single building. In Memphis, a tree fell on a house, killing an adult and two children. More deaths were reported in Indiana, Arkansas, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, and Delaware. The violent weather knocked out electricity to about 400,000 homes in Southern and Eastern states where high winds downed trees and power lines.

USA Today CNN

4. Trump extends polling lead over DeSantis after indictment

Former President Donald Trump extended his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a likely battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nation, a Yahoo News/YouGov poll found after a New York grand jury indicted Trump for his alleged role in a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump, set to turn himself in Tuesday, now leads DeSantis 57 percent to 31 percent. Last month, Trump led DeSantis 47 percent to 39 percent. "I want to thank everybody for the tremendous support you have given me against this assault on our nation," Trump said in a social media post on Saturday. An ABC News/Ipsos found that 45 percent of respondents agreed it was right for Trump to face charges.

Yahoo News The Wall Street Journal

5. Explosion kills Russian military blogger

An explosion in a St. Petersburg cafe killed well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky on Sunday. Police arrested antiwar protester Darya Tryopova, 26, and accused her of delivering the bomb. The blast collapsed part of the building's facade. Twenty-five other people were injured, 19 of them badly enough to require treatment in hospitals, the city's governor said. Tatarsky was an ardent supporter of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He gained popularity as he posted analysis and commentary on the war. Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had amassed more than half a million followers on Telegram and appeared on Russian TV. He was staunchly pro-war but had criticized Russian battlefield setbacks. In 2014, Tatarsky fought with Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

CNN The Associated Press

6. Ex-Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson joins race for GOP presidential nomination

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Sunday he is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. "People want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts," Hutchinson told Jonathan Karl on ABC's This Week. "I believe I can be that kind of leader." Hutchinson, who plans a formal announcement later this month in Bentonville, Arkansas, enters the race as the GOP primary is heating up. The frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, faces an indictment over his alleged role in the payment of hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Hutchinson called for Trump to drop out of the race to avoid making it a "sideshow."

Politico

7. Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin's party narrowly loses election

Finland's prime minister, Sanna Marin, lost her bid to stay in office as the country's voters shifted right on Sunday. The conservative National Coalition party won 20.8 percent of the vote and will have the first shot at forming a coalition government. The far-right populist, nationalist Finns party came in second with 20.1 percent, narrowly bumping Marin's center-left Social Democratic party into third place. Marin, 37 is one of Europe's youngest leaders. She received international praise for her vocal support of Ukraine as it opposed Russia's war in Ukraine. She also was recognized along with President Sauli Niinistö for leading the push for Finland's application to join NATO after Russia's Ukraine invasion.

The Associated Press The Guardian

8. Twitter removes New York Times' blue verified badge

Twitter on Sunday removed the blue "verified" check mark from the main New York Times account. Twitter's billionaire owner, Elon Musk, had called for stripping the Times' badge hours earlier after learning that the newspaper had ruled out paying for the Twitter Blue service. The decision to strip verification from the Times contradicted Twitter's internal policy of letting its 10,000 most-followed organizations keep the badges whether they pay or not. Twitter said it started to unravel its old verification system over the weekend, removing blue-check icons it used to put on accounts of verified companies, journalists, and public figures. It is replacing the system with a badge for any users who pay $8 per month for it. Businesses will pay $1,000 a month.

The Washington Post

9. OPEC+ surprise production cut threatens to raise energy prices

OPEC+ on Sunday announced an unexpected one-million-barrel-per-day production cut. The group of oil exporting countries previously said they would keep supply steady. The move, adding to a two-million-barrel-per-day cut in October, threatened to push energy costs higher and slow an already weakening global economy. Saudi Arabia led the way with a pledge to cut its output by 500,000 barrels a day. Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Algeria also plan to cut production. Russia said it would extend its March to June reductions through the end of 2023. "OPEC+ clearly want a higher price," said Gary Ross, a veteran oil consultant turned hedge fund manager at Black Gold Investors LLC. News of the cuts sent oil prices jumping 5 percent early Monday.

Bloomberg

10. LSU beats Iowa to win NCAA women's basketball championship

LSU dominated Iowa on Sunday to win the school its first women's NCAA basketball championship, 102-85. Jasmine Carson led LSU with 22 points off the bench. She hit all seven of her shots in the first half, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer off the backboard. Alexis Morris added 16 for LSU, with all of her points in the second half, and center Angel Reese contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds to earn Final Four MVP honors. National player of the year Caitlin Clark led Iowa with 30 points, after back-to-back 41-point games in the Final Four and the Elite Eight, when she had the first NCAA tournament 40-point triple double. She set a single-season tournament scoring record, although her team fell short.

USA Today NCAA