BERLIN — Hubert Aiwanger, the leader of a conservative party that has become a mainstay of Bavarian politics and sought to expand its influence across Germany, has been found dead at a Berlin hotel.

The body of Aiwanger, who was Bavaria’s deputy governor and the southern state’s economy minister, was found in his hotel room in the centre of the capital on Wednesday evening, Berlin police and prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that an autopsy carried out Thursday produced no evidence that anyone else was involved in his death.

Saw this on Mastodon and had a laugh. Not sure if it's real, but it's funny.

Not a single dem could have shown up on election day and we would still have Blexas in the Senate.

The charges centered on a $130,000 payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels

A New York appeals court will be asked on Thursday to throw out Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The case made history in May 2024, when the verdict turned Trump into the first former, and now current, US president with a criminal conviction. The historic ruling did not stop him from returning to the White House, and it brought no punishment.

The charges centered on a $130,000 payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels, made to obscure the money's true purpose.

Trump denies any wrongdoing, and has turned to state and federal courts in hopes of unwinding the verdict. He is not expected to attend Thursday's court session. The appeal turns on complex legal disputes, but the political overtones are hard to miss.

Brand, 51, faced seven charges in total, including three counts of rape. The judge tells him: "Obviously a custodial sentence of some length will result."