Florida has formally cleared four Black men who were falsely accused of raping a white woman more than seven decades ago.

Trump commuted his sentence in July just days before he was scheduled to report to federal prison. The president commuted her sentence; the White House said the commutation was supported by several former U.S. attorneys general. A White House news release praised the men as “model prisoners,” who had earned support and praise from other inmates. She was in the White House when Trump signed the overhaul measure, known as the First Step Act, into law. Black was a co-defendant in the case and was also convicted; Trump previously pardoned him.

FILE - In this Thursday, June 27, 2019 file photo, Paul Manafort arrives in court in New York. President Trump's former campaign manager is to be arraigned on state mortgage fraud charges. Manafort, who led Trump's campaign during a pivotal period in 2016 before being ousted over his ties to Ukraine, was among the first people charged as part of Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Though the charges against Manafort did not concern the central thrust of Mueller's mandate — whether the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to tip the election — he was nonetheless a pivotal figure in the investigation. Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009.

Trump commuted his sentence in July just days before he was scheduled to report to federal prison. The president commuted her sentence; the White House said the commutation was supported by several former U.S. attorneys general. A White House news release praised the men as “model prisoners,” who had earned support and praise from other inmates. She was in the White House when Trump signed the overhaul measure, known as the First Step Act, into law. Black was a co-defendant in the case and was also convicted; Trump previously pardoned him.

The Pentagon has appointed two close political allies of President Donald Trump to a defense advisory board, continuing a purge of the Defense Department in the waning weeks of the Trump administration. The acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, said in a written statement Friday that nine members of the Defense Business Board had been replaced with the appointment of 11 new members. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has appointed two close allies of President Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, to a defense advisory board, continuing a post-election purge in the final weeks of the administration. The Miller statement initially said the nine individuals removed from the board had been serving in ”expired positions," implying they were overdue to leave. But later the Pentagon amended the statement to say some board members had been “terminated.” It gave no reason for the firings.

Joe Biden has chosen his longtime adviser Ron Klain to reprise his role as his chief of staff, installing an aide with decades of experience across. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):10:45 p.m.Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain says President-elect Joe Biden will appoint a “COVID coordinator” who will lead the administration’s pandemic response. ___3:25 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden has spoken with the top two Democrats in Congress — but not their Republican counterparts yet. ___1 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden has spoken by phone with Pope Francis as he continues to talk with leaders around the world. Democrats already control the House, and Democrat Joe Biden is the president-elect after beating President Donald Trump in their White House contest.

WHY AP HASN’T CALLED PENNSYLVANIA:A close margin and a large number of outstanding votes are what’s making the Pennsylvania contest between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden too early to call. State law dictates that a recount must be held if the margin between the two candidates is less than 0.5%. The Pennsylvania secretary of state’s website said Friday that there were about 89,000 more mail ballots to count. It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s close,’” Trump said during an appearance at the White House. One reason the race tightened: Under state law, elections officials are not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day.

HIALEAH, Fla. – The Florida Police Chiefs Association officially endorsed President Donald J. Trump in his bid to stay in the White House. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was on hand Friday to accept the endorsement from the third largest association in the state of Florida. That sentiment was felt elsewhere as seen in the Faith and Blue Solidarity Ride, which traveled through South Florida showing support for police. The event wasn’t political, but was an effort involving religious communities and officers showing support for each other and riding police station to police station. The Faith and Blue Solidarity Ride was planned to take place across the country.

What to watch at the convention Tuesday:TRUMPTrump appeared frequently during the first day of his party’s convention. THE FIRST LADYFirst lady Melania Trump is set to give the marquee address from the Rose Garden. Her speech at the 2016 GOP convention, the night she introduced herself to voters, was well-received but was later found to have included lines that were very close to what former first lady Michelle Obama said in her 2008 speech at the Democratic convention. Two of the president’s children, Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump, are scheduled, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Iowa Gov. BIDENUnlike Trump, who planned events to counter the Democratic convention, the Biden campaign has not scheduled its candidate to make appearances during the GOP gathering.

ORLANDO, Fla. – A South Florida woman convicted in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme is among the 11 federal inmates around the nation on whose behalf President Donald Trump has taken clemency actions. Mommy is coming home.”“I’m just thankful to Trump for giving me my life back,” Hector Negron said from South Florida. She was convicted in 2011 on 24 counts of conspiracy, health care fraud and money laundering, among other charges. Federal prosecutors said she and two co-defendants conducted a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme in South Florida. “We are so thankful for everyone who has helped us but particularly to President Trump," Cruz said.

Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republicans lack the votes to block witnesses at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded late Tuesday, a potentially major hurdle for Trump's hopes to end the trial with a quick acquittal. McConnell told colleagues in a private meeting that he did not yet have the votes to block Democrats from summoning witnesses. Rand Paul of Kentucky called Bolton “disgruntled”’ and seeking to make money off his time at the White house. But John Kelly, Trump's former White House chief of staff, told an audience in Sarasota, Florida, that he believes Bolton. The White House has had Bolton's manuscript for about a month, according to a letter from Bolton's attorney.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former national security adviser John Bolton took center stage at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial even though he was nowhere near the Capitol. Trump's legal team has repeatedly insisted there was no linkage, and Trump tweeted on Monday that he never told Bolton such a thing. Bolton writes that Trump told him he wanted to withhold security aid from Ukraine until it helped him with investigations into Biden. “I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens," Trump wrote. The Harvard Law professor acknowledged his own changed views of impeachment law, and that he voted for Hillary Clinton.

That assertion could undercut a key defense argument — that Trump never tied the suspension of security aid to political investigations. Bolton writes that Trump told him he wanted to withhold security aid from Ukraine until it helped with investigations. Trump's legal team has insisted otherwise, and Trump tweeted Monday that he never told Bolton such a thing. “I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens," Trump said. They are being told that if there is agreement to summon Bolton, the White House will resist, claiming executive privilege.

The White House lawyers had said it would be a “sneak preview” of their defense, continuing Monday, and they spent the morning rebutting the House impeachment managers’ arguments by charging that they were politically motivated. To begin, they read parts of a rough transcript of a July call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that is at the heart of the House impeachment case. While Democrats point to the conversation as a prime reason to remove the president, the White House lawyers say it points to Trump’s innocence. The White House team also displayed quick-cut video presentations on the Senate’s overhead screens, turning soundbites from key players in the impeachment case into fast-snapping clips. One woman, attorney Pam Bondi, is also on Trump’s team.

What to watch as presidential impeachment arguments get underway in the Senate for only the third time in American history. That maroons 100 chatty senators — including four Democrats in the heat of a nomination fight — for the serious constitutional business of the impeachment trial, for hours at a time. Senate rules say the trial must proceed six days a week — all but Sunday — until it is resolved. ___THE PROSECUTORSThey could be heard practicing speeches in the shuttered Senate chamber late into Monday night. 51: The number of senators who must agree on almost anything to make it happen during an impeachment trial.

The dueling filings previewed arguments both sides intend to make once Trump's impeachment trial begins in earnest Tuesday in the Senate. New information from Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is being incorporated in the House case. White House attorneys and Trump's outside legal team have been debating just how political Monday's legal brief laying out the contours of Trump's defense should be. People close to the Trump legal team said Cipollone would deliver the president’s opening argument before the Senate and that Sekulow would follow. Starr and Dershowitz would have “discrete functions” on the legal team, according to those close to the legal team, who were not authorized to discuss the strategy by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

(AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump’s legal advocates for his Senate impeachment trial will include a pair of well-known attorneys who have vigorously defended Trump on television and played roles in some of the most consequential legal dramas in recent history. Among those assisting White House counsel Pat Cipollone and longtime Trump attorney Jay Sekulow on the defense will be Ken Starr, the independent counsel who investigated former President Bill Clinton. A look at who's who:PAT CIPOLLONEThe current White House counsel, Cipollone is an unassuming and private figure who built a career around complex litigation. In the White House, he has forcefully defended Trump's right to executive privilege and argued that congressional investigators have no right to question White House staffers about their conversations with the president. Herschmann served various roles at the Southern Union Company, a natural gas utility, including as senior executive vice president, president and chief operating officer.

There are some signs of tension involving the president's outside legal team and lawyers within the White House. “I'm not a full-fledged member of the defense team," he told "The Dan Abrams Show" on SiriusXM. A Fox News host said on the air that Starr would be parting ways with the network as a result of his role on the legal team. Giuliani told The Associated Press that the president has assembled a “top-notch” defense team and he was not disappointed not to be included. The White House has instructed officials not to comply with subpoenas from Congress requesting witnesses or other information.