evidence

The estranged wife of former Chargers defensive end Marcellus Wiley has been granted a three-year restraining order against the former Los Angeles sports radio personality two months after she accused him of raping her and physically abusing her and their children.

The former Pro Bowl player has denied the allegations that Annemarie, a nurse anesthetist and former cast member of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” made in a declaration submitted July 6 to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County with her request for a restraining order against her husband of 12 years. She filed for divorce the same day.

Marcellus and Annemarie Wiley both testified in person during a hearing on Wednesday. Evidence presented by both sides included texts and WhatsApp messages, social media posts, court filings and media coverage of the couple.

“The Court finds that Petitioner has met the burden of proof by preponderance of the evidence,” Judge Esther P. Kim wrote in her ruling, which was issued the next day. “Petitioner’s request for a Domestic Violence the minor children are included as protected person in the Restraining Order After Hearing.”

Annemarie Wiley was granted full legal and physical custody of their three children, with a visitation plan detailed for her husband.

“I’m grateful for the court’s decision and welcome the opportunity for our family to finally begin healing after an incredibly difficult and trying time,” Marcellus Wiley said in a statement to The California Post on Thursday. “From the beginning, my fight has been about being present in my children’s lives, loving them, supporting them, and being their father every day.

“I’m thankful I get to return to that role. Annemarie deserves the space to protect her peace, our children deserve the love and presence of both parents, and our family deserves the opportunity to move forward without conflict defining us. My hope now is simple: healing, peace, and getting our family back to a place where love leads the way.”

On July 4, Marcellus Wiley was arrested in Florida after his wife told police he poked her in the face with his finger and threatened to kill her. He was released the next day on $1,000 bond and faced a possible charge of misdemeanor domestic battery. Last month, the state opted not to file charges because of a lack of sufficient evidence.

In the declaration she submitted with her restraining order request, Annemarie Wiley documented numerous alleged incidents that she said demonstrated “a continuing and escalating pattern of physical violence, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse, financial control, and intimidation, much of which our children have witnessed.” She also mentioned four instances in which her husband allegedly raped her, once in 2012 and three times in January.

A temporary restraining order was granted on July 7. On the same day, Marcellus Wiley wrote on X that he has “videos, photographs, text messages, emails, and other evidence that directly contradicts those baseless claims and provides a factual record of our family and the events leading to this unfortunate divorce.”

BERLIN  — Leaders of an extremist, far-right party in Germany have quietly borrowed pages from President Trump’s playbook to cast doubt on the integrity of absentee voting — alleging without evidence that residents of nursing homes have had their ballots manipulated and calling for an end to postal voting.

The attack on mail ballots comes as Germany approaches a potentially historic state election that could shatter one of the taboos of its postwar political order by opening the door to a far-right government.

Politicians across the ideological spectrum, mindful that polls show Trump to be widely unpopular, don’t invoke his name.

But the specter of the American president nevertheless hangs over the election that could have reverberations across Europe if the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party — tacitly echoing Trump’s attacks on migrants, the media and the integrity of elections — pulls off an unprecedented political shock in postwar Germany.

In a country where the guilt of its Nazi past is never far from the surface, the AfD has unapologetically campaigned against what it portrays as the shackles of Germany’s history and won over many new supporters, in part by adopting Trump’s hard-line stance on migrants and his drumbeat of attacks on mainstream news outlets.

The AfD leader, Tino Chrupalla, surprised Germans recently with warnings of voter fraud in the Sunday election in Saxony-Anhalt state, telling a national television audience that some senior citizens in nursing homes had had their absentee ballots cast and signed for them without their knowledge.

This week, in neighboring Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state, the AfD candidate for governor, Leif-Erik Holm, declared, “Postal voting is more vulnerable to potential attempts of manipulation.”

Election officials and organizations representing nursing home caregivers have rejected the allegations and say there is no evidence of voter fraud.

The AfD, considered one of the most extreme far-right parties in Europe, has surged so far ahead in opinion polls that it could emerge as the dominant political force in Saxony-Anhalt and potentially lead a German state government for the first time, either with an absolute majority or with a junior coalition partner.

Trump has spent years attacking mail-in voting as vulnerable to fraud, despite scant evidence of widespread abuse. Trump himself has voted by mail in recent elections. His administration continues to fight court battles to limit voting by mail.

“Sowing distrust in political institutions is part of the strategy of right-wing populist parties,” said Marcel Lewandowsky, a political scientist at Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany.

“The ‘rigged election’ lie is a powerful narrative within the MAGA movement,” he added, “and serves as a crucial element that fosters a shared identity” with far-right parties in Europe. (Such messaging has also been employed by many rightist politicians in Latin America.)

An AfD victory in one of Germany’s 16 federal states would in one fell swoop obliterate a central tenet of the postwar order: that the far right must never return to power in the country responsible for the Holocaust and the devastation of Europe in World War II.

Many fear that taking power there could serve as a springboard for the ostracized party at the national level, where it is leading opinion polls with about 29% support, putting it far ahead of the other four parties with seats in the federal Parliament.

“Trumpism and the MAGA movement have undoubtedly been an inspiration and model for many European radical right parties,” said Lars Rensmann, a political scientist at the University of Passau who has studied the far right. “In many ways, Trump has been the successful model many European radical right parties try to follow while adopting it to European conditions.”

The AfD’s ascent has parallels across Europe, from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party to Britain’s Nigel Farage, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Herbert Kickl in Austria. In France, the far-right Rassemblement National is looking to the 2027 presidential race with its candidate, Marine Le Pen, having perhaps her strongest chance yet of winning after reaching the runoff in 2017 and 2022.

Meloni`s relationship with Trump has cooled during her nearly four years in power, due in part to the war in Iran, tariffs and security policies that have strained U.S. relations with Italy and all of Europe.

President Trump greets Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a summit Egypt in 2025. Their once warm relationship has since cooled.

(Evan Vucci / Pool via Associated Press)

Yet there is no pan-European alliance of the far right, in part because these parties champion their own national interests.

“Some components of Trumpism can be shared and exported, such as hostility towards migration and ‘wokeism,’ but it is very clear that national interests that the far-right champion cannot be defended the same way as the American national interests,” said Giovanni Orsina, head of the political science department at LUISS University in Rome.

“If you put your nation first and do so aggressively, you have diverging national interests and so it’s not possible to have an international network of nationalists,” Orsina added.

But many far-right leaders are united in one sense. They admire not just Trump’s tactics, but the “boldness of his transgressions, dismantling liberal and civil norms by repeating things that were once deemed unacceptable for someone seeking public office,” said Rensmann.

“Trump is unpopular in Germany, even across the political right,” Lewandowsky said. “It would be risky for the AfD to embrace him openly, especially because he failed to keep his promise not to start any further wars and large segments of the public feel threatened by the United States under Trump.”

The AfD was created in 2013 as a small anti-euro party before morphing into an anti-migrant force that tapped into voter frustration over immigration and the strains many Germans perceive on housing, jobs and public services.

Despite being ostracized by mainstream parties and kept out of coalition cooperation, it has survived and thrived as a disruptive force.

In the last decade Germany has sheltered millions of refugees, mainly from Syria and other troubled countries in the Middle East. It provides housing, medical care and generous financial support to refugees that AfD politicians say serve as a magnet. Trump once accused former German Chancellor Angela Merkel of “ruining” her country by allowing in so many refugees.

“I think this could be a watershed moment for Europe,” Orsina said of the upcoming election.

An election poster touts the far-right Alternative for Germany party, AfD, right, in Berlin in 2025. It reads “Now AfD.”

(Michael Sohn / Associated Press)

He said the election in 2022 of Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party, which traces its origins to Italy’s postwar neo-fascist movement, sparked fears across Europe that, in hindsight, may have been exaggerated. But Germany is a different story when it comes to the far right.

“Some said she is a neo-fascist and a danger to democracy, but most people in Italy didn’t believe that,” he said. “Italy isn’t a better democracy after four years of Meloni but it isn’t any worse either. But Germany isn’t Italy. And Germany’s relationship with its past is a lot different.”

David Bebnowski, an author who has written books on far-right populism and who is a history instructor at the Free University in Berlin, said there is another important connection among far-right voters across Europe that the AfD is tapping into — a yearning for change in countries where establishment parties have struggled to respond to voter frustration.

Trump’s success as a force for disruption, he said, has provided a powerful example.

“You can’t really trace a grand MAGA strategy adopted by the far right, but you can see that they are, in part, very much in line with the ‘spirit of Trumpism,’” Bebnowski said. “What aligns them is a sense of disruption and optimism that they will be able to change the way politics are done in a way the other parties can’t.”

Kirschbaum is a special correspondent.

Spain has found no evidence that Moroccan authorities planned or orchestrated the massive migrant surge into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told parliament. His comments come amid conflicting accounts over whether the unprecedented border crossing was a spontaneous migration event or a coordinated operation designed to overwhelm Spanish border controls.

A Massive Border Surge

More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco during the July 30 to 31 crisis, overwhelming local authorities and creating a major humanitarian and political challenge for Spain.

The scale of the movement has raised questions about how such a large number of people were able to reach the Spanish enclave within such a short period.

Sánchez Rejects Moroccan Involvement

Sánchez told lawmakers that neither Spain’s diplomatic services, the European Commission nor international organisations had provided evidence showing that Morocco had planned or carried out the incident.

However, he acknowledged that Moroccan security forces allowed crossings to continue during a critical 10 hour period on July 30, when arrivals reached their peak.

Sánchez said Spain had not yet determined whether this reflected deliberate inaction or an inability to control the situation.

Police Report Raises Questions

The government’s position has been complicated by a police report that reportedly described the influx as a planned and phased operation rather than a spontaneous movement.

According to reports on the document, Moroccan security forces were initially deployed in smaller numbers near the Tarajal crossing and did not make a serious effort to disperse the crowds. Some uniformed officers were also allegedly seen directing people towards the crossing.

However, the report did not identify individual officers or provide independently verified evidence that Moroccan authorities had ordered the operation.

Morocco Denies Enabling the Crossing

Moroccan authorities have rejected accusations that they deliberately facilitated the mass movement into Ceuta.

The controversy has nevertheless put renewed pressure on Spain’s relationship with Morocco, a crucial partner in controlling migration across the western Mediterranean.

Conflicting Accounts in Spain

The allegations have also created a political problem for Sánchez’s government.

Spanish authorities have previously attributed the surge largely to misinformation circulating online and the activities of smuggling networks. Reports suggesting possible Moroccan involvement therefore challenge part of Madrid’s explanation for how the crisis developed.

Spain’s police leadership has also pushed back against claims that an official police report conclusively blamed Morocco for orchestrating the incident.

Why Morocco Matters to Spain

Morocco plays a central role in Spain’s efforts to manage migration from North Africa. Any deterioration in bilateral cooperation could make it harder for Madrid to control future crossings and could turn migration into a wider diplomatic dispute.

Ceuta and Melilla are particularly sensitive because they are Spanish territories located on the North African coast and represent the European Union’s land borders with Africa.

Analysis

The central issue is no longer simply whether thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta, but who enabled the conditions that made the surge possible.

Sánchez’s position protects Spain’s strategically important relationship with Morocco and avoids directly accusing Rabat without conclusive evidence. At the same time, the reported police findings create a credibility problem for Madrid because they suggest that Moroccan security forces may have played some role in allowing or directing the movement, even if they do not establish government-level planning.

The distinction between deliberate orchestration, passive border enforcement and inability to control the crowd is therefore crucial. Evidence of Moroccan officials physically facilitating crossings would not necessarily prove that the Moroccan state ordered the operation.

For Spain, the episode also exposes the vulnerability of Ceuta’s border to sudden mass movements and information campaigns. For Morocco, the accusations carry diplomatic costs because migration cooperation is an important component of its relationship with Spain and the wider EU.

The immediate challenge for Madrid is to establish what happened without turning an unresolved border investigation into a diplomatic confrontation with Rabat.

With information from Reuters.

SINCE the introduction of EES, there have been reports of huge delays, missed flights – and now a new problem has arisen.

It appears that Brits aren’t being correctly recorded as leaving the Schengen Area, meaning they could be banned from entering the EU again and face a hefty fine.

The UK Foreign Office has altered its advice to Brits asking them to carry evidence of when they last left the EU, to avoid being wrongly refused entry.

Brits travelling from the UK to Europe can spend 90 days out of every 180 in the EU – staying over this limit will mean both refusal of entry and a fine.

In some cases a fine can be as much as £8,550.

Before the introduction of EES, Brits would be stamped in and out by officials at passport control.

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Now Brits are being electronically recorded as leaving – but in some cases where EES has been suspended due to long queues, they aren’t.

Without being officially noted as returning home, the clock continues to count down which could cause problems when attempting to re-enter the EU.

Advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) reads: “If you believe you have been incorrectly entered into EES or your record of time spent in the Schengen area is incorrect, approach border officials when you next cross the Schengen border and request a correction.

“If you are exempt, carry documentation confirming your status. If you believe your time spent in the Schengen area has been recorded incorrectly, raise this with border officials and be prepared to provide supporting evidence if requested.”

It doesn’t explain what ‘evidence’ is needed but it’s likely to be confirmation of flights out of the country.

Some Brits who have either not been stamped out physically, or electronically by EES have revealed their issues in returning to the Schengen Area.

Talking to Sun Travel, one woman revealed how she got stuck entering Finland after a trip to Rome.

She explained: “I was stopped at the border in Finland last November by border control who said my record was showing I was still in Italy.

“While I had registered with EES going into Rome, it hadn’t recorded me leaving.”

She added: “After a lot of back and forth with border control officers and around 45-minutes of waiting, it was recognised as an error and I was let into the country.”

In another case, Martin Farrall told The Guardian, didn’t have his exit recorded for the Schengen zone.

Martin and his wife arrived by ferry at Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands.

He said that Dutch border officials enrolled them into EES, but that they had no entry stamp on their passports.

Then 55 days later when he returned to the UK via France, they were not given an exit stamp.

Back at home, Martin checked how many days he had left to travel through the Schengen – and it’s continuing to count down. Meanwhile his wife still has 90 days despite both having travelled the same route.

In another case, one passenger who had returned from Ibiza back in April had two entry stamps, but no exit stamps.

They told local media: “On my last two occasions visiting Ibiza on direct UK flights, my UK passport has not been exit-stamped by Spanish immigration authorities upon leaving Ibiza back to the UK.

“I now have two ‘un-closed’ Spanish visits in my UK passport, making a nonsense of the 90-day rule, and running the risk of me being accused of overstaying my rolling 90 days’ allowance. Which I haven’t.”

For more advice on travelling as a family and the new EES system, head here.

WASHINGTON — President Trump says vandals are to blame for large swaths of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial — in the spot where he had a stage built and hosted crowds for his July 4 celebration.

Trump made the accusation in a social media post on Sunday without saying why he believes it’s the work of vandals instead of trampled turf from the Independence Day festivities. The Republican president posted a photo showing a once-grassy area by the World War II Memorial, now patchy and brown across much of the sprawling turf.

“Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,” Trump said on his social media website.

“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” he added.

Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage to his renovation projects in the nation’s capital, often without evidence and sometimes despite opposing accounts from his officials. He lashed out at U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro this month after her office concluded that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of poor construction and not the work of vandals, as Trump claimed.

Authorities on Friday announced an arrest in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial, after the words “Clean hands dirty $” were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain. Pirro said felony charges were being brought against Melissa L. Farris, who was in custody and couldn’t be reached for comment.

A woman identified on her Facebook page as Melissa Lovewell on Thursday posted a video in which she is seen taking cans of spray paint from her bag and then painting the monument. “I will wait here to be arrested for spraying our veterans’ fountain,” she says. “It was me. I’m doing it. It’s on camera.”

The woman was identified by her Kentucky driver’s license as Melissa L. Farris of Elizabethtown, an arrest warrant says.

Charging documents in that case make no mention of the grassy area Trump is highlighting in his new claims. Authorities said Farris had been arrested previously for camping on federal property a few blocks from the World War II Memorial, but not the area cited by Trump.

That stretch of lawn is instead where a large stage was built and crowds gathered to hear from Trump and watch fireworks at a July 4 event celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. Trump claimed without providing evidence that more than 400,000 people attended the event before a storm hit the area and delayed his remarks.

Photos from the time, taken by a streaming webcam atop the Washington Monument, show a large bandstand and seating areas covering nearly the entire lawn that Trump now says has been vandalized. Associated Press photos from the days that followed showed workers removing the structures, revealing brown, damaged grass underneath.

On Aug. 1, Trump posted a different photo of the same area that appears to show the numbers “86 47” — which federal officials have said constitutes a threat against Trump, the 47th president — emblazoned into the grass. He cited it as evidence refuting Pirro’s conclusion, calling it “a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass.”

“There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!” he wrote.

Those numbers are not visible in the photo Trump posted to social media on Sunday.