Donald Trump has released a statement celebrating the Senate vote to acquit him of incitement of insurrection.

“I want to first thank my team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth,” the former president said.

“My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country.”

Trump condemned the impeachment trial as “another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country,” even though seven Republican senators voted to convict him.

The former president also nodded at his political future now that he is free to run for the White House in 2024.

“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it,” Trump said.

"... it looks like the shellfish industry is about to wither on the vine because there's quite a strong case to be made for claiming Michael Gove didn't understand what he was signing."

"It's taken 42 days for Kate Hoey to move from coming close to claiming that anybody who didn't back Boris Johnson's oven ready deal was some sort of traitor to the UK cause - to claiming that the Northern Ireland protocol that was an intrinsic part of that oven ready deal, sort of, needs to be fixed immediately.

"Even this condescending, sneering public school boy Remoaner didn't think it'd start falling apart that quickly."

"Amsterdam has overtaken London as Europe's top share-trading hub.

"We've got £1 billion worth of Brexit red tape coming in for chemicals.

"The Northern Ireland protocol is falling apart at the seams - and it would appear Michael Gove's attempts to weaponise Ursula von de Leyen's flirtation with a terrible mistake one Friday afternoon in January has come back round to bite him on the backside."

"Half of exporters to the EU are having Brexit difficulties according to a new survey. That counts as good news, right? I would cast that as only half of UK exporters to the EU."

"We've got the Governor of the Bank of England warning that the deeply desired trade agreement on final services is currently looking rather sticky, stuck in the long grass.

"Another massive lorry park has been cleared in Dover, which of course was a very pro-Leave part of the country.

"Lord Frost has started whining about the relationship being more than bumpy since the deal he was patted on the back for signing."

"Small businesses are drowning in paperwork and facing higher costs.

"Food traders particularly in Scotland have warned that price rises and potential shortages.

"JD Sports talking about the loss of millions of pounds and the possibility of transferring warehouse distribution centres and therefore a large number of jobs to continental Europe."

A bill introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly this week would allow a man who gets a woman pregnant to request an injunction barring her from having an abortion.

The legislation, SB0494 in the Senate and HB1079 in the House, would require a court hearing to be held within 14 days of a petition being filed by the individual seeking an injunction.

At the hearing, if the man can prove that he is the biological father and that there is a “reasonable probability” that the woman would obtain an abortion, the court shall issue an injunction prohibiting her from terminating the pregnancy. Proof of parenthood requires only that the petitioner acknowledges paternity. A DNA test is not required.

If the woman violates the injunction by obtaining an abortion, the court may hold her in civil or criminal contempt. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Weaponised belief
Though set during the English civil war, Witchfinder General is chiefly a film about belief, or at least the harnessing of belief’s power in order to fulfil other terrible needs and desires. If its political message could be boiled down to one idea, it would be that belief can allow and excuse the most alarming of atrocities.