TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, whose record-setting Senate speech this year denouncing the Trump administration fueled talk of a potential future national campaign, has announced his engagement to girlfriend Alexis Lewis.
Booker, a former Democratic candidate for president, announced the engagement on Instagram Tuesday, posting five photos of the couple who were wearing leis, smiling broadly and posing on a beach in one photo. Booker, 56, has never been married.
“I am savoring the soul-affirming wonder of everyday life with my partner, best friend, and now my fiancée,” Booker wrote. “We are excited for this journey ahead, having so much fun, and feeling deeply grateful for the love, support, and energy so many of you have shared with us.”
Booker's personal life was in the news a few years ago when he dated actress Rosario Dawson. Booker told the Washington Examiner earlier this year he and Lewis have been living together in Washington.
Booker was first elected to the Senate in 2013 in a special election. He was reelected in 2014 and again in 2020. He previously served as the mayor of Newark, New Jersey's largest city.
Booker's April speech on the Senate floor criticizing President Donald Trump's agenda since beginning his second term lasted more than 25 hours and put Booker back in the national spotlight.
During a town hall after the speech in Paramus, New Jersey, Booker addressed a possible 2028 presidential run, saying he was focused on running for reelection to the Senate in 2026 and that the presidential race would “take care of itself.”
FILE - Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has an exchange with Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during a Senate Committee on the Judiciary joint subcommittee hearing to examine District Judges v. Trump, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.
Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.
In Friday's case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting.
Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.
Yoon, who can appeal the ruling, hasn’t immediately publicly responded to the ruling. But when the independent counsel demanded a 10-year prison term in the case, Yoon’s defense team accused them of being politically driven and lacking legal grounds to demand such “an excessive” sentence.
Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.
Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.
South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
