Friday, July 2, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Trump Org, CFO Charged With Tax Fraud


Former President Donald Trump's company, the Trump Organization, and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, were charged with tax fraud Thursday in what prosecutors called a "sweeping and audacious" 15-year scheme "orchestrated by the most senior executives" at the company. The Trump Organization and Weisselberg are accused of conspiring to pay senior executives "off the books" compensation on which tax wasn't paid, including rent, car payments and tuition. Weisselberg was claimed to be one of the largest beneficiaries, who allegedly hid nearly $1.8 million in this type of compensation from tax authorities. Trump himself wasn't charged, but prosecutors noted he signed some of the checks involved in the case. The most serious charge against Weisselberg carries a prison sentence of five to 15 years, and the Trump Organization could have to a pay a fine of double the amount of unpaid taxes. The case could also make it harder for the company to get bank loans or make deals. Both Weisselberg and attorneys for the Trump Organization pled not guilty.

➤BIDEN MEETS WITH FAMILIES OF SURFSIDE CONDO RESIDENTS, SEARCH RESUMES AFTER SAFETY PAUSE: President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden yesterday met for more than three hours with family members of still-missing residents of the Surfside, Florida, condominium that partially collapsed one week earlier. Biden also met with and thanked first responders looking for survivors in the rubble from the 12-story Champlain Towers South building and stopped by a memorial wall covered in flowers and photos of the missing. He additionally received a briefing from officials, which was also attended by Governor Ron DeSantis, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and the state's two U.S. senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. Biden pledged continued federal help and also said he believed the federal government has, quote, "the power to pick up 100 percent of the cost" of the search and cleanup. 


Meanwhile, the search efforts at the site resumed yesterday evening after they'd been stopped for 15 hours over safety concerns about the stability of the remaining part of the tower that's still standing. They began again after the site was evaluated by structural engineers. The confirmed death toll remains at 18, with 145 people still missing.

 
➤GARLAND ORDERS TEMPORARY STOP OF FEDERAL EXECUTIONS: Attorney General Merrick Garland announced last night that he'd ordered a temporary stop of federal executions while the Justice Department conducts a review of its related policies and procedures. He said, "The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely. That obligation has special force in capital cases." Under former Attorney General William Barr, the Justice Department resumed federal executions in 2019 after a 17-year halt, and carried out an historic run of executing 13 people in six months near the end of former President Donald Trump's term.

➤SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS VOTING LIMITS: The Supreme Court's conservative majority yesterday upheld voting limits that had been imposed in Arizona, overturning a lower court ruling that found they were discriminatory under the federal Voting Rights Act. The 6-3 ruling said that the state's restrictions on who can return early ballots for another person and refusing to count ballots cast in the wrong precinct aren't racially discriminatory. The federal appeals court had found the measures disproportionately affected Black, Hispanic and Native American voters in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, but Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that the state’s interest in the integrity of elections justified the measures and voters faced, quote, "modest burdens" at most. He wrote that showing a law disproportionately affects minority voters isn't enough to prove a violation of law. Justice Elena Kagan condemned the majority's decision, charging that it had weakened the Voting Rights Act for the second time in eight years.
 

➤PELOSI NAMES MEMBERS, INCLUDING CHENEY, OF COMMITTEE TO PROBE CAPITOL ATTACK: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday named eight members of a new select committee that will investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Included are seven Democrats and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, who was removed from the House Republican leadership in May for being too critical of former President Donald Trump. Cheney said she was honored to serve on the committee, and that her duty is to the Constitution. Her appointment came after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened to strip Republican members of their committee assignments if they accepted an appointment from Pelosi to the panel. Leading the select committee will be Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

🏡SACRAMENTO CONSIDERS 'RIGHT TO HOUSING' INITIATIVE FOR HOMELESS:  Sacramento, California, Mayor Darrell Steinberg has proposed a first-of-its-kind measure to deal with homelessness in his city which combines a "right to housing" with homeless people being required to accept housing when it's offered. The "right to housing" part of the plan Steinberg put forward during his State of the City address this week addresses federal rulings that have made it increasingly difficult to enforce laws against homeless camps if there isn't alternative housing for the people who are living in them. Under it, Sacramento would create 5,000 housing spaces by July. In the other part of the plan, people who are homeless could face civil enforcement if they decline housing that they are offered. Steinberg said a penalty hasn't been determined, but likely ones could include education or treatment of some kind. While Bob Erlenbusch of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness said he backs the requirement to accept offered housing, although he questions the enforcement, the legal director of the National Homelessness Law Center, Eric Tars, spoke against the requirement, saying, "The right to housing is based on the inherent dignity of the individual, so a straightforward obligation to accept whatever is offered undermines that."


➤GENES DETERMINE WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR VIRGINITY: Genes can determine a lot about a person, including when they lose their virginity. A team of scientists led by the University of Oxford have identified 371 regions of our genetic code that appear to influence not only when men and women first have sex, but also when they have their first child. Genetics underlying early sex and fertility were related to behavioral disinhibition, the team found, like ADHD, addiction and early smoking. Meanwhile, those genetically prone to postpone sex or first birth had better later life health outcomes and longevity. Additionally, having a first child later in life was linked with living longer and being free of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

➤PANDEMIC MAY HAVE PERMANENTLY CHANGED RUSH HOUR: Rush hour isn’t quite so rushed in the early morning hours anymore. And it’s not just an hour, either. While Americans are gradually getting back to some semblance of normal, traffic data suggests that the morning drive has changed drastically – and it may never go back to pre-COVID patterns. In short, rush-hour traffic is more spread out and, generally, has shifted later in the morning as Americans are more able to avoid heavy traffic periods due to remote work, according to traffic data analyzed for USA TODAY by Wejo, which tracks data from connected vehicles. To be sure, as the pandemic continues to subside, many Americans are expected to return to the office after Labor Day, likely increasing overall traffic volumes. But traffic experts expect that increasingly flexible work arrangements are likely to give many Americans the ability to avoid the old-fashioned blitz to the workplace altogether.

➤BRANSON ANNOUNCES HE'LL BEAT BEZOS INTO SPACE BY NINE DAYS: In the battle of the billionaires to reach space first, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company announced yesterday (July 1st) that its next test flight will be on July 11th and that Branson will be among the six people on board. That means Branson will beat Amazon founder Jeff Bezos into space by nine days. Bezos had announced last month that he would be going into space on July 20th in his space company Blue Origin's debut launch. Virgin Galactic launches its rocket ship from an aircraft and Blue Origin launches its New Shephard rocket from the ground. Both go to the edge of space on flights that last about 10 minutes.

➤82-YEAR-OLD WOMAN ILL GO INTO SPACE WITH BEZOS: Trailblazing woman aviator Wally Funk, 82, will join Jeff Bezos this month on the first crewed spaceflight for the billionaire's company Blue Origin. The trip is 60 years overdue for Funk, who was one of the Mercury 13 -- the first women trained to fly to space from 1960-1961, but excluded because of their gender. On July 20 she will become the oldest person ever to go to space when she takes part in the journey aboard the New Shepard launch vehicle along with Bezos, his brother Mark and one other traveler.

➤BOY SCOUTS REACH $850 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH CHILD SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: The Boy Scouts of America have reached an $850 million agreement with attorneys representing some 60,000 victims of child sex abuse. The Boy Scouts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year as it faced mounting legal costs to defend against the claims of sexual abuse against boys. NBC News cited Ken Rothweiler, an attorney at Eisenberg Rothweiler, which represents the largest group of claimants, as saying the settlement is a start. The insurance rights for the past 40 years will be put into a trust that the survivor’s group will control and that could amount to billions more for the victims.


➤PRINCES WILLIAM AND HARRY UNVEIL PRINCESS DIANA STATUE: Brothers Prince William and Prince Harry put aside their differences yesterday as they joined together to unveil a statue of their late mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday. The statue, showing a standing Diana surrounded by three children, was commissioned by the brothers in 2017, and is located in the Sunken Garden, which was one of Diana's favorite places at Kensington Palace. The brothers said in a joint statement, "Today, on what would have been our mother’s 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character -- qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better. Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy." Diana's two sisters and her brother were also on hand for the private ceremony.

🏀BUCKS DEFEAT HAWKS IN GAME 5, DO IT WITHOUT GIANNIS: The Milwaukee Bucks were without star Giannis Antetokounmpo last night, who had hyperextended his knee in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday, but they managed to get the win over the Atlanta Hawks, 123-112, to take a 3 games to 2 lead. Brooks Lopez stepped up to lead the Hawks with a playoff career-high 33 points. Game 6 is Saturday in Atlanta.


🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday:
Milwaukee Bucks 123, Atlanta Hawks 112 - Milwaukee leads series 3 games to 2

🏈WASHINGTON FINED $10 MILLION BY NFL AFTER MISCONDUCT PROBE: The Washington Football Team was fined $10 million by the NFL yesterday after an independent investigation found the organization had a "highly unprofessional" workplace, particularly for women. Owner Dan Snyder is also stepping away from day-to-day operations for several months. The probe found that Washington's ownership and senior officials paid little attention to sexual harassment and other workplace issues, with NFL special counsel for investigations Lisa Friel describing the culture as "very toxic." Attorney Beth Wilkinson, who carried out the investigation, recommended the organization create protocols for reporting harassment, a disciplinary action plan, and regular training for employees, and also said the cheerleading team -- which is now a co-ed dance team -- needed to be protected.

⚾DODGERS' BAUER EXPECTED TO START SUNDAY AMID WOMAN'S ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS: L.A. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that pitcher Trevor Bauer is still expected to start on Sunday against the Washington Nationals, even as both police and MLB are investigating a woman's assault allegations against him. Roberts said the issue is, quote, "out of our hands," saying he was following the recommendation of MLB to go forward with the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner as the game's starter. The accuser, who has also obtained an order of protection against Bauer, claims he assaulted her during two sexual encounters, including choking her to the point of unconsciousness, punching her repeatedly in the face, and punching her in her genitals. His attorney denies the claims, saying they had a, quote, "brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship."

➤REPORTS: U.S. SPRINTER RICHARDSON TESTED POSITIVE FOR MARIJUANA, LIKELY WILL MISS OLYMPICS: Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who finished first in the 100 meters in the U.S. Olympic trials and was a medal favorite for the Tokyo Olympics later this month, tested positive for marijuana, according to multiple reports last night, and will likely not be able to compete in Tokyo. Richardson reportedly tested positive for marijuana at the Olympic Trials, which would disqualify her. It's unclear whether she could appeal and still compete in the Olympics. Richardson had posted a tweet earlier Thursday that said only, "I am human."

🎾MEDVEDEV, FEDERER, BARTY, GAUFF AMONG DAY'S WINNERS AT WIMBLEDON: Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev, Number 6 Roger Federer, top-seeded woman Ash Barty, and 20th-seeded American Coco Gauff were among the winners on Day 4 at Wimbledon yesterday (July 1st). In the day's biggest upset, Number 3 Elina Svitolina fell to unseeded Magda Linette in straight sets. With Svitolina's departure, eight of the top 11 women in the WTA rankings are out due to being defeated, withdrawal or injury.
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