Wednesday, May 10, 2023

5/10 WAKE-UP CALL: Jury Finds Trump Liable

Daily Mail composite 5/10/23
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation — and ordered to pay more than $5 million in damages — by a federal jury in writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit accusing him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room decades ago. Carroll, 79, held her head down as the verdict was read in Manhattan federal court — and nodded when she heard the jury finding in favor of her defamation claim for Trump, 76, branding her a liar when she came forward with her allegations.


The nine-person jury — three women and six men — decided the case after three hours of deliberations that began just before noon Tuesday. Neither Carroll nor her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, spoke to the mass of reporters outside the Lower Manhattan courthouse as they left hand in hand, with the former “Ask E. Jean” columnist breezing through the crowd and into a waiting car.

“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social following the verdict. Speaking outside court, his attorney, Joe Tacopina, vowed to appeal the verdict.  

As a reporter asked if it would derail Trump’s run for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, Tacopina quickly interjected: “nope.”

➤TRUMP SAYS TOWN HALL COULD BE DISASTER: Ahead of his first appearance on CNN in years, former President Donald Trump said his decision to take part in a prime time town hall Wednesday night “could turn into a disaster for all, including me.” Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump urged his supporters to watch.  Donald Trump’s town hall forum is the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign — and a gigantic test for the chosen moderator, Kaitlan Collins. CNN would not make Collins available to talk before the event, scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday. It speaks to Collins’ stature that she was given the assignment at a network with no shortage of experienced political journalists — Dana Bash, Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper, Chris Wallace. She worked at The Daily Caller, the conservative website launched by Tucker Carlson, before turning occasional guest appearances on CNN into a full-time job in 2017.

EL PASO PACKED:  El Paso is packed with migrants as a policy change draws near.  Trump-era border restrictions known as Title 42 will expire on May 11, and the Biden administration plans to implement a new set of rules limiting which migrants are eligible to ask for protections in the U.S. The change has sparked confusion among migrants. Some are rushing across the border before Thursday, while others are waiting until then to cross into the U.S. El Paso, Texas, officials estimated last week that as many as 2,500 migrants were currently in the city, waiting to travel to other parts of the U.S. They expected that figure to grow in the coming days and skyrocket after Title 42 ends, straining the city’s ability to provide shelter, food and other assistance. 

President Biden admitted the border is 'going to be chaotic' on Tuesday when asked if his administration is prepared to handle the end of Title 42. 'It remains to be seen,' Biden said. 'It's going to be chaotic for a while.' He said he spent over an hour with Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday and they are both 'doing all we can.' He praised the 'overwhelming cooperation' from Mexico and noted the U.S. is setting up asylum processing centers in Central American countries.

➤BIDEN SAYS McCARTHY IS HELD HOSTAGE BY 'MAGA': President Joe Biden said Tuesday night that he believed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was still being held hostage by 'extreme' members of his party, which is partially responsible for the ongoing debt ceiling stalemate. The president, who delivered remarks from the Roosevelt Room after his meeting with the four top Congressional leaders, said 'default is not an option,' and told reporters that using the 14th Amendment to lift the debt ceiling was something he'd been considering.

🍺BUD LIGHT SALES DROP IS ACCELERATING: Bud Light’s downward spiral has accelerated in the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney debacle — and the carnage has begun to spill into Anheuser-Busch’s other mega-buck brands. Nationwide retail sales of Bud Light were down 23.4% versus a year ago in the week ended April 29 — worse than the 21.4% decline they suffered a week earlier, according to Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ data.  Meanwhile, as beer drinkers discover how many other beer brands fall under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella, the backlash is widening, according to the fresh data. The company’s flagship Budweiser brand took a 11.4% sales hit for the week ended April 29. Sales of Bud’s Michelob Ultra brand — the third-biggest-selling in the US behind No. 1 Bud Light and No. 2 Modelo Especial — were down 4.4%, according to Bump Williams data.  “It’s not just a Bud Light issue,” said Bump Williams, chief executive of the consultancy.

➤WORKER FATALLY INJURED AT AMAZON WAREHOUSE IN FORT WAYNE: A worker died after being injured at an Amazon warehouse in Fort Wayne in an incident that closed the facility for the rest of the day Monday, authorities said. Emergency medical crews were called to an Amazon Fulfillment Center about noon Monday, Allen County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Cpl. Adam Griffith said. The worker was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. The death is under investigation, the sheriff’s department said. Additional details about the death were not immediately released.

➤LOUISIANA MAN IS ACCUSED OF SHOOTING A GIRL PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK ON HIS PROPERTY: Louisiana man, David Doyle, faces aggravated assault and battery charges after firing a gun at children who were playing hide and seek outside his home, wounding a 14-year-old girl. The girl suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the head early Sunday, and was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

➤PERIMETER GUARDS ABSENT AS 2 MEN ESCAPED PHILADELPHIA PRISON: There were no corrections officers assigned specifically to watch the housing unit of a Philadelphia prison when two inmates escaped Sunday night, and no armed perimeter guards were on duty as the men broke through the prison’s fence, a correctional officers union official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Days later, authorities are still searching for the two men, including one who is facing charges in four murders. The men were gone for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.

🏠HOME PRICES FALL: Home prices fell in nearly a third of the U.S. during the first quarter. During the peak of the housing boom, they rose in almost every nook and cranny of the country, but now the Midwest, South and Northeast are seeing increases, while prices are dropping in the West, according to the National Association of Realtors. Nationwide, the median single-family existing-home sale price fell 0.2% in the first quarter from a year earlier to $371,200, the first year-over-year price decline since the first quarter of 2012. You can blame higher mortgage rates and limited housing stock.

A mass exodus of home-seekers from the West Coast has fueled the largest home price percentage fall across the country in more than a decade. The new research, from the National Association of Realtors, found that nearly a third of metro areas posted annual price declines, which comes off the back of a pandemic housing boom. While prices still rose in many regions in the Midwest, South and Northeast, several Western states have seen a stark decline in property values as homebuyers continue to flee.

➤PUTIN CONDEMNS UKRAINE SUPPORT: Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the West’s support of Ukraine as his military’s losses mounted. Addressing a crowd gathered in Moscow’s Red Square for the annual Victory Day parade commemorating Nazi Germany’s World War II defeat, Putin said Western countries are seeking Russia’s “disintegration and destruction.” The Kremlin has tried to recast the Ukraine war as a contest between Moscow and the West. The holiday celebrations were more muted than last year’s, coming days after a drone strike on the Kremlin and infrastructure strikes that rattled many residents. At least 20 cities canceled parades and other public celebrations, while others scaled them back. Hours before Putin’s speech, Russia fired a barrage of cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities.

➤SHE'S BACK: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is returning to the Senate after a nearly three-month absence due to health problems, a spokesperson said. Feinstein is expected to cast a vote Wednesday — her first recorded vote since Feb. 16 — after having missed 91 floor votes while she recovered from shingles. With Democrats holding just a single-seat advantage in the Senate, Feinstein’s absence complicated her party’s efforts to confirm some of President Joe Biden's nominees. Her absence was most pronounced on the Judiciary Committee, where an 11-10 majority became a 10-10 stalemate — frustrating Democratic efforts to confirm some judges and scuttling any plans to issue subpoenas on party-line votes.

➤SANTOS FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES: Republican Rep. George Santos has been hit with federal criminal charges, according to a bombshell new report. Federal prosecutors have now filed criminal charges against the Long Island lawmaker who has admitted lying about his past and fabricating resume, CNN reported. He is expected to be arrested and then appear in court on Wednesday, although the nature of the charges are unclear as they have been filed under seal. The charges are filed New York's Eastern District. Prosecutors in New York and Washington have been looking into a variety of false statements he made during his campaign for Congress in 2022.

🐶A DOG NAMED 'BUDDY HOLLY': Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, was named Best in Show on Tuesday at the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the event’s most coveted prize. Buddy Holly, from Palm Springs, Calif., won in the Hound group. The petit basset griffon Vendéen has never won Best in Show, but the breed has won from its group once before, in 2007. The breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1991.

🏀SUNS 118 NUGGETS 102: Nikola Jokic dropped a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets put up a dominant performance on the Phoenix Suns, coming out on top 118-102 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Jokic finished the night with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists as the Nuggets took a lead with 1:25 left in the second quarter and never looked back. It sends the series back to Phoenix - where the Suns have lost only one game all playoffs - with the Nuggets having the chance to send the home team packing.

The sideline fracas between Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic and Suns owner Matt Ishbia over the weekend apparently is a case of basketball bygones. Jokic, who was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making contact with Ishbia during Game 4, flipped the ball to Ishbia at midcourt Tuesday night after he finished warming up ahead of Game 5. Ishbia laughed as he caught the ball and rose to greet Jokic. The two men shared a 'bro hug,' and brief comments before Jokic continued toward the tunnel with a smile and Ishbia, also grinning, rolled the ball back onto the court.

🏀SIXERS 115 CELTICS 103: Having silenced the TD Garden crowd and put the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics on the brink of a second-round exit, 76ers players barely cracked a smile as they walked off the court. 'It´s not over. We have to get one more,' Joel Embiid said. 'All of us. We have to show up.' They'll soon get that chance. Embiid scored 33 points and Philadelphia easily took a 3-2 lead in the East semifinals on Tuesday night.

🏈WITNESS SAYS MATT ARAIZA WASN'T PRESENT AT TIME OF ALLEGED RAPE: Prosecutors said Matt Araiza was not present when an alleged gang rape of a minor occurred at an October 2021 party, according to witness testimony included in evidence that prompted the San Diego District Attorney to not press criminal charges against the former Buffalo Bills punter. Araiza, a former punter at San Diego State, also was not visible in any of the videos recovered from the night in question, according to audio from a meeting between San Diego deputy district attorney Trisha Amador and the woman who filed a civil lawsuit last year against Araiza and two of his former Aztecs teammates.

🏈ARAIZA SPEAKS OUT ON CHARGES: Matt Araiza, the former Bills punter who was cut by the NFL team when he was linked to an alleged gang rape of a minor, has spoken out after it emerged he was not present at the time the incident happened. A statement reported by Pro Football Talk from Araiza said: 'I am deeply gratified for the thorough work of the DA's office in San Diego and for all the witnesses that were willing to come forward and tell the truth. 'I am thankful that the facts of this case as provided by the witnesses will prove that what I have been saying from the beginning is, in fact, the truth.

⚾REDS 7 METS 6: The Mets lost for the 12th time in 15 games and Buck Showalter was ejected for the first time as New York's manager as Jonathan India drove in three runs in the Cinwinnati Reds' 7-6 win on Tuesday night. With New York trailing 4-1 in the fifth, Cincinnati's Kevin Newman hit the ball up the middle and a sliding Wil Myers, with his right arm extended in the direction of Francisco Lindor, was hit by the ball, preventing the shortstop from making a clean play. The 66-year-old Showalter, hired by the Mets before the 2022 season. was tossed by crew chief Mark Wegner. 'It's pretty obvious what it was,' Showalter said. 'But It´s hard to imagine four guys not being able to see what happened. There´s about three ways you could get that play right. We had opportunities for it to not matter. We just didn´t pitch very well early on.'

⚾YANKEES 10 ATHLETICS 5: Gleyber Torres homered for the second consecutive game and drove in three runs as New York overcame three homers by Oakland rookie Jordan Diaz. Diaz launched a solo shot in the fourth inning, a leadoff drive in the seventh and a two-run homer in the eighth. The 22-year-old second baseman from Colombia connected off three different pitchers, giving him four home runs in 30 major league games. Aaron Judge had two RBIs in his return from the injured list and Clarke Schmidt (1-3) pitched a career-high six innings for his first big league win as a starter. The right-hander allowed two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

⚾ORIOLES 4, RAYS 2:  Adley Rutschman homered, Grayson Rodriguez pitched into the sixth inning and Baltimore´s bullpen was solid to help the Orioles top the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Tuesday night. The Orioles snapped a three-game losing streak, their longest mini-slump of the season, and pulled within 5 1/2 games of the major league-leading Rays. Tampa Bay won the opener Monday in a three-game series between the American League´s top teams.

⚾PHILLIES 8, BLUE JAYS 4:  Nick Castellanos went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs as Philadelphia beat Toronto. Aaron Nola (3-2) allowed two runs on five hits over six innings to win his third straight decision.


⚾MLB, PLAYERS OFFICIALLY FINALIZE CBA THROUGH 2026: Major League Baseball and the players' association finalized their collective bargaining agreement through the 2026 season Tuesday, 14 months after reaching a memorandum of understanding for a deal that ended a 99-day lockout. The agreement, which expires at 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 1, 2026, runs 426 pages, up from 359 in the deal that ended on Dec. 1, 2021.

⚾BRAVES ACE MAX FRIED PLACED ON IL WITH STRAINED LEFT FOREARM: The Atlanta Braves placed ace pitcher Max Fried on the 15-day injured list with a strained left forearm. The roster move, announced Tuesday, marks the second IL trip this season for Fried, who also missed two weeks in April after suffering a hamstring injury on Opening Day.

🏒HURRICANES 6 DEVILS 1: Jordan Martinook had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes scored five times in the second period to beat the News Jersey Devils 6-1 on Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

➤A POWERFUL SOLAR STORM IS DUE TO HIT EARTH ON WEDNESDAY, SPARKING BEAUTIFUL AURORAS: A powerful geomagnetic storm is due to hit the Earth Wednesday, causing dazzling auroras across the planet which may be seen farther south than usual. The coming auroras have been predicted after the sun released some plasma during a coronal mass ejection on Sunday that is currently traveling toward us at breakneck speeds. NASA predicts this plasma will hit the Earth on Wednesday, exciting our outer atmosphere and helping auroras shine.



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