Tuesday, April 16, 2024

4/16 WAKE-UP CALL: Trump Being Kept Off The Campaign Trail


Donald Trump faces a deep blue jury pool as his hush-money case begins. Jury selection could take a week or more on the Democratic turf known as New York City. The presiding judge, prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are expected to question hundreds of prospective jurors to weed out people who can’t set aside their views of a former president whose tenure sparked deep divisions. The former president called the case, involving the alleged coverup of a payment to buy porn star Stormy Daniels’ silence ahead of the 2016 election, nonsense and “political persecution” when he arrived at the courthouse. It was the first of four criminal cases brought against him in state and federal courts and might be the only one that wraps up before the November election. Trump’s lawyers have said that their client, who is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, can’t get a fair trial in Manhattan.

➤ISRAEL REPORTS MINIMAL DAMAGE: Israel intends to punish Tehran for the drone and missile barrage that represented Iran’s first-ever direct attack on its territory, Israeli officials said. The challenge is finding a way that avoids further escalation, preserves the partnership that helped fend off the assault and doesn’t derail its war aims in Gaza. The weekend’s slow-moving, telegraphed attack drew a robust military defense from Israel, the U.S. and other allies and resulted in minimal damage on the ground. Iran and Israel are more than 1,000 miles apart. Tehran said the attack was in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Iranian general at what it identified as an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria. Israel hasn’t confirmed or denied involvement. The U.S.’s defense of Israel’s skies has sparked Ukrainian envy and anger.

➤ISRAEL VOWS RESPONSE: Military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel would respond. He provided no details. "This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response," he said at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, which sustained some damage in Saturday night's attack. The prospect of Israeli retaliation has alarmed many Iranians already enduring economic pain and tighter social and political controls since protests in 2022-23.

Iran launched the attack in retaliation for what it says was an April 1 Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus, and signaled that it does not seek further escalation. While the attack caused no deaths and limited damage, it has increased fears of open warfare between the long-time foes and fueled concerns that violence rooted in the Gaza war is spreading. U.S. President Joe Biden told Netanyahu at the weekend that the United States, which helped Israel blunt the Iranian attack, will not participate in an Israeli counter-strike.

Since the war in Gaza began in October, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Israel said four of its soldiers were wounded hundreds of meters inside Lebanese territory overnight.

➤STALLED CONGRESS MAY FINALLY ACT: An Iranian attack on Israel over the weekend has put new momentum behind a stalled Congressional effort to pass billions of dollars in foreign aid to a pair of key U.S. allies. After months of delay, House Republicans said on Monday they will take a different approach to get the issue across the finish line: Put funding for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies up for a vote on their own, plus a fourth bill that will include several other unrelated GOP foreign policy priorities. Those include provisions to seize Russian assets to distribute them to Ukraine and to force TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell it or face a practical ban in the United States.

➤TESLA SALES SLOW..LAY-OFFS NEXT:  Tesla plans to lay off more than 10% of its workforce. The world’s most valuable automaker is focusing more on developing autonomous vehicles as its growth prospects for selling electric ones dim. Tesla’s once-enviable profit margins have also narrowed in recent quarters, and the company has used deep price cuts to stimulate sales. CEO Elon Musk cited the need to reduce costs and increase productivity, according to an email sent to employees today, seen by the WSJ. Industrywide, EV sales further decelerated in the first quarter, as purchases of gas-electric hybrids remained strong, accentuating a trend that started last year.



➤TAX REFUNDS COULD BE DELAYED: IRS computers flag returns for reasons including errors, inconsistencies or possible identity theft. Extreme delays are rare and might be caused by recent backlogs, the agency said. Uncle Sam has no deadline for issuing a refund check, though it must pay interest—currently at a rate of 8%—starting 45 days after receiving a return. This year, thousands of taxpayers using H&R Block software on their computers had an additional headache: From 9 p.m. Sunday until around 4 p.m. ET Monday, technological outages prevented electronic filing, the company said. People using the software through a web browser or working with H&R Block tax professionals weren’t affected.

➤RUST ARMORER SENTENCED:  A movie weapons armorer received the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on a Western movie set, as authorities now turn their focus on prosecution of Baldwin himself. A New Mexico judge on Monday found that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness amounted to a serious violent offense, while noting few indications of genuine remorse from the defendant since her conviction in March. Prosecutors blame Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust,” where it was expressly prohibited, and for failing to follow basic gun-safety protocols . Attention now turns to Baldwin’s upcoming trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins at a movie ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

🏀CLARK TOPS WNBA DRAFT: Caitlin Clark was the queen of the collegiate game but expects a major test when she joins the Women's National Basketball Association, the Iowa super star said on Monday, after going first in the WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever. The six-foot guard broke the all-time NCAA scoring record and sent television ratings skyrocketing during March Madness, with her splashy logo threes and astonishing passing ability captivating fans in the United States. But "reality is coming" for the 22-year-old sharpshooter, 10 times All-Star Diana Taurasi warned during a recent ESPN appearance, promising a tough reception in the highest ranks of the women's professional game. A sold-out crowd piled into the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Monday, leaving little doubt that Clark's star power could endure as she makes the leap from college to the professional game.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Blue Jays 3 Yankees 1
  • Angels 7 Rays 3
  • Phillies 2 Rockies 1
  • Nationals 6 Dodgers 4
  • Mariners 9 Reds 3
  • Cardinals 3 Athletics 1
  • Cubs 3 D-Backs 2
  • Braves 6 Astros 1
  • Royals 2 White Sox 0
  • Padres 7 Brewers 3
  • Mets 6 Pirates 3
  • Rangers 1 Tigers 0
  • Giants 4 Marlins 3
  • Orioles 7 Twins 4
  • Guardians 6 Red Sox 0

🏃BOSTON MARATHON: Sisay Lemma, a 33-year-old from Ethiopia, led nearly wire-to-wire to win the Boston Marathon men’s elite race.  Defending champion Hellen Obiri, of Kenya, broke away late to win the women’s elite race.

➤TUESDAY'S WEATHER MAP:



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