The Trump Organization chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, as Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan in 2016. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
“The Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office early on Thursday as he and the Trump family business prepare to face criminal charges in a tax-related investigation.
Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trump family for nearly 50 years, entered a building housing Manhattan’s criminal court, where he and a Trump Organization representative are expected to appear later in the day.
These are the first criminal charges against the former president’s company since prosecutors began investigating it three years ago, and represent the latest stage of an escalating battle between New York prosecutors and the former president.
The exact charges against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization are not yet known, but are expected to involve alleged tax violations related to benefits the company gave to top executives, possibly including the use of apartments, cars and school tuition, people familiar with the case said.
While no charges are expected to be brought against Trump personally, they mark an extraordinary turning point for the former president and more are likely to follow.” Read more at The Guardian
Bill Cosby greets reporters yesterday outside his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park, Pa. Photo: Matt Rourke/AP
“Bill Cosby, 83, the first celebrity convicted in the #MeToo era, was released from prison after his sexual assault conviction was thrown out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The split court found that Cosby was unfairly prosecuted: A previous district attorney promised the comedian that he wouldn't be charged for accusations by Temple University employee Andrea Constand that he drugged and molested her at his mansion, AP explains.
Cosby was charged by another prosecutor who claimed he wasn't bound by that agreement, made when the former ‘America's Dad ‘agreed to testify without invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in a lawsuit brought against him by Constand.” Read more at Axios
Screenshot: CNN
Britney Spears’s father Jamie has overseen her estate for 13 years. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters
“A judge has denied Britney Spears’s request to remove her father from his role overseeing her conservatorship, a court filing reveals.
The singer’s lawyer, Samuel Ingham, asked a court in Los Angeles to oust Jamie Spears from his position managing the multimillion dollar estate.
When calling for Jamie Spears to be removed in November last year, Ingham said Spears, 39, was scared of her father and wanted him gone from the conservatorship that she says has controlled her life since 2008.
In court filings, Britney Spears said she wanted private wealth management firm the Bessemer Trust appointed as ‘sole conservator.’
However, documents filed in Los Angeles show Judge Brenda Penny refused the request while rubber-stamping Bessemer Trust’s role as co-conservator of the estate.
The legal document states: ‘The conservatee’s request to suspend James P Spears immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust Company Of California, NA as sole conservator of estate is denied without prejudice.’
The filing was dated 30 June, a week after the pop superstar delivered dramatic testimony calling for the end of the conservatorship.
She was placed under the complex legal arrangement – usually reserved for the very old and infirm – after suffering a series of mental breakdowns.
Spears told a court on 23 June that the conservatorship was ‘abusive,’ and that she wanted it to end without the need for a medical assessment. She said she has been forced to work against her will, and that the conservatorship stopped her from removing a contraceptive device in order to try for another child.” Read more at The Guardian
“Rescue teams have been working around the clock to sift through the rubble of the Florida condo collapse, and reinforcements are being brought in. So far, 18 people -- including two children -- are confirmed dead, with 145 people still unaccounted for. Though there are still many unknowns, more details of what happened from witnesses and survivors are trickling in. Video recorded by a couple staying at a nearby hotel shows debris and gushing water in the condo's parking garage minutes before it collapsed. Still, the investigation into the collapse is only just beginning, and experts say it will take months to determine what caused the building in Surfside to come crashing down.” Read more at CNN
“The more contagious, more aggressive Delta variant has now been detected in all 50 states and Washington, DC. Health experts predict there could be especially dense outbreaks in pockets of the US with low vaccination rates and low rates of prior infection, namely rural and Southern communities. Those fears are putting even more pressure on local and state leaders to vaccinate more people. Some officials are issuing new mask guidance,regardless of vaccination status. But one health expert warned that the federal government's mask guidance should be more focused, instead of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.” Read more at CNN
“Marking 100 years since the founding of China’s Communist Party, Xi Jinping told an audience on Tiananmen Square on Thursday that the party was the only force capable of ensuring the country’s rise. He also issued a rousing warning against any foe that stood in the way.” Read more at New York Times
Donald H. Rumsfeld in 2000, between Vice President-elect Dick Cheney and President-elect George W. Bush, who chose Mr. Rumsfeld to be his secretary of defense. Credit...Jeff Mitchell/Reuters
“Donald H. Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense for Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George W. Bush, who presided over America’s Cold War strategies in the 1970s and, in the new world of terrorism decades later, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died on Tuesday at his home in Taos, N.M. He was 88.
The cause was multiple myeloma, said Keith Urbahn, a spokesman for the family.” Read more at New York Times”
“UNC Chapel Hill trustees voted 9-4 to grant tenure to New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, after originally refusing to do so, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reports.
Hannah-Jones, creator of The Times' 1619 Project, joins the faculty today as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism.
10 of the 13 trustees are white men.
The Pulitzer Prize winner said in a statement after yesterday's vote: ‘This fight is about ensuring the journalistic and academic freedom of Black writers, researchers, teachers and students.’” Read more at Axios
“President Biden said that he would raise the pay of federal firefighters, calling the current wage — around $13 an hour — ‘ridiculously low.’” Read more at New York Times
“A WHO-led team hit a roadblock in investigating farms that supplied the market where early Covid-19 cases emerged.
Almost all the animals are gone. In early 2020, Chinese officials ordered farmers who bred or trapped wild animals for food, fur or traditional medicine to stop their trade, so many of them killed, sold or released their stock. That presents a problem for the World Health Organization-led team and other scientists intent on identifying Covid-19’s origins by examining farms that supplied animals to Wuhan’s Huanan food market. If the animals and workers were tested before the farms closed, those findings haven’t been made public. Finding evidence of infection in farmworkers will become increasingly difficult as time goes on, according to a zoologist on the team. The virus is thought to have spread to humans after originating in bats, but the lack of progress in finding an animal source may fuel interest in the alternative theory, that the virus spilled from the Wuhan Institute of Virology or another lab in the city. The WHO-led team and many other scientists say the most plausible hypothesis is that the virus is of natural origin.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Facebook critics regroup after the digital behemoth wins in court
After a federal judge ruled that the FTC didn’t show enough evidence that Facebook is a monopoly, critics of the tech firm are regrouping. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said in his ruling that there is nothing necessarily unlawful about Facebook having a policy of restricting access to its tools and user data. Federal plaintiffs will have the opportunity to refile their case, which aimed to ‘address anticompetitive mergers and abusive conduct, ‘according to members of the House antitrust subcommittee. Some House members said the ruling showed the need for their legislation to update antitrust laws for the internet age. Meanwhile, House Republicans and business-friendly Democrats are facing pressure to delay bills that could facilitate the breakup of major tech companies like Facebook.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Taking time | Biden has fallen behind even Trump’s record-slow pace in picking envoys to take his message of ‘America’s Back t’o the world. Ambassador posts in countries including China, India and Mexico are vacant and, as Nick Wadhams and Jennifer Epstein report, foreign officials and career diplomats are wondering why it’s taking so long to announce nominees.” Read more at Bloomberg
“A Los Angeles Police Department bomb-disposal truck exploded Wednesday night after officers removed explosives from a home where, earlier in the day, they had seized thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks. The blast left nearby cars flipped onto their sides and sent more than a dozen people to the hospital.
At least 17 people — 10 law enforcement personnel and seven residents — were hurt when a truck transporting the materials exploded about 6:40 p.m. The bomb squad was called to remove about 40 ‘Coca-Cola can-sized’ improvised explosive devices, LAPD Chief Michel R. Moore said in a news conference late Wednesday.
None of the injuries are life-threatening, Moore said. Arturo Cejas, 27, was arrested Wednesday and charged with possession of a destructive device, he added, after police got a tip about illegal fireworks at the man’s home.” Read more at Washington Post
“PHARR, Tex. — Former president Donald Trump traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border here Wednesday for a trip billed as an opportunity to assail President Biden on immigration — an issue core to Trump's political identity and one Republicans view as a weakness for Democrats.
But Trump often got sidetracked from the day’s message, instead launching into grievance-filled rants.
He tried to re-litigate the results of the 2020 election. He questioned whether Biden would pass the mental acuity test that he has often used to boast about his own mental fitness.
And he introduced and provided commentary on most of the more than two dozen House Republicans who traveled to see him at the border, often touting the electoral significance of his endorsements of them. He complimented the physical appearance of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), the medical acumen of Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.) — his former White House doctor — and the auctioneering abilities of Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), with Trump asking him to put them on display by jokingly selling the border wall.” Read more at Washington Post
“A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Florida law that would penalize social media companies for blocking a politician’s posts, a blow to conservatives’ efforts to respond to Facebook and other websites’ suspension of former president Donald Trump.
The law was due to go into effect Thursday, but in issuing a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida suggested that the law would be found unconstitutional.
‘The plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their claim that these statutes violate the First Amendment,’ Hinkle wrote. ‘There is nothing that could be severed and survive.’
The law laid out fines for tech companies that suspended political candidates in the run-up to an election.
Florida legislators approved the law after Facebook, Twitter and YouTube suspended Trump’s accounts for violating their policies following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a potential 2024 presidential candidate and key Trump ally, touted the law as a stand against alleged censorship of conservatives when he signed it in May.” Read more at Washington Post
“135,000 — The number of test ballots inadvertently included in a preliminary tabulation of ballots in New York City’s mayoral race as of Tuesday night, according to the city’s Board of Elections. The results were removed from the board’s website after Eric Adams, the leading candidate in the Democratic primary, raised questions about the count’s accuracy. The Democratic mayoral primary was the first big test of the city’s new ranked-choice voting system, which requires the board to eliminate candidates and redistribute votes over a series of rounds. A new tally released Wednesday night showed former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia had leaped into second place with 48.9% of the votes, behind Adams with 51.1%. This means that the more than 124,000 absentee ballots that the board still needs to count could determine the outcome of the race.
$2.1 billion — The sum the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said it would spend on gender-equality work over five years. It’s the largest-ever charitable donation the foundation has made, cementing the advancement of women’s empowerment as a priority for the organization alongside vaccine development and polio eradication. The announcement comes weeks after Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates announced their divorce.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“College athletes with endorsement deals, autograph events and even personal logos.
Starting today, NCAA athletes can earn money from their name, image and likeness without losing their eligibility, Axios Sports editor Kendall Baker writes.
Why it matters: You're going to start seeing athletes participating in national ad campaigns, promoting brands on social media, starting their own youth camps and even launching businesses.
Most athletes won't make tens of thousands of dollars. But some — like LSU cheerleader and social media star Olivia Dunne — could rake in serious cash as they balance school, sports and business.
What's happening: The NCAA yesterday suspended its rules prohibiting athletes from personally profiting. The decision came hours before laws that would have had the same impact were set to take effect in 15 states.
25 states have passed name, image and likeness (NIL) bills, and 15 go into effect today — in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.
Congress will likely pass legislation eventually. Until then, the hodgepodge of state laws and school policies will be messy.
Athletes are wasting no time signing deals, filing for trademarks and teasing apparel lines. A few examples, many of which were announced right at midnight:
Antwan Owens, a Jackson State defensive end, signed with Three Kings Grooming, a Black-owned hair product shop.
Dreamfield, a platform where businesses can book athletes for meet-and-greets and other events, signed Miami QB D'Eriq King and FSU QB McKenzie Milton to be public faces of the company.
Runza, a Plains sandwich chain known for its Frings, is offering deals to the first 100 athletes in Nebraska who promote the app on social media.
Milner Technologies is offering endorsement deals to four female athletes from Florida colleges — a Miami volleyball player, a Florida State soccer player, a UCF track athlete and a Florida gymnast.
Jordan Bohannon, an Iowa basketball player, will sign autographs at a fireworks store today. He's also launching an apparel line.
Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz this week became the first college athlete to release a trademarked personal logo.” Read more at Axios
“Lives Lived: Greg Noll, a fearless surfer known as ‘Da Bull,’ tackled stunningly big waves in Hawaii in the 1960s. With his bodybuilder’s physique and black-and-white prison-stripe trunks he was difficult to miss in the water. Noll died at 84.” Read more at New York Times
“Prince William and Prince Harry will unveil a statue of their late mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace Thursday in a long-awaited ceremony . The statue had been conceived years ago to mark the 20th anniversary of her death and to celebrate her legacy. The brothers will deliver separate speeches in what is anticipated to be a high-pressure, potentially awkward event thanks to a fierce falling-out between the two. ‘What happens on Thursday will be closely watched,’ said royal biographer Robert Lacey. ‘What are these two boys honoring? What values of Diana? The values of humanity, of accessibility?’” Read more at USA Today
“Police in Athens have been commended for recovering a priceless Pablo Picasso painting stolen in a gallery heist nine years ago, but have won fewer plaudits for securing the painting’s wellbeing once in the care of law enforcement. The portrait, given as a gift to Greece’s National Gallery by the Spanish painter to honor the country’s resistance to Nazi Germany had been stolen in 2012 according to what Greece’s police minister called ‘non-existent’ security measures. It was recently found again in a dried riverbed outside Athens after officers responded to a tipoff. As police propped up the painting on Tuesday for the world’s media to take a closer look, the frameless artwork promptly crashed to the ground.” Read more at Foreign Policy