Category Archives: New York

Trump claims financial statements at heart of $250m fraud trial are ‘worthless’

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Former president takes stand in New York Trump Organization trial as judge asks lawyer to ‘control your client’

Donald Trump took the stand in a Manhattan federal courthouse on Monday and angrily claimed the financial statements at the heart of his $250m civil fraud lawsuit were “worthless” and the trial was a political “witch-hunt”.

In a day of sometimes heated, sometimes meandering testimony, Trump maintained he had done nothing wrong and accused his prosecutors of playing politics. “We sit here all day – it’s election interference because you want to keep me in the courthouse!” said Trump.

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New York City Marathon: Tola sets men’s course record as Obiri takes women’s crown

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  • Ethiopian eclipses previous best by eight seconds
  • Obiri won Boston Marathon earlier this year

Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia set a course record to win the New York City Marathon men’s race on Sunday while Hellen Obiri of Kenya pulled away in the final 400 meters to take the women’s title.

Tola finished in 2hr 4min 58sec, topping the 2:05:06 set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. Tola pulled away from his compatriot Jemal Yimer when the pair were heading towards the Bronx at mile 20. By the time he headed back into Manhattan a mile later he was up by 19sec and chasing Mutai’s mark.

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US schools grapple with shortage of a lunchtime staple: milk cartons

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Agricultural department says multiple states will be affected, forcing a brainstorm of backup plans

The tiny, half-pint cartons of milk served with millions of school lunches nationwide may soon be scarce in some cafeterias, with districts across the country scrambling to find alternatives.

The problem is not a shortage of milk itself, but the cardboard cartons used to package and serve it, according to dairy industry suppliers and state officials.

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Judge in New York fraud trial extends gag order to Trump’s legal team

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Arthur Engoron forbids Trump’s lawyers from discussing ‘confidential communications’ between the judge and his staff

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s $250m fraud trial moved to gag Trump’s lawyers from talking about “confidential communications” between the judge and his staff on Friday.

Judge Arthur Engoron has already fined Trump $15,000 for attacking his clerk on social media and threatened to jail the former president if the attacks continue.

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Trump sons deny knowing of financial statements at heart of $250m fraud trial

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Donald Jr says he ‘relied upon accountants’ for financial statements while Eric says he ‘never had anything to do’ with them

Trump’s eldest sons claimed on Thursday that they had no knowledge of the financial statements at the heart of the family’s $250m fraud trial.

Eric and his older brother Donald Trump Jr claimed in court that they had relied on accountants and others to make sure their financial records were correct.

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Eric Trump testifies ‘I don’t recall’ when asked about involvement in Trump Organization valuation – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For more on this trial, read our latest report:

Prosecutor Colleen Faherty asked Donald Trump Jr whether it’s a fair statement that he was generally familiar with the overall finances of the Trump Organization between 2011 and the present.

“I would think so, yes,” Trump Jr replied, Law360’s Stewart Bishop reports.

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FBI raids home of New York mayor’s top campaign fundraiser

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Brianna Suggs questioned by corruption squad as Eric Adams cancels several Washington DC meetings

The home of a consultant with ties to the New York city mayor, Eric Adams, was raided by the FBI on Thursday.

Brianna Suggs, Adams’s top campaign fundraiser, was questioned by the FBI’s public corruption squad as they searched her house in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, the New York Times reported.

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Trump Jr distances himself from documents at center of fraud trial: ‘I don’t recall’

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Donald Trump’s eldest son testifies in New York civil trial, claiming repeatedly: ‘I don’t recall’

Donald Trump Jr took the stand in the ongoing fraud trial against his father and the family business on Wednesday and tried to distance himself from the financial statements at the center of the case.

Trump’s eldest son, 45, is the first family member to testify in the civil trial brought by the New York attorney general, Letitia James. His younger brother Eric is expected to testify on Thursday, with Trump and his daughter Ivanka expected in court next week.

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‘Expect the unexpected’: Trump fraud trial becomes family affair

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Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka scheduled to give evidence with father this week in case against Trump Organization

Donald Trump’s fraud trial becomes a family affair this week as three of his children, and the former president himself, prepare to be called to the witness stand in New York.

Trump’s appearances in court so far have been controversial, to say the least. The former president has railed against the prosecution, calling it a “witch-hunt”, and has been threatened with jail for attacking one of the court’s clerks on social media.

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New York animal control officer arrested in yorkie dognap plot

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Hope the purloined pooch was returned to Jeannine Staller after she was told by Scott Casterline that her dog was dead

A New York state animal control officer was arrested after selling a stolen pet and telling the owner that the animal had died, authorities have said.

Scott Casterline, 51, was arrested on Thursday and charged in connection with stealing the dog, a nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier called Hope, and later selling it while working as an animal control officer, according to a press release from the Steuben county sheriff’s office.

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George Santos pleads not guilty to new fraud charges

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Republican accused of making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to campaign donors

US congressman George Santos pleaded not guilty on Friday to revised charges accusing him of several frauds, including making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to some of his campaign donors.

The New York Republican appeared at a courthouse on Long Island to enter a plea to the new allegations. He had already pleaded not guilty to other charges, first filed in May, accusing him of lying to Congress about his wealth, applying for and receiving unemployment benefits, even though he had a job, and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses like designer clothing.

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Michael Cohen says he inflated assets to ‘whatever number Trump told us to’

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Trump’s ex-fixer takes stand at New York fraud trial as former president, in attendance in court, attacks Cohen as ‘proven liar’

Donald Trump’s ex-fixer inflated the valuation of the former president’s assets to “whatever number Mr Trump told us to”, he has testified.

Michael Cohen made the allegation as he took the stand at Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York. His highly anticipated testimony is at the heart of the prosecutors’ case against his former boss.

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Climate activists force Fed chair Jerome Powell off stage in New York

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On Thursday protesters chanted: ‘Off fossil finance!’ and held a banner reading: ‘Fed Is Burning: Money, Futures, Planet’

The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, was escorted out of an event Thursday afternoon after a group of climate protesters briefly took the stage before he was due to give a speech. He took the stage after a 15-minute delay.

At the Economic Club of New York, protesters stormed the stage holding a banner that read “Fed Is Burning: Money, Futures, Planet” and chanting “Off fossil finance!” Powell, who was on stage, briefly left the event before returning to deliver his speech as planned. Security officials cleared protesters from the room.

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Donald Trump returns to New York court for fraud trial proceedings

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Former president planned a return to coincide with Michael Cohen’s testimony, which has been delayed until next week

Former president Donald Trump returned to a New York court on Tuesday to watch and deplore the civil fraud trial that threatens to disrupt his real estate businesses, but he got no face-to-face encounter – for now – with the star witness against him.

After attending the trial’s first three days earlier this month, Trump initially planned a return to coincide with testimony by Michael Cohen, his one-time attorney turned outspoken foe. But Cohen’s testimony was delayed until at least next week, with Cohen citing a health problem.

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Former FTX executive says he was ‘embarrassed and ashamed’ of its excess

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Nishad Singh testifies at Sam Bankman-Fried trial about millions spent by failed crypto exchange on celebrity partnerships

The jury at Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial on Monday saw a photograph of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder with the singer Katy Perry and the actor Orlando Bloom at the 2022 NFL Super Bowl, as prosecutors sought to bolster their case that the failed crypto mogul squandered customer money on efforts to boost his stature.

Prosecutors displayed the image as Nishad Singh, FTX’s former director of engineering, testified about how the company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on celebrity partnerships and marketing in early 2022, months before the exchange declared bankruptcy amid a wave of customer withdrawals.

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Jewish and Muslim Americans fear rise in hate crimes amid Israel-Hamas war

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With protests escalating and police departments on alert, assaults and harassment have been reported

Jewish and Muslim Americans in cities all around the country are worried that escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, which some are calling “isolating and scary”, will exacerbate hate crimes and harassment in the United States.

For many Arab Americans in New York City, Bay Ridge was always a place of safety. The south Brooklyn neighborhood is 3 sq miles of Arabic bodega signs, halal grocers and a growing community of Palestinian, Yemeni, Syrian and Egyptian families.

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Missing, presumed poached: Staten Island fears for beloved turtle

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Shnappy, who weighs 50lbs and lives in Clove Lakes Park, has gone missing – and locals suspect poachers stole it for soup

It is the case of a missing turtle.

And this is no ordinary beast. The huge snapping turtle, known to all as Shnappy, weighs an enormous 50lbs and is a fixture in the New York borough of Staten Island, where he has long resided in Clove Lakes Park.

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Trump request to halt New York fraud trial rejected by appeals court

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Trial to resume on Tuesday but court stays judge’s order to immediately break up Trump’s businesses in New York state

Donald Trump’s New York fraud trial will continue next week after an appeals court rejected the former president’s latest bid to halt proceedings.

Lawyers for Trump had argued that the court should wait for an appeal on a pre-trial ruling before moving forward. The trial started on Monday.

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FTX co-founder testifies he committed crimes with Sam Bankman-Fried

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Gary Wang, who previously pleaded guilty to his role in FTX’s downfall, is testifying under a plea agreement

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto fraud trial gained steam on Thursday when the co-founder of his fallen exchange, Gary Wang, took the stand as a government witness in Manhattan federal court.

His testimony came as the highly anticipated trial entered its third day. Bankman-Fried faces seven counts on fraud and conspiracy charges in relation to the implosion of his crypto exchange FTX and its related hedge fund, Alameda Research.

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New York City subway shooter sentenced to life in prison

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Frank James pleaded guilty earlier this year to terrorism charges in April 2022 shooting in Brooklyn

A man who sprayed a New York City subway car with bullets during rush hour, wounding 10 people and sparking a citywide manhunt, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison.

Frank James, 64, pleaded guilty earlier this year to terrorism charges in the 12 April 2022 mass shooting aboard a Manhattan-bound train. He received a life sentence on 10 counts and 10 years for an 11th count.

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