South Dakota
Porn star Stormy Daniels in NYC hush money trial alleges sexual encounter with Trump • South Dakota Searchlight
WASHINGTON — Adult film star Stormy Daniels told a Manhattan jury Tuesday about meeting Donald Trump in a penthouse suite in 2006, where he told the actress not to worry about his wife and that she reminded him of his daughter shortly before they had sex.
The testimony, reported by journalists in the courtroom, described in granular detail the intimate physical encounter with a former president, who is now facing charges in New York for falsifying records of hush-money payments to the actress and director. Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges.
Trump, the presumed 2024 Republican presidential nominee, denies the encounter.
Daniels was called to the stand in the trial’s fourth week as prosecutors aim to prove that Trump covered up a $130,000 payment to silence the star during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The former president faces 34 felony charges for allegedly disguising the payments, reimbursed to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, as “legal expenses.” The Trump organization eventually paid Cohen $420,000 to account for taxes and a bonus.
Book editor testifies
The trial opened Tuesday with a brief appearance from witness Sally Franklin. Franklin is an executive and editor with Penguin Random House, the publisher of some of Trump’s books, including “Trump: How to Get Rich” and “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire.”
Prosecutors led jurors through excerpts of Trump’s books, including portions where Trump claims to always sign checks personally and that he fastidiously kept track of funds going in and out of the Trump Organization.
On Monday, the jury heard from both a former and current finance employee of the Trump Organization about the payments to Cohen. The prosecutors used the testimony to show the jurors financial documentation, including the 11 checks personally signed by Trump.
The New York case is the first of four criminal indictments against Trump to reach the trial stage. The likelihood of the other cases reaching trial before the November election dwindled further Tuesday when a federal district judge in Florida indefinitely postponed the trial date in Trump’s classified documents case that had been scheduled for May 20.
‘My motivation wasn’t money’
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, testified for several hours, telling the jury about a reluctant sexual encounter with Trump and multiple public meetings with him in the following months as he dangled a possible appearance for her on NBC’s “The Apprentice,” according to reporters at the courthouse.
New York does not allow video or audio recording in the courtroom but provides public transcripts of the proceedings.
Trump says he’d use police, National Guard and possibly the military to expel immigrants
Journalists reported Judge Juan Merchan growing irritated with Daniels’ long and detailed testimony, at times chastising her and telling her to stick to the questions. Merchan sustained objections from Trump’s team, and at times objected on his own.
The actress described meeting Trump in 2006 at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament where she was promoting Wicked Pictures, an adult film company.
Initially refusing an invitation for dinner, Daniels then agreed to meet Trump for the meal in his luxury hotel suite. Daniels testified that Trump answered the door in silky pajamas, and she asked him to get changed.
After dinner, Daniels testified, she was shocked that Trump had stripped down to his underclothes and then positioned himself between her and the door when she attempted to leave, according to reporters at the courthouse.
She testified that she didn’t say no “because I didn’t say anything at all.”
Daniels said she stopped taking Trump’s calls in 2007 after he couldn’t guarantee her an appearance on the NBC show.
In the ensuing years, her story appeared on an obscure website, and Daniels talked about being approached in 2011 by a man who threatened her and told her to keep quiet about the encounter.
Daniels testified that after Trump announced his presidential run in 2015 her publicist unsuccessfully tried to sell her story. Interest only heated up, however, in October 2016 after the surfacing of an “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump brags that his fame allows him to grab women’s genitals.
“My motivation wasn’t money. It was to get the story out,” she said, according to reporters at the courthouse.
Trump and Cohen reached out to Daniels’ publicist Gina Rodriguez to buy her story, after which Daniels said she decided keeping quiet would be the safest option for her and her family.
Daniels eventually received $96,000 of the $130,000 payment, after her manager and lawyer took fees, she testified.
A mistrial attempt
Trump’s defense lawyer Todd Blanche moved for a mistrial Tuesday afternoon, arguing Daniels’ testimony went beyond what was necessary for the case.
Blanche especially took issue with Daniels describing from the witness stand her feelings about the alleged affair and her claim that Trump didn’t wear a condom.
Trump fined $9,000 for violating gag order in NY hush-money trial
While Merchan told the defense that some things would have been “better left unsaid,” he denied the motion for a mistrial.
Daniels returned to the stand in the afternoon as Trump attorney Susan Necheles aimed to discredit her, accusing her of making “a lot of money” from her story, according to reporters at the courthouse.
Necheles also questioned Daniels about the 2011 encounter with the man she said threatened her. At the time Daniels was in a parking lot on the way into a “mommy and me” class with her baby.
Necheles cast doubt on the veracity of the story, saying “Your daughter’s life was in jeopardy and you did not tell her father,” according to reporters at the courthouse. Daniels said she kept the story and the parking lot encounter secret from her husband.
In a further attempt to poke holes in Daniels’ testimony, Necheles asked why the porn star decided she wanted to sell her story in 2016 after having been so afraid of threats.
Necheles said Daniels saw an “opportunity to make money,” to which Daniels responded, “I saw the opportunity to get the story out. I didn’t put a price tag on it,” according to reporters at the courthouse.
Merchan dismissed the jury at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Trump’s team is expected to continue cross-examination Wednesday.
In response to Daniels’ testimony, Trump posted in all caps on his platform Truth Social Tuesday afternoon: “THE PROSECUTION, WHICH HAS NO CASE, HAS GONE TOO FAR. MISTRIAL!”
The post followed an earlier one that had since been deleted, according to media reports. The earlier post expressed anger that Daniels was unexpectedly being called to the witness stand.
Trump was fined $1,000 Monday for again violating his gag order, which prevents him from posting about witnesses. The former president was fined for nine other gag order violations on April 30.
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See Washington’s Maddy Mescher talk about her two-home run day
Sioux Falls Washington’s Maddy Mescher talks about her two home runs on Saturday, April 18, her win in the circle and the rest of the Warriors’ 2026.
The SDHSAA’s state softball tournament will run from Thursday, June 4, to Saturday, June 6. The Class AA tournament will be at Bowden Field at Augustana University, and the Class A and B tournaments will be at Players Softball Complex in Aberdeen.
All games will begin at 10 a.m. each day, with games set for every two hours after. The state semifinals will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, June 5, and the state championship games will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 6.
Here’s everything you need to know for the weekend ahead:
South Dakota high school softball tournament schedule
Class AA
Quarterfinals, Thursday, June 4
- No. 1 Sioux Falls Jefferson (20-0) vs. No. 9 Sioux Falls Lincoln (12-9), 10 a.m. CT
- No. 4 Brandon Valley (14-4) vs. No. 5 Sioux Falls Roosevelt (14-6), noon CT
- No. 2 Harrisburg (19-1) vs. No. 7 O’Gorman (13-7), 2 p.m. CT
- No. 3 Sioux Falls Washington (19-3) vs. No. 6 Rapid City Stevens (14-5), 4 p.m. CT
Semifinals, Friday, June 5
- Semifinal 1, 2 p.m. CT
- Semifinal 2, 4 p.m. CT
Championship game, Saturday, June 6
- State title game, 4 p.m. CT
Class A
Quarterfinals, Thursday, June 4
- No. 1 Madison (14-2) vs. No. 8 Elk Point-Jefferson (9-6), 10 a.m. CT
- No. 4 West Central (14-6) vs. No. 5 Beresford (16-8), noon CT
- No. 2 Tri-Valley (17-2) vs. No. 7 Lennox (8-5), 2 p.m. CT
- No. 3 Dakota Valley (12-4) vs. No. 6 Sioux Valley (21-4), 4 p.m. CT
Semifinals, Friday, June 5
- Semifinal 1, 2 p.m. CT
- Semifinal 2, 4 p.m. CT
Championship game, Saturday, June 6
- State title game, 4 p.m. CT
Class B
Quarterfinals, Thursday, June 4
- No. 1 Castlewood (18-4) vs. No. 8 Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy (11-7), 10 a.m. CT
- No. 4 Hanson (18-4) vs. No. 5 Avon (16-7), noon CT
- No. 2 McCook Central/Montrose (20-2) vs. No. 7 Redfield (10-7), 2 p.m. CT
- No. 3 Florence/Henry (15-4) vs. No. 6 Gayville-Volin (14-5), 4 p.m. CT
Semifinals, Friday, June 5
- Semifinal 1, 2 p.m. CT
- Semifinal 2, 4 p.m. CT
Championship game, Saturday, June 6
- State Title Game, 4 p.m. CT
Analysis
Class AA
This feels like a three-horse race, with Sioux Falls Jefferson, Harrisburg and Sioux Falls Washington having established themselves as the clear top three.
Jefferson has a win over each team, while Harrisburg swept a pair of games against Washington. Neither team lost to anyone else.
The Cavaliers have the top pitching staff in the state with Tya Devericks and Mak Bierman, while also having Macy Bryant post an absurd .828 batting average this season. Devericks posted a 0.93 ERA in 68 innings with 99 strikeouts, and Bryant added 18 doubles, eight triples, seven home runs, 37 RBIs, 51 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. Her slash line is .828/.845/1.688. Brooklyn Herrera has also been a major contributor in the middle of the Jefferson lineup.
Harrisburg also has a potent lineup, with Peyton LaFramboise, Alexis Fey, Jayci Olson, Kennedy Kokenge and Maleia Knutson all helping the Tigers average a Class AA-high 13.4 runs per game.
Washington is led by pitcher Maddy Mescher, who has thrown to a 1.53 ERA in 93 innings with 127 strikeouts. The Warriors have averaged just 2.7 runs in their losses and 11.4 runs in their wins. The Warriors will need to keep their offense hot, having scored in double digits each of the last three games.
Brandon Valley, Sioux Falls Roosevelt and O’Gorman all got hot right before the state tournament and could present early problems for the top teams. One of Brandon Valley and Roosevelt will be eliminated in the second game of the first day, and then will likely face Jefferson.
Rapid City Stevens and Sioux Falls Lincoln don’t necessarily come into the weekend limping, but haven’t had the best stretches. They have Washington and Jefferson, respectively, and those aren’t the best matchups for struggling sides.
This will likely be a three-team race, and I think Jefferson is unbeaten for a reason. The Cavaliers have the best player (Bryant) and probably the best pitcher (Devericks) in the state, and they should take home their second consecutive state championship
Prediction: Sioux Falls Jefferson
Class A
Class A is as wide open as any class, with five teams I feel have a decent chance to win a state championship.
Let’s start with the defending champions from West Central. The Trojans had a more rocky season than normal, but a dynamic lineup can turn things around in a hurry. West Central has wins over the top two seeds and Beresford, its first opponent, so confidence should be high.
Madison is the top seed with losses only to West Central and Tri-Valley. The Lady Bulldogs have the second-best average run differential in the tournament and have scored in double digits in 11 of their 14 wins.
Tri-Valley was both the best team at preventing and scoring runs in Class A, and the Mustangs ripped off an eight-game winning streak during the middle of their season. Tri-Valley went 7-2 against teams that made a state tournament this season, proving it’s a battle-tested side.
Sioux Valley and Dakota Valley are similar, but the Cossacks got a lower seed despite winning seven more games this season. Sioux Valley went just 6-2 against Class A competition, with four of those wins coming against Sioux Falls Christian. Dakota Valley only has two losses coming to South Dakota teams, with one each against Madison and Tri-Valley.
Beresford is the first team I feel is off the true title contention list, mostly because of the lack of offensive firepower against quality competition. Lennox and Elk Point-Jefferson are both just a few games over .500 and haven’t reached 10 wins, and have tough opening matchups.
I feel the second seed has all the tools to win this, but Madison and West Central are also very strong contenders for the crown.
Prediction: Tri-Valley
Class B
Three lower seeds won in the SoDak 16, with No. 14 Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy beating No. 3 Deuel, No. 11 Redfield taking down No. 6 Baltic and No. 9 Gayville-Volin beating No. 8 Chester.
Castlewood, McCook Central/Montrose and Hanson appear to have separated themselves from the pack. Each team boasts solid average run differentials and can get hot over the weekend.
Castlewood has been great at run prevention, McCook Central/Montrose has scored tons of runs and Hanson has managed to thread the middle ground of those two styles.
Florence/Henry, Avon and Gayville-Volin have also shown to be quality opposition, but they’ve just come up short a few too many times against the cream of the crop.
Redfield and Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy need to keep their momentum from the SoDak 16, but have a tall task to make a run here.
This is mostly a coin flip between the top three, but I’m going with Class B’s only 20-game winner.
Prediction: McCook Central/Montrose
A tornado watch has been issued for much of central and eastern South Dakota as forecasters warn conditions are favorable for tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds Wednesday evening.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued the watch at 4:05 p.m. CDT, and it will remain in effect until 11 p.m. It includes dozens of counties across central and eastern South Dakota, as well as parts of southeastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.
Forecasters expect thunderstorms to develop along and ahead of a cold front moving southeast across the Dakotas. The strongest storms could become supercells capable of producing all severe weather hazards.
The severe weather threat is expected to continue Thursday, when another round of strong to severe thunderstorms could develop across parts of South Dakota. Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes will again be possible.
What are expected impacts of South Dakota storms?
Storms that remain isolated could produce tornadoes and very large hail before merging into a line of thunderstorms later in the evening, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Once storms organize into a line, damaging winds are expected to become the main threat, although brief tornadoes and hail will remain possible.
The National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls said portions of southeastern South Dakota face a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather Wednesday evening. Atmospheric conditions include high instability, increasing wind shear and abundant moisture, creating an environment supportive of severe thunderstorms.
In addition to severe weather, some areas could receive heavy rainfall. Most locations are expected to receive between a quarter-inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain, although isolated areas could see more than an inch. Widespread flooding is not expected, but localized flooding could occur in areas that recently received heavy rainfall.
Where will storms hit in South Dakota?
Storms are expected to develop in central South Dakota between late afternoon and early evening before moving east through the night. Forecasters expect the strongest storms to reach the Interstate 29 corridor between about 10 p.m. and midnight.
Radar: Severe weather in South Dakota
South Dakota weather watches and warnings
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Brandi D. Addison covers weather across the United States as the Weather Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She can be reached at baddison@gannett.com.
See Republican Zach Lahn speak after primary win in governor’s race
GOP gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn speaks to his supporters during an election night watch party on June 2, 2026, in West Des Moines.
The makeup of the Legislature was up in the air as of 1 a.m. after South Dakota’s primary election.
Ten Republican state lawmakers ousted in 2024 are angling to get their seats back in 2026. Results were mixed for the nine who had primaries on Tuesday, with results still coming in for several races and others set for possible recounts.
Shawn Bordeaux of Rosebud won the state’s only Democratic primary, beating Troy “Luke” Lunderman for a chance to return to the state Senate.
Bordeaux will face Chamberlain Republican Rebecca Reimer in November’s general election. Reimer, who was term-limited in the state House of Representatives, beat Lower Brule Sen. Tamara Grove in Tuesday’s primary.
In Watertown’s District 5, Rep. Josephine Garcia fell in a state Senate primary to incumbent Sen. Glen Vilhauer. Garcia beat Byron Callies in the 2024 primary to earn her seat in the House of Representatives, but opted to challenge Vilhauer for his Senate seat instead of seeking reelection to the House.
Callies, Vilhauer and Garcia are all from Watertown.
Vilhauer won with 59% of the vote. His was one of the first state legislative victories of the night reported on the Secretary of State’s website.
Vilhauer won handily, but he said he wasn’t necessarily expecting to as polls opened on Tuesday.
“I knew it was going to be a battle going in,” Vilhauer said. “She worked hard on her side, and I didn’t know what to expect.”
Callies was among the first to call Vilhauer to congratulate him, around 9:30 p.m.
“I’m happy, because Glen’s a solid legislator,” said Callies, who’s angling to win his seat back in the general election.
Garcia did not return a call seeking comment.
In District 21, Sen. Mykala Voita of Bonesteel beat former Sen. Erin Tobin of Winner in a rematch of their 2024 contest, which Voita won by a few dozen votes that year. This time around, Voita bested Tobin by 1,002 votes.
In response to a request for comment, Voita sent a text reading “Glory to God!”
Tobin did not return a call from South Dakota Searchlight about her race after it was called, but said earlier in the evening she would be “at peace” with the results regardless of what they might be.
Another rematch saw Yanktonites Lauren Nelson and Jean Hunhoff battling for District 18’s state Senate seat. Nelson was a newcomer in 2024 when she beat Hunhoff, who’d spent decades in the Capitol between stints in the House and Senate. On Tuesday, Nelson held off Hunhoff, winning by 243 votes.
Other notable races
- District 4 Rep. Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake, first elected in 2024, finished fourth in a five-way race. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, he trailed Ryan Kohl of Milbank and former Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence, in first and second place, respectively. A recount is possible in that race, with 59 votes separating the top two vote-getters while Rep. Kent Roe, of Hayti, came in third place, with 72 fewer votes than Deutsch.
- District 4 has two possible recounts. In the other, Bryant’s Stephanie Sauder beat Clear Lake’s Tim Begalka by 105 votes in the unofficial tally from the Secretary of State.
- District 1 Rep. Logan Manhart of Aberdeen, elected in the 2024 primary, fell to Rep. Nick Fosness, a hospital administrator appointed by Gov. Larry Rhoden in 2025, and newcomer Daniel Kjos.
- Another recount was possible as of Wednesday at 1 a.m., in the District 16 race for House of Representatives. Rep. John Shubeck of Beresford trailed Lisa Bogue of Beresford by 245 votes in unofficial results. Jason VanDenTop of Canton was in third place, trailing Shubeck by 68 votes.
Vote totals incomplete
- Sen. John Carley of Piedmont, who won his first term in 2024, trailed William Meirose of Sturgis by 166 votes as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.
- Former Rep. Tyler Tordsen led Rep. Tony Kayser by two votes in the District 14 primary, with results still coming in. The Sioux Falls men are vying for second place and a spot on the November general election ballot alongside Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, who led by more than 600 votes early Wednesday.
- District 28 Sen. Sam Marty of Prairie City was in a close race with former legislator Ryan Maher of Isabel.
- Former Rep. Gary Cammack of Union Center, who lost his seat in 2024, and Gary Deering of Hereford, led Reps. Terri Jorgenson of Piedmont and Kathy Rice of Blackhawk in the District 29 race.
- In District 30, Hot Springs Sen. Amber Hulse led former Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller of Rapid City by more than 1,300 votes.
- Former Sen. David Johnson of Rapid City led Sen. Curt Voight of Rapid City in a rematch of their 2024 race for District 33 Senate in early results.
- Rep. Heather Baxter of Rapid City has signaled her intention to challenge sitting Secretary of State Monae Johnson for the Republican nomination to that constitutional office at the state’s Republican Party convention this summer. In early results, Baxter trailed former Rapid City Rep. Becky Drury and Rep. Mike Derby in the District 34 primary.
- Early results in the District 35 primary put Sen. Greg Blanc, elected in 2024, in a close race with fellow Rapid City resident Nicole Mitzel.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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