Northeast
Bragg files motion to hold Trump in contempt for alleged gag order violations, threatens 30 days of jail time
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a motion Tuesday to hold former President Trump in contempt of court, claiming he violated the gag order imposed upon him by publishing three social media posts relating to two known witnesses in his criminal trial — Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
Bragg is urging Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan to also warn Trump that “future violations” of the gag order can be punished “not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days.”
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Merchan last month imposed a gag order on Trump, due to his “prior extrajudicial statements.” Merchan said they established “a sufficient risk to the administration of justice.”
Merchan ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses concerning their potential participation or about counsel in the case — other than Bragg — or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.
Merchan also ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about any prospective juror or chosen juror.
During the first day of the criminal trial and start of jury selection, Manhattan prosecutors suggested Trump had violated the order on three separate occasions on social media. Prosecutors said Trump should be fined $3,000 for the three alleged violations of the gag order — $1,000 for each violation.
On Tuesday, Bragg’s team filed a motion to hold the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee in contempt of Court.
The first statement Bragg’s team said was in violation of the order was a social media post on April 10 about Michael Avenatti, a lawyer who formerly represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Avenatti was later convicted of stealing from Daniels.
Trump, earlier this month, re-posted a statement from Avenatti, which said: “We can’t be hypocrites when it comes to the 1st Amendment. It is outrageous that Cohen and Daniels can do countless TV interviews, post on social, & make $$ on bogus documentaries—all by talking sh*t about Trump—but he’s gagged and threatened with jail if he responds.”
Trump, after re-posting Avenatti’s statement, added: “Thank you to Michael Avenatti –for revealing the truth about two sleeze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!!”
Bragg’s office also pointed to another post from April 10, in which Trump shared a picture of a document titled “Official Statement of Stormy Daniels,” which was dated Jan. 30, 2018.
“Over the past few weeks I have been asked countless times to comment on reports of an alleged sexual relationship I had with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago,” the statement from Daniels says. “I am not denying this affair because I was paid ‘hush money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.”
Trump posted, along with the photo, “LOOK WHAT WAS JUST FOUND! WILL THE FAKE NEWS REPORT IT.”
Separately, Daniels had denied the allegation in a Jan. 10, 2018 statement as well.
“I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false,” Daniels wrote in that Jan. 10, 2018 statement. “My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.”
Daniels wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was “gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.”
“Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the letter read. “If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn’t be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true.”
HUSH MONEY TRIAL JUDGE TEES UP RULING ON WHETHER TRUMP VIOLATED GAG ORDER, SHOULD PAY THOUSANDS
Bragg’s office also pointed to a third statement, in which Trump blasted former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz.
“Has Mark POMERANTZ been prosecuted for his terrible acts in and out of the D.A.’s Office,” Trump posted on April 13. “Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING? Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs! A dark day for our Country. MAGA2024!!!”
Cohen, in 2018, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
As for Pomerantz, he and his colleague Carey Dunne resigned from the Manhattan district attorney’s office in 2022 after Bragg took over as district attorney. At the time, Bragg had stopped pursuing charges against Trump and suspended the investigation “indefinitely,” according to a letter written by Pomerantz and obtained by Fox News Digital last year.
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Pomerantz and Dunne, who had been leading the investigation under Bragg’s predecessor, former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, submitted their resignations in February 2022 after Bragg began raising doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.
After Pomerantz resigned, he wrote a tell-all book based on the investigation, which was still ongoing. The book seemingly made the case to charge Trump.
Meanwhile, Bragg’s team, in their Tuesday motion, said that fines may not be enough to prevent future issues and violations of the gag order.
“This Court should warn defendant that future violations of the Court’s restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days,” the motion states.
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The contempt motion comes as part of the historic criminal trial of Trump. He is the first U.S. president to stand criminal trial.
Bragg charged him with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to alleged hush money payments made to Daniels in 2016 ahead of the election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
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Connecticut
Bridge Inspection On Tap For Section Of Glastonbury
GLASTONBURY, CT — The Connecticut Department of Transportation has scheduled a bridge inspection in Glastonbury for May 13.
TranSystems is currently under contract to the DOT’s Division of Bridge Safety and Evaluation and it will be will be inspecting Bridge No. 00419 which carries Route 3 over Naubuc Avenue.
Lane closures on Naubuc Avenue will be implemented that day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Traffic disruption is expected to be minor and traffic control will be handled by TranSystems personnel, DOT officials said.
Maine
Gulf of Maine, Oregon offshore wind lease sales proposed
May 1, 2024
The Interior Department moved ahead April 30 proposing the first offshore wind energy auctions in the Gulf of Maine and off Oregon, moving the Biden administration’s renewable energy drive into the realm of deeper waters and floating wind turbines.
The Gulf of Maine proposed sale would include eight lease areas off Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, covering nearly 1 million acres with potential for turbine arrays with a maximum rated output of 15 gigawatts, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
(The actual average generation from wind turbines being built in the northwest Atlantic off the U.S. East Coast has been estimated at around 42% to 45% of maximum potential, often referred to as nameplate rating, according to industry sources and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laroratory.)
BOEM narrowed the lease offering areas from its last wind energy area mapping in the gulf, a process the agency says “prioritized avoidance of offshore fishing grounds and identification of vessel transit routes, while retaining sufficient acreage to support the region’s offshore wind energy goals” of 13 GW to 18 GW.
The Oregon lease offerings are two areas: the Brookings Wind Energy Area of 133,792 acres, about 18 miles from shore, and the Coos Bay Wind Energy Area of 61,203 acres 32 miles offshore. Together the two areas could have potential for up to 3.1 GW of power output rating.
The move to lease areas for floating wind turbines is another level from BOEM leasing on the shallow East Coast outer continental shelf for turbines on foundations in the sea floor. The technology will have its own new issues with anchoring, cables and environmental impact.
Oregon tribes and commercial fishing groups pressed Gov. Tina Kotek trying to block BOEM leasing, and New England fishing advocates have been skeptical of the Gulf of Maine planning process.
BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said the agency is continuing to work with interest groups: “As we move forward with offshore wind energy in Oregon and the Gulf of Maine, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management remains dedicated to close collaboration with our government partners and key stakeholders.”
BOEM worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to use NOAA ocean resource information when analyzing wind energy areas. BOEM says the process “prioritized avoidance of offshore fishing grounds and identification of vessel transit routes, while retaining sufficient acreage to support the region’s offshore wind energy goals.”
In the Gulf of Maine, BOEM proposes simultaneous auctions for each of the eight lease areas using multiple-factor bidding. In the public comment period before the sales, is proposing bidding credits to wind companies that commit to supporting workforce training programs or supply chain development, or a combination of both, as well as a credit for a fisheries compensatory mitigation fund.
Other potential lease stipulations could focus on vessel transit and baseline environmental monitoring.
In Oregon, BOEM likewise proposes lease stipulations “to create good-paying union jobs and continue robust engagement with Tribal governments, the fishing industry, affected communities, and other ocean users. Potential stipulations for the proposed Oregon sale include providing bidding credits to bidders that commit to supporting workforce training programs for the floating offshore wind energy industry, developing a domestic supply chain for the floating offshore wind industry, or a combination of both.”
Wind companies could gain bidding credits with community benefit agreements with “Tribes, local communities, ocean users, or stakeholder groups expected to be affected by potential impacts from activities resulting from lease development,” according to BOEM.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Boy Band NKOTB Never Included Mark Wahlberg
Michael Dukakis recently retired at age 90. He leaves an impressive resume, including the Democrat presidential nominee for 1988 (he got creamed by George H.W. Bush), Northeastern University professor, and two-term Governor of Massachusetts (1983-1991).
One of Dukakis’ less-than-shining moments was when he went for a cruise in an army tank while sporting a blue helmet. Another was declaring April 24, 1989, New Kids on the Block Day in Massachusetts.
That was 35 years ago. I had almost forgotten until it popped up on social media.
New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) was a boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts, active between 1984 and 1994, only to reemerge in 2008.
NKOTB’s original members included 15-year-old Donnie Wahlberg and his schoolmates Jamie Kelly, Jordan Knight, his older brother Jonathan, and Danny Wood. When Kelly left the group, 12-year-old Joey McIntyre replaced him.
Some fans insist Donnie’s brother Mark Wahlberg was a founding member of New Kids on the Block, but that is not quite accurate. Wahlberg was with the group briefly but it was when it was known as Nynuk before it adopted the name New Kids on the Block.
The change from Nynuk to New Kids on the Block occurred after Mark Wahlberg left the group, became Marky Mark (with and without the Funky Bunch), acted in films, and opened hamburger joints.
Technically, Mark Wahlberg was never a member of New Kids on the Block.
Mark Wahlberg ran afoul of the law and developed an addiction to cocaine while running as a young pre-teen in the Boston area. After 45 days in jail and some coaching from his brother Donnie, Mark got his act together and has had a successful career.
New Kids on the Block is touring this summer with a stop in Connecticut in July and a show at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts on August 10, 2024.
NKOTB Flashback: New Kids on the Block MixTape Tour 2019
In 2019, NKOTB embarked on their first MixTape tour that grossed over $53.2 million dollars and sold over 650,000 tickets across the United States. The tour featured special guests Salt-N-Pepa, Tiffany, Naughty by Nature and Debbie Gibson. It included a stop at what was at the time Taco Bell Arena on June 4, 2019. These are some of the epic photos we caught outside the show!
NKOTB returns to the Treasure Valley on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 for a show at the Ford Idaho Center.
Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart
Own a Piece of New Kids on the Block History
Gallery Credit: Gazelle
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