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Judge delays Trump’s sentencing in hush money case until September

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Judge delays Trump’s sentencing in hush money case until September

Trump became the first former US president convicted of felony charges and was originally set to be sentenced next week.

The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money case has granted a request to delay the former United States president’s sentencing until at least September.

The decision on Tuesday follows a ruling by the US Supreme Court that ordered broad criminal immunity for presidents in their official acts.

Trump’s legal team had cited the top court’s decision in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan requesting the delay in the sentencing, which was originally scheduled on July 11.

The lawyers representing Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, told Merchan they needed time to build their case that Trump’s conviction on 34 felony charges of falsifying business documents to cover up hush money payments made to an adult actress should be overturned in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

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Before Merchan’s decision, prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Trump’s argument was “without merit” but agreed to delay the sentencing.

Merchan said the sentencing would be delayed until at least September 18, less than two months before the November 8 elections.

Prosecutors had argued that Trump falsified business records to cover up his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.

They directly connected the payments to a wider scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election.

In their letter to Merchan, Trump’s lawyers argued that during the trial, prosecutors had presented evidence involving Trump’s official acts as president, including social media posts he made and conversations he had while in the White House.

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That evidence should have been protected under presidential immunity, the lawyers said, per the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling.

The ruling from the majority of six justices on the nine-member bench said presidents have “absolute immunity” from criminal liability for any acts within their “core constitutional powers”. Evidence related to those official acts also may not be presented at a trial, the majority opinion said.

However, the ruling, which was assailed by the court’s three liberal justices, said presidents could still be prosecuted for acts outside those powers. The exact delineations remain unclear.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned the decision opened the door to “nightmare scenarios”, including possible immunity for assassinating a political rival.

“In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law,” she wrote.

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Political implications

The Supreme Court ruling bodes well for Trump, who faces three additional criminal trials.

It is expected to be the most bedeviling to the legal argument at the heart of a federal case related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results after his loss to President Joe Biden.

It could also have implications for a state trial in Georgia related to efforts to pressure officials to change the 2020 vote count as well as a second federal trial related to Trump allegedly hiding and hoarding classified White House documents at his Florida estate.

The New York trial, however, was the only trial expected to finish before the election. While the initial guilty verdict did not show a major shift in support for Trump, analysts have argued that a severe sentence could turn off some would-be Trump voters.

Merchan’s decision comes five days after Biden delivered a dismal performance in the first presidential debate against Trump, which has sent the Democrat’s campaign into damage control while bringing concerns over the 81-year-old’s age to the fore.

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On Tuesday, a Reuters/Ipsos poll was released showing one in three Democrats think Biden should end his re-election bid after the debate performance. Still, the poll found no prominent elected Democrat would perform any better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump.

On Wednesday, Biden was reportedly set to meet with Democratic governors in an effort to allay their concerns.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre also said Biden would give his first post-debate interview to ABC News on Friday and would hold a news conference during a NATO conference next week.

She reiterated that Biden has no intention of dropping out of the race.

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Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest: Who Won the Annual Fourth of July Binge-a-thon? (Watch Video)

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Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest: Who Won the Annual Fourth of July Binge-a-thon? (Watch Video)


Who Won Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024 — Winner, Results



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Australian girl, 12, killed by crocodile while swimming in creek

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Australian girl, 12, killed by crocodile while swimming in creek

Australian authorities discovered the remains of a 12-year-old girl Thursday after she was reportedly snatched by a crocodile while swimming in a creek.

Police Senior Sgt. Erica Gibson told reporters, “It was an extremely difficult, essentially 36 hours, difficult for the first responders involved in the search.”

The child’s disappearance began a nearly two-day search by land, air and water.

Her remains were discovered near the river where the girl had gone missing, southwest of the Northern Territory capital Darwin, in the Indigenous community of Palumpa. 

Sgt. Gibson confirmed that the girl’s injuries were from a crocodile attack, saying “The recovery has been made. It was particularly gruesome and a sad, devastating outcome.”

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AUSTRALIAN FAMILY DISCOVERS VENOMOUS SNAKE IN CHILD’S BED

A girl was snatched by a crocodile while swimming in a river in Palumpa, Australia Tuesday, according to police. (Associated Press)

“However, for the family, it is the most devastating outcome possible for them. They are in a state of extreme shock and disbelief,” Gibson added.

Saltwater crocodiles are known to be territorial and the killer reptile may still be in nearby waterways. They are known to be a general risk in the Northern Territory, according to The Associated Press.

SLY ALLIGATOR LURKING UNDER PUBLIX SHOPPING CARTS CAUGHT ON VIDEO IN SOUTH CAROLINA

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Northern Australia is a tropical climate, supporting a boom in saltwater crocodile populations since populations have been conserved under Australian law beginning in the 1970s.

A view of the riverway where a 12-year-old's remains were discovered in Australia

A girl was snatched by a crocodile while swimming in a river in Palumpa, Australia Tuesday, according to police. (Associated Press)

The population of large crocodiles is on the rise in Northern Australia, with some reptiles reaching up to 23 feet long. The animals grow throughout their lives, and crocodiles can live up to around 70 years of age.

Sgt. Gibson told reporters that the search efforts for the killer crocodile are still underway.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Remains of destroyed Kharkiv stadium exhibited in Berlin

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Remains of destroyed Kharkiv stadium exhibited in Berlin

The joy of the European Championship exists parallel to the suffering caused by Russia’s war of aggression, says Bärbel Bas, President of the German Bundestag.

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Remains of the Sonyachny Stadium from Kharkiv, damaged by Russian missiles, have found a new temporary home in Berlin.

German Bundestag President Bärbel Bas and Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev unveiled the interactive installation by the Ukrainian Association of Football in front of the German Parliament building.

The stand includes an interactive installation with the story of Sonyachny. Using virtual reality, it’s possible to experience the stadium in real-time, seeing its current state.

The damaged tribune was first displayed in Munich, where the Ukrainian team has played their first match at this year’s euros against Romania. The team has since been knocked out of the tournament.

Kharkiv was one of four Ukrainian host cities for the Euros in 2012. In 2022, the stadium on display was destroyed by Russian attacks.  

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So far, 500 sports facilities in Ukraine, including 77 football stadiums, have been damaged or destroyed by Russian bomb and missile attacks. 

Speaking to the press, Bas emphasized how this project communicates a message of duality: the joy of the European Championship exists in parallel to the suffering caused by Russia’s war of aggression.

She also expressed her support for the Ukrainian people.

“Today is the 19th day of the European Championship in Germany. That corresponds to the number of days in June alone on which air strikes were launched in Kharkiv. 468 hours. 19.5 days. In this sense, this stand is a memorial – a reminder that not far from here Russia is committing genocide on a daily basis, from which even soccer is not immune,” Ambassador Makeiv told journalists.

‘Peace has a price’

The damaged stand was first exhibited in Munich, where the Ukrainian team played its first match at this year’s European Championships against Romania. The Ukrainian team lost the game 3-0.

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The stand then travelled with the team to Düsseldorf where it was again put on display.

After three games resulting in a loss, a win and a draw, the Ukrainian team was eliminated from the tournament.

During the team’s last match in Stuttgart against Belgium, Ukrainian fans sent a sign. From the stands, they held a banner with the words “Peace has a price” along with a portrait of fallen soldier and football fan Nazariy Hryntsevich.

The image of Hryntsevich was created using artificial intelligence (AI) and the photos of 182 other fallen Ukrainian soldiers, all of whom were known to be avid fans of their local soccer clubs.

If the circumstances had been different, they would probably have been at the games in person or supporting their team in front of the TV. Instead, their static images radiate emotion and resilience.

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