The $454 million penalty imposed against President Donald Trump in his New York civil fraud case has been thrown out by an appeals court.
Trump and some of his entities were hit with that hefty penalty, plus interest, in February 2024, after New York trial Judge Arthur Engoron concluded that Trump had inflated the value of his assets for years to get better loan and insurance terms. Engoron also imposed about $10 million in separate penalties against Trump's eldest sons, Eric and Don Jr., and former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg.
However, in an Aug. 21 ruling that included multiple opinions from different members of a five-judge panel, the Manhattan-based appeals court determined the penalties for Trump and the others were improper. Some members of the panel said that the penalty violated the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on excessive fines. Others said Trump should be afforded a new trial due to errors in the trial judge's determinations.
The ruling marks another major personal legal victory for Trump, who has also seen multiple criminal cases against him crumble following his November presidential election victory. Trump's appeal against his conviction in his New York criminal case dealing with payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels is ongoing.
Trump's $454 million civil fraud court loss thrown out by appeals court
Israeli military says first stages of assault on Gaza City have begun
The Israeli military says it has begun the "preliminary actions" of a planned ground offensive to capture and occupy all of Gaza City and already has a hold on its outskirts.
A military spokesman said troops were already operating in the Zeitoun and Jabalia areas to lay the groundwork for the offensive, which Defence Minister Israel Katz approved on Tuesday and which will be put to the security cabinet later this week.
About 60,000 reservists are being called up for the beginning of September to free up active-duty personnel for the operation.
Hamas has accused Israel of obstructing a ceasefire deal in favour of continuing a "brutal war against innocent civilians", Reuters news agency reported.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City are expected to be ordered to evacuate and head to shelters in southern Gaza as preparations for Israel's takeover plan get under way.
Many of Israel's allies have condemned its plan, with French President Emmanuel Macron warning on Wednesday that it "can only lead to disaster for both peoples and risks plunging the entire region into a cycle of permanent war".
Palestinians deserve a state now for the same reasons Jews did in 1948
Soon, the Palestinian people will be recognized as a sovereign nation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by most countries. They now have the political and moral momentum toward achieving this goal.
The world owes Palestinians independence and sovereignty for the same reasons it granted the Jews living in British Mandatory Palestine their independent state in 1948, only a few years after six million Jews had been gassed to death in German concentration camps.
This will happen despite an expected U.S. veto next month in the United Nations, and in spite of the political alliance between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump is pragmatic; he will come to support the creation of a Palestinian state, as most Americans already do.
This is because the case for Palestinian independence has been getting clearer and more urgent with every Israeli bombing of mostly innocent Gazans, and with every death from starvation caused by Israel’s withholding of food.
Netherlands sending 300 troops, Patriot missile systems to Poland
Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans has said his country is sending 300 troops and Patriot air defence missile systems to Poland to “defend NATO territory, protect supply to Ukraine, and deter Russian aggression”.
The Netherlands’ announcement on Wednesday came as Polish officials said that an object that fell in a cornfield in Poland’s east on Tuesday night may have been a Russian version of the Shahed drone.
The explosion from the drone broke windows in several houses in the village of Osiny, near Poland’s border with Ukraine, but no injuries were reported, according to an official cited by Poland’s state news agency PAP.
Brekelmans told Dutch public broadcaster NOS on Wednesday that the military support to Poland came alongside other countries providing similar assistance to the NATO-member country, which borders Ukraine.
Former national guard vice chief calls deployment into D.C. an 'intimidation' tactic
Several Republican-led states are deploying more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. to address what President Trump has called a "crime emergency" in the nation's capital. Several lawmakers and military officials, including former top official of the National Guard Major Gen. Randy E. Manner, have expressed concern that the guard is being politicized.
"Military vehicles in front of public buildings and the idea of them constantly there with weapons, that is absolutely called intimidation," Manner, who served as acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, told Morning Edition. "I'm very concerned about the impact on both our recruiting, as well as, the perception of many of the people of color as they see the National Guardsmen from other states coming in to occupy Washington, D.C."
Despite protests and legal challenges, Trump has repeatedly touted extending federal control over the nation's capital, even though data shared by the Justice Department shows violent crime in the city hit a 30-year low last year.
Flooding begins in the Outer Banks as Hurricane Erin moves north
North Carolina's Outer Banks are already feeling the impact of Hurricane Erin as the storm moves north, hundreds of miles off of the East Coast.
Parts of Highway 12, the main highway through the Outer Banks, were already being flooded by Wednesday afternoon. And the window to evacuate has now closed for vulnerable areas, as officials warn that the evening's high tides will bring some of the storm's biggest impacts. Those remaining should shelter in place, they said.
Mandatory evacuations are in place for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.
The massive storm was roughly 295 miles from Cape Hatteras, N.C., as of 5 p.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center. The National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City called it a "large and dangerous hurricane."
Fed governor urged by Trump to resign will not be ‘bullied’ into stepping down
Donald Trump has called on a Federal Reserve governor to immediately resign, renewing his extraordinary attack on the central bank’s independence as officials mull next steps on interest rates.
A close Trump ally accused Lisa Cook, an appointee of Joe Biden, of “potentially committing mortgage fraud” and urged the US Department of Justice to investigate.
The claims have not been confirmed, and this evening Cook said she had “no intention of being bullied” into stepping down.
The US president has repeatedly broken with precedent in recent months to demand the Fed cut rates and urge its chair, Jerome Powell, to quit after disregarding such calls.
On Wednesday, Trump leaped on the allegations about Cook. The governor “must resign, now!!!”, he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.
Texas can’t require Ten Commandments in some districts, judge rules
A district judge ruled Wednesday that Texas can’t require posters of the Ten Commandments to go up in certain school districts where parents have challenged the move.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery sided with a group of families fighting against a new law set to take effect Sept. 1 that would have put posters of the Ten Commandments in easily readable letters in every public school classroom in Texas.
“They just want to be left alone, neither proselytized nor ostracized, including what occurs to their children in government run schools,” the judge wrote in his decision.
While this lawsuit only affects 11 districts, another legal challenge to the law is working its way through the courts.
Trump buys more than $100 million in bonds in office, disclosure shows
President Donald Trump has bought more than $100 million in company, state and municipal bonds since taking office in January, according to government disclosures about the billionaire's holdings.
The forms were filed Aug. 12 with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and posted online Aug. 19. The documents show 600 purchases the Republican real estate mogul made since Jan. 21, the day after he was inaugurated for his second term in the White House.
The holdings span industries that could benefit from changes in administration policy, such as financial services or technology.
The corporate bonds included financial companies such as Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. Others included tech companies such as Meta, Qualcomm and T-Mobile USA, along with The Home Depot and UnitedHealth Group.
The forms detail what types of bonds Trump bought, most of which paid 4% to 5% interest. But the value of each investment was listed only in broad ranges, such as $100,000 to $250,000.
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