Trump might be prosecuted in New York for paying porn stars

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, the United States, March 4, 2023.

Evelyn Hockstein Reuters

Prosecutors in New York City have told attorneys for former President Donald Trump that he could face prosecution in connection with a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on his behalf ahead of the 2016 presidential election, a new report said Thursday.

The New York Times reported that Trump has been offered the opportunity by the Manhattan Attorney’s Office to testify next week before the grand jury, which has been collecting evidence and hearing testimonies for the criminal investigation.

“Such offers almost always indicate that indictment is imminent,” reads the Times article.

The newspaper said its reporters spoke to four people with knowledge of the situation.

Two of Trump’s defense attorneys confirmed to NBC News that he was told by his attorneys that he could appear before the grand jury. Lawyers said such an offer was standard and he had not received a subpoena urging his appearance.

They denied the Times’ reporting that criminal charges could be forthcoming.

Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, admitted in 2018 that he paid Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 election to keep her silent about her claims about a one-off sexual rendezvous with Trump years earlier.

Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has denied having sex with Daniels. But he refunded Cohen the payment to the adult film actress.

A spokesperson for Trump told NBC News, “The Manhattan District Attorney’s threat to impeach President Trump is just insane.”

“For the last five years, the DA’s office has been witch-hunting investigating every aspect of President Trump’s life and they’ve come up empty-handed at every turn and now this,” the spokesman said.

“The fact that the public prosecutor’s office is even considering a new political attack after their intensive investigations is a clear exoneration of President Trump in all areas. Then, as now, President Trump was a victim of extortion. It’s an embarrassment to Democratic prosecutors, and it’s a disgrace to New York City.”

In addition to investigations by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump faces criminal investigations in Atlanta for interference in the 2020 presidential election over his efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia.

Trump is also under criminal investigation by the Justice Department for attempting to reverse his electoral college loss to Biden earlier that year and for pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to accept Biden electoral certifications to accept from swing states that have given his opponents the edge of victory.

Raquel Leviss reveals the place she stands amid scandal with Tom Sandoval

Are Rachel Leviss And Tom Sandoval officially a couple? Not so fast…

A day after the Vanderpump Rules star broke her silence, she was accused of a months-long affair with Tom that led to his split from his longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix– the 28-year-old talks about the way they are today.

“Aside from the untenable circumstances of our relationship, my feelings for Tom have always been genuine and born out of a loving friendship,” she tells E! News in a statement. “Knowing how many people we’ve hurt, I need to understand my choices and learn to make better ones.”

As Raquel stated, she vows to focus on herself first and foremost.

“I need to take care of my health, work on my self-growth, and make time to deal with being alone,” she continued. “I care for Tom and I don’t want to label or predict what’s ahead. Right now I have to heal.”

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is scheduled to testify earlier than the Senate panel

Norfolk in the south CEO Alan Shaw will tell a U.S. Senate panel on Thursday how he plans to “get it right” after one of the company’s trains derailed in eastern Palestine, Ohio, last month.

Shaw will appear at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET, to address what the committee’s Democrats called “threats to the environment and public health” resulting from the derailment.

According to prepared testimony from NBC News, Shaw will tell the Senate panel that he is “deeply sorry for the impact this gaffe has had on the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities.”

“We will clean the site safely, thoroughly and urgently. We’re making progress every day,” Shaw said, according to the written comments.

Shaw will also highlight Norfolk Southern’s commitment to providing financial assistance to affected residents and first responders, which the CEO says totals more than $20 million in reimbursements and investments.

“Norfolk Southern is working around the clock to address the remaining issues and monitor public health and environmental impacts,” Shaw plans to say. “We continue to listen to the experts and work with state, federal and local government agencies. We commit to this monitoring for as long as necessary.”

Shaw will appear alongside Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Debra Shore, Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel, Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission Executive Director Richard Harrison and Beaver County Department of Emergency Services Director Eric Brewer .

The committee will also hear from Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown and JD Vance and Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who jointly introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023. The bill aims to improve safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials and establish requirements for trackside fault detectors, increase fines for misconduct and create a minimum requirement for two-person crews.

Other committees in Congress are also investigating the East Palestine derailment.

At approximately 9:00 p.m. local time on February 3, an eastbound Norfolk Southern freight train carrying 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials derailed and subsequently derailed. The chemicals contained vinyl chloride, a highly flammable carcinogen, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

No fatalities were reported after the derailment, although concerns have been raised by local residents and officials. Railroad union officials told Biden administration officials at a meeting last week that railroad workers in eastern Palestine had fallen ill while the site was being cleaned up.

The NTSB released a preliminary report on February 23 that pointed to an overheated wheel bearing as a factor in the derailment and fire. At the time the train was ordered to stop, the temperature of the warehouse was measured 253 degrees higher than ambient temperature, above a threshold of 200 degrees hotter at which temperatures are considered critical under Norfolk Southern criteria.

On Saturday, another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio, prompting residents near Springfield to take shelter at the spot. The train carried no hazardous materials and no injuries were reported, although there were power outages in the area.

Hours after this gaffe, internal emails from CNBC showed that Norfolk Southern was making extensive security adjustments to prevent future incidents. A company spokesman told CNBC that the train operator is now requiring trains longer than 10,000 feet to use distributed power, so the trains are powered from multiple points along their length.

The Norfolk Southern incidents have prompted widespread scrutiny by government agencies. On Tuesday, the NTSB said it had launched a special investigation into the company’s organization and safety culture following the derailments. Separately, the Federal Railroad Administration announced that it would be conducting a 60-day additional safety assessment of the company.

In a Tuesday news conference, Sen. Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., condemned Norfolk Southern for “spent years urging the federal government to ignore safety recommendations,” launched a $20 billion stock buyback program and thousands of laying off workers instead of upgrading safety equipment.

On Wednesday, Norfolk Southern announced that it will establish a new regional first responder training center in Ohio and expand its Operation Awareness and Response program, which trains first responders to safely respond to railroad accidents. Training courses begin March 22 at Norfolk Southern’s Bellevue, Ohio shipyard.

Eli Lilly’s therapy with solanezumab didn’t decelerate the illness

Eli Lilli on Wednesday said it would halt development of its Alzheimer’s treatment candidate solanezumab after the antibody failed to slow the progression of the disease.

The failure of solanezumab is a setback to efforts to treat Alzheimer’s disease in people who are very early in the disease and have not yet presented clinical symptoms.

The study involved more than 1,000 seniors who had normal memory and thinking function but showed signs of brain plaque associated with Alzheimer’s.

Solanezumab did not clear or stop the buildup of the plaque called amyloid or slow cognitive decline in the participants who received the treatment.

“These data suggest that we may need to be more aggressive in removing amyloid even at this very early stage of the disease,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling, neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and leader of the study.

Solanezumab was designed to target plaque that swims in the brain. Lilly is developing two other Alzheimer’s treatments that are in late-stage clinical trials, donanemab and Remternetug. These antibodies target plaque that has built up in the brain and are designed to treat people who have early symptoms of the disease.

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Lilly expects to release clinical trial data for donanemab in the second quarter of this year. The company plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve the treatment if those data are positive.

Lilly had asked the FDA for an accelerated approval of donanemab, but the agency denied the company’s application in January. The agency told Lilly that it must provide data from at least 100 patients who received the treatment for 12 months.

Lilly said it didn’t have that data because donanemab quickly cleared brain plaques in many patients.

“Because of the speed of plaque reduction that we observed, many patients were able to stop taking donanemab as early as six months of treatment, resulting in fewer patients receiving donanemab dosing for 12 months or more,” said Dr. Dan Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific officer, told analysts during the company’s earnings call in February.

“We remain hopeful that donanemab may be a new treatment for people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease,” said Skovronsky.

The FDA approved Eisai’s and Biogen’s early-stage Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi on an accelerated basis in January. The companies expect the agency to make a decision on full approval in July.

Medicare only covers Alzheimer’s antibody drugs that receive accelerated approval for people participating in clinical trials. The public health insurance program for seniors said it will offer broader coverage once the FDA grants full approval.

Ivanka Trump betrays her father and brothers in fraud case

Ivanka Trump went with the tried and true defense of when people start trying to save themselves. She blamed her father and brothers for the fraud.

The Independent reported:

In court documents, Ms. Trump’s attorneys argue that the fraud lawsuit filed against her and her co-defendants by New York Attorney General Letitia James last year “does not contain a single allegation that Ms. Trump directly or indirectly created, prepared, verified, or any of her father’s financial statements.

“Other people were responsible for these tasks,” wrote her attorneys.

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The New York Attorney General has a very different view of the case in which Ivanka Trump is just as involved in the Trump Organization fraud as the other family members.

Ivanka Trump clearly won’t be taking legal bullets for her family. Just like her father, she blamed someone else and that person is her father.

The scam Ivanka Trump may have been involved in involved paying consulting fees despite being a Trump Organization official. Donald Trump then wrote off monies paid to corporate tax adviser Ivanka.

Trump demanded loyalty from everyone around him, but even his own daughter threw him under the bus.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

WeightWatchers inventory surges after Sequence deal

shares of WW Internationalalso known as WeightWatchers, soared on Tuesday after the company announced it would buy Sequence, a telehealth platform used to treat obesity.

The stock closed 79% higher on Tuesday. Its market value was more than $488 million.

“As the trusted leader in weight management, it is our responsibility to support those interested in finding out if medication is right for them,” WW CEO Sima Sistani said in an announcement Monday.

Tuesday’s jump follows a year of flagging performance for the stock. The company’s shares have fallen 57% over the past year as it struggled to focus on wellness and move away from weight loss.

Sistani took over as CEO in late February and steered the company back toward weight loss.

The Sequence announcement comes as companies in the weight-loss industry seek to offer obesity drugs as a way for customers to shed pounds.

The trend has led to a shortage of drugs like Ozempic, which are commonly prescribed for type 2 diabetes.

Florida stripper arrested after throwing wad of money at ex’s head

An angry one Florida The stripper was arrested last month after allegedly throwing a “large amount of rolled up money” on a colleague’s head, according to a criminal complaint smoking gun.

Tierah Miller29, is accused of assaulting the 34-year-old man she previously dated, who also works as a security guard at the Baby Dolls strip club in Clearwater.

Stripper ‘ambushed’ co-worker/ex-boyfriend with huge wad of cash, criminal charges say

The incident is said to have happened at the club around 11:55am on February 26, just a week after the couple split, the complaint said.

Miller, who appeared sober at the time, allegedly threw a “large” wad of cash at the man after “trying to walk across the stage to speak to another colleague” and hit him in the back of the head.

As she left the club, she intentionally knocked over a stool with the victim’s cell phone, an ID scanner and a metal detector, according to the complaint.

RELATED: Portland woman creates PowerPoint presentation to reveal to her parents she’s a stripper

Her ex-boyfriend said when he found his cellphone in the parking lot, it was broken and it cost an estimated $100 to fix the screen, the complaint continues.

Stripper charged with misdemeanor, victim largely unharmed

The complaint said she was charged with trespassing.

Meanwhile, no blood was shed in the attack and the man sustained no serious injuries.

The exact amount of money thrown at the victim remains unclear, but the outlet reported that “single (dollar bills) appear to be a likely component.”

Miller was released from prison without bail and ordered to refrain from all contact with her ex, but has been allowed to continue dancing at the club where the two are employed.

She was previously convicted of reckless driving, marijuana possession and driving without a license, according to Smoking Gun.

Rivian raises $1.three billion amid considerations about EV demand

The Rivian name is seen on one of their new electric SUV vehicles in San Diego, the United States, on December 16, 2022.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Rivian Automotive plans to raise $1.3 billion in cash through the sale of convertible debentures and join a growing list of electric vehicle manufacturers scrambling to hoard cash when demand slacks.

Rivian shares closed down over 14% on Tuesday.

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Rivian said late Monday it plans to sell the convertible bonds — bonds that can be redeemed for cash, stock or a mix of both — to fund the development and launch of its forthcoming smaller R2 car line, now expected in 2026 . The institutional investors purchasing the Notes will have the option to purchase up to $200 million in additional Notes if they wish, in addition to the initial $1.3 billion.

Rivian isn’t in an urgent liquidity crisis, at least not yet. The EV maker had $12.1 billion on tap at the end of 2022, it said during its fourth-quarter earnings presentation on Feb. 28, enough to fund its operations through 2025. But he recently took a number of measures to save cash, laying off 6% of the workforce and pushing the R2’s launch forward by a year.

Rivian would be facing its final days if it weren't for the Saudi support, says ZoZo Go CEO

Rivian also said last week that it expects to produce 50,000 vehicles in 2023, down from the roughly 60,000 Wall Street analysts had been expecting. That could be a sign that demand for its high-priced pickups and SUVs is falling short of expectations.

ClearAnother startup that makes high-priced electric vehicles also led investors to lower-than-expected production in 2023 and said it plans to ramp up its marketing in the coming months, suggesting it may be less too orders than expected.

Rivian raised nearly $12 billion when it went public in late 2021, helping it amass a cash hoard that still dwarfs most other EV startups. However, the company’s shares have lost over 80% of their value since the debut.

Rivian said the convertible bonds would qualify as “green bonds,” meaning they meet a set of criteria that tend to attract institutions willing to accept lower yields in exchange for supporting sustainable development.

The Notes mature in March 2029. The interest rate and other terms will be determined when the offer is priced.

White Home approves Senate TikTok invoice and urges Congress to move it quickly

U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and other U.S. senators unveil legislation that would allow the Biden administration to “ban” foreign tech products like Chinese video app TikTok during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington in March or to ban”. 7th, 2023.

Bonnie Cash | Reuters

The White House on Tuesday backed a new bipartisan Senate bill that would give the Biden administration the power to ban TikTok in the US

The legislation would empower the Department of Commerce to review deals, software updates, or data transmissions through information and communications technology in which a foreign adversary has an interest. TikTok, which has become a viral sensation in the US by allowing kids to create and share short videos, is owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance.

Under the new proposal, if the Commerce Secretary determines a transaction poses an “unreasonable or unacceptable risk” to U.S. national security, it can be referred to the President for action, up to and including a forced divestment.

The bill was dubbed the RESTRICT Act, which stands for Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, formally introduced the legislation on Capitol Hill along with a bipartisan group of Senate co-sponsors. The White House issued a statement publicly endorsing the bill, while Warner briefed reporters.

“This law provides a systematic framework to address technology-based threats to the security of Americans,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement, adding that it would provide the government with new tools to mitigate national security risks in the technology sector.

Sullivan urged Congress to “act quickly to send the bill to the President’s desk.”

“Critically, it would strengthen our ability to address discrete risks created by individual transactions and systemic risks created by certain classes of transactions involving countries of concern in sensitive technology sectors,” Sullivan said.

A TikTok spokeswoman did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Tuesday.

Sullivan’s statement marks the first time a TikTok bill has received the Biden administration’s explicit support in Congress, and it catapulted Warner’s bill to the top of a growing list of congressional proposals to ban TikTok.

As of Tuesday, Warner’s legislation had not had a companion version in the House. But Warner told CNBC he already has “a lot of interest” from both Democrats and Republicans in the lower chamber.

Warner declined to say who he and Republican co-sponsor Sen. John Thune, RSD, might ask for assistance in the House of Representatives, but added, “I’m very pleased with the keen interest we’ve received from some of ours.” Housemates.”

Earlier this month, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill that would force the president to impose sanctions on Chinese companies that could potentially leak Americans’ private information to a foreign adversary.

But unlike Warner’s bill, the House legislation known as the DATA Act has no Democratic backers, and it has advanced out of committee along party lines, making its prospects in the Senate with a Democratic majority difficult.

Senators introducing the bill Tuesday stressed that unlike some other proposals, their legislation does not single out individual companies. Instead, it aims to create a new framework and legal process for identifying and mitigating specific threats.

“The RESTRICT Act is about more than just TikTok,” Warner told reporters. “He’s going to give us that comprehensive approach.”

The new Senate bill defines foreign adversaries as the governments of six countries: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. It also says it will apply to information and communications technology services that have at least 1 million active US users per year or that have sold at least 1 million units to US customers in the past year.

That could go far beyond TikTok, which claims it had 100 million monthly active users in the US in 2020

The company came under scrutiny by the US Committee on Foreign Relations following ByteDance’s 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, a precursor to the popular video-sharing app.

But that process has stalled, and lawmakers and administration officials are impatient to address what they see as a critical national security risk. TikTok has claimed that CFIUS approval of a new risk mitigation strategy is the best way forward.

“The Biden administration does not need additional powers from Congress to address national security concerns related to TikTok: it can approve the deal negotiated with CFIUS over two years, which it has been reviewing for the past six months,” said Brooke Oberwetter, spokeswoman for TikTok, in a statement before the text of the law was released.

“A US ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values ​​to the more than 1 billion people who use our service worldwide,” the company said. “We hope Congress will seek solutions to their national security concerns that do not result in the voices of millions of Americans being censored.”

Will Farrell, TikTok’s interim security officer, described in a speech Monday the multi-pronged approach the company plans to take to mitigate the risk that the Chinese government could disrupt its operations in the United States

The so-called Project Texas would be involved in this oracle hosts its data in the cloud with strict procedures on how that information can be accessed and even sends verified code directly to the mobile app stores where users can find the service.

Farrell said TikTok’s commitments would result in an “unprecedented level of transparency” for such a tech company.

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WATCH: TikTok Ban Law: What you need to know

California Gov. Newsom says the state is not going to do enterprise with Walgreens

California Gov. Gavin Newsom successfully defeated a recall attempt in California last year. When asked if he was preparing to run for president, Newsom insisted he wasn’t.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the state would no longer do business with him Walgreensafter the drugstore chain told 21 Republican attorneys general it would not sell the abortion pill in its states.

Newsom said on Twitter that the state was “done” with dealings with Walgreens. Brandon Richards, a spokesman for the governor, said California is reviewing all of Walgreens’ relationships with the state.

“We will not do business with companies that give in to right-wing bullies who are pushing their extremist agenda, or companies that prioritize politics over women’s and girls’ health,” Richards said.

According to a statement, Walgreens plans to sell mifepristone “in every jurisdiction where it is legally permitted to do so.” “Once we are FDA certified, we will be distributing this drug in accordance with federal and state laws,” the company added.

The Food and Drug Administration in January allowed retail pharmacies to sell the abortion pill mifepristone if they are certified under an agency program that oversees how the drug is used and distributed.

Walgreens plans to become certified to sell mifepristone where legal under state and federal law, the company said. In February, 21 Republican attorneys general warned Walgreens not to ship mifepristone in their states.

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The company told attorneys general it would not sell or ship the pill in their states. Politico first reported the news.

Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, is the most common method of abortion in the United States, accounting for about half of all abortions.

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Mifepristone has become a central issue in the fight for access to abortion after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade had picked up.

A group of anti-abortion doctors have petitioned a Texas federal court to stay the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. On the other hand, Democratic attorneys general have asked a federal court in Washington to declare the FDA’s remaining restrictions on mifepristone unconstitutional.

The FDA approved mifepristone more than two decades ago, but the agency has imposed restrictions to ensure the pill’s safe use. The agency has gradually eased these restrictions over the years as more evidence of their safety and effectiveness accumulates.

The agency removed the requirement for patients to receive the pill in person at certain health facilities and allowed the drugs to be mailed. Patients still need a prescription from a healthcare provider that is FDA certified.