Judge rules Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire

WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

NEW YORK

A judge ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.

Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

Engoron ordered that some of Trump's business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York, and said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee the Trump Organization's operations.

A message seeking comment was left for a Trump spokesperson. Trump has long insisted he did nothing wrong.

The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in James' lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump's carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, MICH.

Biden urges striking auto workers to 'stick with it' in picket line visit

President Joe Biden grabbed a bullhorn on the picket line Tuesday and urged striking auto workers to "stick with it" in an unparalleled show of support for organized labor by a modern president.

Donning a union ballcap and exchanging fist bumps, Biden told United Auto Workers strikers that "you deserve the significant raise you need" as he stopped in the Detroit area just a day ahead of a planned visit by former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in next year's election.

"No deal, no wheels!" workers chanted as Biden arrived at a General Motors parts distribution warehouse, one of several facilities that has been targeted in a widening strike now in its 12th day. "No pay, no parts!"

Despite concerns that a prolonged strike could undermine the economy, particularly in the crucial battleground state of Michigan, the Democratic president encouraged workers to keep fighting for better wages at a time when car companies have seen rising profits.

Asked if UAW members deserved a 40 percent raise, one of their demands over the course of negotiations, Biden said: "Yes.

I think they should be able to bargain for that."

WASHINGTON

Senate announces short-term deal to avert government shutdown

Senate Democrats and Republicans announced a short-term funding deal Tuesday night that would fund the government for six weeks, while including additional funding for Ukraine and domestic disaster relief.

The deal, reached days before the government would shut down on Saturday, would still need to overcome several procedural hurdles before full Senate approval. It would then move to the House, where its future is uncertain.

The short-term deal, called a continuing resolution, allocates $4.49 billion for the Defense Department's effort in Ukraine, alongside $1.65 billion in additional funding for the war-torn country, which will remain available until Sept. 30, 2025. Combined, the more-than $6 billion in funds adds up to far less than the White House's request for $20.6 billion in Ukraine funding. But if the plan becomes law, Congress would almost certainly pursue additional funding for Ukraine later this fall.

On the Senate floor Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate's short-term bill "will continue to fund the government at present levels, while maintaining our commit to Ukraine's security and humanitarian needs while also ensuring those impacted by natural disasters across the country begin to get the resources they need."

Amazon sued by FTC, 17 states over allegations it inflates online prices

U.S. regulators and 17 states are suing Amazon over allegations the e-commerce behemoth abuses its position in the marketplace to inflate prices on and off its platform, overcharge sellers and stifle competition.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Amazon's home state of Washington, is the result of a yearslong investigation into the company's businesses and one of the most significant legal challenges brought against it in its nearly 30-year history.

The Federal Trade Commission and states that joined the lawsuit allege Amazon is violating federal and state antitrust laws.

They are asking the court to issue a permanent injunction that they say would prohibit Amazon from engaging in its unlawful conduct and loosen its "monopolistic control to restore competition."

The complaint accuses the company of engaging in anti-competitive practices through measures that deter sellers from offering lower prices for products on non-Amazon sites, an argument mirroring allegations made in a separate lawsuit filed last year by the state of California.

The lawsuit says Amazon buries listings offered at lower prices on other sites. At the same time, it also charges sellers high fees, forcing merchants to raise their prices on the platform, as well as on other e-commerce sites in order to keep their products competitive on Amazon.

WASHINGTON

Sen. Booker says fellow NJ Democrat Menendez should resign

Sen. Cory Booker led a growing parade of U.S. lawmakers calling on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign on Tuesday, saying the sweeping federal bribery charges against his fellow New Jersey Democrat contain "shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing."

More than 15 Democratic senators so far are saying Menendez must resign. He has firmly rejected that idea.

Menendez, the longtime chairman and top Democrat on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife Nadine are accused in an indictment released Friday of using his position to aid the authoritarian government of Egypt and to pressure federal prosecutors to drop a case against a friend, among other allegations of corruption.

The three-count indictment says they were paid bribes - gold bars, a luxury car and cash - by three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for the corrupt acts.

In his statement, Booker said that while Menendez deserves the presumption of innocence, senators should adhere to a higher standard, and the details of the allegations against Menendez have "shaken to the core" the faith and trust of his constituents.

"As senators, we operate in the public trust," Booker said. "That trust is essential to our ability to do our work and perform our duties for our constituents."

Both of Vermont's U.S. senators, Democrat Peter Welch and Independent Bernie Sand-ers, have also called for Menendez to resign.

SACRAMENTO, CALIF.

Calif. governor signs law raising taxes on guns and ammunition to pay for school safety

California will ban people from carrying firearms in most public places while doubling the taxes on guns and ammunition sold in the state under two new laws Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Tuesday that will test the limits of the U.S. Supreme Court's new standard for interpreting the Second Amendment.

The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition at either 10 percent or 11 percent, depending on the type of gun. The law Newsom signed adds another 11 percent tax on top of that - making California the only state with a separate tax on guns and ammunition, according to the gun control advocacy group Brady.

The money will pay for security improvements at public schools and a variety of gun violence prevention programs, including those geared toward young people in gangs.

The money from the federal tax, which has been in place for more than 100 years, pays for wildlife conservation and hunter education programs.

The laws were some of nearly two dozen gun control measures Newsom signed on Tuesday. But he acknowledged many of these laws might not survive legal challenges now that the U.S. Supreme Court has imposed a new standard on interpreting the nation's gun laws. Just last week, a federal judge struck down a California law banning guns with detachable magazines that carry more than 10 rounds - one of three major pending cases challenging California's gun restrictions.

"It may mean nothing if the federal courts are throwing them out," Newsom said.

"We feel very strongly that these bills meet the (new standard), and they were drafted accordingly. But I'm not naive about the recklessness of the federal courts and the ideological agenda."

WASHINGTON

Hunter Biden sues Giuliani over accessing, sharing of data

Hunter Biden sued Rudy Giuliani and another attorney Tuesday, saying the two wrongly accessed and shared his personal data after obtaining it from the owner of a Delaware computer repair shop.

The lawsuit was the latest in a new strategy by Hunter Biden to strike back against Republican allies of Donald Trump, who have traded and passed around his private data including purported emails and embarrassing images in their effort to discredit his father, President Joe Biden.

The suit accuses Giuliani and attorney Robert Costello of spending years "hacking into, tampering with, manipulating, copying, disseminating, and generally obsessing over" the data that was "taken or stolen" from Biden's devices or storage, leading to the "total annihilation" of Biden's digital privacy. The suit filed in California also claims Biden's data was "manipulated, altered and damaged" before it was sent to Giuliani and Costello, and has been further altered since then. Accessing, opening and sharing it broke laws against computer hacking, the suit argues. It seeks unspecified damages and a court order to return the data and make no more copies.

Ted Goodman, a political adviser to Giuliani, said it was false to claim Giuliani manipulated the laptop hard drive, but he was "not surprised ... considering the sordid material and potential evidence of crimes on that thing."

NEW YORK

JPMorgan to pay $75 million on claims that it enabled Epstein's sex trafficking

JPMorgan Chase agreed Tuesday to pay $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle claims that the bank enabled the sex trafficking acts committed by financier Jeffrey Epstein.

JPMorgan said that $55 million of the settlement will go toward local charities that provide assistance to victims of domestic abuse and trafficking and other crimes, as well as to enhance the capabilities of local law enforcement. Of that amount, $10 million will be used to create a fund to provide mental health services for Epstein's survivors, according the Virgin Islands Department of Justice.

The Virgin Islands, where Epstein had an estate, sued JPMorgan last year, saying its investigation has revealed that the financial services giant enabled Epstein's recruiters to pay victims and was "indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise." It had been seeking penalties and disgorgement of at least $190 million, in addition to other damages.

In effect, the Virgin Islands had argued that JPMorgan had been complicit in Epstein's behavior and did not raise any red flags to law enforcement or bank regulators about Epstein being a "high risk" customer and making repeated large cash withdrawals. The settlement averts a trial that had been set to start next month.

- The Associated Press