Month: August 2024

Judge Juan Merchan has rejected a third request by the attorneys for former President Donald Trump to remove him in the New York criminal case that convicted Trump on 34 felonies of falsifying business records – the latest attempt to get the judge presiding over his New York criminal case to recuse himself.

Trump’s attorneys have repeatedly argued that Merchan’s daughter’s work as a Democratic consultant created a conflict of interest. Trump’s lawyers first made the request in May 2023, before the case went to trial, arguing that Merchan should step aside because of work Merchan’s daughter had done as a Democratic consultant in support of President Biden. A state ethics panel last year later concluded that “the judge’s impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned based on the judge’s relative’s business and/or political activities.”

After the latest request, Merchan responded that the claims were “noting more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims,” addressed by the previous decisions that “provided nothing new for this Court to consider.” Merchan wrote in the ruling made public Wednesday: “This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear – innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create. Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required. Defense Counsel’s reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing. As such, Defendant’s motion is again DENIED. The court will continue to base its rulings on the evidence and the law, without fear or favor, casting aside undue influence.”

Trump was found guilty of falsifying the records to hide payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, with prosecutors saying that the payments were made to illegally influence the election by preventing voters from learning about Trump’s relationship with Daniels. A unanimous jury found Trump guilty on May 30 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump has sought to overturn the conviction, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling on “presidential immunity.” Merchan will rule on that effort on Sept. 6.

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Tropical Storm Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday, after bringing “significant flooding” to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands and moved north. The National Hurricane Center shared earlier in the day that Ernesto, located about 175 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 835 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, becoming a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and was traveling northwest at 16 mph. Forecasters expect it to even strengthen more in the coming days.

NHC officials said that they believe the storm will continue to move over the western Atlantic later in the week and be near Bermuda by Friday, with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 35 miles from the storm’s center and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles.

More than 700,000 customers in Puerto Rico – half of all customers on the island – were without power Wednesday, according to LUMA Energy, the private company that operates the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico. In the US Virgin Islands – which includes the island of St. Croix and nearly everyone on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John — with more than 46,000 customers were without power, which is about 92% of the island’s tracked customers, according to PowerOutage.us.

President Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, with the White House saying they were authorizing FEMA to help with storm recovery.  The hurricane center said the storm is expected to produce between 4 and 6 inches of rain over the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and up to 10 inches across southeastern Puerto Rico. Flash flooding and mudslides could occur in the U.S. territories, the hurricane center said, as Ernesto continues bring “ongoing heavy rains.”

Ernesto marks the fifth named storm so far of the Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA has predicted an above-normal season, with 17-25 named storms, eight to 13 hurricanes, and four to seven major hurricanes.

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Officials for the United Automobile Workers (“UAW”) Union said on Tuesday it has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over attempts to threaten and intimidate workers. The union say Trump and Musk illegally threatened union workers who might go on strike Monday night.

The action came after Musk and Trump held a two-hour interview on Musk’s X social media platform X on Monday night, during which Trump complimented Musk’s ability to cut costs by saying he would not tolerate workers going on strike (per Reuters). UAW officials said was viewed by a million people.

During the X conversation, Trump suggested an auto company like Tesla might fire workers who threaten to go on strike, with Trump telling Musk: “You’re the greatest cutter. I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you just say: ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike – I won’t mention the name of the company – but they go on strike. And you say: ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone.’” Tesla does not have a collective bargaining agreement with labor and in October endured a workers’ strike in Sweden due to the electric-vehicle manufacturer not agreeing to workers’ collective bargaining demands.

Musk chuckled but did not respond to Trump’s comments, which will make it difficult to find him liable for making illegal threats to workers at his companies. UAW President Shawn Fain said in the UAW news release that under federal law, workers cannot be fired for going on strike, and threatening to do so is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act: “Workers cannot be fired for going on strike and threatening to do so is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act. When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean  Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk.”

Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes called the complaint “frivolous, and shameless political stunt intended to erode President Trump’s overwhelming support among America’s workers. While Kamala Harris pushes a job-crushing electric vehicle mandate that is crippling our manufacturing industry, raising costs, and sending even more jobs to China, President Trump has pledged to slap a 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports to make sure that the future of the auto industry will be made in America. Democrat special interest bosses may lie and stoke fear to try and stop President Trump from creating the broadest coalition of any candidate in history, but rank-and-file workers and their families know the truth.”

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State health officials confirmed that five people have developed Legionnaires’ disease following possible exposure to contaminated water droplets from a cooling tower in downtown Lincoln, New Hampshire. Authorities warned residents of Lincoln, New Hampshire, to monitor themselves for symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease after the five people in question developed the disease — a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria — in June and July,

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services issued an advisory on August 12, confirming that five people had developed the illness after being exposed to water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria from a cooling tower behind the RiverWalk Resort in downtown Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Dr. Benjamin Chan, New Hampshire State Epidemiologist, said in a health department press release: “Anybody who has visited the area near the contaminated cooling tower should monitor themselves for symptoms. People who develop fever or other symptoms of pneumonia within 14 days after spending time in this area should talk to their healthcare provider about testing for Legionella infection.”

RiverWalk Resort told NBC Boston on Monday that remediation work, including a complete sanitation, at the cooling tower was completed. RiverWalk Vice President Renee Blood told ABC News that the cooling tower has been sanitized and put back into operation after discussion with state officials: “out of an abundance of caution, additional testing will be performed later this week ..we have been and will continue to partner with DHHS and DES to ensure the safety and protection of our guests and community.”

DHHS said the cooling tower’s continued operation could mean further exposure risks:  “Anyone who is visiting the specified area should assess their health risk. Those who are older, are current or former smokers, have weakened immune systems, or have certain medical conditions like chronic lung disease and diabetes are at higher risk for developing Legionnaire’s disease.”  As the cooling tower is still operating amid remediation, “there may continue to be some risk of exposure to the public, especially for people within a half-mile of the cooling tower’s location.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Legionella bacteria exists naturally in bodies of fresh water but can be a threat to people when it grows and spreads in building water systems like cooling towers or water tanks. Most people catch Legionnaires’ disease by inhaling the bacteria from water in the form of small water droplets or mist, and infections generally don’t spread from person to person. While most healthy people exposed to Legionella don’t get sick, those who are older, current or former smokers, those with weakened immune systems or certain medical conditions including chronic lung disease and diabetes are at higher risk for developing the disease.

Symptoms usually begin between two and 14 days following exposure and can include fever, cough and shortness of breath. The bacteria can also cause serious pneumonia, the stage known as Legionnaires’ disease. The condition can be fatal if left untreated.

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