Profane botanist can’t stop cursing about huge tree
Passionate botanist can’t stop swearing about this giant tree… “I tend to curse a little.” CNN’s Jeanne Moos reports. …read more
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/09/21/profane-botanist-ancient-tree-moos-orig-bdk.cnn
Nordstrom adopts ‘poison pill’ plan days after Mexican retailer amasses stake
Liverpool is currently the second-biggest shareholder behind former Chairman Bruce Nordstrom. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/nordstrom-plays-defense-after-mexican-retailer-amasses-stake/
Harry and Meghan still in ‘turmoil,’ will return home without a ‘peace deal’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be returning to California in “turmoil,” a close friend has revealed, without striking a “peace deal” with the royal family. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/harry-and-meghan-set-to-return-to-california-without-a-peace-deal/
Jackpot: Two people finally claim $1.34 billion Mega Millions lottery winnings
After several weeks of mystery, two people who agreed to share the winnings have claimed the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history.
King Charles III: Monarch and experienced billionaire businessman
As longtime heir to the British throne, Charles professionalized a sleepy business and did well financially. Now he is set to inherit even more. Will he be an active investor or step aside and let others take the reins? …read more
Armie Hammer’s wife breaks silence after abuse, ‘cannibal’ claims: ‘It’s been hell’
I “hope they find healing,” Elizabeth Chambers said of his alleged victims. “I’m not being here, like, ‘My life is amazing,’ because it’s been hell for a long time.” …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/armie-hammers-wife-breaks-silence-after-abuse-cannibal-claims/
Home sales dropped 20% in August from a year ago
Home sales declined for the seventh month in a row in August as higher mortgage rates and stubbornly high prices pushed prospective buyers out of the market. …read more
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/homes/existing-home-sales-august-2022/index.html
Jeff Garlin reveals bipolar diagnosis following misconduct allegations
“Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with,” the former star of “The Goldbergs” wrote on Instagram. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/jeff-garlin-reveals-bipolar-diagnosis-ahead-of-goldbergs/
Primary meddlers revealed as Trump hoards his millions: Takeaways from new campaign finance reports
The election is just seven weeks away — but former President Donald Trump is still, so far, keeping his cash mostly to himself.
Major super PACs and party committees disclosed their August finances in a new round of campaign finance reports Tuesday, with some eye-catching results. The filings revealed that Trump’s leadership PAC was still sitting on nearly $100 million at the end of last month. And save for a contribution to a group that helped defeat Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) in her primary, the PAC did not contribute anything to the battle for Congress, even amid fundraising struggles for some GOP candidates in notable races.
The filings also divulged the sources behind some last-second meddling in late primaries, and they revealed more information about who big donors are eyeing in the still-unofficial battle for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Here are four big takeaways from this week’s reporting deadline for super PACs and committees, before candidates unload their campaign finance filings next month:
Primary meddling revealed
Super PACs from both parties dove into the final round of primary contests to boost their preferred nominees in key congressional races. In one case, it was a Democratic group boosting its preferred opponent. But the funding behind these efforts was a mystery — until this week.
House Majority PAC, Democrats’ flagship House super PAC, funded a group that jumped into the Sept. 13 GOP contest to challenge Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.). The super PAC made a $125,000 contribution on Aug. 25 to Democrats Serve, another super PAC that backs Democrats with public service backgrounds. That group ran nearly $570,000 in TV ads boosting Bob Burns, a far-right Republican who opposes abortion rights, over moderate GOP Mayor George Hansel, who was backed by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.
House Majority PAC only had to disclose contributions made during the month of August on this reporting deadline, so it’s possible the super PAC seeded Democrats Serve with even more money in early September. Another connection to the race: Abby Curran Horrell, House Majority PAC’s executive director, was previously a top aide to Kuster.
Meanwhile, a GOP group that played in New Hampshire in favor of Hansel, American Liberty Action PAC, received funding from two lesser-known groups on the right that have been active in 2022 primaries.
American Liberty Action PAC got $1.6 million from the Eighteen Fifty Four Fund, a group formed by Kevin McLaughlin, a former National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director, that has tried to stymie far-right candidates in GOP primaries. American Liberty Action PAC also nabbed a $2.6 million transfer from American Prosperity Alliance, a group incorporated in May that lists Parker Poling, the 2020 National Republican Congressional Committee executive director, as a member of its board, according to OpenSecrets.
American Liberty Action PAC also spent in August GOP …read more
Trump attorney: ‘We look forward’ to defending against New York fraud claims
An attorney for Donald Trump on Wednesday called the New York attorney general’s lawsuit against the former president and the Trump Organization a product of the office’s “political agenda” and said she looks “forward to defending our client” against the claims.
“Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law — rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda,” Alina Habba, a Trump attorney who has represented the former president in New York-based and Trump Organization litigation. “It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place. We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General’s meritless claims.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit earlier Wednesday against Trump, his three eldest children and the Trump Organization, alleging fraudulent financial practices spanning more than a decade. James also referred the matter to federal prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service for criminal investigation.
James said her office’s investigation uncovered evidence that Trump and his three adult children were involved in the creation of more than 200 misleading evaluations of the company’s finances and other other valuations of assets, such as falsely inflating the square footage of his apartment from 11,000 to 30,000 in financial filings.
“The complaint demonstrates that Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and to cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us,” James said. “The pattern of fraud and deception that was used by Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization for their own financial benefit is astounding.”
The attorney general’s suit seeks roughly $250 million in restitution, a five-year ban on Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump from buying any real estate in New York, and a permanent ban on the former president and his three eldest children from serving on any corporate board of New York companies or any business licensed in the state.
Trump and his allies quickly slammed the suit as a “Witch Hunt,” an attack James got ahead of during her press conference in Manhattan.
“Mr. Trump and his allies may see these penalties are too harsh or that this is part of a witch hunt. I will remind everyone that this investigation only started after Michael Cohen, the former lawyer — his former lawyer — testified before Congress and shed light on this misconduct.” James said. “Claiming you have money that you do not does not amount to the art of the deal. It’s the art of the steal. And there cannot be different rules for different people in this country or in this state. And …read more
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/21/trump-attorney-new-york-fraud-claims-00058049