DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Trump attorney laces into Manhattan DA, calls the indictment a 'rancid ham sandwich' and says the former president's legal team is 'confident' in the long run
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Taylor Ardrey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump's attorney blasted the Manhattan DA's office during an ABC News interview on Sunday. Jim Trusty called the former president's indictment a "rancid ham sandwich." "We should not have a criminal justice system that starts off with targeting people," Trusty told host Jon Karl. He continued, "It is an absurd situation that multiple prosecutors passed by this rancid ham sandwich of an indictment." On "This Week," Trusty said that the team has "a lot of confidence" as the Trump case unfolds.

☆ Howard: The Fed is backed into a corner, and they're either going to break inflation or break the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHoward: The Fed is backed into a corner, and they're either going to break inflation or break the economyVance Howard, CEO and portfolio manager at Howard Capital Management discusses why despite some concerns about the broader economy, he's still bullish about the markets overall.

AUGUST 2018Cohen pleads guilty to criminal charges in Manhattan federal court, including campaign finance violations over the hush money payments. DECEMBER 2018Trump, on Twitter, calls the hush money payments a "simple private transaction." Trump himself is not charged with a crime, and the indictment contains no references to hush money payments. JANUARY 2023Bragg's office begins presenting evidence about Trump's alleged role in the 2016 hush money payments to a grand jury. APRIL 3, 2023Trump arrives in New York from his home in Florida to face charges arising from the hush money investigation.

☆ After school shooting, some trans Tennesseans face backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Mykul Coscia, who performs drag as Eazy Love at Play, a night club, poses for a portrait after a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 29, 2023. Even before the shooting, many transgender Tennesseans felt villainized by their state's efforts to regulate the lives of gay and trans people, and were increasingly fearful for their safety. Police identified the Nashville shooter as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, and initially referred to Hale as female. Every time there is a school shooting, Story VanNess said she has sleepless nights: she was a special education teacher in a Knoxville school for several years before becoming the director of trans and non-binary programs at Knox Pride. "We've had another school shooting but, because this shooter was trans, that's taken a back seat so politicians can demonize trans people.

☆ Alvin Bragg: Who is the New York prosecutor who got Trump indicted?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's indictment has thrust into the spotlight Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor whose office convinced a New York grand jury to bring the first criminal charges ever against a former U.S. president. Bragg, 49, took office in January 2022, the first Black person elected Manhattan District Attorney. In 2021, Bragg won a crowded primary for the Democratic nomination to succeed Cyrus Vance as Manhattan District Attorney. "I've done this type of work under this type of scrutiny," Bragg said during the campaign, referring to the case against the Trump Foundation. Bragg came under criticism last year for declining to bring charges against Trump over his family real estate company's business practices.

☆ How a Trump arrest would play out: Yes, he'll be fingerprinted. No, he probably won't be handcuffed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Laura Italiano | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Trump is likely to be fingerprinted, swabbed for the state DNA database, and photographed for his mugshot. Trump has been indicted in the Manhattan district attorney's five-year investigation into his personal and business finances, Insider reported Thursday, but he'll be treated like any defendant moving forward — with many key exceptions. "That's called 'walking it through,'" explains Diana Florence, a former white-collar crime prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney's office. That's what typically happens in white-collar indictments, said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former chief assistant with the Manhattan district attorney's office. But even if Trump does need to surrender in person, Secret Service would likely give the perp walk a hard pass.

☆ Republican staffers are ditching Trump to help DeSantis win. But Trump, despite being famously obsessed with loyalty, is likely to forgive anyone who comes crawling back to him as long as they 'bend t
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former Trump staffers have joined a pro-DeSantis super PAC as the primary season heats up. "It's a time for choosing," a source close to Trump told RealClearPolitics last week. "If you work for Ron DeSantis' presidential race, you will not work for the Trump campaign or in the Trump White House." "What Trump really likes is when someone bends the knee to him — when someone comes back with their tail between their legs and apologizes." "What is obvious is how much they really, really do not want him, not only to run, but to win.

☆ Republicans are starting to split over exactly how — and whether — to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Republicans generally support banning TikTok, but they're beginning to disagree on how. Sen. Rand Paul has also come out against a TikTok ban, blocking a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley. But even among Republicans who favor a TikTok ban, there are growing concerns about the RESTRICT Act — arguably the most prominent proposal put forward to deal with the issue. "So, I think we should ban TikTok. "It's worse than banning TikTok, because it can be applied to lots of other companies," said Paul.

A grand jury of New Yorkers has brought charges against the former president, Trump's lawyer Susan Necheles said on Thursday. The inquiry opened and shut so many times that it came to be known as a "zombie case," Pomerantz said. In the federal case, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and testified that Trump directed him to pay Daniels and another woman. 'BACK INTO THE GRAVE'After hiring an outside law firm for advice, Vance's office decided not to bring any charges, Pomerantz wrote. "The 'zombie' case," Pomerantz wrote, "went back into the grave."

☆ Senators unveil new rail safety bill in wake of toxic Ohio derailment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

John Fetterman and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio – would build on provisions of the bipartisan Railway Safety Act. Brown and his fellow senator from Ohio, Republican J.D. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw endorsed parts of the bipartisan bill. The Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, released toxic chemicals into the environment. Shaw said Norfolk Southern would continue to support cleanup efforts in the area.

☆ Trump's alleged hush money payments and the path to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

AUGUST 2018Cohen pleads guilty to criminal charges in Manhattan federal court, including campaign finance violations over the hush money payments. DECEMBER 2018Trump, on Twitter, calls the hush money payments a "simple private transaction." AUGUST 2019Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney at the time, issues a subpoena to the Trump Organization - Trump's family real estate company - for records of hush money payments. Trump himself is not charged with a crime, and the indictment contains no references to hush money payments. JANUARY 2023Bragg's office begins presenting evidence about Trump's alleged role in the 2016 hush money payments to a grand jury.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., will return to the Senate during the week of April 17 after about two months of treatment at Walter Reed Medical Center for depression, his office tells NBC News. The announcement comes as Fetterman introduces a new bill Wednesday focused on bolstering railway safety regulations in the aftermath of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The legislation is the first bill that Fetterman is leading since being elected to the Senate — he's previously introduced legislation alongside fellow Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who also join Fetterman in backing his new bill. Fetterman has also worked in bipartisan tandem with Senator JD Vance, R-Ohio, on legislation aimed at preventing future rail disasters. The new legislation includes measures to ensure that railroads provide warning equipment to railroad watchmen and mandates mechanics inspect rail cars to attest to their safety, among other proposals.

☆ Manhattan DA lawyers feared Stormy Daniels case against Trump was too weak to bring without other criminal charges, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Manhattan DA lawyers worried about indicting Trump over "hush money" payments to Stormy Daniels. In order to convict Trump on felony charges, prosecutors would need to prove Trump intended to commit or wanted to conceal a separate crime through the payments. But a judge might believe the Manhattan district attorney's office is overreaching by enforcing federal law. If the case gets to a jury, jurors may wonder why federal prosecutors didn't bring charges against Trump, or they might not believe Cohen's testimony. A representative for the Manhattan district attorney's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Some Republicans are suggesting that the Nashville shooter's reported trans identity played a role in causing the deadly incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Nashville shooter identified as transgender, according a police statement Monday that was later walked back. Some Republicans, including JD Vance and Marjorie Taylor Greene, are suggesting the shooter's trans identity played a role. We aren't aware of the shooters intentions in terms of gender identity," a Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson said. As details of the shooter's identity began to emerge, some prominent Republican elected officials zeroed in on Hale's reported transgender identity. "How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking?"

☆ Trump rape case: After years of back and forth over Trump's DNA, jurors won't even hear about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ashley Collman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A judge ruled Monday that DNA evidence can't be mentioned at Trump's upcoming rape trial. E. Jean Carroll sued Trump for defamation and battery over her claim he raped her in the mid-1990s. When Trump brought Joe Tacopina onto the case earlier this year, the new attorney made a last-minute offer to submit Trump's DNA sample. While DNA evidence was thrown out of the case, Trump's lawyers continued to fight for the chance to question Carroll about her comments insinuating she had DNA evidence to prove her sexual-assault claim. She also acknowledged in her deposition that she publicly claimed to have Trump's DNA.

☆ Republicans are seeking wealthy, self-funding candidates to help the party win a Senate majority in 2024, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

GOP leaders are seeking out wealthy Senate candidates to counter Democratic fundraising successes. In recent cycles, some GOP candidates have used outside spending to mitigate spending disparities. Last year, Democratic Senate nominees in the six most competitive races outraised their GOP counterparts by $288 million, per Politico. The well-known doctor poured $26.8 million of his own funds into his unsuccessful Senate campaign, according to OpenSecrets. Dolan, who put more than $10.5 million into his 2022 Senate bid, could face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

☆ The Manhattan DA's likely case against Trump would be far from a 'slam dunk conviction'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

New York state prosecutors have never brought an election law case involving a federal campaign, per NYT. If the DA's office brings a criminal case against Trump, it would be far from a "slam dunk conviction," one ex-prosecutor said. Among the charges Trump could face is violating New York's business records statute, which bars individuals from falsifying business records with an intent to defraud. Some legal experts have pointed out that New York has a long history of bringing felony prosecutions based on falsifying business records. If Trump is charged with falsifying business records, "expect to see this defense."

☆ Who is Alvin Bragg? What to know about the Manhattan district attorney investigating Trump.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Michelle Mark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is leading the Trump investigation into Stormy Daniels' hush money payoff. He led the New York attorney general's successful 2018 lawsuit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which paid $2 million in court-ordered damages for illegally misusing charitable funds. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court in New York City. Bragg is highly controversial for his approach to crimeBeyond the ongoing Trump investigation, Bragg has been harshly criticized for being too lenient while the city struggles with rising crime. Bragg's stance provoked instant blowback in New York City and in conservative media.

The inquiry opened and shut so many times that it came to be known as a "zombie case," Pomerantz said. "The bottom line for me was that the 'zombie' case was very strong," Pomerantz wrote. In the federal case, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and testified that Trump directed him to pay Daniels and another woman. 'BACK INTO THE GRAVE'After hiring an outside law firm for advice, Vance's office decided not to bring any charges, Pomerantz wrote. "The 'zombie' case," Pomerantz wrote, "went back into the grave."

☆ Norfolk Southern CEO says he supports parts of new rail safety bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on Wednesday told senators that his railroad company supports parts of two bipartisan rail safety bills that came in the wake of a derailment last month of a train carrying toxic materials in Ohio. Shaw did not fully endorse the Railway Safety Act, which includes provisions calling for two-person crews on all railroad locomotives. "We're not aware of any data that links crew size with safety," Shaw said Wednesday. "There are significant opportunities for advanced technology to enhance rail safety, and we encourage Congress to consider additional research into on-board rail car defect detection technology." Ohio sued Norfolk Southern last week, seeking damages, civil penalties and a "declaratory judgement that Norfolk Southern is responsible," Attorney General Dave Yost said.

☆ Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's ties to billionaire George Soros are not as close as Republicans claim
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

As Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg moves to bring an expected indictment against Donald Trump, Republicans lawmakers leaping to the former president's defense have fixated on what they call Bragg's ties to billionaire George Soros. There is also no indication the Open Society Policy Center's donation was directed toward an eventual Color of Change campaign to influence Bragg. The funding from Soros' nonprofit was not targeted toward the campaign to support McCarter, the Color of Change official told CNBC. Open Society's website says the group's donation was intended "to support [Color of Change]'s social welfare activities" over the course of five years. Months before Bragg won a 2021 Democratic primary on his way to becoming Manhattan DA, George Soros' son, Jonathan, and his wife, combined to donate $20,000 to Bragg's campaign, state records show.

☆ Senate GOP populists push Republican colleagues to back railway regulations, arguing 'their voters' are the most affected by disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vance, Hawley, and Rubio are touting a bill to enact new regulations on the rail industry. They're trying out a new argument for their Republican colleagues: these are your voters. Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Marco Rubio of Florida, are touting the Railway Safety Act of 2023. "When derailments occur, it is predominantly Republican voters—their voters—who bear the brunt and who rush to put out the fires." "Look, I think if the vote were held today, we'd get 65 votes in the Senate," he told Insider.

☆ Norfolk Southern CEO told that railroads' planned voluntary safety improvements aren't enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw returns to Capitol Hill Wednesday facing pressure to support rail safety legislation proposed in the wake of his railroad’s massive toxic spill from a February 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. “We support legislative efforts to enhance the safety of the freight rail industry,” was the only discussion of the legislation in his prepared remarks. Shaw said the railroad would support increasing fines and penalties for people found tampering with railroad facilities and safety equipment, without endorsing proposals for potential fines on railroads found guilty of safety violations. They said residents who live near freight rail tracks can’t depend on the railroad’s voluntary measures to improve safety. Vance said it is important to raise the maximum fine for rail safety violations from the current limit of $225,455.

☆ JPMorgan vs. Bank of America? Analysts say one of the stocks is set to soar 50%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It's not just regional bank shares that have been hit by the recent banking crisis — large-cap bank stocks have also tumbled. JPMorgan was down nearly 6% last week, while Bank of America tumbled 8% over the same period. It said big banks are a "big beneficiary" and fundamentals at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citi look "rather strong." For those looking to invest, CNBC Pro takes a look at what analysts are saying about JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America in particular. However, Bank of America has only 8% of uninsured deposits as a proportion of its total deposit liabilities.

☆ Dozens of Senate Republicans oppose overturning the law that made the disastrous 2003 Iraq invasion possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Senate began the process on Thursday to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq War AUMFs. "It should be easy to remove," quipped Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a supporter of repeal. "I don't want to do anything that reduces the President's ability to kill somebody like Soleimani," said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. For Sen. Paul, repealing the Iraq War AUMFs — which he called "symbolic" — isn't going far enough. The 2001 AUMF opened the door for the invasion of Afghanistan, launching the longest war in US history.

Search resuls for: "vance"

25 mentions found