“New York’s attorney general moved Thursday to have the state’s highest court reinstate President Donald Trump’s staggering civil fraud penalty, appealing a lower-court decision that slashed the potential half-billion-dollar fine to $0. Attorney General Letitia James’[s] office filed a notice of appeal with the state’s Court of Appeals, seeking to reverse the mid-level Appellate Division’s ruling last month that the penalty violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on excessive fines. James, a Democrat, had previously said she would appeal. Trump declared ‘TOTAL VICTORY’ after the Appellate Division wiped away his fine, but the five-judge panel left other punishments in place and narrowly endorsed a trial court’s finding that he committed fraud by padding his wealth on financial paperwork given to banks and insurers.” (09/04/25)
“The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday night to weigh in on its appeal to keep a broad set of tariffs in place after a lower court ruled they were illegal. Global trade is in a new state of limbo over whether the bulk of President Trump’s trade agenda might be overturned. If the Supreme Court ultimately upholds the [law], the overwhelming majority of tariffs implemented under Trump would be canceled. A federal appeals court on Aug. 29 [noticed] that Trump exceeded his authority by enacting widespread tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The court, however, allowed the tariffs to remain in place through Oct. 14.” (09/03/25)
“A group of anonymous federal judges is criticizing the Supreme Court for overturning lower court rulings and siding with President Donald Trump’s administration with little to no explanation, NBC News reported Thursday. NBC spoke with 12 federal judges, appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents including Trump, who pointed to a trend of lower court decisions being overturned by emergency rulings from the high court. These cases often see prominent members of Trump’s administration lashing out at lower court judges before their cases are overturned. Ten of the 12 judges argued the Supreme Court should offer more explanation when overturning such decisions, saying emergency rulings in such cases imply poor work on the part of lower court judges. ‘It is inexcusable,’ one judge said of the Supreme Court. ‘They don’t have our backs.’ That judge also said they have received death threats for issuing rulings that counter Trump’s agenda.” [editor’s note: So “affirm the Constitution” is now “counter Trump’s agenda?” – SAT] [additional editor’s note: You can have “affirm the Constitution” OR “Trump’s agenda.” Pick one – TLK] (09/04/25)
“Argentine authorities recovered an 18th century painting stolen by Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector over a week after it appeared in a property ad only to suddenly vanish. The ‘Portrait of a Lady’ by Italian baroque painter Giuseppe Ghislandi was missing for eight decades …. Prosecutors said Wednesday that the woman’s lawyer returned the work after a major hunt for it that made headlines worldwide. … The painting was recognised last week by the Dutch newspaper AD in photographs of a house for sale in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata. It was hanging above a green sofa in the living room of Patricia Kadgien, daughter of SS financial guru Friedrich Kadgien, one of several high-ranking Nazis to escape to Argentina after the war.” (09/04/25)
“In the fall of 2021, Emma Johnson was ready to move into her new apartment and begin her senior year at UC San Diego. The school guarantees campus dorms for students’ first two years, but most juniors and seniors live off campus. When Johnson opened the door to her apartment, she found 2 inches of water inside. She and her roommates didn’t have renters insurance, and the landlord declared he’d have to gut the unit. One by one, Johnson’s roommates found friends to crash with or leased new apartments with their parents as cosigners. But Johnson, who paid for school and her living expenses with a Pell Grant — federal funding granted to students with exceptional financial need that does not need to be repaid — and federal loans, suddenly found herself homeless.” (09/04/25)
“A federal judge invalidated the Trump administration’s freeze of $2.2 billion worth of federal grants to Harvard University, handing the school a major legal victory Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs restored the funding after Harvard and employee groups sued, agreeing it ran afoul of constitutional free speech protections and federal law. … The Trump administration paused the funding for Harvard back in April, alleging the university was in violation of civil rights laws due to inaction against antisemitism on campus. Harvard quickly sued, becoming the first university to fight the Trump administration in court over funding pauses.” (09/03/25)
“Protesters took to the streets across Israel for what they called a ‘day of disruption’ on Wednesday, denouncing the call-up of tens of thousands of reservists for an offensive in Gaza City that critics fear could endanger the lives of the hostages still being held by Hamas. Demonstrators have accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet of failing to secure a ceasefire deal and intensifying an offensive in Gaza instead.” (09/03/25)
“A group of Jeffrey Epstein accusers on Wednesday told emotional, gut-wrenching stories of sexual abuse at the hands of the late convicted sex offender and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, raising pressure on lawmakers to back the release of all of the files in the Justice Department’s years-long Epstein investigation. … The bombshell news conference was organized by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and comes as the bipartisan duo push to collect 218 signatures — half of the members of the House of Representatives — to force a vote to compel the Justice Department to release all of the files in the Epstein case. The accusers at the conference said that if Congress isn’t willing to release all of the investigative documents pertaining to Epstein, they would compile their own list of names to hold those in Epstein’s orbit accountable.” (09/03/25)
“Russia fired more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles at Ukraine overnight, authorities said Wednesday, as Ukraine’s president and European leaders pressed on with talks on how to strengthen Ukrainian defenses and boost as-yet unsuccessful U.S.-led peace efforts. The main Russian nighttime targets were civilian infrastructure, especially energy facilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as another winter approaches three years after Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. The attacks targeted mainly western and central Ukraine and wounded at least five people, the Ukrainian air force said.” (09/03/25)
“Florida plans to become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates that have been a cornerstone of public health policy for decades in keeping schoolchildren and citizens safe from infectious diseases. State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as an ‘immoral’ intrusion on people’s rights that hampers parents’ ability to make health decisions for their children. ‘People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions,’ Ladapo, who has frequently clashed with the medical establishment, said Wednesday at a news conference in Valrico. ‘They don’t have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.'” (09/03/25)
