Trump escapes prison, fines in felony hush-money case
CBC
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has escaped any legal punishment other than a criminal record for his felony crimes, after a judge on Friday handed him an alternative sentence called an unconditional discharge.
Judge Juan Marchan's ruling spares Trump any jail time, fines or probation supervision for his conviction, though the sentence cements his record as the first convicted felon to hold the White House.
The incoming president appeared remotely during the hearing with his lawyer on TV screens in the courtroom. Taking his opportunity to address the court, Trump maintained his innocence and said the case was a "tremendous setback" for the justice system.
He was convicted in May on charges he falsified business records to cover up a sex scandal threatening to break during his first presidential campaign in 2016.
A jury found him guilty on all 34 counts, making him the first president to be convicted as a felon.
Trump, 78, fought hard to stop his historic sentencing, including through an emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court this week. Late Thursday, the top court declined to do so, in a narrow 5-4 majority.
He takes office on Jan. 20.
More to come.
Children's school uniforms hung on the door. Their academic workbooks lay on their desks. Toys covered in dust were still sitting on the floor.
The death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and loyalists of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, including nearly 750 civilians, a war monitoring group said Saturday, making it one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence since Syria's conflict began 14 years ago.
Antarctica is like no place on Earth.
Russian forces targeted Ukraine's energy and gas infrastructure in their latest drone and missile attack, Ukraine's energy minister said on Friday.
One trade war down, two to go — maybe more. U.S. President Donald Trump has dialled back his tariffs against Canada after rattling the economy from the markets, to factories, to the borders.
The United States broke a longstanding diplomatic taboo by holding secret talks with the militant Palestinian group Hamas on securing the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, while U.S. President Donald Trump warned of "hell to pay" should the Palestinian militant group not comply.
As Ukraine tries to repair its fractured relations with the U.S. administration, which abruptly halted military aid to the embattled country on Monday, Kyiv says it will be able to hold the sprawling front line in the ongoing war with Russia.
Canada can huff, and puff, but if anything's going to blow down Donald Trump's house of tariffs it's going to be the reaction within the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump has paused all military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, a White House official said Monday.
One person was killed and others injured when a car rammed into a crowd Monday in the western German city of Mannheim, police said as they asked the public to stay away from the downtown area and remain in their homes.
Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer opened the meeting Sunday by saying they have a "once in a generation moment" to step up for the security of Europe.
It would take some scrounging around the bottom of the barrel to find a historical precedent for what transpired Friday in the Oval Office.