U.S. ELECTION
The presidential election is less than two months away. This is what we’re watching.
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| Justice Juan Merchan has resisted many of Mr. Trump’s most audacious legal maneuvers, and has made clear his intention to be fair to the former president. Ahmed Gaber for The New York Times |
A judge weighs a monumental Trump decision
More than three months since a Manhattan jury convicted Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal, the former president has yet to be sentenced.
Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, delayed the sentencing after a Supreme Court ruling in July granted the former president some immunity. The judge now faces a decision that could alter American politics for years to come: whether to sentence Trump as planned on Sept. 18 or wait until after Election Day on Nov. 5, as Trump requested.
If Merchan postpones the sentencing, the American people will vote without knowing whether Trump will spend time behind bars. If not, Trump will undoubtedly accuse Merchan of trying to tip the election toward his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Here’s what else to know:
| A federal judge said she would not let Trump’s campaign affect the schedule of the criminal case in which he stands accused of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. |
| Swing state politics appeared to be sinking a global steel deal. |
| The Justice Department indicted an American commentator for Russian television as part of an effort to crack down on Russia’s attempts to influence American politics.Trump called for the creation of an efficiency commission to audit the government. He said Elon Musk would lead it. Later, he claimed that Israel “would no longer exist” if Harris won. |
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| Michel Barnier, 73, is a member of the Republicans, France’s main conservative party. Mohammed Badra/EPA, via Shutterstock |
Macron appointed a new prime minister
President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, a veteran right-wing politician, as France’s prime minister yesterday.
Barnier, 73, is a member of the Republicans, the country’s main conservative party, and has served in several ministerial roles. An adept negotiator, he led the E.U.’s Brexit talks and organized the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.
France has been in a political deadlock without an active government for more than 50 days. Left, center and right political groups came out of the elections with large shares of the vote, but none had an absolute majority. Few parties are inclined to work together.
What’s next: The appointment of Barnier has already angered the New Popular Front, the alliance of left-wing parties that won the most seats in the election. It has vowed to reject Barnier’s government. The left has called for a large demonstration against Macron in Paris tomorrow.
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| Hunter Biden’s guilty plea was not part of a deal for reduced punishment. Jenna Schoenefeld for The New York Times |
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in tax case
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in Los Angeles yesterday, a development that signaled the close of a fraught investigation into the period when Biden, in the grips of addiction, leveraged his last name into overseas consulting contracts — and did not pay taxes.
Biden will remain free on bond until his sentencing hearing in mid-December. But he must now confront the possibility of significant time behind bars, with a maximum prison sentence of up to 17 years or a fine of up to $1.3 million, on top of the possible sentence of 25 years after being convicted of lying on a firearms application in Delaware in June.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Mohammed Saber/EPA, via Shutterstock |
| Gaza: Hours after the first phase of a polio vaccination campaign wrapped up, Israel struck the courtyard of a hospital in central Gaza, killing four people, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency. West Bank: Five Palestinians were killed by an Israeli airstrike early Thursday, according to the local news media, as an Israeli military raid stretched into a ninth day across several cities. Nigeria: Boko Haram killed at least 170 villagers in the northeast of the country, community leaders say, in what is most likely one of the deadliest attacks in recent years. Ukraine: President Vladimir Putin of Russia amplified his threats against eastern Ukraine, calling Moscow’s offensive in the area his military’s “first-priority goal. ”U.S.: A 14-year-old in Georgia who is accused of opening fire on his teachers and classmates had a troubled home life, family members said. His father has been charged in the shooting. Cybercrime: The U.S. authorities expanded their hunt for Russia’s most elite cyberwarriors, offering a reward of up to $60 million for their arrests. France: Gisèle Pelicot, whose husband is accused of repeatedly drugging her, raping her and inviting other men into their home to do the same, took the witness stand. Storms: Typhoon Yagi is moving toward southern China. It’s expected to be the heaviest storm to hit Hainan Province in a decade. Iraq: A U.N. team is racing against the clock to document the genocide of the Yazidi people by the Islamic State. The Iraqi government has ordered the team to leave. Germany: Police officers in Munich fatally shot a gunman near the Israeli consulate and a museum about the city’s Nazi-era history. Nicaragua: The country released 135 political prisoners — including 13 people affiliated with an American evangelical church — in a deal brokered by the U.S. U.K.: British prosecutors have dropped the indecent assault case against Harvey Weinstein because there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.” |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Athletics: Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan long-distance runner and Olympian who was severely burned in a gasoline attack this week, has died. U.S. Open: Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Navarro faced off in the women’s semifinals, followed by Jessica Pegula against Karolina Muchova. Read the latest updates. Soccer: Juan Mata has joined Western Sydney Wanderers as a free agent. |
| N.F.L.: A new season began with a matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Read our live coverage. |
| MORNING WATCH |
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| The New York Times |
Kamala Harris has the 2024 presidential election in the bag — at least according to Allan Lichtman, the American University historian who has a near-perfect 40-year track record of predicting U.S. elections.
Lichtman’s simple, history-driven model focuses on 13 true-or-false questions that he says hold the “keys” to the White House. Watch his prediction.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| Clockwise from top left: Richard Young/Shutterstock; Monica Schipper/Getty Images; Firstview; Karl Prouse/Catwalking/Getty Images; Firstview; courtesy of Thom Browne; Aldo Fallai; Daniel Simon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; Firstview |
The clothes that changed men’s fashion
Earlier this year, T Magazine gathered a group of fashion designers, editors and a photographer for a hefty task: identifying the 25 most influential men’s wear collections since the end of World War II.
There were some clear favorites (Giorgio Armani and Comme des Garçons) and some upsets (Helmut Lang over Calvin Klein and Jil Sander). All changed the world of men’s fashion in some way, whether that was by reinventing the shape of the suit or challenging what it means to “dress like a man” in the first place. Review their list here.
For more: See unforgettable looks from the red carpet at Venice Film Festival.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
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| Mark Weinberg for The New York Times |
Cook: Can’t decide between brownies or cookies? This dessert has the best of both.
