Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: 09/21/22

N.Y. AG drops the hammer on Trump

Sep 21, 2022

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New York Attorney General Letitia James pauses during a press conference, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. New York's attorney general sued former President Donald Trump and his company on Wednesday, alleging business fraud involving some of their most prized assets, including properties in Manhattan, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

New York AG Tish James speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, Sept. 21. | Brittainy Newman/AP Photo

SIREN — New York AG TISH JAMES announced today that she is filing a civil lawsuit against DONALD TRUMP and his eldest three children, DONALD JR., IVANKA and ERIC, alleging that the Trump Organization engaged in a sprawling campaign of fraudulent business practices, Josh Gerstein, Erin Durkin and Kyle Cheney report.

The allegations:

"The attorney general's civil suit alleges decades of deception, including billions of dollars in falsified net worth, as part of an effort to minimize his companies' tax bills while winning favorable terms from banks and insurance companies," the trio writes. James: 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' suit "relies on a special statute for repeat instances of alleged violations of the law, stemming from real estate transactions." James: "This conduct cannot be brushed aside and dismissed as some sort of good-faith mistake."

An example, via Erin: Trump allegedly falsely claimed his own triplex apartment in Trump Tower was worth $327 million — three times its actual value. "To this date, no apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount," James said. Trump claimed the apartment was 30,000 square feet when it was actually 11,000.

The soundbite: "Claiming you have money you do not have does not amount to the art of the deal. It's the art of the steal," James said toward the end of her remarks. "There cannot be different rules for different people in this country or in this state. Former presidents are no different."

What the AG is seeking:

About $250 million in allegedly illegal profits netted from the scheme.

A five-year ban on Trump, Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric from participating in any real estate transactions — "a restriction that would spell the end of the Trump real estate empire," write Josh, Erin and Kyle.

A permanent ban on Trump and his three eldest children from serving as directors or officers of any corporation or business licensed in New York state.

Read the 280-plus-page complaint

James also said she is filing a criminal referral to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, and a separate tax fraud referral to the IRS for the same underlying allegations.

The response from Trump world:

— "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," Trump attorney ALINA HABBA said in a statement. "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."

— Don Jr. was quick to tweet, lashing out at James for a "Dem witch-hunt."

— Similarly, his brother Eric accused James of "working for the DNC."

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President Joe Biden addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, at the U.N. headquarters.

President Joe Biden speaks at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 21. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

UNGA PRESSURE — President JOE BIDEN spoke at the U.N. General Assembly in New York today, using his address as a platform to trumpet his administration's support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's war, and calling on world leaders to stand firm in the conflict.

Here's some of what Biden said:

— On Russia's war in Ukraine: "The United States wants this war to end on just terms, on terms we all signed up for: that you cannot seize a nation's territory by force. The only country standing in the way of that is Russia, so we — each of us in this body — we … must be clear, firm and unwavering in our resolve."

— On China: "We do not seek conflict. We do not seek a Cold War." More from CNN's Kevin Liptak

The backdrop: WaPo: "Putin drafts up to 300,000 reservists, backs annexation amid war losses": "In a national address broadcast at 9 a.m. Moscow time, [Russian President VLADIMIR] PUTIN lashed out at the West, voiced his support for staged referendums being planned as a precursor to annexation of occupied areas of Ukraine, and hinted ominously that he was ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory — as he defines it."

— NYT's Roger Cohen writes in an analysis: "A Cornered Putin Is More Dangerous Than Ever"

FED UP — The Fed is meeting at 2 p.m., and is expected to again hike interest rates. Primer: "How to Read the Fed's Projections Like a Pro," by NYT's Jeanna Smialek

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS ONE — "U.S. Gas Prices End Streak of Declines Just Short of 100 Days," by NYT's Isabella Simonetti: "The national average gas price rose seven-tenths of one cent to $3.68 a gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA."

Good Wednesday afternoon.

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THE BIG PICTURE

WHO HOLDS THE POWER — Much of the effort to overturn the 2020 election results centered on "fake electors" across the states who would vouch that it was Trump, not Biden, who won the votes in their state. Since then, the Justice Department has ramped up investigations into these individuals and the Jan. 6 committee has elicited testimony from some. But NBC's Natasha Korecki and Kaitlyn Francis report that "with just two months until the midterms, more than two dozen of the individuals who served as phony electors still hold some of the highest-ranking political posts in their state parties. They're also interwoven into the GOP infrastructure across seven battleground states that will determine the balance of Congress in November and the next presidential race two years later, according to a review by NBC News."

ZOMBIELAND — "How a zombie apocalypse is informing a new wave of Dem ads," by Christopher Cadelago: "Deep into an election cycle once assumed to be a lost cause for Democrats, something new is emerging: A wager from a group of progressive operatives that their party's success comes down to narrative storytelling presented in an animated format. Yes, cartoons."

ICYMI — "DHS rejects plan to protect election officials from harassment as midterms loom," by CNN's Sean Lyngaas

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE

CLICKER AND SCROLLER — "How Republicans Could Win Control of the House," by NYT's Lazaro Gamio, Lauren Leatherby and Jonathan Weisman

CONGRESS

HEADS UP — The Senate working group that is crafting the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act now officially has 10 Republican and 10 Democratic co-sponsors after bringing on Sens. JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D-Colo.), MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.) and ALEX PADILLA (D-Calif.). See the full list, via NBC's Sahil Kapur

THE ECONOMY

MEGATREND — "U.S. Home Sales and Prices Fell in August as Mortgage Rates Rose," WSJ

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BEYOND THE BELTWAY

HURRICANE FIONA LATEST — "Fiona grows into Category 4 storm, heads toward Bermuda," AP

— "Hurricane Fiona's destruction of Puerto Rico, in maps and photos," WaPo

THE HOMELESSNESS CRISIS — "Rising homelessness is tearing California cities apart," by Lara Korte and Jeremy White in Sacramento: "Democrats are under pressure to fix the state's most pervasive problem — or at least move it out of sight."

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

NUKE DEAL NEGOTIATIONS — Iranian President EBRAHIM RAISI spoke at UNGA this morning and said "his country was serious about reviving a deal to put curbs on its nuclear program but questioned whether it could trust America's commitment to any eventual accord," AP's Aya Batrawy writes.

— Meanwhile: "U.S. urges U.N. court to toss out Iranian frozen assets case," AP

DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — "U.S. looks to claim victory in Pacific Islands influence battle with China," by Phelim Kine: "The State Department is close to renewing strategic partnership agreements with the Pacific Island nations of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands after six months of intensive negotiations, according to Special Presidential Envoy Ambassador JOSEPH YUN. The renewal of those agreements, called Compacts of Free Association, will effectively firewall those three countries from a relentless drive by Beijing to displace the U.S. as the region's dominant superpower."

— "U.S. decides against national security tariffs on rare earth magnets from China, Japan, EU," by Doug Palmer

FOR YOUR RADAR — "High Natural-Gas Prices Push European Manufacturers to Shift to the U.S.," WSJ

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PLAYBOOKERS

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Images of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's dramatic weight loss are being used as clickbait by peddlers of fake weight-loss products on social media, Daniel Lippman reports. One such ad that appeared on Facebook falsely quotes Pompeo: "It most definitely works! Huge difference. [I]'m willing to share."

The unauthorized ads have appeared for at least two weeks, prompting Pompeo's team to contact Meta, Facebook's parent company, to take them down. "The Secretary has nothing to do with these ads," a person close to Pompeo told Lippman. "They are a fake scam and we are pursuing any and all ways to have the ads taken down." In a statement to POLITICO, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said that the ads "violate our policies and we are actively removing them."

OUT AND ABOUT — The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress hosted their annual memorial service in the Capitol's Statuary Hall on Tuesday night, to honor 36 former members of Congress who died in the last year. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Elizabeth Dole, Byron Dorgan and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) all spoke at the event, which also featured a tribute performance of "Amazing Grace" by Dean Swihart, husband of late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.). SPOTTED: Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Carol Miller (R-W.Va.), Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) and David Price (D-N.C.), Pat Meehan, Eric Paulsen and Dennis Ross.

— The National Italian American Foundation government affairs and public policy committee hosted a sunset aperitivo Tuesday evening at Ferrero's Rooftop Terrace, where special guest Bob Costa spoke about his Italian heritage, shared his observations on the midterms and discussed the NIAF's work as a strong bridge with Italy. SPOTTED: Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Chip Kunde, Marco Barassi, Chris Cerone, Kraig Siracuse, Chris Berardini, Kevin Cirilli and Jason Donner.

— SPOTTED at the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' "Noche de Gala" at Mayflower on Tuesday night, where George Pelicano, Xochitl Gomez and Xolo Mariduena were honored as awardees and Jim Acosta and Maria Cardona served as masters of ceremonies: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Reps. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Vicente González (D-Texas), Felix Sanchez, Lyndon Boozer, Ginny Grenham, Laura Barrón-López, Saul Hernandez, Lani Green-Rowley, Nathaly Arriola Maurice, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Eric Deggans and Mickey Ibarra.

— Procter & Gamble held its second annual disaster relief event Tuesday night at Bullfeathers, where attendees packed 1,400 disaster relief kits with essential household items like toothbrushes, soap and deodorant to be distributed to communities and families across the country that have been affected by natural disasters. SPOTTED: Reps. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Ron Estes (R-Kan.), Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Blake Moore (R-Utah), Jerry Carl (R-Ala.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Troy Balderson (R-Ohio), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and John Joyce (R-Pa.).

— SPOTTED on a party over Zoom on Tuesday night for the launch of David Rubenstein's new book, "How To Invest: Masters On The Craft" ( $30), co-hosted by Penny Pritzker and David Marchick: Ken Burns, David Skorton, Janet Napolitano, Gary Cohn, Jim Hock, Afsaneh Beschloss, Melissa Moss, Stuart and Wilma Bernstein and Chris Ullman.

— SPOTTED at a Capitol Hill reception on Tuesday evening hosted by Invariant for its new Republican team members Kelly Hitchcock, Danielle Beck, Ian Foley and Drew Griffin: Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), Jamie Boone, Paul Arcangeli, Nick Mikula, Heather Podesta, Rebecca Angelston, Michael DeFilippis, Chad Ramey and Rebecca Steele.

— SPOTTED at Corning Incorporated's new D.C. office open house Tuesday: Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Ed Gillespie, Tom Reed, Peter Jacoby, Rory Murphy, Matt Fery, Jordan Dickinson, Sam Ropa, Payson Peabody, Mitchell Rivard, Tiffany Ge and Stephanie Penn.

— SPOTTED at a fundraiser event for Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) hosted by Michael Hacker and Melanie Hudson on Tuesday night: Joe Crowley, John Breaux, Yebbie Watkins, Lisa Kountoupes, Ashli Palmer, Dan Turton, Tim Keating, Laurie Knight and Michael Meehan.

TRANSITIONS — Cole Rojewski and Todd Willens are launching the RBW Group. Rojewski previously was transition adviser to Rep. Connie Conway's (R-Calif.) office and is a Kay Granger, David Valadao and Devin Nunes alum. Willens previously was the founder of Potomac Consulting and is an Interior Department, Steve Pearce, Richard Pombo and Jerry Lewis alum. … Alison Graab is now SVP at the Alpine Group. She previously was a clerk with the Senate Appropriations Transportation-HUD Subcommittee GOP.

WEEKEND WEDDING — Shelley Greenspan, Jewish liaison at the White House and policy adviser for the NSC's partnerships and global engagement directorate, and Reuben Smith-Vaughan , head of public policy for Latin America at Amazon and a U.S. Chamber alum, got married Sunday at the Salamander Hotel D.C. (formerly the Mandarin Oriental). They met while working at Amazon's public policy office and reconnected on Bumble at the beginning of the pandemic. Their wedding weekend kicked off with a Shabbat dinner at Compass Coffee's roastery in Ivy City and continued with renting out an entire section at the Nationals game for their wedding guests to watch the game Saturday against the Miami Marlins, Shelley's hometown team. Pic … Another pic

California Today: A new Covid booster

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September 21, 2022

By Kellen Browning

Tech Reporter, Business

It's Wednesday. The rollout of the Covid booster in California has begun with little fanfare. Plus, the state's coastal communities could benefit from the federal climate deal.

Dwona Beroit receiving a Covid-19 booster shot from Cynthia Key, a public health nurse, in Los Angeles.Alisha Jucevic for The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — Gone are the days when Gov. Gavin Newsom crisscrossed the state urging Californians to roll up their sleeves for their Covid shots. Routine checks of vaccination cards to enter restaurants are a thing of the past. In downtown San Francisco, the Moscone Center, once the site of a mass vaccination clinic, has long since reverted to a convention center.

Newly formulated Covid booster shots are now available to those 12 and older, tailored to protect against both the original version of the virus and the Omicron variant. But the distribution of the new shots in California, as in much of the rest of the country, has come with little fanfare.

This quiet rollout may be an acknowledgment of how many people have moved on from the pandemic as Covid cases wane and are unlikely to be receptive to another stentorian campaign, even in the vaccine-friendly Golden State, said Bob Wachter, the chair of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "I think that there's a little bit less oomph being put into this particular campaign than there was," Wachter told me.

Still, plenty of people have gotten the new booster shot already. California's public health department said it had received 2.8 million doses of the new vaccine so far, and had administered about 618,000 since Sept. 6, when it first became available.

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The new shots target the Omicron subvariant BA.5, the dominant version of the virus, and are viewed by scientists as a way to guard against a surge of cases expected this winter. Experts say the boosters will offer improved protection against breakthrough infections.

In San Francisco, one of the most vaccinated parts of California, hundreds of people eagerly lined up outside doctor's offices and clinics last week.

"I'm very pro-vaccine," Deborah James said as she left a Kaiser clinic after getting her shot. "I think people should be protected, if they can be."

This early in the rollout, residents seemed to be split into two camps: Those who closely follow the news, knew about the booster and were excited for the protection it offered; and those who no longer think about the pandemic and didn't know there was a new vaccine.

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In the Mission District of San Francisco, Jacqueline Guerra, 24, said she had no plans to get the bivalent booster. She got the initial Johnson and Johnson vaccine and has had Covid, but did not get the booster offered last year. She said she was concerned about what was in the vaccine and whether it could harm her 1-year-old baby, Jericoh, who is still breastfeeding.

Guerra, who works at Foot Locker, said there was only one reason she might get boosted. "If my job says that it's mandatory, then yes, I will get it," she said.

Wachter said he had witnessed plenty of vaccine fatigue over the last two years. The constantly shifting vaccine mandates, mask guidelines and evolving virus may have caused many people to throw up their hands, he said.

"I can completely get a person saying: 'You know what, this is too hard. I would just rather get back to normal and let the chips fall where they fall,'" he said, adding that it was still worth getting the newest round of boosters, especially to protect against the risk of long Covid.

For more:

Schedule a booster appointment through the state.
What to know about the new boosters.
Check Covid case counts in your area.
Major data gaps, the result of decades of underinvestment in public health, have undercut the government response to the coronavirus and now to monkeypox.

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Claire Arre, a marine biologist in Orange County.Gabriella Angotti-Jones for The New York Times

If you read one story, make it this

Billions in climate deal funding could help protect U.S. coastal cities.

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The rest of the news

Smoking marijuana: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that would make it illegal for employers to fire, or not hire, workers because of outside-of-work marijuana use, The Los Angeles Times reports.
Human composting: California will be the fifth state to allow human composting, or natural organic reduction, as a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burial methods, The Guardian reports.
Cost of voting: California is the sixth easiest U.S. state to vote in.
Drunken driving: An investigation into a crash in Avenal in 2021 that killed nine people has prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to call for an alcohol-impairment detection system to be installed in all new cars, The Los Angeles Times reports.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Monkeypox vaccines: After an exponential rise of monkeypox cases in early August, Los Angeles County has expanded eligibility for the vaccine and has administered more than 60,000 first doses of the vaccine, The Los Angeles Times reports.
U.S.C.: A former dean at the University of Southern California pleaded guilty in a bribery case involving a powerful Los Angeles politician, The Associated Press reports.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Damages claim: The lawyer of the student who was struck by Brian Vollhardt, the former principal of Wolters Elementary, filed a claim for damages with Fresno Unified, The Fresno Bee reports.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Dreamforce: The mega-conference Dreamforce will be returning to San Francisco at Moscone Center with more than 40,000 people expected to attend, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
School closures: The closure of schools within the Oakland Unified School District suggests a larger political shift within the city that once was at the forefront of Black politics and culture, The Washington Post reports.
Homelessness: The city of Oakland spent $69 million over four years housing unsheltered people, but it has no idea if any of those nearly 9,000 people ever found permanent housing, The SFist reports.

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

What we're eating

Dinner in seven ingredients (or even fewer).

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Where we're traveling

Today's tip comes from Joel Stevenson, who recommends the Suisun Marsh, California's largest brackish marsh:

"Kayaking or paddle boarding through the channels and ponds I've experienced some truly peaceful moments: watching a family of otters frolic and chase each other outside their watery den, sleepy barn owls blinking down from the rafters of abandoned boat-sheds, large fish brushing the surface of lazy waters, birds of every kind from great swooping murmurations of songbirds to gleaming egrets and stately herons to the soar and cry of hawk and osprey. There the reeds and blackberry bushes grow with exuberant vigor amid splashes of short-lived but ever-present flowers.

Underlying it all is the quiet. In our otherwise busy world of traffic and hurry the quiet feels almost preternatural but of course it is the very essence of nature. Once the initial strangeness of that quiet passes you start to notice its many layers: wind blowing across the water, dandling leafy branches, choirs of unseen insects, the hum of the world, so low you feel it rather than hear it. It is a wonderful place and I feel fortunate to visit it each time.

Leave the hurry and go!"

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

It's almost fall. What do you love about the season in California? What are the best fall activities in your corner of the state?

Email us at CAToday@nytimes.com with your stories, memories and recommendations.

Marissa Leshnov for The New York Times

And before you go, some good news

While growing up in Berkeley, Jasmine Guillory thought her destiny was a career in law. She graduated from Stanford Law School, then clerked for a federal judge and worked at a high-paying big law firm before moving on to legal aid and nonprofit work. Still, something was missing.

She decided to try writing. In April 2015, she joined an online writers' challenge that prompts fledgling novelists to commit to writing 50,000 words in one month. She spent every spare moment getting words on the page. "I looked forward every day to coming home from work and sitting on the couch and writing," she said. She hit the 50,000 mark, then kept going.

By June she had a draft of "The Wedding Date," a flirty, funny romance novel. Upon its release in 2018, the book got glowing reviews. Later that year, her second novel spent five weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.

On Tuesday, Guillory published her eighth book. She left her day job for good a few years ago.

"I didn't quit my legal job until I knew that I could support myself with writing," she told The Times.

Thanks for reading. We'll be back tomorrow.

P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword.

Soumya Karlamangla and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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