Prosecutor won’t oppose Trump sentencing delay in hush money case after high court immunity ruling

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By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

Manhattan prosecutors said Tuesday they would not oppose Donald Trump’s request to delay the sentencing in his hush money trial as he seeks to have the conviction overturned following a Supreme Court ruling that granted broad immunity protections to presidents.

In a letter filed with the New York court, prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said they would be open to a two-week delay in the July 11 sentencing in order to file a response to Trump’s motions.

“Although we believe defendant’s arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request” to delay the sentencing pending determination of the motion, the prosecutors wrote.

The letter came one day after Trump’s attorney requested the judge delay the sentencing as he weighs the high court’s decision and how it could influence the New York case.

The lawyers argue that the Supreme Court’s decision confirmed a position the defense raised earlier in the case that prosecutors should have been precluded from introducing some evidence the Trump team said constituted official presidential acts, according to the letter.

If a delay is indeed granted, it would push a sentencing decision past the Republican National Convention, which will kick off in Milwaukee on July 15. That means that Trump, now the presumptive GOP nominee, could become the Republican presidential candidate while it remains unknown what sentence he will face.

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US will pay Moderna $176 million to develop an mRNA pandemic flu vaccine

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By The Associated Press

The U.S. government will pay the vaccine maker Moderna $176 million to develop a pandemic vaccine that could be used to treat bird flu in people as cases in dairy cows continue to mount across the country, federal officials announced Tuesday.

The funds are targeted for release through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and will pay for continued development of a vaccine that uses the same mRNA technology that allowed rapid development and rollout of vaccines to protect against COVID-19. The award was made through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a program that focuses on medical treatments for potential pandemics.

Moderna will launch trials to test the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine that could be used to scale up a response to a bird flu pandemic, if needed.

The H5N1 virus was detected earlier this year in dairy cows and has spread to more than 135 herds in 12 states and infected three people to date, all with mild cases. Federal health officials stress that the risk to the wider population remains low.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Minnesota United vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Keys to the match, projected starting XI and a prediction

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Minnesota United vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Allianz Field
Stream: Apple TV Season Pass
Radio: KSTP-AM 1500 ESPN
Weather: 82 degrees, mostly sunny, 9 mph east wind
Betting line: MNUFC plus-105; draw plus-275; Vancouver plus-205

Series history: Almost dead even over seven seasons. Since joining MLS, Minnesota is 5-4-4 against Vancouver with a zero goal differential. This is their first matchup of 2024.

Form: MNUFC (8-7-6, 29 points) have lost four straight matches and one more defeat would break a five-way tie for the club’s worst losing skid in MLS play. Vancouver (7-7-7, 28 points) lost two in a row before a 4-3 home win over St. Louis on Saturday.

Absences: Dayne St. Clair, Tani Oluwaseyi, Carlos Harvey and Alejandro Bran (international duties) are out. Teemu Pukki (knee), Franco Fragapane (knee) and Hugo Bacharach (knee) are also likely out. Wil Trapp (leg) is doubtful.

Projected XI: In a 5-3-2 formation, CF Sang Bin Jeong, CF Bongi Hlongwane; CM Joseph Rosales, CM Hassani Dotson, CM Robin Lod; LWB Devin Padelford, CB Micky Tapias, CB Michael Boxall, CB Zarek Valentin, RWB DJ Taylor; GK Clint Irwin.

RELATED: Loons’ ‘Brilliant’ midfielder Robin Lod selected for MLS All-Star Game

Player to watch: Vancouver forward Brian White poured in a hat trick for a comeback win over St. Louis City. White’s performance contributed to St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell losing his job after 1 1/2 seasons on Monday.

Scouting report: Loons coach Eric Ramsay’s baseline expectation is for a strong and compact defensive team, but his side has allowed 2.75 goals per game in this four-game lull. Ramsay should tighten things up with a veteran such as Valentin; Taylor at center back did not work last weekend. Vancouver, meanwhile, has scored 1.5 goals per match this season, so if MNUFC will need to a handle on White (eight goals) and Ryan Gauld (nine).

Key stat: MNUFC is tied for third-lowest possession (44.6%) in MLS this season, and this deficit forces the Loons to defend more often. This directly contributed to Portland scoring a stoppage time winner on Saturday. Timbers had three goals, but 4.0 expected goals.

Storyline: With the weekend victory, the Timbers jumped over Minnesota in the Western Conference standings; now another club from the Pacific Northwest can move past the Loons in a similar way Wednesday.

Prediction: With another shorthanded squad, it’s difficult to see how the Loons get out of this dark wilderness. But there is light through the trees with an ugly-but-slightly-better 1-1 draw.

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NYC Budget Closes Gap for NYCHA Senior Security Program

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After weeks of negotiations, the unarmed security program that was poised to end on June 30 will continue.

Adi Talwar

The lobby at NYCHA’s Bronx River Addition, one of the housing authority’s senior buildings.

A security program that has provided an extra layer of protection for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) senior tenants for a quarter century is here to stay.

NYCHA, which has 55 senior-only buildings, has long funded unarmed security guards to be posted there for eight hour shifts, seven days a week.

The near $7 million program was slated to end on June 30 to help NYCHA close a $35 million gap in its operating budget, but Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council announced Friday that the service will remain and has been baked into the larger $112.4 billion city budget for fiscal year 2025.

“When I heard we were cutting this and I heard from councilmembers, we said, it cannot happen,” said Adams during the budget announcement. “Our seniors must be safe.”

City Limits spoke with senior tenants in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan in recent weeks about the proposed cut. All expressed support for the program, though some, including tenants at Vandalia Avenue in East New York, had differing beliefs about whether a guard had been present to-date.

Brooklyn Councilmember Justin Brannan, chair of the Committee on Finance, told City Limits in an email exchange Monday that city councilmembers were “puzzled” by the proposed cut.

During the executive budget hearings, he said, there was testimony from residents who talked about issues such as not having a functioning intercom system, and that taking away human security would be “dangerous.”

“Removing security guards at NYCHA senior buildings just made zero sense,” Brannan said. “The Council, through the leadership of Speaker [Adrienne] Adams and Public Housing Chair Chris Banks, drew a line in the sand and were able to restore $6.8 million to keep these guards working and keep our seniors safe.”

Though the funding was not baselined for future budgets, Brannan expressed confidence that it will not be cut again. Reached for comment Monday, NYCHA praised both the Adams administration and the City Council.

“NYCHA is so pleased that the city’s arrangement of necessary funding will allow for the unarmed security guard program to continue at all senior buildings across the portfolio without any interruption in services,” a spokesperson said.

Terry Campuzano, the tenant association president at Meltzer Tower in the Lower East Side, said he was “thrilled” that the senior security program will remain in place.

“We have fob keys so we have electronic doors and there’s been a few times when nobody has been around at night and they’ll pull and pull and pull on those electronic doors until they pop open,” Campuzano said.

Meltzer Tower is in the process of converting from a Section 9 public housing development to the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program under Section 8.

Under PACT, units are managed by private developers who handle day to day operations such as maintenance and rent collection.

Metzler’s hope, he said, is to expand security service beyond the standard eight hours. But he but is relieved that security will be in the building from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“I’m thankful that they put us in the budget,” Campuzano said. “We feel better about that because I’m telling you it would have been a tragedy had we not had this security there.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Tatyana@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Emma@citylimits.org.

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