Trump sentenced in New York hush-money case days before taking office

United States President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced to what’s known as an “unconditional discharge” for his conviction over hush-money payments made to an adult film actress, making him the first former US president ever sentenced for a crime.

Judge Juan Merchan delivered the decision on Friday, a day after the US Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Trump’s legal team to delay sentencing before the Republican leader’s inauguration on January 20.

An “unconditional discharge” means that Trump’s conviction will appear on his permanent record, but he does not face imprisonment, a fine, or probation — leaving him unencumbered to enter the White House.

Trump, who previously served as president from 2017 to 2021, was found guilty in late May on 34 counts of falsifying business documents related to hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels, among other things.

The US president-elect has denied any wrongdoing and said he plans to appeal his conviction.

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Appearing at Friday’s sentencing hearing virtually, Trump said his criminal trial and conviction had “been a very terrible experience” and insisted he committed no crime.

“It’s been a political witch hunt,” he said before the judge issued his decision. “It was done to damage my reputation so I would lose the election and obviously that didn’t work.”

Prosecutors in the New York case had argued that the hush-money payments aimed to conceal allegations of a sexual relationship with Daniels that could have been politically damaging.

Trump, who pleaded not guilty, has denied any such relationship took place.

His lawyers had asked the Supreme Court for a stay of the sentencing “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government”.

They argued that a ruling last year by the top court that grants presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution means that some of the evidence should not have been presented in the case.

But a majority of the justices on the Supreme Court said in a decision late on Thursday that the “alleged evidentiary violations” at Trump’s state-court trial “can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal”.

They also said that “the burden that sentencing will impose” on Trump’s responsibilities “is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of ‘unconditional discharge’ after a brief virtual hearing”.

Under New York’s penal code, a court can sentence a defendant to unconditional discharge if it “is of the opinion that no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant’s release”.

Trump sentenced in New York hush-money case days before taking office

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Los Angeles wildfires: Five die as wildfire sweeps through California (photos)

Firefighters in Los Angeles, US, are battling several blazes in the city’s suburbs, prompting the mandatory evacuation of more than 80,000 people.

The fires were sparked by a combination of dry conditions and powerful winds. Currently, authorities say there is no possibility of bringing some of the fires under control.

More than 2,000 structures have been burnt with 80,000 residents under evacuation orders. At least five people have also been k!lled in the fire.

According to BBC, seven fires are currently being tackled;

The Palisades fire was first reported at 10:30 (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday and grew in just 20 minutes from a blaze of 20 acres to more than 200 acres, and by Wednesday night was approaching 16,000 acres. At least 30,000 people have so far been ordered to leave their homes.

The Eaton fire grew to cover 1,000 acres within the first six hours of breaking out. It started in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena at around 18:30 local time on Tuesday. By Wednesday night, January 8, five deaths had been reported and it had spread to more than 10,000 acres.

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The Hurst fire is located just north of San Fernando. It began burning on Tuesday at around 22:10 local time, growing to 850 acres, according to local officials. It has triggered evacuation orders in neighbouring Santa Clarita.

The Woodley fire broke out in Woodley Park at approximately 06:15 local time on Wednesday. The LA Fire Department (LAFD) says it has now been contained.

An Olivas fire erupted in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, and was burning across about 11 acres of land, though has also now been contained.

The Lidia fire broke out at around 14:00 on Wednesday in the mountainous Acton area north of Los Angeles and grew to cover almost 350 acres. As of 21:00, it had been 40% contained.

The Sunset fire broke out at around 18:00 in the Hollywood Hills, a residential neighbourhood overlooking the historic Hollywood area of the city. It currently covers around 50 acres and is 0% contained. A mandatory evacuation order is in place.

Many Hollywood stars including Ben Affleck, Paris Hilton, Adam Brody, Eugene Levy, Miles Teller Leighton Meester, Anna Faris, Billy Crystal, and many more have been forced to evacuate their mansions which have been destroyed by the fire.

Los Angeles wildfires: Five die as wildfire sweeps through California (photos)

Myanmar: Junta air strike kills 40

A rescue worker and an ethnic minority armed group told AFP on Thursday that a Myanmar junta airstrike killed at least 40 people in a village in western Rakhine state. 

The Arakan Army (AA) is fighting the military for control of Rakhine, where it has seized swathes of territory in the past year, all but cutting off the capital Sittwe.

The Rakhine conflict is one element of the bloody chaos that has engulfed Myanmar since the military ousted Aung San Suu K.

According to AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha, a military jet bombed Kyauk Ni Maw on Ramree Island around 1:20 pm (0650 GMT) on Wednesday, causing a fire that engulfed over 500 houses.

“According to initial reports, 40 innocent civilians were killed and 20 were wounded,” he said.

A local rescue group member reported 41 deaths and 52 injuries.

“At the moment, we don’t even have enough betadine and methylated spirit to treat them, as the transportation is hard,” the rescue worker said on condition of anonymity to protect their safety.

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Ramree Island is home to a planned China-backed deep-sea port that will serve as a gateway for Beijing to the Indian Ocean, but construction has been halted by the unrest.

Photos of the aftermath of the bombing show dazed residents walking through charred, smoking ruins, the ground littered with corrugated metal, trees stripped bare of leaves, and buildings reduced to a few scraps of walls.

The military is struggling to fight opposition to its rule.

In addition to the youth-led “People’s Defence Forces” that arose to counter the coup, the military is fighting various long-established and well-equipped ethnic minority armed organisations, including the AA, that hold huge sections of land along the country’s border.

In November, the United Nations Development Programme warned that Rakhine was on the verge of famine as violence hampered commerce and agricultural production.

The United Nations said this week that the violence in Myanmar had displaced more than 3.5 million people, an increase of 1.5 million from last year.

The picture for the coming year was “grim,” according to the UN humanitarian organisation OCHA, with 19.9 million people—more than a third of the population—expected to require assistance by 2025.

Myanmar: Junta air strike kills 40