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Former US president Donald Trump has been fined $354.9m (£281.6m) after a civil fraud trial in New York.

With interest included, he will have to hand over at least $453.5m (£359.9m).

The judge also banned Trump from running businesses in New York for three years. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr, received similar bans for two years.

Trump and the Trump Organisation cannot apply for loans from any New York financial institution for three years.

Judge Arthur Engoron had already ruled in an earlier judgment that the former president inflated his wealth on financial statements given to banks, insurers and other institutions to make deals and secure loans.

Following the fine, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to vent his anger, describing the decision as a “complete and total sham” and accused the judge and prosecutors of being “deluded, biased and crooked”.

He also claimed the judgment was “illegal” and “unAmerican”.

Later, in a statement made outside his Mar-a-Largo estate, he claimed his company’s accounts were “great” and that he was the victim of a political “witch hunt”, which he blamed on President Joe Biden.

“It is a witch hunt against his [Biden’s] political opponent the likes of which our country has never been seen before,” he said.

“You see it in Third World countries, but you don’t see it here.

“If I weren’t running [for president] none of this stuff would ever happen – none of these lawsuits would have happened – I would have had a nice life. But I enjoy this life for a different reason.”

He also said he planned to appeal.

Alina Habba, his lawyer, said after the hearing that the ruling was a “manifest injustice… plain and simple”.

She said in a statement: “It is the culmination of a multi-year, politically fuelled witch hunt that was designed to ‘take down Donald Trump,’ before Letitia James ever stepped foot into the Attorney General’s office.”

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Trump: ‘They don’t like me running’

New York Attorney General Letitia James sought $370m (£294m) and a ban on Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state in the civil fraud case.

Such a huge penalty could leave Trump’s real estate empire in tatters – an image that helped lead him to fame and the White House in 2016.

Judge Engoron also cancelled his prior ruling from September ordering the “dissolution” of companies that control areas of Trump’s real estate empire, saying this was no longer necessary because he is appointing an independent monitor and compliance director to oversee the businesses.

In the ruling, the judge wrote that Trump and the other defendants in the case “are incapable of admitting the error of their ways”.

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The judge called the fraud at the heart of the trial a “venial sin, not a mortal sin”, adding in his written verdict: “They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff.

“But the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.

“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. Instead, they adopt a ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ posture that the evidence belies.”

Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump were each ordered to pay $4m (£3.1m) by the judge.

An aerial view of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. New York Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
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Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach was central to the case. Pic: AP

FILE ...Trump Tower is shown in this photo, in New York, March 21, 2023. New York Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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Trump Tower is one of the ex-president’s many properties. Pic: AP

In response, Trump’s legal team claimed the testimony during the trial “proved there was no wrongdoing, no crime, and no victim” and added an appeal would be launched.

Ms Habba added: “Given the grave stakes, we trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious verdict and end this relentless persecution against my clients.

“Let me make one thing perfectly clear: this is not just about Donald Trump – if this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business.”

Last month Trump was also ordered by another judge in New York to pay $83.3m (£65.5m) in punitive damages to writer E Jean Carroll.

She launched a defamation case against the ex-president, accusing him of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.

In this latest civil case, Ms James’ office estimated Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6bn.

State lawyers claimed Trump used the inflated numbers to get lower insurance premiums and favourable loan terms, saving at least $168m £133m) on interest alone.

Judge Arthur Engoron attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/Pool
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Judge Arthur Engoron at the closing arguments of the trial. Pic Reuters

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Donald Trump at the trial in New York

During the trial, Trump launched a six-minute diatribe from the witness stand and was ordered not to disparage court staff – but defied the judge and was fined $15,000 (£11,800) for twice violating the order.

The Republican presidential front-runner testified in November that his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business.

During closing arguments in January this year, he claimed the case was a “fraud on me”.

Before the trial, Judge Engoron ruled on James’ main claim, finding that Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent.

As punishment, the judge ordered some of his companies should be removed from his control and dissolved, but due to an appeal, another court has put that on hold.

Because it is a civil case, rather than criminal, there was no threat of Trump being jailed.

However, four of the investigations into the former president are on criminal grounds, including one in New York related to alleged hush money payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump has also been charged in Florida over his handling of classified documents after leaving office and in Washington and Georgia for his bid to overturn his 2020 election loss.

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Two killed after suspect shot at firefighters in Idaho, authorities say

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Two killed after suspect shot at firefighters in Idaho, authorities say

Two people have been killed after a suspect shot at firefighters responding to a fire in the US state of Idaho, authorities have said.

Police were still “taking sniper fire” near the city of Coeur d’Alene on Sunday afternoon, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said.

Crews were responding to a fire at Canfield Mountain around 1.30pm and gunshots were reported around half an hour later, the force said.

Officers gather near the scene. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Sheriff Bob Norris said officials believe the two killed were firefighters, and he did not know if anyone else was shot.

“We don’t know how many suspects are up there, and we don’t know how many casualties there are,” he said. “We are actively taking fire sniper as we speak.”

Mr Norris said the sniper appeared to be hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle, adding he had instructed his deputies to fire back.

“I’m hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralise, because they’re not at this point in time showing any evidence of wanting to surrender,” the sheriff said.

Armoured police vehicles at the scene. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Governor Brad Little said “multiple” firefighters were attacked.

“This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,” he said on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”

The president of the International Association of Firefighters said a third firefighter was in surgery.

In a statement on social media Edward Kelly said the firefighters “were ambushed in a heinous act of violence”. He added: “Two of our brothers were killed by a sniper, and a third brother remains in surgery.”

The sheriff’s office in neighbouring Shoshone County said authorities were “dealing with an active shooter situation where the shooter is still at large”.

Smoke billows into the air after several firefighters were attacked while responding to a fire. Pic: Reuters
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Smoke billows into the air after several firefighters were attacked while responding to a fire. Pic: Reuters

The fire was still raging, Mr Norris said.

“It’s going to keep burning,” he added. “Can’t put any resources on it right now.”

The FBI was sending technical teams and tactical support to the scene, its deputy director Dan Bongino said.

“It remains an active, and very dangerous scene,” he said on X.

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Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking spot on the outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, a city of around 55,000 people in northern Idaho.

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Donald Trump says ‘very wealthy group’ has agreed to buy TikTok in the US

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Donald Trump says 'very wealthy group' has agreed to buy TikTok in the US

Donald Trump has said the US government has found a buyer for TikTok that he will reveal “in about two weeks”.

The president told Fox News “it’s a group of very wealthy people”, adding: “I think I’ll probably need China approval, I think President Xi will probably do it.”

TikTok was ordered last year to find a new owner for its US operation – or face a ban – after politicians said they feared sensitive data about Americans could be passed to the Chinese government.

The video app’s owner, Bytedance, has repeatedly denied such claims.

It originally had a deadline of 19 January to find a buyer – and many users were shocked when it “went dark” for a number of hours when that date came round, before later being restored.

However, President Trump has now extended the deadline several times.

The last extension was on 19 June, when the president signed another executive order pushing it back to 17 September.

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Mr Trump’s latest comments suggest multiple people coming together to take control of the app in the US.

Among those rumoured to be potential buyers include YouTube superstar Mr Beast, US search engine startup Perplexity AI, and Kevin O’Leary – an investor from Shark Tank (the US version of Dragons’ Den).

Bytedance said in April that it was still talking to the US government, but there were “differences on many key issues”.

It’s believed the Chinese government will have to approve any agreement.

The president said the identity of the buyer would be disclosed in about two weeks. Pic: Fox News
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The president said the identity of the buyer would be disclosed in about two weeks. Pic: Fox News

President Trump’s interview with Fox News also touched on the upcoming end of the pause in US tariffs on imported goods.

On April 9, he granted a 90-day reprieve for countries threatened with a tariff of more than 10% in order to give them time to negotiate.

Deals have already been struck with some countries, including the UK.

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The president said he didn’t think he would need to push back the 9 July deadline and that letters would be sent out imminently stating what tariff each country would face.

“We’ll look at the deficit we have – or whatever it is with the country; we’ll look at how the country treats us – are they good, are they not so good. Some countries, we don’t care – we’ll just send a high number out,” he said.

“But we’re going to be sending letters out starting pretty soon. We don’t have to meet, we have all the numbers.”

The president announced the tariffs in April, arguing they were correcting an unfair trade relationship and would return lost prosperity to US industries such as car-making.

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Iran could begin enriching uranium again in months, says UN nuclear watchdog chief

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Iran could begin enriching uranium again in months, says UN nuclear watchdog chief

Iran will have the capacity to begin enriching uranium again in “a matter of months”, the UN’s nuclear watchdog boss has said.

Rafael Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that US strikes on three sites a week ago had caused “severe damage” but it was not “total”.

Middle East: live updates

Mr Grossi told CBS News: “The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that.

“But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”

Iran still has “industrial and technological capabilities… so if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again”, he added.

A satellite overview shows excavators at tunnel entrances at the Fordow site in Iran. Pic: Maxar/Reuters
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A satellite overview shows excavators at tunnel entrances at the Fordow site in Iran. Pic: Maxar Technologies/Reuters

Iranian nuclear and military sites were attacked by Israel on 13 June, with the Israelis claiming Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US then carried out its own strikes on 22 June, hitting Iranian nuclear installations at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, under Operation Midnight Hammer.

Iran has insisted its nuclear research is for civilian energy production purposes.

US President Donald Trump said last weekend that the US deployment of 30,000lb “bunker-busting” bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme.

But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment from the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

A source said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear programme, much of which is buried deep underground, may have been put back only a month or two.

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Did the US destroy Iran’s nuclear sites?

Mr Trump has rejected any suggestion that the damage to the sites was not as profound as he has said.

And he stated he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran was enriching uranium to worrying levels.

At a news conference on Thursday alongside US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine, told reporters the GBU-57 bunker buster bombs had been designed in some secrecy with exactly this sort of target in mind.

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US: Iran nuclear sites ‘obliterated’

The head of the CIA has also said a “body of credible intelligence” indicates Iran’s nuclear programme was “severely damaged”.

Director John Ratcliffe revealed that information from a “historically reliable and accurate source” suggests several key sites were destroyed – and will take years to rebuild.

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Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country “slapped America in the face” by launching an attack on 23 June against a major US base in Qatar, adding the nation would never surrender.

The 12-day air conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a US-brokered ceasefire.

But the Iranian armed forces chief of staff, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, has said his country doubts Israel will maintain the truce.

A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said the US strikes had caused significant damage to Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

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