Trump to be sentenced 10 days before his inauguration as president

Real-life Donkey from ‘Shrek’ dies at 30

Perry, the donkey who acted as the motion model for the character “Donkey” in the Shrek franchise, passed away on Thursday, January 2. 

“We are heartbroken to share that our beloved Barron Park donkey, Perry, passed away yesterday at the age of 30,” read the statement from Barron Park Donkeys.

In the same post, they looked back on the adventure-filled life lived by Perry since he came into the park in 1997.

“Throughout his long life here, Perry captured the hearts of the Barron Park community, and far beyond, with his beautiful soulful eyes, his sweet and gentle disposition, his amiable stroll to the pasture gate to greet his visitors, and of course his contributions to the movie Shrek–as the motion model for the Donkey character in the movie,” said the announcement.

Although they were saddened by his passing, his caretakers acknowledged that it was for the best, as the animal had been in significant pain due to an illness called laminitis. It is an inflammation of the tissue between a horse’s hoof and coffin bone.

Still, the people around Perry made sure that he knew that he was not alone during his last moments.

“In Perry’s last weeks, all of the handlers spent many hours at the pasture with him, petting him, cradling him, singing to him, and telling him that he was and always will be loved,” they wrote.

Trump’s motion to dismiss denied, to be sentenced this week

Judge Juan Merchan denied President-elect Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss the criminal charges against him in light of his electoral victory. He will be sentenced for his crimes on January 10, merely ten days away from his inauguration.

The judge believed that Trump's election as president should not be a justification for throwing away the court’s guilty verdict against him for 34 counts of falsification of business records. However, he clarified that he does not intend to send Trump to jail, aiming to avoid disrupting his term.

Trump’s team tried to argue that the verdict should be immediately dismissed once he secured the presidency, as further legal battles would impede the functioning of the federal government. 

They also asserted that Trump, as the president-elect, should be entitled to presidential immunity from suit.

“This Court finds that neither the vacatur of the jury’s verdicts nor dismissal of the indictment are required by the Presidential Immunity doctrine, the Presidential Transition Act, or the Supremacy Clause,” countered Merchan in his decision.

He explained that presidential immunity would only attach once Trump has taken his Oath of Office, which is scheduled for January 20. Prior to that, there was still no legal impediment to holding him accountable.

In response, Trump’s spokesperson criticized the decision. 

"There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead.”

The More You Know

• Cher Lloyd has announced her long-awaited return to music. Sharing her excitement on X, she said, "My heart is pounding. It’s been a long time since I’ve had this feeling. I couldn’t bear to tease any longer, it’s finally happening!" Her new single, Head Down, is set to release on January 17.

• 11-time Olympic winner Simone Biles was hailed as 2024’s Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

• According to TMZ, Nicki Minaj may face criminal charges for assault and battery after Brandon Garret, who claims to be her former manager, filed a lawsuit against her. Garret alleges that in April 2024, Minaj summoned him to her dressing room and slapped him on the face and wrist after discovering he had previously sent someone else to pick up her prescription.

• 22-year-old hacker Skylar Dalziel was sentenced to 21 months in prison for stealing unreleased music from various artists and selling them to the dark web. The hacker had made approximately $52,000 from such activities within a span of two years. When the authorities apprehended him in 2023, they found a total of 291,941 songs in her hard drive from singers like Melanie Marinez, Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, Bebe Rexha, and more.

• President Joe Biden has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to 19 outstanding individuals. The awardees are:

  1. José Andrés

  2. Bono

  3. Ashton Baldwin Carter (posthumous)

  4. Hillary Clinton

  5. Michael J. Fox

  6. Tim Gill

  7. Jane Goodall

  8. Fannie Lou Hamer (posthumous)

  9. Earvin “Magic” Johnson

  10. Robert Francis Kennedy (posthumous)

  11. Ralph Lauren

  12. Lionel Messi

  13. William Sanford “Bill” Nye 

  14. George W. Romney (posthumous)

  15. David M. Rubenstein

  16. George Soros

  17. George Stevens, Jr.

  18. Denzel Washington

  19. Anna Wintour

— Bea Bertuldo

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