On today’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Aysha Bagchi recaps former President Donald Trump’s testimony in his New York civil fraud trial. Israeli troops encircle Gaza City. Worker shortages are easing in some industries. USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent John Fritze breaks down a gun rights case ahead of oral arguments Tuesday. A new Biden proposal would make changes to Advantage plans for Medicare.
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Good morning. I’m Taylor Wilson and I’m here to let you know that 5 Things is now The Excerpt. It’s the same show you know and love, and I’ll continue to be your morning host, bringing you the day’s most important headlines.
Today is Tuesday, November 7th, 2023. This is The Excerpt.
Today, Trump testifies in his New York civil fraud trial, plus Israel again rejects calls for a humanitarian pause as troops say they’re closing in on Gaza City. And the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a major gun rights case.
Former President Donald Trump testifies in New York civil fraud trial
Former President Donald Trump testified yesterday in the New York Civil fraud trial surrounding the Trump organization. We spoke with USA Today Justice Department Correspondent Aysha Bagchi for the latest.
Aysha Bagchi: I’m glad to be here, Taylor. Thank you.
Taylor Wilson: Just how combative was this testimony?
Aysha Bagchi: Monday was an extremely combative day from the morning through the afternoon, despite the judge issuing a warning advising Trump’s legal team to try to control him. He threw out insults and invectives at the attorney general for New York, Letitia James that the judge threw out. He was very angry. He had a lot of personal attacks. He called Letitia James a political hack. He said the trial was a disgrace. He said James was a fraud. He said the judge called him a fraud even though the judge didn’t know him and he called the entire case a political witch hunt. There were a lot of personal comments littered throughout the day even as he was asked very specific questions about his financial filings and documents.
Taylor Wilson: All right. So strong words. Part of his testimony also centered on a dry breakdown of finances, as you mentioned. Did we learn anything new during this?
Aysha Bagchi: I didn’t know that we learned anything new, but the state did develop a record, which was probably one of its goals. It wanted to have the former president testify under oath and say things about what he knew, how he viewed his financial documents. The state took him through several loan agreements where there were particular covenants and promises basically that Trump was making in the loan agreements about the truth of financial statements that he had submitted to get the loans about his minimum net worth that he would maintain. And the state wanted to get him on the record saying whether those things were true or not because it’s going to try to build a case, and has been building a case, that those things are not true.
At the very end of its questioning, it asked him what kind of changes he has implemented as a result of the case and as a result of the former chief financial officer of the Trump organization pleading guilty to tax fraud. And he gave a few answers to that, but one thing in particular is he said that they hadn’t contemplated yet hiring a chief compliance officer, someone who would be in charge of making sure that you’re compliant with rules and standards.
Taylor Wilson: And Aysha, how did his testimony overall compare with that of his sons last week in this same trial?
Aysha Bagchi: Donald Trump himself was much more free with his language than his sons. First of all, he was more combative than either of the sons were. And he seemed more comfortable answering questions however he wanted to answer them. Both with Donald Trump Jr. and with Eric Trump, you did see a lot of care from the two sons about saying that they didn’t know much about documents and that they relied on other people. And it’s not that Donald Trump senior completely avoided saying things like he wasn’t aware of something, but for the most part, he was much more free with his answers and much more willing to stand by these filings and give the court and everyone listening a piece of his mind.
Taylor Wilson: And Aysha, what’s next for this civil fraud trial going forward?
Aysha Bagchi: Well, we still have one Trump child left to testify. Ivanka Trump is scheduled to testify on Wednesday. So after that, the state plans not to call any more witnesses. That’s going to be it for the state. And then Trump’s team is going to get to put on its own defense. And Trump did make some comments from the stand about that. He seems really geared up about the defense that they’re going to put on. They’re clearly going to put on witnesses to make a case that this is a lawsuit that doesn’t have any merit and that all the threatened repercussions, including potentially having to turn over hundreds of millions of dollars, would be inappropriate. So we’ve got a big fight still ahead. The case is very much still going.
Taylor Wilson: Aysha Bagchi covers the Justice Department for USA Today. I’m sure we’ll hear from you here soon again, Aysha, covering this trial. Thanks so much.
Aysha Bagchi: Thanks, Taylor. I was glad to be here.
Israel encircles Gaza City as calls for humanitarian pause are rejected
Israel yesterday once again rejected calls for a humanitarian pause in the war with Hamas as it slammed Northern Gaza in preparation for a ground incursion into Gaza City. The White House said President Joe Biden spoke yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but could not get him to agree to a halt in the military offensive that began after a Hamas attack in Israel last month.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken failed in a similar effort over the weekend. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said the US will continue to advocate for temporary and localized pauses in the fighting. The Israeli military said it hit hundreds of Hamas targets this week, but barrages also hit Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital killing displaced people seeking shelter and destroying solar panels that kept the power on according to the general manager of hospitals in Gaza. Palestinians who fled this week said bombing also destroyed homes in the densely populated Shati refugee camp just outside Gaza City.
As Israeli ground forces encircle the city, many Palestinian civilians continued to flee toward Gaza South. They’ve reported walking past Israeli tanks on Gaza’s main highway. Some have reported Israeli soldiers firing at them and said they passed bodies on the side of the road. Israeli troops have urged civilians to move south and have announced brief windows for safe passage, though Israeli airstrikes have hit supposedly safe areas. Tens of thousands have remained in the north, mostly sheltered in hospitals or UN facilities. Those who have stayed put say they are deterred by overcrowding in the south along with dwindling water and food supplies in addition to fears of Israeli strikes. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war while more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed mostly in the Hamas attack on October 7th. Hamas is also holding some 240 hostages.
Worker shortages easing in some industries
Worker shortages are easing. That slowed the sharp wage growth US employees have enjoyed the past couple of years, but has also allowed businesses to raise prices more moderately, reopened shuttered restaurants and fixed product shortages. But that doesn’t mean that labor shortages have decreased in all industries, shifting bargaining power from workers to employers. Labor shortages in retail, for example, have been largely eliminated. While struggles to find skilled workers in healthcare have continued. When it comes to manufacturing, employers for years have struggled to find skilled workers with fewer high school and college grads entering the field. But labor shortages have eased since…
