The $1.7 trillion government spending bill signed; Trump taxes released; and a soccer legend dead at 82. These stories and more highlight your morning rundown, aimed straight down the middle, for Friday, Dec.30, 2022.  Biden signs $1.7 trillion spending bill While on vacation on Thursday, President Biden resumed official business just long enough to sign…

Authorities said they found Steven Hoffenberg, a longtime associate and mentor to Jeffrey Epstein and a disgraced businessman, dead in his home this week. Police discovered the rotting corpse of the former owner of the New York Post during a welfare check at his Connecticut apartment. According to BNO News, police in Derby, Connecticut, found…

Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The 60-year-old socialite, who once ran in the same circles as royals, presidents and billionaires, was sentenced Tuesday for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse dozens of underage girls, hundreds of times, for more than a decade. Judge Alison Nathan said Maxwell’s criminal activity was “extensive,” and…

The juror who set in motion calls for a new trial in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell will not answer a judge’s questions at a scheduled hearing on March 8, his lawyer said. Juror No. 5, as he is known in court papers, will invoke his constitutional Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, lawyer Todd Spodek said…

According to a court filing, Prince Andrew reached a settlement with Virginia Giuffre over the sex abuse lawsuit she filed against him. On Tuesday, a lawyer for Giuffre informed a judge that lawyers on both sides will request the lawsuit be dismissed in the next month. The court filing said all lawyers involved are asking…

Update (Jan. 20, 2022): Just under a month after she was found guilty on multiple counts in her sex trafficking trial, lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell officially requested a new trial Wednesday. The request comes after the lawyers raised concerns about media interviews one of the jurors gave following the verdict, in which the juror said they…

According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States is recording an average of over 265,000 daily COVID-19 cases. That’s the highest average of daily cases since the pandemic began, breaking the old record of 250,000 set back in January. New cases per day have more than doubled over the past two weeks.…

In its third full day of deliberations Monday, the jury in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell issued more requests to Judge Alison J. Nathan. Last week, the jury asked to review the testimony of the four Maxwell accusers, along with former Epstein housekeeper Juan Patricio Alessi. Monday’s jury requests included more testimony, specifically from…

For the second day in a row, the jury in the sex trafficking trial of alleged Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell asked to review transcripts from trial testimony Wednesday. Tuesday’s request was for the testimony of three of Maxwell’s accusers: Annie Farmer, the only one of the four who testified under her own identity, as well…