A New York judge this afternoon found Donald Trump liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth, ordering the former president to pay a penalty of nearly $355 million. The judge also barred Trump from running a business in New York for three years.
The ruling, after a yearslong civil fraud case that tested Trump’s exaggerated claims of wealth, could wipe out his entire stockpile of cash. The former president will almost certainly appeal the financial penalty — which could climb to $400 million or more once interest is added — but will have to either come up with the money or secure a bond within 30 days.
With no jury, the power to deliver punishment was in the hands of Justice Arthur Engoron, and he came down hard. The decision threatens Trump’s business empire as he simultaneously contends with four criminal prosecutions and seeks to retake the White House.
Engoron also barred Trump’s two adult sons from running a New York business for two years and imposed a $4 million penalty on each of them. Trump will most likely ask an appeals court to halt the restrictions on him and his sons while it considers the case.
The trial was a product of a 2022 lawsuit filed by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, against Trump. The $355 million penalty reflects the profits lost by lenders who James argued would have earned far more if not for the fraud.
For more: My colleagues who reported on the case annotated Engoron’s ruling.
Russia said Aleksei Navalny died in prison
Aleksei Navalny, an anticorruption activist who for more than a decade led the political opposition in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, died today in a prison inside the Arctic Circle, according to the Russian authorities.
The country’s Federal Penitentiary Service said that Navalny, 47, lost consciousness after taking a walk in the prison where he was moved late last year. He was last seen yesterday, when he appeared in a court hearing via video link, smiling behind the bars of a cell and making jokes.
The news shocked world leaders and led to skepticism among Western officials about the circumstances around his death. Navalny’s team, some of whom will arrive tomorrow at the prison, said they could not immediately confirm his death but believed he was likely dead.
President Biden said that there was “no doubt” that Putin’s government was behind the death. “What has happened to Navalny is even more proof of Putin’s brutality,” Biden said. “No one should be fooled.”
If confirmed, Navalny’s death would leave Russia without its most prominent opposition voice at a time when Putin has amassed near-total power.
Two teens were charged in connection to Kansas City shooting
Two teenagers were charged with resisting arrest and gun-related offenses in connection to a shooting this week that left one person dead and nearly two dozen injured during a Super Bowl victory celebration in Kansas City, Mo. The teenagers, who have not been publicly identified, remained in custody.
The authorities said the shooting stemmed from a dispute among several people and said additional charges were expected to be filed. The person who was killed was identified as Elizabeth Galvan, a host of a local radio program.
More top news
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Abortion: Trump told advisers and allies that he liked the idea of a 16-week national abortion ban with some exceptions.
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Georgia: Lawyers for Trump grilled a key witness in an effort to disqualify Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, in the election interference case.
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Terrorism: The U.S. designated the Houthis, the Yemen-based militant group, as a terrorist organization.
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Politics: Senator Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat, announced that he would not seek the White House in 2024, ending months of speculation.
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Iran: Israel carried out covert attacks on two major gas pipelines inside Iran this week, according to Western officials.
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Weather: Beginning tomorrow, California will see back-to-back storms that could bring several inches of rain and feet of snow.
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Health: Growing numbers of children and adolescents are being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs to take simultaneously, according to a new study.
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Music: The family of Brian Wilson, a founder of the Beach Boys, is seeking to place him under a conservatorship following a dementia diagnosis.
A stellar, haunting ballet
Alexei Ratmansky is arguably the most important ballet choreographer working today. For his first work as artist in residence at New York City Ballet, Ratmansky, who grew up in Kyiv, picked a topic that has haunted him for the last two years: the war in Ukraine.
His ballet, “Solitude,” which premiered last night, was inspired by a photograph of a father kneeling next to the body of his 13-year-old son after he was killed by a Russian airstrike at a bus stop in Kharkiv. The father held the boy’s hand for hours. Our critic wrote that the ballet “warrants many repeat visits.”
A columnist was conned. Here’s how to avoid the same fate.
An article from New York magazine’s finance advice columnist about falling victim to a $50,000 scam went viral yesterday. The story, by Charlotte Cowles, got more stunning with every line: A caller posing as an Amazon employee said Cowles was the victim of identity theft, and passed her off to people who said they worked for the F.T.C. and C.I.A. Eventually, the fraudsters persuaded her to withdraw money from her bank, put it in a box and give it to them.
Nearly all of us are vulnerable to scams. To help you avoid the same fate, my colleague Rob Lieber explored Cowles’s case and offered some tips, including: If a call seems suspect, just hang up.
Cook: This simple, one-pot lasagna soup delivers all the comfort of a classic lasagna with very little of the work.
Watch: The new Bob Marley biopic is snapshot of a singer who is always the coolest guy in the room.
Read: We recommend these six new paperbacks.
What girl power looks like now
During New York Fashion Week, Hillary Taymour, the designer of Collina Strada, sent her models down the runway in latex shirts with sculpted abs and chiffon dresses with biceps quilted in. The looks were a conspicuous sign that the era of naked dressing appears to be over, replaced by an emphasis on women’s power.
That theme was the biggest undercurrent during this week’s shows, from Carolina Herrera’s focus on sharp shoulders to Michael Kors’s power suit. “After seasons in thrall to discretion and femininity,” our fashion critic Vanessa Friedman wrote, “clothing that centers unapologetic strength as a design principle is kind of thrilling.”
Have a formidable weekend.
Thanks for reading. We’ll be off on Monday for Washington’s Birthday. I’ll be back on Tuesday. — Matthew
We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.