NYC Mayor's Race: A September surprise? Key voting date could be the day one of Mamdani's moderate challengers drops out -- or not
www.amny.com

... As the 2025 NYC Mayor's race heats up, the paths to victory for most candidates appear increasingly narrow. Recent polls show Democratic nominee and socialist Zohran Mamdani maintaining a strong advantage against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent attorney Jim Walden.

However, opponents of Mamdani's have faced calls to coalesce behind one candidate in the interest of beating the Democratic nominee, who is a 33-year-old democratic socialist and who has ruffled feathers in the Democratic establishment. The unusual makeup of the race and agreement among opponents that Mamdani would be a bad fit for mayor has led some to wonder: Can Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa coalesce behind one person in the interest of defeating Mamdani? ...

Even though Cuomo has said he would be willing to drop out and back another candidate if he is not the most popular Mamdani opponent leading up to the election " and has asked Adams to do the same -- most signs point to "no," according to Democratic strategists and recent polls. ...

Sept. 17 could, in theory, be a critical moment in the campaign. If one of Mamdani's moderate candidates bows out at that time and throws their support to another, it could significantly boost that other candidate's chances of toppling Mamdani on Election Day.

Then again, the stubbornness of Adams, Cuomo and Sliwa might win out -- and neither candidate may budge, according to at least one political strategist. ...

What To Know About Ghislaine Maxwell's Alleged Perjury"As She Speaks With DOJ Today About Epstein (July 24, 2025)
www.forbes.com

... Those fears have been amplified by Maxwell's history of alleged perjury, as the socialite was charged with perjury in 2020 based on allegedly lying during a 2016 deposition in a civil lawsuit about Epstein's alleged sexual abuse.

Maxwell was never tried or convicted of perjury: The charges were separated from her other counts prior to her 2021 trial, and when she sought a retrial of her sex trafficking charges, prosecutors offered to drop the perjury charges as long as her conviction on the other, more serious, counts was allowed to stand. ...

Why Was Ghislaine Maxwell Charged With Perjury?

Maxwell was charged with perjury based on answers she gave in a 2016 deposition regarding Epstein's alleged abuse and her own complicity.

The indictment against her cited multiple comments she made denying any knowledge of Epstein's alleged abuse: When asked if Epstein had a "scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages," she responded, "I don't know what you're talking about," for instance, and she said she "was not aware of anybody that I interacted with" at Epstein's properties being underage, other than a plaintiff involved in the civil lawsuit.

Maxwell also testified under oath she was not aware of any "sex toys or devices" being used at Epstein's properties, and that she had never personally given Epstein or any of his victims a massage.

She also claimed she was unaware of Epstein engaging in "sexual activities" with anyone besides herself and two women she and Epstein had "three-way sexual activities with," saying in her deposition, "I wasn't aware that he was having sexual activities with anyone when I was with him other than myself." When asked again by attorneys to confirm that her testimony was that she was "not aware" of Epstein having any other sexual partners, Maxwell doubled down, saying, "That is my testimony, that is correct."

Her statements conflict with charges in the indictment that Maxwell was later convicted on, which alleged Maxwell conducted massages and was "present for and participated in the abuse of minor victims," among other allegations. ...

Mamdani backs away from out of step' defund the police posts
www.politico.com

... Zohran Mamdani immediately faced backlash Wednesday over his past calls to defund the police " after New York City's deadliest mass shooting in 25 years and the completion of his 11-day vacation to Uganda.

Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee and the leading candidate in that race, was out of the country when the shooting occurred Monday in Midtown Manhattan. Hours after his return, he joined groups representing victims of the tragedy and faced reporters' questions about his absence and prior support for defunding the city's police department.

"I am not defunding the police; I am not running to defund the police," Mamdani told reporters Wednesday. "Over the course of this race, I've been very clear about my view of public safety and the critical role that the police have in creating that public safety."

During the news conference, Mamdani stood with the Bangladeshi American Police Association, of which slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam was a member, and building service workers union 32BJ, which represented Aland Etienne, an office security guard who died in the attack.

Mamdani is returning to a city where polling shows him as the clear favorite, and he'll try to maintain that lead through the tumult of a crowded general election in an unpredictable city. ...

The mayoral race for NYC has become interesting for me to watch on the local news, as the candidates jostle for position.

But, imo, November cannot arrive soon enough.

Putin doubts potency of Trump's ultimatum to end the war, sources say
www.reuters.com

... Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to bow to a sanctions ultimatum expiring this Friday from U.S. President Donald Trump, and retains the goal of capturing four regions of Ukraine in their entirety, sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters.
Trump has threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions and impose 100% tariffs on countries that buy its oil -- of which the biggest are China and India - unless Putin agrees to a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine.

Putin's determination to keep going is prompted by his belief that Russia is winning and by scepticism that yet more U.S. sanctions will have much of an impact after successive waves of economic penalties during 3-1/2 years of war, according to three sources familiar with discussions in the Kremlin.

The Russian leader does not want to anger Trump, and he realises that he may be spurning a chance to improve relations with Washington and the West, but his war goals take precedence, two of the sources said.

Putin's goal is to fully capture the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Russia has claimed as its own, and then to talk about a peace agreement, one of the sources said. ...

Trump may be off the hook for his 2020 election plot, but his allies aren't
www.politico.com

... The criminal cases against his fake electors have been bogged down in delays. But prosecutors are trying to keep the charges alive. ...

I had forgotten about the fake electors that were seemed to be used in 2020 to distort the election results in Pres Trump's favor...

Trump may be off the hook for his 2020 election plot, but his allies aren't
www.politico.com

... The criminal cases against his fake electors have been bogged down in delays. But prosecutors are trying to keep the charges alive. ...

Donald Trump's victory in 2024 largely shattered the efforts to prosecute him for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

But dozens of his allies still face state-level criminal charges for their roles in the plot. The five cases against them have plodded along for years, mired in procedural gridlock, prosecutorial bungles and appellate review.

None of those cases is anywhere near a trial, yet they all remain pending -- a state of legal limbo that exemplifies the nation's halting struggle to reckon with, and achieve accountability for, Trump's failed bid to seize a second term despite Joe Biden's victory nearly five years ago. ...