LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James is out with an illness when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, while Anthony Davis is a game-time decision because of a sprained ankle.
James is missing his third game this month after sitting out against Portland and Minnesota because of a sore foot, but Lakers coach JJ Redick described him as being “a little under the weather” and does not expect a prolonged absence.
Davis will go through pregame warmups after he was hurt in the first quarter of the Lakers’ 115-113 win at Golden State on Wednesday.
The Lakers were able to navigate the loss of Davis on Christmas to pick up their fourth win in five games, but they split the two outings without James, who is averaging 23.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and nine assists per game in his 22nd NBA season.
Gabe Vincent will start in place of James, Redick said.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) dunks over Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury’s finding in a civil case that Donald Trump sexually abused a columnist in an upscale department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a written opinion upholding the $5 million award that the Manhattan jury granted to E. Jean Carroll for defamation and sexual abuse.
The longtime magazine columnist had testified at a 2023 trial that Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack after they playfully entered the store’s dressing room.
Trump skipped the trial after repeatedly denying the attack ever happened. But he briefly testified at a follow-up defamation trial earlier this year that resulted in an $83.3 million award. The second trial resulted from comments then-President Trump made in 2019 after Carroll first made the accusations publicly in a memoir.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the appeals court rejected claims by Trump's lawyers that trial Judge Lewis A. Kaplan had made multiple decisions that spoiled the trial, including his decision to allow two other women who had accused Trump of sexually abusing them to testify.
The judge also had allowed the jury to view the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump boasted in 2005 about grabbing women’s genitals because when someone is a star, “you can do anything.”
“We conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings," the 2nd Circuit said. “Further, he has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.”
In September, both Carroll, 81, and Trump, 78, attended oral arguments by the 2nd Circuit.
Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, said in a statement that Trump was elected by voters who delivered "an overwhelming mandate, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoax, which will continue to be appealed.”
Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer who represented Carroll during the trial and is not related to the judge, said in a statement: “Both E. Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments.”
The first jury found in May 2023 that Trump sexually abused Carroll and defamed her with comments he made in October 2022. That jury awarded Carroll $5 million.
In January, a second jury awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million in damages for comments Trump had made about her while he was president, finding that they were defamatory. That jury had been instructed by the judge to accept the first jury’s finding that Trump had sexually abused Carroll.
Trump testified for under three minutes at the second trial and was not permitted to challenge conclusions reached by the May 2023 jury. Still, he was animated in the courtroom throughout the two-week trial, and jurors could hear him grumbling about the case.
FILE - E. Jean Carroll exits the New York Federal Court after former President Donald Trump appeared in court, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)
