Roger Stone sentencing, Trump rally tour, California's apology: 5 things to know Thursday

Editors, USA TODAY
·5 min read

Trump ally Roger Stone to be sentenced amid outcry

President Donald Trump's longtime ally and friend, Roger Stone, is set to be sentenced Thursday amid an uproar over allegations of political meddling by Attorney General William Barr in criminal cases tied to Trump. Stone, 67, was found guilty in November of seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering. Prosecutors recommended he be sentenced to seven to nine years in prison, but the Justice Department intervened to reduce the sentence after criticism by Trump. The move prompted a judicial outcry that grew louder on Tuesday when the president commuted the prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and announced the pardons of seven others.

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Trump to hold rally in Colorado amid four-day swing through the West

President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Colorado Springs on Thursday night as part of a four-day circuit through the West that will combine campaign stops with official White House events. Trump held a rally in Phoenix on Wednesday, which coincided with the Democratic debate in Nevada. His remarks, which ran for roughly an hour and a half, consisted of a typical campaign stump speech, touching on some of his favorite topics ranging from immigration, the economy and what he calls the impeachment "hoax." A campaign rally is also scheduled in Las Vegas for Friday.

Guests continue to disembark ship docked in Japan due to coronavirus

Several hundred guests are expected to be cleared to disembark Thursday after a two-week quarantine due to coronavirus on the Diamond Princess ship, which remains docked in Yokohama, Japan. Approximately 600 guests disembarked on Wednesday, according to a statement from Princess Cruises. Although the ship's quarantine period was scheduled to end Wednesday, more than 100 American passengers on board will have to wait another 14 days to return home. It was reported late Wednesday – Thursday local time – that two elderly cruise ship passengers with coronavirus have died, according to Japan’s health ministry. A ministry official confirmed that they had been previously hospitalized in serious condition and had existing chronic diseases.

California to issue apology for internment of Japanese Americans

Wednesday marked the 78th anniversary of the Japanese internment, a day that has come to be known as a Day of Remembrance. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed executive order No. 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, more than 120,000 men, women and children of Japanese descent were forced to leave their homes and businesses and were sent to 10 U.S.-based concentration camps. On Thursday, the California Legislature is expected to approve a resolution offering an official apology to internment victims that, in part, calls out "its past actions in support of the unjust exclusion, removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II." Along with highlighting past injustices, the resolution emphasizes parallels with current policies. The resolution is only an apology and doesn't include compensation or restitution. But it serves as an attempt at accountability for the role California played.

NFL owners to discuss labor negotiations

NFL owners will meet Thursday in New York City to discuss ongoing negotiations with the players' association about a new collective bargaining agreement before the current deal expires. The league has proposed a 17-game regular season as part of a new contract. A trade-off to get that likely would include more roster spots as well as a larger percentage of revenues going to players. An extra bye week during the regular season and a reduction of the preseason from four games also have been discussed. Another notable is, according to one report, the new CBA is expected to change the NFL's playoff structure to include 14 teams, seven from each conference. That means only each conference's top seed would get a first-round playoff bye. Although there seems to be plenty of time to get a new deal done, the NFL's business season does start less than a month from now on March 18, when free agency begins.

Contributing: The Associated Press​​​​​​​

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roger Stone sentencing, Trump's rally tour: 5 things to know Thursday