NEW YORK — He appears “selfish and self-serving,” according to one woman.

“The way he carries himself in public “leaves something to be desired,” observed another.

Another individual claimed that his “negative rhetoric and bias” are the most destructive.

Over the last week, Donald Trump has been forced to sit in a chilly New York courthouse and listen to a parade of possible jurors in his criminal hush money trial give their unvarnished opinions of him.

It’s been a striking difference for the former president and likely Republican nominee, who is used to spending his days in a cocoon of screaming crowds and frequent praise. Now a criminal defendant, Trump will spend the next few weeks exposed to severe constraints that limit his ability to control everything from what he can say to the temperature of the room.

“He’s the target of mockery. It is his nightmare. He is unable to control the script. He is unable to control the cinematography. He has no control over what others are saying about him. And the outcome may go in a way he does not desire,” said Tim O’Brien, a Trump biography and critic.

While Trump is occasionally confronted by protesters, he largely avoids criticism. After leaving the White House, Trump relocated to his Mar-a-Lago beachfront club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is surrounded by devoted paid staff and dues-paying members who have paid tens of thousands of dollars to be near him.

Trump frequently visits his adjacent golf course, where he is “swarmed by people wanting to shake his hand, take pictures of him, and tell him how amazing he is,” according to Stephanie Grisham, a longtime adviser who parted with Trump following the Capitol storming on Jan. 6, 2021.

When he returns to Mar-a-Lago in the afternoon, members eating lunch on the patio frequently stand and applaud. He gets the same standing ovation at dinner, which frequently ends with Trump playing DJ on his iPad, blaring jams like “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown.

Grisham, who spent extended amounts of time traveling with Trump and at Mar-a-Lago during his 2016 campaign and acting as White House press secretary, portrayed staff as perpetual cheerleaders who told Trump what he wanted to hear. To avert angry outbursts, they requested motorcade routes that bypassed protestors and left a stack of favorable press clips on the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk each morning.

Trump Forced To Listen Silently To People Insulting Him As He Trades A Cocoon Of Adulation For Court

Trump now faces a trial that could lead to felony convictions and prison time. And he’ll have to listen to more critics without the ability to respond verbally, which he enjoys doing.

Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer, and Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who claims she had sex with Trump, are likely to testify at the trial. Both have criticized him in interviews, books, and on social media.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump demonstrated during his first week in court that “he will remain defiant in the face of this unprecedented political lawfare” and that “it is clear that his support from the American people will only grow as they watch Joe Biden, Alvin Bragg, and the Democrats putting on this bogus show trial six months before the election.”

New Yorkers who claimed they couldn’t view the issue objectively were excused during jury selection. However, one of the women who had the strongest opinions of him will be among those who decide his fate on 34 charges of fabricating business records.

“I don’t like his persona, or how he presents himself in public,” said the woman, who has resided in upper Manhattan for the past 15 years. The woman stated she disagreed with some of Trump’s policies, which she deemed “outrageous.”

“He just seems very selfish and self-serving, so I don’t really appreciate that in any public servant,” she added. She went on to say that while she doesn’t “know him as a person,” because of the way he “portrays himself in public, it just seems to me it is not my cup of tea.”

Trump’s legal team objected to her responses, but they had exhausted their legal options by the time she came up for selection.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has withheld the identities of prospective jurors due to safety concerns.

On Friday, one prospective juror, who claimed to have attended the 2017 Women’s March to oppose Trump’s inauguration, expressed concern about his influence on his base.

“I think his rhetoric at times enables people to feel as if they have permission to discriminate or act on their negative impulses,” she said, giving examples of people making homophobic or racist remarks. Nonetheless, she stated that she did not have strong feelings for the previous president and was unsure of his current policy beliefs.

Trump Forced To Listen Silently To People Insulting Him As He Trades A Cocoon Of Adulation For Court

Another individual said he grew up admiring the former president and business magnate’s real estate portfolio and fantasized of one day living in Trump Tower. However, he has grown to reject Trump’s “negative rhetoric and bias against people that he speaks about.”

At other times, lawyers read aloud social media messages by prospective jurors mocking Trump and celebrating his defeats.

The judge dismissed one prospective juror, an older white lady, after Trump’s legal team discovered years-old social media remarks describing Trump as a “racist, sexist” narcissist.

One of Trump’s attorneys described the posts as “vitriolic.”

“She harbors a deep hatred for him,” the lawyer, Susan Necheles, stated. “She said that ‘I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized'” and that he was “anathema” to all she had ever learned about love.

When confronted with the posts within the courtroom, the juror stated that she understood why they might be relevant to the defense, but her opinions had shifted. “Election policies can get pretty spicy and Mr. Trump can get pretty spicy,” she went on to say.

Merchan, the judge, also dismissed a man who in 2017 made a Facebook post praising the legal defeat of one of Donald Trump’s policies. “Get him out and lock him up!” the message stated in part.

The court regulations compel Trump to be present throughout the trial. He cannot storm out of the courtroom, as he did in a recent slander suit. He is also prohibited by a gag order from criticizing any of the jurors, including on his Truth Social page.

Merchan has already chastised him for speaking aloud and gesticulating when one juror was answering questions.

“I will not tolerate any jurors being intimidated in this courtroom,” added Merchan, who had previously warned Trump that he might face jail time for disrupting proceedings in court.

Trump’s judgments in court were not all negative, with a startling proportion of possible jurors stating that they had no strong feelings about one of the world’s most well-known and polarizing figures.

Trump Forced To Listen Silently To People Insulting Him As He Trades A Cocoon Of Adulation For Court

In fact, the process appeared to yield more supporters than one might expect in a borough where President Joe Biden received 87% of the vote in 2020.

One potential juror, who spoke glowingly of Trump on Thursday, said he was “impressed” by Trump’s successful business career.

“I mean, he was our president, which is pretty extraordinary. He is a businessman in New York. He has built his own path, and he has made history in terms of where he began and where he has progressed,” said the man, who saw his own story similarly.

On Tuesday, another man expressed remorse that he couldn’t balance the trial with his profession.

“Your Honor, as much as I would love to serve for New York and one of our great presidents, I could not give up my job for six-plus weeks,” he told the crowd.

Many claimed to have read his book, “The Art of the Deal.”

Even the woman who opposed his demeanor but ended up on the jury recognized his attraction to voters.

“His public demeanor can sometimes be questionable. At the same time, I can connect to occasionally being unvarnished,” she remarked. “I’ve seen him speak to many individuals in America. I believe there is something to be said about that.

SOURCE – (AP)

Washington — A Bangkok-based plastics company has agreed to pay $20 million to settle with the US over 467 “egregious” violations of Iran sanctions, the Treasury Department stated on Friday.

SCG Plastics Co. utilized US banks to handle $291 million in Iranian high-density polyethylene resin sales from 2017 to 2018, according to a settlement agreement executed by the company and the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Thai Plastics Firm Will Pay $20 Million To Settle With U.S. Over Iran Sanctions Violations

The resin, which is used in product bottles and industrial products, was produced by an Iranian joint venture controlled in part by SCG Plastics’ parent business, SCG Chemicals, and the National Petrochemical business of Iran, a government body.

According to the settlement, SCG Plastics engaged in “shipping and documentation practices that obfuscated the product’s Iranian origin and Iranian parties’ involvement,” causing banks to unknowingly process transfers in violation of OFAC’s Iran sanctions.

“As a result of these transactions, significant economic benefits were conferred to Iran’s petrochemical sector, a major source of revenue generation for the Iranian regime,” the U.S. Treasury states. OFAC found that the 467 violations of Iran sanctions were “egregious” and penalized the corporation $20 million, which must be paid within 90 days.

While SCG Plastics is no longer in business, a documented agreement between OFAC and the company releases SGC Plastics from any obligation for sanctions violations.

Thai Plastics Firm Will Pay $20 Million To Settle With U.S. Over Iran Sanctions Violations

The fines come as US officials reveal intentions to impose additional sanctions on Iran following Tehran’s extraordinary attack on Israel, which could spark a wider Middle East conflict.

On Thursday, the United States and the United Kingdom placed fresh restrictions on Iranian individuals and organizations involved in drone production.

“We will continue to use our sanctions authority to counter Iran with additional actions in the coming days and weeks,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated.

Thai Plastics Firm Will Pay $20 Million To Settle With U.S. Over Iran Sanctions Violations

“We have also rigorously executed our sanctions, including imposing record fines and identifying sanction evasion schemes and networks. Our initiatives make it more difficult and costly for Iran to continue its destabilizing activities.”

SOURCE – AP

Lululemon is closing its Washington distribution hub and laying off 128 employees, according to a WARN filing submitted to the state’s Employment Security Department on Thursday. According to the filing, layoffs will begin on June 21. According to CNBC, Lululemon intends to close the factory by the end of 2024.

After reviewing its infrastructure and fulfillment strategy, the company claimed that it decided to close the Sumner, Washington-based plant, which it described as one of its “smaller distribution centers.”

Lululemon intends to keep some staff at the Washington site, but the shutdown will result in “a reduction of just over 100 positions.”Those who remain “will relocate to other facilities,” it stated, including its recently opened distribution center in Los Angeles.

The athletic clothing firm stated it is “committed to supporting” affected employees but did not specify how it intends to do so.

According to SEC filings, Lululemon’s lease for its Sumner site will end in July 2025. After closing the Washington warehouse, the Canadian garment maker will have five facilities. The closure comes after the company announced in late March that it was having difficulty reaching customers in the United States.

Lululemon’s CEO, Calvin McDonald, told investors about the company’s results call, saying that “the consumer is a little soft” in the United States and that the company is “navigating a dynamic retail environment.”

Lululemon Stock Plunges

Lululemon stock has plummeted after the sports gear company offered poor guidance and reported lackluster sales in the United States, its largest market. The company disclosed holiday earnings that exceeded forecasts and revealed that its North American growth remained stagnant.

Lululemon’s reported net income for the three months ended Jan. 28 was $669.5 million, or $5.29 per share, compared to $119.8 million, or 94 cents per share, the year before. Sales increased to $3.21 billion, up around 16% from $2.77 billion the previous year.

Lululemon shares fell roughly 16% on Friday. As of Friday’s close, Lululemon stock was down almost 21% this year, considerably underperforming the S&P 500, increasing by around 10%.

Lululemon, like its counterparts, has been dealing with uncertain demand and a decrease in discretionary spending, which has impacted the garment industry especially hard. Investors have been watching how Lululemon performs in North America, its largest sales market, as it faces harder prior-year comparisons and competes with consumers who choose experiences over tangible things such as clothes and shoes.

Sales in the Americas increased by 9% during the quarter, compared to 29% in the previous year. Although Lululemon, like new, continues to grow in the region, its growth rate has slowed dramatically as it concentrates on worldwide expansion.

“As you’ve heard from others in our industry, there has been a shift in U.S. consumer behavior of late, and we’re navigating what has been a slower start to the year in this market,” CEO Calvin McDonald said in a conference call with analysts Thursday.

“We see this as a chance to continue playing offense as we make investments that will propel our development trajectory. Outside the United States, our business is thriving.”

Lululemon Sale and Conversions

McDonald stated that traffic and conversions are down in the United States. He ascribed this to a lack of products in sizes zero to four, which are important sizes for the U.S. customer base, and a scarcity of colorful items.

Meanwhile, overseas sales increased by 54% on a reported basis, with 78% growth in China and 36% in the rest of Lululemon’s markets. According to StreetAccount, comparable sales increased 12% in the quarter, falling short of analysts’ expectations of a 12.3% increase.

Lululemon forecasts net revenue between $2.18 billion and $2.20 billion this quarter, indicating a 9% to 10% increase. According to LSEG, analysts expected $2.25 billion in revenue or a 12.5% increase. LSEG expects diluted profits per share to be between $2.35 and $2.40, which is lower than the $2.55 analysts projected.

LSEG sales are expected to be between $10.7 billion and $10.8 billion for the year. It expects diluted earnings per share to be between $14 and $14.20 this year, compared to LSEG’s estimate of $14.13.

Lululemon has long been a market leader in women’s athletic wear, but the Vancouver-based firm faces greater competition than ever. Newer competitors of the Lululemon belt bag, such as Alo Yoga and Vuori, have been nibbling away at Lululemon’s market share, forcing the company to work harder to differentiate itself in a more crowded industry.

The firm has been attempting to expand its footwear offerings and increase its men’s division. During the quarter, it established its first men’s store in Beijing, an important development market for the brand. In February, it released its first men’s sneaker, CityVerse, and expects to release new running models for both men and women, as performance sneakers remain a bright spot in an otherwise stagnant shoe market.

As the holidays approached, McDonald stated that Black Friday was the “single biggest day” in the company’s history, and he was “encouraged” by the trends he saw at the start of the season. However, the retailer’s holiday-quarter guidance fell somewhat short of analyst estimates.

In January, it raised its guidance after seeing sales “balanced across channels, categories, and geographies,” said finance head Meghan Frank in a press release.