Statement by Paula’s Donuts on BLM incident

Due to multiple conflicting stories that we received, we felt it was very important to do our due diligence and investigate all parties in this matter. Less than 48 hours after we were notified of a situation that took place at our Clarence location, our investigation has been completed.

Our investigation led us to the conclusion that our employee did indeed violate our employee handbook and did harass a customer. This has led to the immediate termination of that employee.

We will not accept harassment of ANY KIND from our employees, ESPECIALLY toward our customers, and for this we apologize. We are saddened and dishearten by the situation that took place. We believe every one of our customers has the right to express their values, beliefs and opinions about what they believe.

We have been in business for 24 years and have always loved and supported our community. We will continue to provide a safe, comfortable, and happy atmosphere for our customers and employees. We look forward to seeing you in our shops.

As for the mask as he walked back into the store:

Paula’s says the customer had a mask on when he was initially in the store. He took his mask off when confronting our other customer. The video was cut off when the customer re-entered. Once he was in the store one of our employees immediately asked him to put his mask on or leave. He apologized and left.

For clarification- At all 3 Paula’s locations, both customers and employees are required to wear a mask at all times! If you do not have a mask, we will be happy to provide one for you!

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's request that a jury's verdict that he defamed election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman be thrown out was rejected Monday.

Just Security's Adam Klasfeld posted about the failure of his motion, stating that Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the "massive" judgment still stands.

Giuliani, who claims he is broke and has filed for bankruptcy, owes the Georgia women more than $145 million. Giuliani had accused them of committing election fraud while counting votes in Fulton County in 2020.

Meanwhile, an amendment to his bankruptcy declaration revealed his secretive defense fund is paying up to $675 an hour for bankruptcy lawyers.

"GIuliani's renewed motion urging this Court to reverse its prior findings and rulings and to override the jury's considered verdict on the basis of five threadbare arguments falls well short of persuading that 'the evidence and all reasonable interferences that can be drawn therefrom are so one-sided that reasonable men and women could not have reached a 'verdict in [plantiffs'] favor,'" Howell wrote.

"... The jury's verdict of awarding plaintiffs compensatory and punitive damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress caused by Giuliani and his co-conspirators, as reflected in the Final Judgment, in the amount of $145,969,000, plus post-judgment interest ... stands."

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The 48-page opinion also explained just how Giuliani's bankruptcy paused everything for the victims involved.

"A unanimous jury awarded plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ ArShaye “Shaye” Moss, on December 15, 2023, a total of $148,169,000.00, in compensatory and punitive damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, against defendant Rudolph W. Giuliani," the filing began.

But Giuliani stopped all of it with his next move.

"This jury award was followed, in rapid succession, three days later, by entry of the final judgment against Giuliani, and two days after that, by this Court’s order dissolving the 30-day automatic stay for enforcement of judgment to permit plaintiffs to register their judgment immediately in any district," Judge Howell wrote.

"The very next day, on December 21, 2023, Giuliani filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the Southern District of New York, which filing automatically halted all proceedings in this case, including plaintiffs’ right to exercise the authority granted by this Court to seek prompt enforcement of the judgment against Giuliani."

Read the full filing here.

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Donald Trump arrived at a New York courthouse for the start of his hush money trial Monday, making him the first-ever former president to face a criminal trial in the U.S.

He marked the occasion by taking to his Truth Social platform minutes after his arrival and reminding his followers that he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year.

The trial comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter between the two before the 2016 election.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 charges in the case.

In a post to Truth Social, made as news reports swirled about his arrival at the courthouse, Trump shared images from news stories that broke on Jan. 30 this year, pointing out that a Republican congresswoman had put forward his name to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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New York Rep. Claudia Tenney said that Trump was "instrumental" in brokering the Abraham Accords, which were signed September 2020 between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and sought to normalize relations between the countries. In the following months, Morocco and Sudan signed a similar treaty.

"For decades, bureaucrats, foreign policy 'professionals', and international organizations insisted that additional Middle East peace agreements were impossible without a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Trump proved that to be false," Tenney told Fox News at the time.

"The valiant efforts by President Trump in creating the Abraham Accords were unprecedented and continue to go unrecognized by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, underscoring the need for his nomination today," Tenney added.