Amid legal troubles, all eyes on Trump during White House ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to award a Medal of Honor at the White House on Wednesday, a day after two legal developments threaten to consume his political agenda and presidency. On Tuesday, a federal jury found Paul Manafort, Trump’s ex-campaign manager, guilty on eight of 18 counts in his financial fraud trial.Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty in federal court and admitted to making six-figure payments to silence two women in advance of the 2016 election at Trump’s direction.  As for the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for bravery, will be awarded to Technical Sgt. John Chapman, who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Chapman’s spouse, Valerie Nessel, and his family will receive the award in his honor. 

Hawaii residents brace for impact as hurricane intensifies

State officials will be paying close attention as Hurricane Lane threatens to become the first landfalling hurricane in Hawaii in nearly three decades. With maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, Lane was upgraded to a Category 5 on Tuesday as it surged westerly across the Pacific Ocean toward the Big Island. While Lane is likely to weaken as it moves closer to Hawaii, Accuweather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll says the storm will deliver a combination of torrential rainfall, high winds and dangerous surf as early as Wednesday. The last hurricane to make landfall in the island state was Iniki, a Category 4 that barreled into the island of Kauai in 1992 that resulted in six deaths and $3 billion in damages. 

Urban Meyer’s fate debated by Ohio State Board of Trustees

Ohio State’s Board of Trustees will meet Wednesday morning to “discuss personnel matters related to the investigation” involving head football coach Urban Meyer.   For the past two weeks, an independent working group has been investigating Meyer’s handling of abuse allegations involving a former assistant coach, Zach Smith, who has since been fired. Meyer, placed on administrative leave earlier this month, issued a statement in which he said he had properly reported the Smith allegations to someone in authority. 

Senate committee to consider bill that aims to address election security

Earlier this year, Congress took an important step by allocating $380 million in election security grants to help states protect against cyber-threats. On Wednesday, a Senate committee will consider the Secure Elections Act, a bipartisan bill, proposed by Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Amy Klobarchar, D-Minn., that aims to address election security by, among other things, requiring federal officials to share information about cyber-threats.  With the midterms looming, the bill comes as states are using federal money to make changes quickly, including training staff, hiring cybersecurity experts and adding verification steps.  

Walmart takes another jab at Amazon as it begins selling e-books

Walmart ratcheted up its battle with Amazon, planting a stake on the e-commerce giant’s turf by selling e-books for the first time. Starting Wednesday, the world’s biggest retailer will officially launch Walmart e-books, a partnership with Rakuten Kobo, the digital book division of Japan’s top e-commerce company. In addition to choosing from among over 6 million electronic books, Walmart customers will now be able to participate in a new subscription service that will allow shoppers to get one audiobook a month for a monthly fee of $9.99. Walmart shoppers will be able to access e-books through a co-branded app, as well as on Kobo e-readers that are now for sale at Walmart.com. 

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