ORANGE ALERT: Donald Trump went on a First Amendment rant last night after a Manhattan jury awarded writer E. Jean $83.3 million in her defamation lawsuit against the former president. Trump avoided insulting Carroll once again when he posted on his Truth Social website that, “They have taken away all First Amendment rights.”

  Trump had called Carroll a liar for accusing him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room and said, “She’s not my type.”  His denunciations resulted in a flood of social media attacks and threats on Carroll. 

  A previous jury found that he had in fact sexually assaulted Carroll and awarded her $5 million. Judge Kaplan ruled that those decisions applied in this latest trial so it was only a matter of determining the amount of the check. Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan had told the jury, “The law says you can consider Donald Trump’s wealth as well as his malicious and spiteful continuing conduct in making that assessment.”

  The jury ended up awarding more than three times what Kaplan had asked, an amount possibly intended to get him to shut up. But Trump is certain to appeal, delaying payment possibly for years.

  Trump had sat listening to closing arguments, shaking his head, muttering, and scoffing before he got up and walked out. Judge Lewis Kaplan, no relation to the plaintiff lawyer, said, “The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom.” 

  Trump lawyer Alina Habba argued that “Trump has no more control over the thoughts and feelings of social media users than he does the weather.” During summations, Trump’s Truth Social website featured 16 posts in 15 minutes mostly attacking Judge Kaplan and Carroll with familiar insults.

STOP THE KILLING: The International Court of Justice in The Hague, the UN’S highest court, ruled yesterday that Israel must act to prevent genocide by its forces in Gaza and allow more aid into the crowded enclave. But the court stopped short of calling on Israel to immediately suspend its ferocious military campaign.

  The ruling adds to the international pressure on Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change tactics in its war to eradicate the Hamas militants who rule the Gaza strip, but the court has no means to enforce its decree.

  Netanyahu said it was “outrageous” for the judges even to hear the case, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country did not need “to be lectured on morality.”  

INSIDE JOB: The United Nations fired 12 employees in Gaza and began an investigation into accusations by Israel that they had helped plan and participate in the October 7th Hamas assault and massacre in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 others taken hostage.

   The employees, all men who work for a UN agency known as UNRWA that aids Palestinians, could be subject to a criminal investigation. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency said, “Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.”

CULTURAL CONSIDERATION: The American Museum of Natural History is closing two major halls exhibiting Native American artifacts in a response to new federal regulations that require museums to get consent from tribes before displaying cultural items or performing research on them.

  “The halls we are closing are artifacts of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples,” Sean Decatur, the museum’s president, wrote in a letter to the museum’s staff. “Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others.”

  Museums around the country have been, covering, closing, or removing similar displays while they try to figure out whether they are allowed to show them to the public under the new regulations. 

PEANUTS: A 25-year-old professional dancer from England died of anaphylactic shock January 11^thafter eating an improperly labelled cookie that contained peanuts, which can be fatal to people who are highly allergic to them.

  Anaphylactic shock can cause blood pressure to drops and narrowing of airways, blocking breathing.

  Órla Baxendale was described In her obituary, as “an exquisite ballet, contemporary, and Irish step dancer.”

  The cookie was a Vanilla Florentine bought in a package from a Stew Leonard’s grocery in Connecticut. The company says the cookies were made by the Long Island-based wholesaler Cookies United and labeled with the Stew Leonard’s brand name. Stew Leonard’s says the baking company failed to re-label when they changed an ingredient from soy nuts to peanuts. 

  The cookies also did not include eggs on the label, which are on th4e list of nine major food ingredients than can cause fatal allergic reactions.

THE OBIT PAGE:  Carl Andre, the minimalist sculptor who made simple figures out of granite, wood, and brick, died this week in Manhattan at age 88.

  His career and reputation was marred by a criminal accusation that he had pushed his wife out the window to her death, but he was acquitted.

THE SPIN RACK: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley finally said that Donald Trump is “totally unhinged.” — Buried in high costs, North Carolina says it will no longer pay insurance for currently fashionable weight loss drugs like Wegovy. — We’re a day late on this, but football coach Jim Harbaugh, who just steered Michigan to the college championship, has taken a job as head coach of the San Diego Chargers. 

BELOW THE FOLD:  Professional wrestling kingpin Vince McMahon has taken a body slam from a former staff member who has sued him claiming that he used her for sex and trafficked her to other men for their pleasure.

  The 78-year-old whose name is synonymous with fake wrestling and the World Wrestling Entertainment organization denies it all but resigned as a result of the suit brought by Janel Grant.

   Grant claims that not only did McMahon abuse her, but he agreed to a $3 million settlement then paid only $1 million.

-30-