The Short List

Thu Jan 25 2024

Laura L. Davis | Audience Editor

@lauradavis

Donald Trump erupted in the courtroom during his defamation trial. A former Trump aide was sentenced to jail for defying a subpoena. And new home sales jumped last year — is that a good sign for 2024?

👋 Waving hello! Laura Davis here. Time for Thursday's news.

But first: A mysterious doohickey! ⚙️ A 1,700-year-old Roman artifact was dug up in England. But nobody knows what it was used for.

The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here.

Trump erupts in court

Former President Donald Trump erupted in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday as a judge sought to restrict his testimony in a case over the costly damages he could face for defaming advice columnist E. Jean Carroll when he denied her sexual assault allegations in 2019. "I don't know who the woman is," Trump said out of turn as Judge Lewis Kaplan was speaking to a lawyer outside the presence of a jury. "Mr. Trump, keep your voice down," the judge admonished. Before long, Trump was interjecting again, although the judge quickly put a stop to it.

What's next with the trial? An anonymous jury will determine what, if any, monetary damages Trump might owe Carroll for two statements he made denying her allegation that he had raped her in a department store changing room in the mid-1990s. 👉 What happened in the courtroom.

•	Expert says Trump could owe $12M (or much more) for defamation.

News E Jean Carroll V Donald Trump Defamation Trial

A protestor stands outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in New York City on Jan. 25, 2024 as the defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump brought by E. Jean Carroll continues.

Seth Harrison, USA TODAY

Is this the bottom of the housing market?

Last week, the National Association of Realtors told us existing home sales for December and all of 2023 tumbled to new lows. On Thursday, though, the Census Bureau's preliminary report for December showed new home sales jumped 8% from November and grew 4% from 2022 to 2023. Is that a good sign? New home sales are just a fraction of existing home sales and can fluctuate significantly from month to month. But still, the 668,000 new homes purchased in 2023 ends a two-year decline. It also points to two key concerns that have bogged down the market struggling with higher mortgage rates: too few buyers and too few homes for sale. 🏡 Here's what the data shows.

Real quick

•	A Black bride was upcharged for her wedding dress. Her fiancé's response went viral.
•	A Milwaukee woman fell at an icy bus stop – and likely froze to death before help came.
•	A Pizza Hut boycott: What to know about the latest protest.
•	Stop lying to your kids about death. Why you need to tell them the truth.
•	California man says Virgin Galactic spaceflight was 'dream of a lifetime.'

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🎬 Watch this: USA TODAY Ad Meter is back! Exclusively revealing a new teaser for Bud Light's upcoming Super Bowl commercial. Sign up to watch all the commercials and pick this year's winners.

Former Trump adviser sentenced over Jan. 6 subpoena

Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to former President Donald Trump who wrote that he had written a plan to overturn the 2020 election, was sentenced Thursday to four months in jail for contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

How'd we get here? Navarro was subpoenaed for testimony and documents about strategies to overturn the 2020 election, but he defied the subpoena, arguing he was protected by executive privilege to keep his communications with Trump confidential. The judge did not agree. 👉 Here's what to know about the sentencing.

Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro talks to the media as he arrives at U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington on Jan. 25, 2024.

Jose Luis Magana, AP

Flooding, fog in the forecast

More rain, y'all. Heavy rain and thunderstorms will continue across parts of the Southeast Thursday, possibly leading to more flash flooding across the region. Widespread flooding has already been reported since late Tuesday from Texas to portions of the lower Mississippi Valley, Weather.com said. Some of those thunderstorms could become severe across the Gulf states and Southeast, where tornadoes are also possible, meteorologists said. Scattered to widespread heavy rain will be the main hazard from the system throughout the next few days. And dense fog descended over the Midwest on Wednesday as some areas braced for freezing rain, which was expected to continue through Thursday. 🌦️ Take a look at the full forecast.

•	Dry, sunny San Diego was hit with damaging floods. What's going on?

Fog rises off the Tuscarawas River in Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 24 in Goshen Township, Tuscarawas County.

ANDREW DOLPH / TIMES-REPORTER / USA TODAY NETWORK

A break from the news

•	🚽 Do you flush with the lid up or down? It might not matter.
•	🎬 Binge on a budget: A trick to save you money on streaming.
•	💾 Freaked out by AI? Ways it can be a game-changer.

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hello: laura@usatoday.com. This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.