U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has requested that a trial over a lawsuit by former students of his now-defunct Trump University be put on hold until after the presidential inauguration, according to a motion filed by his lawyer late Saturday.

A trial in federal court in San Diego over former Trump University students’ claims that they were defrauded by a series of real-estate seminars is scheduled to begin on Nov. 28, but Trump lawyer Daniel Petrocelli said the president-elect needs to “devote all of his time and attention to the transition process.”

Trump is due to assume office on Jan. 20, 2017.

“The 69 days until inauguration are critical and all-consuming,” Petrocelli said in the filing, arguing that the president-elect should not be required to stand trial during that time.

Petrocelli had said at a hearing in San Diego on Thursday that he would request the delay, though U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing the lawsuit, told lawyers he was not inclined to put off the six-year-old case further and encouraged the parties to settle.

The lawsuit involves students who claim they were lured by false promises to pay up to $35,000 to learn Trump’s real estate investing “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors.

Trump owned 92 per cent of Trump University and had control over all major decisions, the students’ court papers say. The president-elect denies the allegations and has argued that he relied on others to manage the business.

Curiel also tentatively rejected last week a bid by the president-elect to keep a wide range of statements from the presidential campaign, which included attacks against Curiel himself, out of the fraud trial.

Trump attacked the judge as biased against him. He claimed Curiel, who was born in Indiana but is of Mexican descent, could not be impartial because of Trump’s election campaign pledge to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

Trump’s lawyers have argued that Curiel should bar from the trial accusations about Trump’s personal conduct including alleged sexual misconduct, his taxes and corporate bankruptcies, along with speeches and tweets.

Curiel is presiding over two cases against Trump and the university. A separate lawsuit by New York’s attorney general is pending.

While presidents enjoy immunity from lawsuits arising from their official duties, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that this shield does not extend to acts alleged to have taken place prior to taking office. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Alan Crosby)</s>Demonstrators in major U.S. cities took to the streets Sunday for a fifth straight day to protest President-elect Donald Trump, whose campaign manager said President Barack Obama and Democrat Hillary Clinton should do more to support a peaceful transition.

Following several nights of unrest, crowds of people marched in parks in New York City, San Francisco and Oakland, California, according to social media.

A few thousand joined a march at the south end of Manhattan’s Central Park, beginning at a Trump property on Columbus Circle and walking toward the real estate mogul’s skyscraper headquarters less than 1.6 km away.

They chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcomed here,” and held signs such as “White silence = violence” and “Don’t mourn, organize.”

One protester said demonstrators were reclaiming what the American flag he was holding stood for.

“The flag means freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equal protection under the law and other values like diversity, respecting differences, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press,” said Daniel Hayman, 31, of Seattle, who was in New York for work. “We’re trying to reclaim the flag and push forward those values.”

Thousands in several cities have demonstrated since the results from Tuesday’s election showed Trump, a Republican, lost the popular tally but secured enough votes in the 538-member Electoral College to win the presidency, surprising the world.

Largely peaceful demonstrators in urban areas have said Trump threatens their civil and human rights. They have decried Trump’s often inflammatory campaign rhetoric about illegal immigrants, Muslims and women, as well as allegations, which he denies, that the former reality TV star sexually abused women.

Dozens have been arrested, including 71 in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday night, according to authorities. A handful of police were injured.

In San Francisco on Sunday, about 1,000 people marched through Golden Gate Park to a beach where they chanted: “Let’s make waves.” They held signs such as “I resist racism” and “Down with the Trumps.”

Across the bay in Oakland, thousands of protesters joined a festival-like atmosphere, holding peace signs and blowing soap bubbles in the sunshine. Many had brought their children, aiming to hold hands around the 3.4-mile (5.5-km) circumference of Lake Merritt in a popular urban park.

Civil rights groups have monitored violence against U.S. minorities since Trump’s win, citing reports of attacks on women in Islamic headscarves, racist graffiti and bullying of immigrant children. They have called on Trump to denounce the attacks.

Trump said he was “so saddened” to hear of instances of violence by some of his supporters against minorities, according to a transcript released Sunday of an interview with the CBS program “60 Minutes.”

Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, said on Fox News on Sunday that she was sure many of the protesters were paid professionals, although she offered no proof.

Suggesting a double standard, Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that if Clinton had won the election and Trump supporters had protested, “people would be freaking out that his supporters were not accepting election results.”

“It’s time really for President Obama and Secretary Clinton to say to these protesters: ‘This man is our president,’ ” she said.

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan told CNN on Sunday that protests were protected by the First Amendment as long as they were peaceful.

Neither Obama nor Clinton has called for an end to the protests. Obama told Trump at the White House on Thursday that he was going to help Trump succeed, “because if you succeed, then the country succeeds.”

Clinton told supporters at a New York hotel on Wednesday: “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”

Trump on Sunday attacked The New York Times for coverage he said was “very poor and highly inaccurate.”

“The @nytimes sent a letter to their subscribers apologizing for their BAD coverage of me. I wonder if it will change — doubt it?” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The newspaper published a letter in Sunday’s editions from publisher Arthur Sulzberger and Executive Editor Dean Baquet, not apologizing, but thanking readers for their loyalty and asking how news outlets underestimated Trump’s support.

The Times plans to “hold power to account, impartially and unflinchingly” during the Trump presidency, they wrote.</s>Thousands of demonstrators filled public squares, parks and streets in the country’s three largest cities on Saturday to protest President-elect Donald J. Trump, part of a wave of dissent that has swelled since the presidential contest last week.

They were transgender people, the children of immigrants, and parents toting infants on their back. They were families, students, and men and women of all ages and races. Many carried cardboard signs — “Show the world what the popular vote looks like,” read one, “Putin Won,” said another. As throngs marched through city streets, the participants joined in a cry of “Not my president!”

In one of the largest anti-Trump demonstrations since his election on Tuesday, a mass of people marched from Union Square in Manhattan to Trump Tower, the headquarters and home of Mr. Trump. Protesters marched around one of Mr. Trump’s buildings in Chicago. In Los Angeles, thousands of people marched up Wilshire Boulevard, forming a crowd that stretched for nearly a dozen blocks.

“I’m just doing my part in democracy,” said Alfred Diaz, 25, who joined the protest in Los Angeles. “I feel that this is a way for me to voice my opinion.”</s>President-elect Donald Trump is giving control of his sprawling business network to his children as he prepares to assume the presidency.

"We are in the process of vetting various structures with the goal of the immediate transfer of management of The Trump Organization and its portfolio of businesses to Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump," a Trump Organization spokesperson told CNNMoney.

The spokesperson said that Trump's children will be joined by "a team of highly skilled executives."

"This is a top priority at the Organization and the structure that is ultimately selected will comply with all applicable rules and regulations," the spokesperson said.

The decision to distance himself from his business tracks with the practice of most American presidents. Though it is not illegal for a U.S. president to retain control of private assets, many have established a blind trust for the course of their service to prevent conflicts of interest.

It's not clear, however, that this type of reorganization would put all that much distance between Trump and the privately held company since the president-elect has also tapped his three oldest children to be on his presidential transition team's executive committee.

Trump has said previously that he would cede control of the organization to his children if he was elected president. And in an interview with CNN this week, Michael Cohen, an attorney for Trump and the Trump Organization, reiterated that Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. would take control of the organization.

The children currently bear the titles of executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the organization.

"They're really intelligent. They're really qualified. That's why he really didn't run in 2012, because they were younger by four years," Cohen told CNN Thursday. "He's very comfortable with them at the helm and the people that will surround them."

Related: Here are the business leaders on Trump's transition team

Trump's business dealings have raised eyebrows during his candidacy and since his victory. The Republican has a stake in more than 500 businesses — more than anyone ever elected president.</s>NEW YORK: Demonstrators took to the streets in New York City to oppose Donald Trump’s election as US president for a fourth straight day Friday.

Some 1,200 people gathered in the Washington Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan, some carrying enormous red balloons and placards with hearts and the words “peace and love.”

Others held signs reading “Your Wall Can’t Stand in Our Way” — a reference to the anti-immigration barrier the billionaire real estate baron has promised to build on the US border with Mexico.

Demonstrators said they wanted to show solidarity with those they feel may be targeted by Trump’s policies once he takes office in January, including Mexicans and Muslims.

“We’re here to support the people that Trump has insulted, to show our children that we all have a voice, and to stand up for people’s rights,” said Kim Bayer, 41.

“We’re afraid a Trump administration will be a disaster for human rights. I’ve never been so scared in my life. We need to be out here and be loud.”

Another protester, Jamie, 25, said the demonstration aimed “to send a message of love to anybody who’s feeling threatened, who’s afraid of being targeted — to immigrants, to minorities, to anybody shaken by the (election) result.”

“There’s a lot of uncertainty and we need a message of love,” she said.

Organizers plan another large demonstration in the same location on Saturday.

Since Trump’s shock victory on Tuesday over Democrat Hillary Clinton, who had been widely tipped to win, thousands have protested in cities across the United States.

While most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, officials said some erupted in violence that caused property damage.

There has also been an uptick in violence by both Clinton and Trump supporters against partisans on the other side, law enforcement officials said. – AFP</s>(CNN) British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told European leaders Friday to stop whining about the US election results following a slew of anxious statements in response to Donald Trump's shocking victory.

"I would respectfully say to my beloved European friends and colleagues that it's time that we snapped out of the general doom and gloom about the result of this election, and collective 'whinge-o-rama' that seems to be going on in some places," Johnson said at a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, using British slang for complaining.

The comments from the colorful British politician -- who was widely tipped to become prime minister after successfully spearheading the campaign to leave the European Union -- may have surprised some since he had earlier been outspoken about his disdain for the President-elect

Johnson once said he was "genuinely worried that (Trump) could become president."

And after Trump claimed areas of London were dangerous due to radicalized Muslims, Johnson said: "The only reason I wouldn't visit some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump."

But he appears to have found a silver lining in Trump's win, saying the election was a "great opportunity for the UK" following Britain's seismic vote in June to leave the EU.

Johnson's optimism contrasts with the lukewarm response from many EU politicians to Trump -- a candidate who lobbed insults at Europe and European leaders during his campaign, and was heavily criticized in turn.

Now they are having to put aside their differences with President-elect and are pledging to work with him.

Merkel congratulated Trump and pointed out the two countries have long-held common values, making them close.

Earlier, she had responded to Trump's win by saying the campaign had been notable for its confrontations, which had been hard to take.

He said he would seek to clarify positions with Trump during the call. "My duty is to make sure we have the best possible relations with the United States, but a relationship that is based on frankness and clarity," Hollande said, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

Hollande had earlier congratulated Trump on his win but said the result "leads to uncertainty," adding that he urged "vigilance because of statements made by Donald Trump."

British Prime Minister Theresa May also spoke to Trump on the phone Thursday in a call that ended with the President-elect inviting her to visit as soon as possible.

May had earlier been diplomatic in her congratulations, saying the two nations shared a "special relationship based on the values of freedom, democracy and enterprise."

"We are, and will remain, strong and close partners on trade, security and defense," she said.

European Council President Donald Tusk responded to Trump's win by saying he respected the democratic choice of the American people, but was "aware of the new challenges that these results bring."

One of those challenges, he said, was "this moment of uncertainty over the future of our trans-Atlantic relations."

"The events of the last months and days should be treated as a warning sign for all who believe in liberal democracy," Tusk said.

"This means that we should finally get our act together and bring back a sense of direction, bring back confidence, bring back a sense of order."

But while the political establishment in Europe has reacted uneasily to Trump's win, parties on the right have rejoiced, likening it to the same mood of populist discontent they believe is redefining the political landscape on the continent.

"I believe in nation-state democracy, I believe in controlling borders, I believe we've got to confront the threat of Islamic terrorism, and President-elect Trump believes in very much the same thing," he said from Miami.

But Farage said he considered it unlikely the British government would offer him a position as a mediator with Trump despite British press speculation about such a role.

Britain's ruling Conservative Party was "incredibly snobby about me, they find it very difficult to even have a conversation with me," he said.

Florian Philippot, a National Front vice president, tweeted a photo of Le Pen with the caption: "Their world is collapsing. Ours is being built."</s>When Donald Trump was announced the winner of the 2016 presidential race, Colorado's pot advocates got to work on a petition demanding that the president-elect leave legal marijuana alone. They have reason to be nervous; people close to Trump, including former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, have publicly spoken against states legalizing pot. Though Christie was booted from Trump's transition team on Friday, Giuliani is still close to the Donald and has been floated as a potential Attorney General. Yeah, holy shit is right.

That's just one of the many ways that a Trump presidency could impact Colorado. Below are four more stories about his impact in Colorado in week one alone.

Though Trump's president-elect status is young, one thing is already very clear: The next four years will be very long, indeed.

2. See Thousands Protest at Anti-Trump Rally in Denver That Briefly Closed I-25

3. For Immigrant Kids in Denver, Trump's Election Is Their 9/11

5. Ten Ways Colorado May Be Different If Donald Trump Is Elected President</s>PORTLAND, Ore. — Another night of nationwide protests against Donald Trump’s election came to a head in Portland, where thousands marched and some smashed store windows, lit firecrackers and started a dumpster fire in what police declared a riot.

Some 4,000 protesters were in the streets of Portland late Thursday night with chants like “we reject the president-elect!”

Officers began physically pushing back against the crowd that at times threw objects at them as midnight approached, arresting several people and using flash-bangs some sort of smoke or tear gas to force people to disperse.

Protest numbers appeared to be diminishing as the night wore on with police estimating they had fallen to less than 1,500.

Around the country from New York to Chicago to California, in red states as well as blue, hundreds of demonstrators marched through streets, many for the third straight night though in somewhat smaller numbers.

Trump himself fired back late Thursday, tweeting: “Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!”

In Denver, protesters managed to shut down Interstate 25 near downtown Denver briefly Thursday night. Police said demonstrators made their way onto the freeway and traffic was halted in the northbound and southbound lanes for about a half-hour. Protesters also briefly shut down interstate highways in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

In San Francisco’s downtown, high-spirited high school students marched through, chanting “not my president” and holding signs urging a Donald Trump eviction. They waved rainbow banners and Mexican flags, as bystanders in the heavily Democratic city high-fived the marchers from the sidelines.

“As a white, queer person, we need unity with people of color, we need to stand up,” said Claire Bye, a 15-year-old sophomore at Academy High School. “I’m fighting for my rights as an LGBTQ person. I’m fighting for the rights of brown people, black people, Muslim people.”

In New York City, a large group of demonstrators once again gathered outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue Thursday night. They chanted angry slogans and waved banners baring anti-Trump messages.

“You got everything straight up and down the line,” demonstrator David Thomas said. “You got climate change, you got the Iran deal. You got gay rights, you got mass deportations. Just everything, straight up and down the line, the guy is wrong on every issue.”

In Philadelphia, protesters near City Hall held signs bearing slogans like “Not Our President,” ”Trans Against Trump” and “Make America Safe For All.”

About 500 people turned out at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky and in Baltimore, hundreds of people marched to the stadium where the Ravens were playing a football game.

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside Trump Tower in Chicago and a growing group was getting into some shoving matches with police in Oakland, California.

As expected, the demonstrations prompted some social media blowback from Trump supporters accusing protesters of sour grapes or worse, though there were no significant counter-protests.

Trump supporters said the protesters were not respecting the democratic process.

As of Thursday, Democrat Hillary Clinton was leading Trump in votes nationwide 47.7 percent to 47.5 percent, but Trump secured victory in the Electoral College.</s>President-elect Donald Trump is continuing his battle with one of the country's biggest news outlets, the New York Times.

On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted: "Wow, the @nytimes is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the 'Trump phenomena.'"

There is no evidence to back up his claim that the Times is losing "thousands of subscribers" due to disappointments over Trump coverage.

The Times, in a statement to CNNMoney, said it has had a "surge in digital subscriptions" since Election Day.

"When factoring in cancellations, the rate at which we added net new digital subscriptions since Election Day is six times our normal pace," the Times said.

Some critics have assailed the Times for trying and failing to take down Trump's campaign. Times editors have rejected those assertions.

On Friday, the newspaper's publisher Arthur Sulzberger wrote a letter to subscribers saying "let's pause for a moment on those famous instructions that Adolph S. Ochs left for us: to cover the news without fear or favor."

"As Donald Trump begins preparing for his new administration, those words have rarely felt more important," Sulzberger said.

In a followup tweet, Trump wrongly characterized the letter as an "apology."

He later tweeted at the Times for third time Sunday morning, calling the paper "dishonest" for an article about the president-elect's foreign policy proposals.

In an article published online Friday, Times foreign affairs writer Max Fisher wrote that Trump "has suggested that more countries should acquire nuclear weapons."

"How dishonest are they," Trump tweeted Sunday. "I never said this!"

Sunday's tweetstorm runs counter to what Trump told CBS in a "60 Minutes" interview set to air tonight. He said he would be more "restrained" on social media now that he has won the election.

"I'm going to be very restrained, if I use it at all, I'm going to be very restrained," he told Stahl, according to a preview of the interview released Saturday night.</s>Sir, – There will be no “soft landing” for the ego and nastiness of the US president-elect, and no one can pretend to expect one. Mr Trump has deliberately exploited the honest difficulty of millions of decent striving struggling American citizens to be their next president. He has made promises he certainly will not keep. Every US president must uphold the ordinary principles of human decency and yield to the law of the land. I believe that Mr Trump is utterly incapable of doing so. I would be amazed if his inevitable misconduct does not result in his impeachment. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – During our recent financial crash, the global policy was to privatise the profits and socialise the losses of financial institutions. This resulted in hardship and loss of income for all except a protected elite.

These chickens are now coming home to roost, as evidenced by recent political upheavals and disenchantment with “the establishment” . – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Two days after his inauguration in January 2007, Barrack Obama signed an executive order to close Guantánamo Bay. Current inmates of the detention facility must rue the gap between presidential ambition and the reality of power. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – While I share the immense disappointment of many at the election of Donald J Trump to the office of president of the United States, I do not share their surprise.

We were put on notice by Brexit that many Western electorates are so thoroughly disillusioned with the establishment that they would support any disruptive cause or candidate. And the vitriolic reaction of many anti-Trump media figures to this democratic election reveals that, perhaps inadvertently, they are part of the problem, not the solution.

Two aspects of this reaction have been particularly counter-productive. First, prophecies of immediate social and economic meltdown merely erode trust in the media when they don’t transpire. A Nobel prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman, speculated that the plunging markets would “never” recover from this shock. He was out by infinity minus two hours, with the Dow Jones then hitting a record high the following day. Second, the characterisation of Trump voters as racist, bigoted or misogynist is an extremely alienating generalisation. There is probably no better way to lose a voter than to tell them that they are racist. An equivalent generalisation would be to cast all Hillary supporters as callous warmongers, given her senior position in an administration that has used drone strikes extensively, with fatal consequences for many innocents, including children.

It is far more likely that economic self-interest was the primary motivation for a Trump vote, however misguided.

We risk permanently losing another generation to demagogues if we do not address the increasing gap between rich and poor.

A failure to appreciate why these choices were made by the US and UK electorate will continue to polarise opinion, and ensure that the fractures exposed by these results become trenches. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – A property mogul bribes the masses to win power. Within 25 years the republic has been replaced by tyrannical dictatorship. Of course that’s Marcus Licinius Crassus and the Roman consular elections of 70 BC.

Interestingly, the career and life of Crassus ended in an ill-advised war in the Middle East, and some accounts have it that his enemies poured molten gold into his mouth as a symbol of his thirst for wealth. Bigly. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Lara Marlowe asks “how could nearly a third of Hispanics vote for Trump?” (“Political anger spreads in western democracies”, November 10th).

Illegal and unrestricted migration supplies American and European elites with low-wage waiters, cleaners, labourers, etc. These people then compete with existing workers for housing and healthcare. This explains why so many legal immigrants supported Mr Trump in the US and Brexit in the UK. Meanwhile, the politically correct media and conventional politicians prefer to look the other way. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – It is unlikely that Donald Trump or his supporters will worry about The Irish Times, but it was still depressing to read your thunderings at the result.

He’s a “brash property and entertainment mogul”, whose presidency will be “painful and horrifying viewing”, said your front page. “The United Hates of America raised its middle finger”, shouted your columnist, Fintan O’Toole.

Your editorial was breathtakingly condescending, with the writer quoting an “expert” branding the US a “rogue superpower”. The vast bulk of letters published reflected this perspective.

I happen to like the Americans and admire much of what they have made of their country, especially thorough their electoral system. I do not like Donald Trump: there’s no requirement to do so. I do accept that 59.4 million Americans are as discerning as the rest of us, and had their eyes wide open as they made their choice.

I respect that choice. So should your newspaper. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – I wouldn’t have voted for Donald Trump in a million years. Nevertheless it is depressing to note that, just as in its response to Brexit, the Left is determined to learn absolutely nothing from the experience. – Yours, etc,
Protests against American president-elect Donald Trump continue in his hometown New York City.