A judge has sentenced US President-elect Donald Trump to an "unconditional discharge," bringing to an end the first criminal trial of a former US president. The sentence means the incoming president has been spared any penalty, including jail time or a fine.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for Donald Trump to be sentenced for the president-elect's conviction on criminal charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, with two conservative justices joining the three liberal members in a 5-4 vote denying his bid to halt the proceedings.

Donald Trump has thanked the Supreme Court after it refused his request to halt his sentencing hearing in New York. Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's attorney on Friday. Trump has long attacked legal decisions that have not gone his way.

While he enjoyed Nuuk’s five hours of winter sunshine, 3,000 miles to the south, in Florida, the president-elect told reporters that Greenland is needed by America for “national security purposes.” He refused to rule out the use of “military or economic coercion” to take control of the island.