Trump Indicted, Journalist Arrested, & Adidas Backs Down
March 31, 2023
If The Hush Money Is Right, You Must Indict
After a whirlwind three weeks of predictions that an indictment was imminent, former President Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday evening. He now carries the ignominious distinction of being the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, the first to incite a violent riot against Congress at the Capitol building, and the first president to be criminally indicted.
Adult film star Stormy Daniels alleged that she and Trump had an affair in 2006, and Trump instructed Michael Cohen to pay Daniels $130,000 for her silence. Cohen also arranged for $150,000 to be paid to Karen McDougal, a Playboy model, for the same reason. Trump has admitted to reimbursing Cohen with payments the Trump Organization logged as legal expenses. News of the hush payments made to Daniels broke in 2018. Earlier this month, Cohen testified before the grand jury in the case, having pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws. Trump did not testify and denies wrongdoing.
Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor in New York, noted that “there is no end of motions that can be filed to delay a trial, which could easily cause the litigation to be ongoing during the Republican primary season [in 2024] – something a court could also find is reason to delay any trial date.” Trump, at least until about 12 hours ago, was a frontrunner in the race to become the Republican nominee.
Trump also faces court cases over the January 6 violence, his attempts to overturn the 2020 result in Georgia, the discovery of classified documents in his home, and a defamation suit arising from a rape allegation from writer E Jean Carroll. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed that a majority of Americans think an indictment in any of his numerous cases should disqualify Trump from running again.
Want To Know More?
- What happened between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump? (BBC)
- Republican leaders and Trump loyalists on Capitol Hill rally behind the former president after indictment (CNN)
- 2024 Republicans: Potential field responds to Trump indictment by attacking Bragg (CNN)
- Who is Alvin Bragg, the DA who got a grand jury to indict Donald Trump? (Guardian)
Some Good News
- Wind industry predicts bounceback and rapid growth in 2023 (AP)
- Jeremy Renner shares video of him walking again after snowplow accident (CBS)
- U.S. renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022 (AP)
Tension In Taiwan
- Taiwan’s president President Tsai Ing-wen began a multi-day tour through the United States and Central America this week amid a promise from China of retribution. The visit is meant to show China that the self-ruled island has allies, though Tsai did not have any official meetings with senior U.S. leaders in Washington.
- She addressed members of New York’s Taiwanese community in a speech Wednesday night, where she thanked the U.S. for its security assistance and urged Taiwanese unity. Meanwhile, pro-China demonstrators rallied against her events. One protester held a sign declaring the Taiwanese leader a “big traitor of China.”
- On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing is monitoring the trip and will “resolutely safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Last August, Beijing responded to the visit of Speaker Pelosi to Taiwan calmly and rationally… just kidding, they began launching missiles, deploying warships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and simulating a blockade of the island.
Kenya Please Lower These Prices?
- Thursday saw a third wave of demonstrations organized by opposition leader Raila Odinga sweeping through Kenya. Thousands joined marches protesting high living costs and alleged fraud in last year’s vote. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua urged protesters to go home, saying, “We are telling our elder Raila Odinga, the only way to get into government is through the ballot.”
- Kenya’s inflation rose to 9.2% year-on-year in February from 9.0% a month earlier, largely driven by food and transport prices, and many feel it’s due to President William Ruto’s mismanagement. Odinga has called for protests every Monday and Thursday, but violence erupted during the protests last week and earlier this week, and leaders are concerned it could happen again.
Additional World News
- Migrant deaths at Mexican detention centre investigated as suspected homicide (Guardian)
- Former President Bolsonaro returns to Brazil after three months in Florida (NPR)
U.N. pushes for Russia-Ukraine deal to protect Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, warns of “more dangerous phase” (CBS) - EU chief urges caution in tech trade with China (AP)
- A ferry fire in the Philippines leaves more than 30 dead, a governor says (NPR)
- UK plan to house migrants in barracks and barges is condemned as ‘cruel’ and unworkable (CNN)
- 4 bankers convicted over Swiss account of longtime Putin pal (ABC)
“Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them.” – Alfred North Whitehead
Here We Go Again
- A mandatory evacuation order for Raymond, Minnesota, a town of about 800 people, was issued on Thursday morning after a train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire. The fire was still burning more than eight hours after the derailment, the EPA said, after arriving on the scene to monitor air quality.
- The train is operated by BNSF Railway (you can practically hear Norfolk Southern breathe a sigh of relief). The EPA added that “Four additional cars containing ethanol may also release,” but the evacuation was lifted midday Thursday. Ethanol requires a certain concentration to be a health hazard, making it less dangerous than what spilled in the East Palestine derailment.
Putin Anyone I Want Behind Bars
- Russia’s main security service, the FSB, detained Evon Gershkovich, an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal. They claimed that Gershkovich, a correspondent based in Moscow, had been trying to obtain state secrets. This marks the first time an American journalist has been detained on accusations by Moscow of spying since the Cold War.
- A Russian district court in Moscow said Thursday that Gershkovich would be detained until May 29. The WSJ responded to the announcement and said the publication “vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter.” The Kremlin did not comment when asked if Gershkovich’s arrest was retribution for Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov’s arrest in the U.S.
Additional USA News
- 9 soldiers killed in Army helicopter training crash in Kentucky (NBC)
- ‘Desperate and bigoted’: US right uses latest shooting to malign trans people (Guardian)
- A look at how the largest US counties gained or lost people (AP)
- Secret Pence ruling breaks new ground for vice presidency (Politico)
- Progressives decry Biden’s pivot to center in run-up to 2024: ‘Feet to the fire’ (Guardian)
- Bipartisan opposition to banning TikTok emerges on Capitol Hill (NBC)
- A college in upheaval: War on ‘woke’ sparks fear in Florida (AP)
Logo Lives Matter
- On Monday, Adidas filed a complaint with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in protest of the Black Lives Matter campaign group’s attempted trademarking of its logo. The BLM logo would have featured three parallel lines stacked atop one another, but Adidas argued that the foundation’s logo was “likely to cause confusion” given Adidas’ long-standing control of the three parallel lines world.
- BLM has been around for about a decade, but gained enormous attention in 2020 during the George Floyd protests, and is essentially the main organization fighting police brutality against Black people. Adidas, perhaps too late, realized the PR nightmare that their complaint would bring to their doorstep, and on Wednesday, the sportswear company withdrew their opposition.
- A source from the company revealed that they didn’t want their opposition to the trademark to be interpreted as opposition to the cause BLM represents. You may recall a few months ago, when Kanye West made anti-Semitic comments and Adidas did not remove his Yeezy line as quickly as many would have hoped. The company is clearly looking to avoid a repeat stock market performance.
Additional Reads
- Astronomers discover ultramassive black hole using new technique (CNN)
- Cockroach Sex Took a Strange Turn. Now More Mutations Have Emerged. (NYT, $)
- Recent cosmic explosion likely the “brightest of all time,” NASA says (CBS)
- Now That ChatGPT Is Plugged In, Things Could Get Weird (Wired)
- Genetic study details complex ancestry of East Africa’s Swahili people (Reuters)
- ‘Ruby Bridges’ movie under review by Florida school district after parent complaint (CNN)
- ‘Ultra-rare’ pink diamond expected to sell for more than $35 million at Sotheby’s auction (CNN)