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Today’s top stories
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defendant’s table inside the courthouse as the jury is scheduled to continue deliberations for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City.
Justin Lane-Pool/Getty Images
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Justin Lane-Pool/Getty Images
A Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records. The jurors said they unanimously agreed Trump falsified those business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in order to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Here are the details of those felony counts.
- NPR’s Andrea Bernstein was sitting in the front of the courtroom and told Up First that Trump was “visibly unhappy” with the verdict. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Trump denounced the trial as a “disgrace” and said “the real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people.” Bernstein adds that this time is different: Trump used his money and power to silence people and avoid consequences, a strategy that always worked for him—until yesterday.
- The jury heard from 22 witnesses over the course of four weeks, and examined evidence including phone records, invoices and checks to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former “fixer” who paid Daniels to bury the news of her sexual encounter with Trump.
- Kim Wehle, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, says this evidence, along with the fact that “the defense didn’t give an alternative narrative” is ultimately what convicted Trump.
The charges carry a sentence of anywhere from probation to up to four years in prison, but legal experts told NPR that it’s unlikely Trump will face incarceration.
- Lauren-Brooke Eisen, a senior director at the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice, told NPR’s Ximena Bustillo before the trial’s conclusion that it’s “very unlikely for someone who has never been convicted of a crime to go to prison… for their first offense, which is nonviolent.”
- Trump’s legal team is also likely to appeal the verdict, which would further delay any potential consequences.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention, where he is set to become the official presidential nominee for the Republican Party.
- 17% of voters said the verdict would impact whether they vote for Trump, according to the latest NPR poll. NPR’s Scott Detrow points out on Up First that could be “a lot, considering how close the last few elections have been.”
- How Americans vote will also affect the two federal criminal cases Trump is facing. “If Trump becomes president, he can pardon himself of the charges or derail the investigation,” Detrow said.
- Trump himself will still be able to vote in the election, despite being a convicted felon. This is because he’s registered to vote in Florida, which defers to voting laws for felons in the state in which they were convicted.
- The Biden campaign emphasized the need for people to vote to keep Trump out of office.
Follow Detrow’s coverage of Trump’s other cases on the Trump’s Trials podcast.
Today’s listen
Supporters of presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez shout her name at her campaign rally in Los Reyes la Paz just outside of Mexico City, on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Mexico’s general election is set for June 2.
Fernando Llano/AP
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Fernando Llano/AP
Mexico is set to elect its first woman president. The two leading candidates in this race are women: Claudia Sheinbaum, the ruling party’s candidate, and opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez. NPR’s Eyder Peralta says despite the possibility of history being made, what he’s hearing most from the people on the streets is skepticism. Some say they expect politicians to be corrupt, no matter their gender. Others, like 92-year-old feminist Elena Poniatowska, credits hard work and feminist intention, adding that Mexico’s “triumph” of a first woman president is no surprise.
- 🎧 Listen to Poniatowska tell Peralta why it’s about time the world knows the name of another Mexican woman besides Frida Kahlo.
Weekend picks
Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham.
Michael Gibson/Paramount+
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Michael Gibson/Paramount+
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: Sometimes, your favorite music comes from the fictional bands you saw that one time in a movie. Pop Culture Happy Hour debates the best ones.
📺 TV: NPR’s TV critic Eric Deggans looks back on Star Trek: Discovery as a pioneering show that laid the groundwork for later additions to the Star Trek universe.
📚 Books: What’s the secret ingredient that all famous people have in common? The new book How to Become Famous: Lost Einsteins, Forgotten Superstars and How the Beatles Came To Be investigates what makes someone stand out from the crowd.
🎵 Music: Vince Staples’s latest album continues the self-reflection he started on his Netflix show about what it means to be in the public eye within limited reach of the public.
❓ Quiz: NPR’s Holly Morris has just one Trump question in this week’s quiz! If your brain survived the news that came after around 5 p.m. ET on Thursday AND the long weekend, you might just score 11/11 this week.
Before you go
An Ukrainian soldier takes part in a military training with French servicemen at a military training compound at an undisclosed location in Poland, on April 4, 2024.
Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images
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Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images
- The Biden administration has given Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia – using U.S. provided weapons, according to two U.S. officials, in a change to its previous policy.
- Bruhat Soma, a 12-year-old from Florida, won the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday. His winning word was “abseil.” “I really can’t describe it. I’m still shaking,” he said after being named the winner.
- There’s one airport in the world that claims it has never lost a piece of luggage: Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan. For its chief handler, it’s all about respect and teamwork.
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.
