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Friday, May 31, 2024

5/31 WAKE-UP CALL: Guilty 34 Times


 A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts, making him the first former president in U.S. history convicted of a crime. The presumptive Republican nominee can still run for president. His poll numbers remained steady during the trial, though some voters have said they might be less likely to vote for him if he were convicted. 

A prison sentence is unlikely; other possible penalties range from a fine to probation. Trump is certain to appeal, which could take months or years to resolve; that could be further complicated if he’s elected in November. Trump faces three other prosecutions, though none might go to trial before Election Day. Many observers considered the hush-money case, which centered on allegations that Trump falsified business records to cover up a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 White House bid, the least serious of the four.

Donald Trump slammed the “rigged, disgraceful trial” in his first comments after a Manhattan jury found him guilty on all 34 counts in the historic hush money criminal case against him. A sour-looking Trump, 77, addressed reporters moments after the jury — five women and seven men — delivered its decision. “The real verdict will be Nov. 5 by the people … I’m a very innocent man,” the glum ex-president told reporters, blaming the ordeal on President Biden. “I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our constitution,” Trump said. “We’re a nation in decline.”

🠊Donald Trump is the first former president convicted of a crime in U.S. history, but it won't stop him from running for president again. His conviction on Thursday does not bar him from seeking a return to the Oval Office in the meantime, even if his possible sentence makes that more difficult. Twelve Manhattan jurors found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records after prosecutors showed he covered up reimbursements to his former lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged sexual affair ahead of the 2016 election. Trump denies taking part in a tryst with Daniels. He is expected to appeal the verdict.

🠊TV news networks broke into special coverage across the board as a historic guilty verdict was delivered in Donald Trump’s criminal fraud trial on Thursday in Manhattan.  Broadcast networks preempted planned programming for special news coverage of the 34 felony charges, which came back guilty one by one and were read by each network live on air. Meanwhile, cable news networks initiated additional special coverage plans for the evening following the verdict, after airing coverage of the trial relentlessly for weeks.

➤TRUMP'S POPULARITY SOARING:  Donald Trump currently enjoys his highest net approval rating since December 2021, according to surveys conducted by polling company Civiqs. Data from the pollster showed on Monday that 41 percent of American registered voters had a favorable view of the former president and 2024 presumptive GOP White House contender, against 55 percent who had an unfavorable view, giving a net favorability of -14. This is his best performance since December 29, 2021 and a substantial improvement on his net rating of -22 in October 2023.


➤WHERE IS EVERYONE?: Photos show half-empty arena as Biden and Harris push for black votes in Philadelphia . . . Few people were reportedly in attendance at a Joe Biden rally in Philadelphia on Wednesday, despite Pennsylvania being an important swing state for him to win. Photos showing vast spaces of emptiness at the Philadelphia rally began to circulate on Wednesday.B “Photos from President Biden’s Philadelphia rally: the school’s gym is only about half full of supporters A good amount of space is empty and spacious press workspace takes up the rest,” a reporter noted on X.

➤3 DEAD IN MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING: Three reportedly dead including a police officer and five other people were wounded in a mass shooting in a trendy Minneapolis neighborhood on Thursday evening, according to police and reports. Minneapolis police confirmed the shooting happened in the city’s trendy Whittier neighborhood around 6 p.m. “Praying for all the first responders on the ground working to keep the community safe,” Gov. Tim Walz tweeted, adding that the state “stands ready to provide any resources necessary.” Walz said State Patrol troopers were assisting Minneapolis police. The Post has reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department for additional information.

➤MOVE UNDERWAY TO DISSOLVES ISRAEL PARLIAMENT:   The party of an Israeli war-cabinet member submitted a bill to dissolve parliament. The move is unlikely to bring down the government but opens the door for an election battle as early as summer, analysts said. Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s longtime rival, threatened earlier to take his party out of the government on June 8 if there was no plan for ending the Gaza war and securing the enclave, among other demands. Netanyahu has signaled he won’t yield to Gantz’s demands. The prime minister’s party said that dissolving the government would be a gift to Israel’s enemies and hurt efforts to return hostages captured in Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attacks. Meanwhile, a sputtering economy and anguish over Palestinian deaths have put pressure on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

➤STATE OFFICIAL QUITS IN PROTEST: A U.S. State Department official who quit this week said on Thursday her resignation was precipitated by an administration report to Congress that she said falsely stated Israel was not blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, prompting her to resign in protest of President Joe Biden's Israel policy. Stacy Gilbert, who served in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, was a subject matter expert working on the report.

🍔McDONALD'S DOES SPIN CONTROL: McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases. In a post on the company’s website Wednesday, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said reports suggesting the price of the average Big Mac has doubled since 2019 were false. McDonald’s said the average U.S. Big Mac was $4.39 in 2019 and now costs $5.29, a 20.5% increase. Erlinger acknowledged that he and many franchisees were frustrated by a post on X last summer about a Big Mac meal in Connecticut that cost $18, calling the price “an exception.” 

➤SKYDANCE MEDIA ADDS A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR: Skydance Media sweetened its merger offer for Paramount Global. The exact terms of the revised deal couldn’t be learned, but it is more favorable to voting and nonvoting shareholders, according to people familiar with the situation. Paramount’s directors are expected to review it shortly. Skydance’s earlier offer angered shareholders who considered it more beneficial to controlling shareholder Shari Redstone than other stakeholders. David Ellison, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s son, runs Skydance. Shares of Paramount closed up 1.03%, while tech stocks led major U.S. indexes lower.

⚾RAYS 6 ATHLETICS 5: Richie Palacios lined a walk-off single in the 12th inning as the Tampa Bay Rays won their three-game series over the Oakland Athletics with a 6-5 victory on Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla. Against left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland with one out, the lefty-swinging Palacios rocked a 1-2 sinker deep to center over the pulled-in, two-man outfield, scoring Jose Caballero from third base. Jose Siri went deep twice and Isaac Paredes added one as the Rays finished 3-6 on their homestand. Richard Lovelady (1-3) got the win with a scoreless 12th. Staked to a 3-0 lead, Rays southpaw reliever Tyler Alexander surrendered four runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out seven with no walks. Oakland's Shea Langeliers homered, doubled and drove in two, and Abraham Toro and JJ Bleday had three hits apiece. Miguel Andujar drove in a run and collected six RBIs in the series

⚾MLB SCORES:
  • Yankees 8 Angels 3
  • Rays 6 Athletics 5
  • Nationals 3 Braves 1
  • Tigers 5 Red Sox 0
  • Mets 3 D-Backs 2
  • Astros 4 Mariners 0
  • Brewers 6 Cubs 4
  • Twins 7 Royals 6

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • Mavericks 124 Timberwolves 103
🠊On Thursday night in Minneapolis, the Mavericks and their top two stars will have a clean slate and another chance to advance. Dallas carries a 3-1 lead into Game 5 of the best-of-seven series and needs one more win to reach the NBA Finals. The Mavericks have not been in the Finals since the 2010-11 season, when Dirk Nowitzki led the franchise to its first and only NBA championship.

🏒NHL SCORES:
  • Panthers 3 Rangers 2
➤FRIDAY'S WEATHER:




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