The News Not Noise Letter: News That Doesn’t Suck (and Your Trump Indictment Questions Answered)
Yes, there will be a mugshot. Plus: some not-awful news, including lifesaving health interventions and a truly mammoth meatball.
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Here are some answers to your Trump questions:
Former president Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury. We don’t yet know the charges he’ll face and won’t know until the indictment is unsealed. He will be arraigned next Tuesday in New York City. We do know that the grand jury heard evidence related to allegations that Trump directed his team to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels then to falsify business records to cover it up. To understand why this is a crime and read about his other legal woes check out Monday’s newsletter here. You’ve sent us questions about the indictment, and we’re answering some of them at the top of today’s newsletter. But it’s Friday so we also want to give you a break from the grim news and bring you stories that inspire curiosity, awe and laughter. If you are tired of hearing about Trump, scroll down to the News That Doesn’t Suck.
Now that he’s been indicted for a crime, can Donald Trump still run for president?
Yes.
Can he serve as president?
Yes.
Is there anything Trump could be convicted of that would prevent him from serving as president?
Yes: rebellion and insurrection.
Will there be a mugshot?
Yes, but we might not get to see it. Under New York law, mugshots are not released to the public without a “specific law enforcement purpose, such as disclosure of a photograph to alert victims or witnesses to come forward to aid in a criminal investigation.”
When will this go down?
Trump is expected to be arraigned in court Tuesday around 2:15 pm. His lawyer says he will not be in handcuffs and will plead not guilty.
How is this different from Monica Lewinsky and Paula Jones?
Neither involved campaign finance violations. In the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction. In the Paula Jones case, he was sued in civil court for sexual harassment. The judge held him in contempt of court for giving false and misleading testimony. He paid Jones to settle. That payment was legal, very public and filed in court; it was not an effort to silence her. Neither government nor campaign funds were involved.
What happened with John Edwards?
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards was indicted on 6 counts of campaign finance violations by the Department of Justice in 2011. Edwards was accused of similar “hush money” payments (allegedly totaling nearly $1 million) to cover up his affair. He was not convicted.
So a felon can’t vote but can run for office?
In some states felons can vote after they’ve served. But, point taken. Yes.
How is Fox News reporting on this?
Fox News is (predictably) framing the investigation and indictment as a witch hunt and political persecution.
Sean Hannity: “Disgusting political hit job.”
Tucker Carlson: “Probably not the best time to give up your AR-15.”
Adam Carolla: “Somebody’s going to do something and then the Storm Troopers are going to come in.”
When should we expect a trial?
Trump being Trump, there will likely be lots of efforts at delay. It might not come to trial until next year, during the heat of the 2024 campaign. A different trial is set to begin next month, though. In that trial, writer E. Jean Carroll accuses Trump of defamation, related to her claim that he sexually assaulted her. (Read Monday’s newsletter for details on that.)
There’s more, but there’s also plenty of time to get into it. Please write in with additional questions. For now, let’s shift gears!
Here’s some news that doesn’t suck:
Fighting Opioid Deaths: Preventing opioid overdoses just got a whole lot easier. The FDA approved over-the-counter sales of naloxone, a lifesaving drug which can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. This means that not only will naloxone be available in pharmacies, but it could also be available for purchase at convenience stores, grocery stores, and online. Naloxone works by blocking opioids from binding to cell receptors, essentially counteracting and reversing the effects of opioid overdose. Naloxone can even work on individuals whose breathing has stopped. The National Institutes of Health reports that more than 100,000 Americans died from opiods in 2021. This decision will make it easier to get naloxone for those who need it most. It will be available over-the-counter by late summer.
Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Pickles: 90-year-old radiated tortoise Mr. Pickles and 53-year-old Mrs. Pickles, both residents of the Houston Zoo, are proud new parents to hatchlings Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño. Radiated tortoises (note: not irradiated tortoises, they are not radioactive!) are critically endangered, and when zookeepers noticed Mrs. Pickles burying this clutch of eggs, they immediately knew they needed to intervene to help the eggs survive until hatching. This is because radiated tortoise eggs require very specific temperatures and humidity levels to develop healthily. They’re used to the weather in their native Madagascar – not the temps at the Houston zoo! Zookeepers moved the eggs to the Reptile and Amphibian House where zookeepers carefully stewarded them for months until they finally hatched. That helped increase the population of this endangered species.
Blood Pressure Checks for Maternal Health: The US has an extraordinarily high maternal mortality rate compared to other high-income countries, and Black mothers suffer the most. Black women are nearly three times as likely as white women to die from a pregnancy-related cause. Boston Medical Center is making a simple but sweeping intervention designed to reduce that disparity and to lower rates of maternal mortality overall. Their approach: provide pregnant women with home blood pressure testing cuffs that transmit results directly to the hospital, no WiFi needed. High blood pressure during pregnancy is called preeclampsia, and it can be life-threatening for both mother and baby, but often there are no other symptoms to warn patients until it is severe. With BMC’s monitoring program, patients record their blood pressure daily and a nurse monitors for any concerning changes. Doctors are better able to make early interventions with this information, and patients can have peace of mind when their blood pressure is normal. The process is also standardized, preventing the racial bias sometimes seen when doctors decide how and when to intervene for individual patients.
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