Donald Trump has been found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, and will be sentenced on July 11. MSNBC's Katie Phang looks at the "novel legal theory" prosecutor Alvin Bragg chose to employ in this trial. "It’s important to take a minute to digest what the prosecution had to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt: Trump, with the intent to defraud, made (or caused to be made) false entries in an enterprise’s business records, and his 'intent to defraud included an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof,'" Phang writes.
@ClimateJenny Yes, perhaps more correct to say novel application of the law — according to the article: "The Washington Post reviewed the New York State Law Reporting Bureau as far back as 2000 for any relevant case law regarding this specific statute. The report found 'two entries in which a judge issued legal opinions on the statute. Both were from [Judge Juan] Merchan last year in rejecting Trump’s motions to have the case dismissed.' That’s how rarely Section 17-152 is prosecuted in New York."
There’s a new playbook being written right now when it comes to the future of social media. The early-mover advantage is still in effect, and there’s a lot to figure out. Gone are opaque algorithms and the whims of any single company.
The fediverse represents a chance for quality journalism to shine again.
We talked to two leaders at fedi-forward publications — @TheConversationUS's @BostonAbrams, and @404mediaco's @jasonkoebler — about why they’re investing in the open social web, what they’ve learned so far, and their advice for other publishers just getting started.
The leading U.S. military general in Europe is warning Congress that if they do not pass funding for Ukraine’s war against Russia soon, their army will be vastly overpowered by summer. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command, says in House testimony that Russian soldiers already fire five times as many artillery shells as Ukrainian soldiers do, and that without the U.S. sending more weapons the number will double to “10 to one in a matter of weeks.” Read more from the Associated Press.
Language in Ireland's constitution indicates a woman's place is in the home. Today, its voters will decide in twin referendums whether to replace that in the 87-year-old document, as well as wording that pledges to protect the marriage as the basis "on which the family is founded." However some opponents say the new language is poorly thought through and could have unintended consequences. Here's an explainer from ABC News.
Update: Ireland's voters have rejected two constitutional amendments that would have broadened the definition of family and removed language about a woman's role at home. "It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote 'yes' and we clearly failed to do so," Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said. The AP has more details.
Dissatisfied with the news bots I follow but unsure if I want to go to the trouble of building one just for myself and doubly unsure I want to take on the trouble of running one other people could follow
@sleepyrob Hi, we recently announced that all of Flipboard is federating. So previously, only users of the Flipboard app or visitors to flipboard.com could see all the amazing content curated by our publishers and community. But now these Flipboard accounts will be available to everyone on Mastodon and the rest of the Fediverse. We're starting out slow, with a small group of publishers. Here's more info: https://about.flipboard.com/inside-flipboard/flipboard-begins-to-federate/
Let us know what you think.
If you worked in the media industry for the last three decades, the fear of layoffs was a constant. Yesterday's spectacular implosion of The Messenger is just the latest example.
Frankly, it's all rather depressing. With fewer reporters and media outlets, more governments and companies are operating in the dark. Who knows what important stories are left untold? What terrible wrongdoings uncovered? Our public is less informed, which threatens our democracy.
I don't have a solution but it seems clear we need to rethink our entire model of an independent press and the role it plays in society.
Is American media dead? Thousands of layoffs. Publications shutting down. News deserts. The press is collapsing, as old business models no longer work. But where does that leave democracy and the notion of an informed society?