"RoaringKitty" Schedules 11 a.m. Livestream to Discuss GameStop Stock

Your weekly News Memo - a more human way to engage with the news 📰

• Trump Convicted of 34 Felonies: Explained

• Biden Signs Executive Order Restricting Asylum Seekers at Border

• Harvard department drops diversity statement requirements

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Newsbites

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Roaring Kitty / GameStop: Keith Gill, known online as Roaring Kitty or DeepF___ingValue, has revealed he has taken a massive position in GameStop stock (GME). News of his position has sent the stock soaring higher, up more than 60% this week alone. On Thursday, Gill posted a screenshot of his position on Reddit, which was originally $250M, and has now grown to almost $600M due to the runup in the share price. The timing and sequence of Gill’s actions have led some to accuse him of market manipulation (pump and dump). However, others have said he remains in compliance with the law because he has not spread false or deceitful information about the stock and has merely revealed his position. It was reported this week that his brokerage provider, E*Trade (owned by Morgan Stanley), was considering removing him from their platform.

More: Gill has scheduled a YouTube live stream for 11AM CT today (6/7).

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Hunter Biden gun trial: President Biden’s 54-year-old son is facing a criminal trial over an illegal purchase of a firearm while he was addicted to cocaine. Federal law prohibits anyone addicted to illegal drugs to own or possess a firearm. Biden bought the firearm in October of 2018. Hallie Biden, his brother's widow with whom he was romantically involved with at the time, found the gun in the trunk of his car and threw it in the trash outside a grocery store. “I panicked,” she told the court. The gun was then picked up by an older gentleman and was found years later by Delaware Police. Biden could face more than 10 years behind bars if the jury finds him guilty.

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Biden’s mental state: A new report from the WSJ states that several lawmakers are concerned with the status of President Joe Biden’s mental condition behind closed doors. Congressional leaders said during a meeting to discuss Ukraine funding in January, Biden spoke so softly some could barely hear. Others said he closed his eyes for long periods of time when they assumed he had fallen asleep during the meeting. The WSJ interviewed 45 lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats. Several more Republicans responded negatively to Biden’s health, but according to the report, the White House also kept close watch on who was interviewed, which may have held some Democratic lawmakers back.

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Israel conducted a targeted missile strike at a U.N.-run shelter in central Gaza on Thursday, which led to deaths of more than 35 people, many of which were women and children. In its press conference (video), the Israel Defense Force (IDF) said the strike was carried out because dozens of Hamas militants and Islamic Jihadists were operating out of 3 classrooms inside a former school within the compound. At least 9 of them were killed in the strike. UNRWA, the U.N. division that operates the 6,000 person shelter, was unable to confirm if Hamas was operating there. The IDF said it is the 5th time in the last month they have carried out attacks on Hamas that were utilizing U.N. facilities.

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India Election: Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi won re-election in India, although his party lost its majority in Parliament. Polls had predicted a much larger victory for Modi and his party (read more). India, which recently surpassed China as the most populous country in the world (1.4B people), has nearly 1B registered voters, making it the largest democratic election in the world.

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Harvard department drops diversity statement requirements: Applicants for Arts and Sciences at Harvard will no longer have to submit a diversity statement when applying for a faculty position. Previously a statement detailing contributions to diversity, inclusion, and belonging was required in the application process. Now, the application will ask how they plan to “strengthen academic communities” and create a “learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas.” The move comes as universities receive pushback on the level of DEI involved in their culture and application processes.

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Main Stories

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Trump Convicted of 34 Felonies: Explained

What happened?
Last week, former president Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony accounts for “falsifying business records” by the State of New York. It’s the first time ever that a U.S. president has faced a criminal trial and the first time a president has ever been convicted of a crime under the law.

First, let’s simplify what exactly Trump was convicted of.

The 34 offenses all stem from one event: a “hush money” payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress at the time. 

• In 2016, Stormy Daniels said that her and Donald Trump had slept together in 2006. 

• Then, Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to keep the story quiet. Sometimes referred to as a “hush money payment”, which is legal. 

• Prosecutors alleged that Trump then reimbursed Michael Cohen for the $130,000 payment, but lied about the nature of the reimbursement, thus, “falsifying business records.” 

• Falsifying business records is normally a misdemeanor in the state of New York, unless prosecutors can prove it was used to conceal a crime or commit a new crime. 

• Prosecutors alleged that Trump’s series of payments broke election finance rules because he did not properly itemize the payment to Cohen as a campaign contribution.

• Trump wrote a series of 34 checks over the course of the next few years to Cohen as a repayment for the $130,000 payment.