Donald Trump’s Defamation Trial (Part 2)

Happy Monduesday™, Meteor readers,

Big week ahead! I am, of course, talking about the opening rounds of the Australian Open, which has already seen the exit of Naomi Osaka, returning to the sport after giving birth to her first child. It’s also a huge week for us here at The Meteor, as tomorrow we’ll be premiering the first two episodes of our brand new podcast, The A Files: A Secret History of Abortion. More on that tomorrow!

In today’s newsletter, we run through the madness in Iowa, catch up on what’s happening in Iran, and learn about a groundbreaking food program in Colorado.

Shoveling snow,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

All about Don: In a landslide victory, Donald Trump—a man currently facing 91 criminal charges and a candidate who has refused to participate in a single debate—took first place in the Iowa caucus. Ron DeSantis came in second, Nikki Haley in third, and Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out entirely and gave his (meaningless) endorsement to Trump.

Speaking of Trump, instead of celebrating his win in Iowa, he’s back in New York standing trial in a second defamation case to decide a suit brought by E. Jean Carroll. He lost the first one. This time around, he will reportedly be taking the stand in his own defense against Carroll, who says he defamed her by denying having attacked her in a dressing room in the 90s. Like the previous case, this is a civil matter—Carroll is suing for $10 million in damages.

Maybe I’m the only person left in the country who feels this way, but it’s genuinely shocking that the lead GOP presidential candidate is spending so much time defending himself in court.

AND:

• Some bad news—and some good—from Iran: Yesterday, the Iranian regime sentenced Narges Mohammadi to 15 more months in prison. (Mohammadi, a human rights activist and the 2023 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been in and out of prison for the last 20 years.) The updated sentencing came just after a rare joyous moment for Iranian women, when journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were released on bail. The two, who had been sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison, respectively, for their coverage of the killing of Mahsa Amini are appealing their sentence with the courts. Meantime, the regime has submitted new charges against them for not wearing head coverings while celebrating their release from prison this week.

• A Republican representative is going rogue—and this time, it’s for a good reason. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida is acting against her party and her own previous votes to introduce a bill that would allow post-partum moms to vote by proxy in Congress. Luna, who had a baby four months ago, has been bringing her son to work every day to avoid missing any votes. However, Luna’s bill is flawed and gendered: The bill is specifically worded to allow proxy voting only for women who have given birth—not for non-childbearing partners, for adoptive parents, or for those who’ve had children through surrogacy. So you could say she’s…taking baby steps.

• Gen Z voters are apparently so fed up with democracy as a whole that they’re considering skipping this year’s presidential election.

• The crumbling healthcare system in Puerto Rico has had unexpected outcomes for people giving birth on the island. More than half of all babies born in 2022 were delivered via cesarean section, and in a majority of cases, the surgeries weren’t performed out of medical necessity but out of convenience for dwindling medical staff.

• Studies have found that suicide rates among Black adolescents are climbing. One psychologist and minister in Maryland believes there is an untapped source of help for those suffering the most: Black churches.

• The Supreme Court has decided not to overturn a lower court ruling on transgender students’ bathroom access. The Robed Ones’ move means that trans students in an Indiana school district can use the bathroom associated with the gender they identify with. Is it a sign of where SCOTUS is leaning on trans issues in general? The jury’s still out. (I am on fire today with these puns.)

• After a four-month delay, last night was the 75th Emmys. If you follow that sort of thing, you probably know all the big wins (Beef, The Bear, Succession), but it was also a historic night for Black women in the arts. Quinta Brunson won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Abbott Elementary. (The last time a Black woman won in this category was 1981.) Ayo Edibiri won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bear (which I still do not personally classify as a comedy, but okay). And Niecy Nash-Betts won for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie for her work in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Her acceptance speech stole the show. Take a look:

• Food assistance programs like SNAP or EBT are often closed to undocumented people and, in some states, don’t even cover the costs of fresh fruit and vegetables. But a supplemental program in Boulder, Colorado is working to change that by using money from the state’s soda tax to provide fruit and vegetable coupons to families in need. The initiative has given the local community tools they need to combat preventable illnesses like prediabetes. Sounds like something we could use at a federal level, no?

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