Good Monday morning! Trump’s fundraising blitz following conviction; Media bias in war coverage; and the unexpected witnesses at Hunter Biden’s gun trial, which starts today.

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Florida seventh grader Bruhat Soma won the National Spelling Bee in Maryland Thursday, with an impressive display in the final round. The... See more

Good morning,

A Florida seventh grader won the National Spelling Bee late last week, and his impressive speed in the final round has people talking.

• In the competition’s second-ever spell-off — a tie breaking round that rewards speed as much as accuracy — 12-year-old Bruhat Soma spelled 29 words in 90 seconds — nine more words than his opponent and seven more than the 2022 spell-off winner.

  • The tiebreak followed 14 rounds of spelling challenges over three days.

• How he did it: Preparation. Soma studied 10 hours a day on weekends and six hours a day on weekdays.

• The reward: $50,000! And Soma says he plans to share his prize.

  • ❤️ “I'm going to donate it to underprivileged people because not everyone has access to basic stuff, like education and food and basic needs for survival,” he said.

Brains and heart… Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

Mo News Podcast: A daily conversation about the news that matters.

💰 DONORS FLOCK TO TRUMP WHILE PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS REMAINS THE SAME

American voters appear split on former President Trump’s criminal conviction, according to new polls out this weekend.

Trump conducted his first major interview this weekend with Fox News, telling the network that he'll get even with his adversaries by getting back in the White House, saying, "My revenge will be success.”

• "These are bad people. These people are sick. And they do things that are so destructive… if it weren't for me, they'd be going after somebody else," Trump said.

It comes as supporters rallied around Trump post-verdict, donating to his campaign and associated groups in record numbers.

THE POLLING
The verdict did not lead to much change in how Americans are feeling politically.

• A CBS poll found that about half the country thought Trump was guilty before the verdict, and now about the same think the trial was fair. Democrats and Republicans are also extremely divided on whether the trial was fair.

  
  

• An ABC poll found 49% of respondents think he should end his presidential campaign following the conviction, while 37% say he should not,

• All these figures are essentially unchanged from a similar question asked 14 months ago, shortly after the indictment was filed.

SHOW ME THE MONEY
The criminal conviction does appear to be helping Trump close the gap with Biden’s fundraising advantage.

• In just the 24 hours following Thursday’s verdict, the Trump campaign reported raising nearly $53 million, with a third of it coming from first-time donors. Trump’s campaign estimates that about $150 million will be raised in the coming days. [Several members of the Mo News community on Instagram said they donated to Trump for the first time this weekend because they felt the verdict was unjust.]

• High-dollar donors are chipping in too. Republican mega-donor and casino billionaire Miriam Adelson plans to bankroll a pro-Trump super PAC and could spend upwards of $100 million. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, and Elon Musk all appear to be rallying around his campaign.

• Over on the Mo News Premium Instagram this past weekend, we were asked: Does more money raised/spent always equal victory? Answer: Not always. Obama 2008/2012, yes. Clinton 2016, no. Biden 2020, yes. We'll see in 2024.

📌 THE FORGOTTEN WAR: SUDAN GETS LITTLE COVERAGE COMPARED TO OTHER WARS

The headlines from Sudan are stark. 18 million people face imminent famine, tens of thousands of people have been killed, and more than 8 million have been displaced since a civil war began last April. And yet, social media, celebs, governments and the media are barely discussing the situation. A new study put numbers to it: Sudan receives 160 times less news coverage from global media than Ukraine or Gaza.

• WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SUDAN: The country's two most powerful generals are waging war against one another, pitting Arab militias against Darfur's poorly-armed Black indigenous communities. It is leading to ethnic cleansing, genocide, mass displacement and the largest humanitarian crisis on the planet. We covered the war more in depth in THIS issue of the newsletter. Also, see the Instagram post above for more details.

BY THE NUMBERS
Chartbeat, an analytics firm, tracked 3,000 media outlets spanning 70 countries over the last 14 months. It found that news coverage of Sudan peaked in April 2023 — the onset of the war — with about 7,000 news articles.

• Coverage has dwindled: Since the end of 2023, about 600 articles are published per month on the war.

• In stark contrast, coverage of the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine has remained consistently high, with about 100,000-200,000 media stories per month for either conflict.

• Conflicts in Myanmar, Syria, and Yemen that have all displaced millions of people and led to hundreds of thousands of people killed, have also not managed to consistently amass more than a couple hundred global stories a month.

MO NEWS ANALYSIS
There are a variety of reasons for the media coverage differences.

• Newsrooms: The conflict in Sudan feels remote, is logistically more difficult to cover and feels less relevant to media in Europe and the US. There appears to be lackluster demand for coverage from the public or much conversation on social media for that matter (remember, media is a business). Many outlets also do not have the budget or bandwidth to cover multiple foreign crises simultaneously. [Israel was already home to more journalists per capita than any place in the world besides DC and NYC.]

  • Ukraine and Israel are also geographically convenient and culturally similar to the West. Both conflicts are also framed as key to the future of their respective regions & world by leaders, and receiving military/economic aid.

• Who’s talking: Ukraine & Israel/Gaza are getting a lot of attention from NGOs, western governments, and celebs. The size and influence of a country’s expat population and other interest groups also play a major role in coverage.

📌 HUNTER BIDEN’S FEDERAL GUN TRIAL STARTS TODAY

The felony gun trial of Hunter Biden, the president's son, is set to start today. It’s the first time in American history that the child of a sitting president is on trial, and it could impact his dad's reelection campaign.

And more, the witness list is sure to bring more headlines. It includes three of his former romantic partners. 1. Hunter’s ex-wife; 2. his late brother’s widow, Hallie Biden, whom Hunter dated after his brother died; 3. the mother of a child he unknowingly had while struggling with drug addiction.

THE CASE
Biden, 54, is accused of illegally purchasing a gun by lying on a form about his drug use and also possessing the firearm while abusing drugs — violations of federal law. He has pleaded not guilty and says the charges are politically motivated.

• He had the gun for 11 days in October 2018, before his then-girlfriend, Hallie Biden, tossed it in a public dumpster afraid for his mental health.

  • An elderly man who collects recyclables from garbage bins in the area found the gun and gave it to police.

• Hunter wrote in his autobiography about abusing drugs during the purchase, thus incriminating himself.

• Biden was indicted after a proposed plea deal with the Justice Department Special Counsel blew up.

The case will introduce intensely personal text messages and topics into the public record as President Biden runs for reelection, and Republicans are looking for ways to tie him to the case. Notably, though, it is his father’s DOJ that is pursuing the case against him.

Since the gun was not used in a crime, the case is atypical. If convicted, Hunter could face up to 25 years in prison.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Guilty verdict fuels Trump's push for Black voters (AXIOS)

📌 Biden administration preparing to announce border executive action (CNN)

📌 Former Manhattan DA says he would be surprised if Trump gets jail time (POLITICO)

📌 Water pipes burst in Atlanta, causing major outages and disruptions (ABC NEWS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Claudia Sheinbaum, former mayor of Mexico City and AMLO protege, projected to win Mexico’s historic presidential election (BBC)

📌 The ANC party that freed South Africa from apartheid loses its 30-year majority in landmark election (NBC NEWS)

📌 Israel reacts to Gaza cease-fire outlined by Biden (AXIOS)

📌 46 children were taken from Ukraine. Many are up for adoption in Russia. Experts say it could be a war crime. (NY TIMES)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Male birth control gel is safe and effective, new trial findings show (NBC NEWS)

📌 With home prices up more than 50%, some states try to contain property taxes (AP)

📌 OPEC+ agrees to extend production cuts in bid to boost oil prices (VOA)

📌 Donald Trump joins TikTok and rapidly wins two million+ followers (REUTERS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Jennifer Lopez cancels summer tour amid bad ticket sales; Claims it is to spend time with family (NBC NEWS)

📌 93-year-old Fox founder Rupert Murdoch marries fifth wife in California ceremony (FOX NEWS)

📌 King Charles threatens to cut off Prince Andrew unless he moves out of royal residence (BI)

📌 France files preliminary terrorism charges against teenager accused of plan to attack Olympic fans (AP)

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: JUNE 3

• 1937: About six months after abdicating the British throne, Prince Edward married American socialite Wallis Simpson.

• 1965: Ed White became the first American astronaut to walk in space.

• 1967: The Doors released ‘Light My Fire.’

  • The band was asked to change the lyric, “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,” due to inferred drug reference when performing live on the Ed Sullivan Show. While they initially agreed, they performed the song as-is and were banned from the show moving forward.

• 1984: Bruce Springsteen released ‘Born in the USA.’