Trump Charges, Finland, and Living to 100

Trump Arraigned

Former President Donald Trump yesterday pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the alleged use of campaign funds as hush money payments in 2016. 

The charges stem from a $130K payoff made from an intermediary to adult film star Stephanie Gregory Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, as well as $150K to a second woman. The indictment, unsealed yesterday, also noted a $30K payment from an intermediary to a Trump Tower door attendant who claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock.

In principle, the counts altogether carry a maximum sentence of 136 years in prison under New York law—four years for each count. Legal experts say Trump, as a first-time offender with no criminal record, is unlikely to face jail time in the event of a potential conviction at trial. Prosecutors will have to prove Trump is guilty of maintaining false business records with the intent to hide the hush money payments. 

After his arraignment, Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago, where he delivered public remarks.

See the indictment here, and the statement of facts here.

Finland Joins NATO

Finland formally became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the world's largest military alliance, ending the military nonalignment it has maintained since 1945.

The move adds 832 miles to and nearly doubles the alliance's border with Russia and is seen as a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who cited one reason for invading Ukraine was opposition to NATO's expansion toward the east. Putin warned Russia would take unspecified countermeasures and scale up forces near the border if NATO sent troops or equipment to Finland.

The NATO collective defense principle maintains all allies must respond if one ally is attacked. Finland has well-equipped, active armed forces of about 23,000 and can call on around 280,000 reserves in wartime. It also boasts the largest artillery capability in Western Europe, with a reported 1,500 pieces in operation.

Neighboring Sweden, which has also applied, has faced objections from Turkey and Hungary for allegedly supporting Kurdish militants.

A Slushy Earth

Seaweed fossils found in China dating from over 600 million years ago suggest ancient Earth was not as ice-covered as previously thought, according to new research released yesterday. The study sheds light on how life survived two of the planet's most severe global glaciation events.

Scientists posit two distinct, extended ice ages covered the Earth in glaciers during the Cryogenian Period (720 million to 635 million years ago). According to the Snowball Earth theory, the planet was completely covered in ice from pole to pole most of that period, drastically limiting what forms of life could survive. Researchers have not reached a consensus on what prompted the massive frozen period.

The new study claims the presence of shale-encased fossils of multicellular organisms dating from the glacial period indicates pockets of complex life survived in "slushy" oases further from the Equator than formerly believed, advancing models of how life evolved through the period. 

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