Poll: 9 of 10 college students don't care about Middle East; TikTok sues the US government

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Good morning,

A powerful moment took place on the U.S. House floor this week as Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), used text-to-speech technology — de-stigmatizing the tools people with different needs and abilities use.

She relies on this device to now navigate a degenerative brain condition called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which she was diagnosed with last year. It has significantly impacted her ability to speak, hear, and move.
Wexton will not seek reelection for her seat in Virginia’s 10th District, but her resilience serves as an inspiration to all.

Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to the Mo Newsletter. You can earn free Mo News merch and other perks — details here!

📌 STORMY DANIELS TESTIFIES ABOUT HUSH-MONEY DEAL

*Stormy Daniels testifying in Trump's criminal trial. Via: ELIZABETH WILLIAMS*

It was a big day in former President Trump’s hush money trial. Adult film actress Stormy Daniels took the stand Tuesday, detailing their alleged affair and subsequent payment for her to keep quiet about the story ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump denies the sexual encounter and any wrongdoing. The 34 criminal counts against him are not for infidelity, but for falsifying business records for the $130,000 payment to Daniels.

STORMY TAKES THE STAND
Daniels gave explicit testimony about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 at a hotel in Lake Tahoe. The judge warned her multiple times to avoid unnecessary details and stay on track.

The alleged affair: Daniels testified to meeting Trump for dinner in 2006 after meeting at a golf outing. Daniels said at one point that she blacked out during the sexual encounter, clarifying she was not intoxicated, and it left her "shaking."
- Daniels testified that she saw Trump again in June 2007 when he told her, “I miss you,” and wanted to get together again. She also said he never told her to keep things confidential.

The defense is aiming to portray Daniels as an unreliable witness who has profited from the claims, has a vendetta against Trump, and whose story has shifted over the years.

Daniels wrote a book that described her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
She is set to be cross-examined Thursday.

Inside the courthouse, journalists reported that jurors appeared riveted by the graphic account, and the testimony was the most explosive in the case so far.
- RISKY MOVE: Still, putting Daniels on the stand was a risky move for the prosecution. She also reportedly told some jokes that didn’t land, and was talking very quickly.

JUDGE RULES NO ON MISTRIAL
Trump’s team tried to get a mistrial over Daniels' testimony yesterday, saying her story has changed and the details were outside the scope of the trial.

The judge said he agreed that Daniels said more at times than she should have, but he blamed the defense for not objecting more while she was on the stand.
- Trump’s attorney shot back that once he thought it “had gone too far,” they did start objecting very consistently.

📲 TIKTOK FILES LAWSUIT

TikTok and its Chinese-based parent company ByteDance sued the US government yesterday over the new law that requires the company to sell the app or face a ban in the US.

Amid national security concerns about China, the measure passed Congress by an overwhelming margin last month.

THE ARGUMENTS
This high profile case will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court. But first, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will hear the case. The company is asking the court to declare the law unconstitutional, issue an order blocking Attorney General Merrick Garland from enforcing it, and grant “any further relief that may be appropriate.”

TikTok’s argument is that the law violates the First Amendment and free speech rights of millions of American users who use the app to communicate and express their ideas.
- ByteDance also says its Fifth Amendment rights were violated, and they were punished before a trial.
  - ByteDance says the Biden Administration hasn’t proven that TikTok is a national security risk.
Deadline: ByteDance has until Jan. 19 to sell TikTok, with a three month extension possible. The company says that timeline "is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally.”
The US government case relies on a national security argument about how TikTok’s data collection can be used by China, and how the app’s algorithm might be used to manipulate Americans and sow civil discord.
- The government alleges China already tried to use TikTok to influence the 2022 US elections, while a Rutgers University study suggested issues that aligned with the Chinese government were amplified on the app. The company disputes the findings.

NOW WHAT
About 170 million Americans use the app every month — and some people have built businesses through it. The Chinese government says it “firmly opposes” a forced sale and won’t let TikTok’s algorithm, the most valuable part of the app, be exported.

Politically, Trump says he is against a ban despite issuing an executive order to ban it while he was president (eventually that was overturned by the courts). And, while he signed the new law, the Biden campaign continues to use the app.
The final ruling could take years. In the meantime, the app should continue to work.

📌 WHAT STUDENTS ON CAMPUSES ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT

Campus protests are dominating headlines and social media, but new data shows that only about one in ten students view it as a top issue.

8% of college students have participated on either side of pro-Palestine or pro-Israel protests, a Generation Lab survey found.
- It comes as over 2,000 people have been arrested on a couple dozen campuses across the US. That is out of more than 18 million students currently enrolled at an American college.

WHAT STUDENTS CARE ABOUT
Students ranked the conflict in the Middle East as the LEAST important issue out of nine options.

Most important: Health care reform, education funding, economic opportunity, civil rights, and climate change.

Digging into the numbers tells an interesting story.

Most students oppose several protester tactics: Two-thirds of students disapprove of occupying campus buildings and over half say refusing a university’s order to disperse is unacceptable. 90% said blocking pro-Israel students from parts of campus is also unacceptable.
- If protesters destroyed property, vandalized, or illegally occupied buildings, 81% of students supported holding them accountable.
A plurality of students support the encampments: 45% of students said they support them strongly or a little bit, 30% were neutral, and 24% were strongly or a bit opposed.

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?
Of students who support protests against Israel, 58% said they would not befriend a pro-Israel protester. On the other side, 64% students who participated in a pro-Israel protest said they would still be friends with someone who has marched against Israel.

✔︎ Mo News Reality Check: Last week, we looked at the Harvard Youth Poll survey. It showed that across Americans ages 18-29, Israel/Palestine ranked 15th out of the 16 most important issues.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 New York governor regrets saying Black kids in the Bronx don’t know what a computer is (AP)

📌 US probe finds widespread sexual misconduct at FDIC (REUTERS)

📌 Trump's federal classified docs trial date postponed indefinitely (AXIOS)

📌 Biden warns of ‘ferocious surge of antisemitism’ in US (NPR)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Army investigating whether detained U.S. soldier was lured to Russia by intelligence services (NBC NEWS)

📌 Netanyahu says Hamas offer aimed to ‘sabotage’ Rafah op as Israeli delegation in Cairo (TIMES OF ISRAEL)

📌 Ukraine says it foiled a Russian spy agency plot to assassinate President Zelenskyy (AP)

📌 China’s Xi, in France, offers few concessions on trade, support for Russia (VOA)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Panera is dropping Charged Lemonade, the subject of multiple wrongful death lawsuits (CNN)

📌 NASA forced to scrub Boeing’s first crewed Starliner launch to the space station (NBC NEWS)

📌 ‘Draw a line in the sand, but don’t draw a swastika,’ Robert Kraft’s foundation tells campus protesters in new ad (CNN)

📌 Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes (AP)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Security guard shot at Drake's Toronto home amid beef with Kendrick Lamar (BBC)

📌 Katy Perry's own mom fell for her Met Gala AI photo. Do you know what to look for? (NPR)

📌 Whoopi Goldberg opens up about former cocaine addiction and grief in new memoir (YAHOO)

📌 Kendall Jenner cozies up to ex Bad Bunny during Met Gala after-party (ET)

🗓 ON THIS DAY: MAY 8

1877: The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show began. It's the second oldest continuously running sporting event in the US after the Kentucky Derby.
1984: The Soviet Union announced a boycott of the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It came in response to the US boycott of the 1980 Moscow games.
1970: The Beatles released their twelfth and final studio album, 'Let It Be,' a month after Paul McCartney announced his departure from the band.
1993: Chris Farley's character, the motivational speaker Matt Foley, debuted on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live.'