Insight ::: 04.10.2023

What Trump’s business fraud charges mean: A former prosecutor explains the 34 felony counts and obstacles ahead for Manhattan’s DA

By Jeffrey Bellin Mills E. Godwin, Jr., Professor of Law, William & Mary Law School

Former President Donald Trump was arraigned in New York on April 4, 2023. Shortly after, the charges that a Manhattan grand jury indicted him on were made public.

As anticipated, there were numerous counts of falsifying business records related to “hush money” payments made in 2016 to three individuals with potentially damaging information about Trump during his presidential election campaign. While porn actress Stormy Daniels and another woman allegedly had affairs with Trump, another person – a Trump Tower doorman – claimed to know about a child Trump “allegedly fathered out of wedlock.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his office described Trump’s alleged criminal activity as arising out of a “‘catch and kill’ scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects,” according to an April 3 media release.

“Trump then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws,” the statement continues. I am a former prosecutor and law professor who studies the American criminal justice system. Now, with the indictment unsealed, The Conversation asked me to weigh in. Here are three key points to understand – and the challenges that lie ahead for the prosecution of the former

president.

1. Falsified business records are the key issue

The unsealed indictment alleges 34 separate felony counts of falsifying business records. Creating a false business record with the intent to defraud is a Class A misdemeanor offense in New York. But the offense becomes a low-level Class E felony if prosecutors can prove that the false business records were created for the purpose of facilitating a second crime.

It is important to keep in mind that the alleged crimes are not the payoffs, but the false business records used to document those payoffs. That explains the 34 counts.

The district attorney alleges a separate offense for each false invoice and business record involved in obscuring the true nature of the transactions.

Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison, but it is possible that, even if there are convictions on multiple counts, the judge will not mandate any incarceration for Trump at all.

One of the surprises in the unsealed indictment is that, while there is a second, separate crime Trump allegedly committed, that crime is not specified. A separate statement of facts released by the Manhattan district attorney’s office lays out further detail, but again does not specifically identify the second crime.

Bragg said during a press conference on April 4, 2023, that New York law does not require him to list the underlying crimes in the indictment. The statement of facts hints at multiple legal theories that Bragg will rely on to elevate the misdemeanor

offense to a felony. Specifically, this could include potential tax

avoidance and campaign finance violations.

2.

Bragg will have to prove Trump’s involvement, fraudulent intent

The prosecution has a number of obstacles to overcome to prove its case, which will likely not go to trial until, at the earliest, late 2023 or early 2024.

Although there is still a lot that is not yet known – such as the specific evidence that the prosecutor will rely on – the indictment and statement of facts brings the key obstacles into focus.

Some of the challenges will be factual and others will be legal.

I see two primary factual questions. One will be whether the prosecution can establish Trump’s personal involvement in creating the false business records.

It will not be enough to show that Trump authorized the hush money payments at the center of this case. The prosecution has to show Trump’s personal

involvement in the details, and specifically, that he directed others to create the false business records that allegedly hid the true nature of those transactions.

Second, the prosecution will have to prove that Trump’s intent in creating these false business records was to cover up, or facilitate, another crime – such as campaign finance violations. If Trump merely sought to avoid embarrassment arising out of these alleged affairs, that will not be sufficient to prove the charged offenses. One way prosecutors try to prove criminal intent in cases like this is through the defendant’s own words. This can be via recordings, if they exist, or testimony from witnesses about what the defendant knew and said about the records as they were being created.

3. There will be other legal hurdles There are also some complex legal questions that the trial judge and potentially an appeals court will be asked to resolve.

Typical prosecutions – for example, a murder trial or one involving drug dealing or insider trading – fall into familiar patterns that allow prosecutors, judges and commentators to follow the same basic blueprint.

There does not appear to be a familiar blueprint for this case – where a false business record was generated in an organization’s records in furtherance of alleged campaign finance violations.

That doesn’t necessarily mean this is a bad case for the prosecution to pursue, but it does mean that Trump’s lawyers will have ample opportunity to launch legal challenges. The most obvious challenge I foresee is an attack on Bragg’s legal theory that takes this case from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Until there is more clarity on that theory, however, it is difficult to predict how the courts will rule.

Beyond the legal and factual complexities, there will be a series of novel aspects

of this case that arise because of the defendant’s status as a former president and the apparent front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Every aspect of this case will be scrutinized and, while New York City courts are used to media attention, the attention in this case is likely to be unprecedented. That attention will put a lot of pressure on a criminal justice system that is already overburdened and imperfect. It is difficult to forecast how this case will play out, but one thing to expect during these proceedings is the unexpected.

Jeffrey Bellin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Kena Betancur/Getty Images Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a press conference about former President Donald Trump’s arraignment on April 4, 2023.

photo/Corey Sipkin

Trump

2. That the Governor hold his appointed State Commissioners and the state departments they lead accountable for measurable and reportable processes and strategies to eliminate disparities that exist in and that are supported by policies and procedures of state governance.

3. That the Minnesota Legislature prioritize intentional solution making that can occur when Legislators, Committee Chairs and Committees engage Minnesota’s Black community at the table of decision.

4. Housing Invest now in multiple housing options for the Black community to close the home ownership gap.

Multiple housing options are an important part of any community. It provides a safe and affordable place for people to live and can help reduce poverty and homelessness. However, there are many challenges associated with providing low-income housing, such as limited resources, high demand, and the need to ensure that the housing is safe and secure. Minneapolis has one of the widest homeownership gaps in the country between whites and Blacks.

new businesses among all races do not receive any outside investors. Most people use the equity in their homes to start their firms. This is a huge disadvantage to Black folks in Minnesota because of the home ownership gap. Further, the report stated that minority owned businesses experience higher loan denial probabilities and pay higher interest rates than white-owned businesses even after controlling for differences in credit-worthiness, and other factors. Limited access to investment capital in its many forms is inextricably linked to systemic discrimination in lending, housing, and employment. It cripples Black business development.

2. Employment Invest now in creating employment opportunities for the Black community

In an article published by the Urban Institute, the issue of Black employment was addressed.

It stated that, “while many are heralding the drop in the national Black male unemployment rate, which recently fell below 10 percent for the first time in seven years, joblessness remains much higher in many poor African American communities. It stated that for many low-income Black men, finding and keeping work is a constant struggle, never far from their minds. Black job applicants might not even make it into the queue if they have had an encounter with the criminal justice system. Helping Black folks secure steady employment at decent wages will require resources to break down the institutional barriers that separate people from decent job opportunities and to enable Black people to build the skills needed for well-paying jobs

3. Public Safety

Invest now in Public Safety in the Black community.

Public safety exists to protect citizens, organizations, and communities by preventing them from being in danger and guarding their well-being. Abraham Maslow defined safety in his famous “Hierarchy of Human Needs“. He said that to function as a society public safety is needed. He said this safety goes beyond just physical safety but also safety when it comes to health, money, possessions, and family. Less we forget, there’s an Emotional Impact on Public Safety. When folks feel unsafe, it could have major effects on individuals, their loved ones, and the community they live in. Violence has been way to prevalent in the inner cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Playgrounds are unsafe, the streets are unsafe, and the shopping malls are unsafe.

5. Education

Invest now in ensuring that our Black students are educated at the same level as White students.

Dr. Sinclair Grey lll stated that education is without a doubt crucial to the success of our students competing for jobs. Quality education that enforces and reinforces math, science, writing, and cognitive thinking will separate those who desire a prosperous future from those who are simply content with getting by. Yet, in Minnesota, reading test scores for Black students are over 20 points below state average and math test scores are 20 points below state average. Minnesota ranks 50th in the nation for Black students who graduate on time. Minnesota has one of the worst college-readiness gaps in the nation by race and ethnicity – only 25% of Black students are prepared for college. Thus, Black students who attend college must take significantly more remedial courses than their peers as their starting point.

6. Health & Wellness

Invest now in efforts that will impact the health and wellness of the Black community.

The Black community is faced with escalating social, economic, and life-style problems, which threaten the life and well-being of current and future generations of Black people in crisis proportion. The rising number of deaths due to heart disease and stroke, homicide and accidents related to substance abuse, AIDS, cancer, and infant mortality are among the leading culprits. They interfere with prospects of longevity and contribute to joblessness, poverty, and homelessness and further complicate the crisis in the Black community. The magnitude of the problems dictates the need for support from the Minnesota State Legislature.

7. Policy Each member of the legislature, regardless of political affiliation, is involved in setting public policy. These policies should reflect the will of the people and is carried out by those elected to vote. Because of conflicting interests and capacities, some policies have disenfranchised the Black community. There is therefore a need for coherence of interest/capacities in an attempt to pass policies that reflect the needs of the Black community.

Every time another national “quality of life” is broadcast or published about the best places to live in the U.S., Minnesota and the Twin Cities always rank at or near the top. The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson once referred to this as the miracle of Minneapolis.” Likewise, every time those lists are parsed out further, the state and the metro fall all the way to the bottom when it comes to quality of life measures for Black people, or, what some have called the “Two Minnesotas.” But to ensure that all those in our state have the opportunity to thrive, we cannot forget about the communities that have been systematically abused, persistently underrepresented, and long underserved.

Minnesota is now the seventh (7th) worst state in the country for Blacks to live. This dubious recognition alongside the May 2020 murder of George Floyd has brought the State into an era of racial reckoning and has put racial inequity at the center of the national conversation, and Minnesota on the racial map. Today Black folks are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to live below the poverty line. Additionally, the typical Black household earns just 63 cents for every dollar a typical white household earns, and African American workers are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. created an index to measure socioeconomic disparities between Black and white Americans to identify the worst states for Black Americans. High on the list of cities that have extremely troubling disparities is Minneapolis-St. Paul. Minnesota’s urban core boast these disturbing rates:

• Black population: 290,210 (8.2% of total)

• Black median income: $36,127 (44.0% of white income)

• Unemployment: 9.2% (Black); 3.2% (white)

• Homeownership rate: 25.2% (Black); 75.5% (white)

• Black poverty rate of 28.3% in the metro area, 5.9% (white)

• Black medium household earn $36,127 a year — the median income among white area households is $82,118.

The profound racial wealth gaps for Blacks in Minnesota is structural, as they are across the United States. Structural racism is inherent in intersecting and overlapping institutions, policies, practices, ideas, and behaviors that give resources, rights, and power to white people while denying them to others. The roots of racial wealth gaps can be traced back centuries through racialized public and private policies and practices, which fueled economic boosts to white families that allowed for intergenerational wealth transfers and created barriers to Black families. Past discrimination and injustices accumulate and build across generations, making it hard for communities that have been harmed to catch up. As one example, the losses from unpaid wages and lost inheritances to Black descendants is estimated at around $20 trillion today. The NAACP Twin Cities 2019 Economic Inclusion Plan states: “There are two Minnesota’s, one white, one Black – separate and unequal.”

Data from the 2019 Prosperity Now Scorecard shows that 40% of Americans are liquid asset poor—meaning they do not have enough in savings to make ends meet at the poverty level for three months ($6,275 for a family of four in 2018). This problem is even more stark when disaggregated by race. 31.7% of white households are liquid-asset poor compared to over 62% of Black households.

Recent trends in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties are moving in the wrong direction. The share of Black families who own a home has declined from 31 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2018. The racial homeownership gap in the Twin Cities is the highest in the nation and has only widened over the past two decades, especially in neighborhoods where investors have acquired hundreds of single-family homes to now use as rentals, according to a June 2021 report from the Urban Institute.

Fayneese Miller, Hamline University President, to retire next year

The president of a private university in Minnesota that was criticized for firing a professor who showed a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in an art history class announced Monday that she is retiring next year. Hamline University said in a statement that the retirement of President Fayneese Miller will take effect on June 30, 2024. Neither Miller nor the university directly referenced the controversy in the statement announcing her upcoming departure and search for a replacement. The closet the statement came was when Miller expressed pride in “creating a sense of belonging for all on campus.”

Biden homes in on policy as Trump indictment gets attention

By Colleen Long and Josh Boak Associated

President Joe Biden ventured to suburban Minneapolis on Monday to talk about factory jobs and contrast his agenda with “the last guy who had this job.” The “last guy,” as Biden calls Donald Trump, was simultaneously touching down in New York to become the first former president to be arrested. The Biden White House, which has shied away from involvement in the legal spectacle surrounding Trump, hoped to turn the splitscreen moment into a chance to showcase the president’s accomplishments and relatively drama-free administration. It represented a rehash of the choice that voters made in 2020

— and might have to make again in 2024 — as both men intend to seek the White House.

Biden offered himself as a veteran policymaker while Trump, ever the showman, aimed to use Tuesday’s arraignment on criminal charges to generate campaign donations and fire up Republican voters.

Biden sought to highlight job growth and investments nationwide while pushing clean energy and manufacturing in the U.S. during his visit to engine maker Cummins Inc. The company announced in conjunction with his visit that it’s investing more than $1 billion in its U.S. engine manufacturing network in Indiana, North Carolina and New York to update facilities so they can produce low- to zero-carbon engines.

Dogged by high

inflation, Biden said his policies and spending will position the U.S. for greater prosperity in the future that boosts the middle class.

“The plan is to invest in America, in a literal sense,” Biden said. “Not overseas. In America. Invest in ourselves — and it’s working.”

Trump left his Florida home for New York City, posting on Truth Social that the indictment — tied to payments made during his 2016 campaign — was part of a “Witch Hunt” against him. He later sent out a message that tried to fundraise off his predicament.

Biden’s team saw Monday’s trip to the Cummins facility as a way to sharpen the contrast with Trump. If Trump gobbles up attention, administration officials say, Biden wants his message

to be squarely focused on the American middle class.

“Stick to your message that you want to be talking about with discipline,” said Andrew Bates, deputy White House press secretary. “Whatever else is happening, you just have to keep talking about what it is that you want to talk about.”

The president regularly highlights the CHIPS Act, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the $1 trillion infrastructure legislation and a roughly $375 billion climate bill — major bills that his administration steered into law before Democrats lost control of the House in last year’s elections to Republicans.

The White House wants to contrast Biden’s record and a proposed budget that

Trump pleads not guilty to 34 charges; admonished by judge

By Michael R. Sisak, Eric Tucker, Jennifer Peltz

Will Weissert Associated Press

A judge has warned former President Donald Trump to refrain from rhetoric that could inflame or cause civil unrest.

Trump, speaking briefly during his arraignment, told the judge he was pleading “not guilty” and was advised of his rights by the judge.

Judge Juan Merchan also warned Trump that he could be removed from the courtroom if he is disruptive, but Trump spoke only a few times to respond to questions.

He’s next due in court in December, but his lawyers asked for him to be excused from attending the hearing in person because of extraordinary security proceedings.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.

AP’s earlier story follows below.

Former President

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34

felony counts of falsifying business records arising from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter. The plea came during

a history-making arraignment in a lower Manhattan courtroom, with Trump becoming the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal prosecution.

The two officials who confirmed the plea spoke

on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because prosecutors had not yet released the indictment publicly. The arraignment, though procedural in nature,

Issues arose in October when Erika López Prater showed a 14th-century painting depicting the Prophet Muhammad to her students as part of a lesson on Islamic art after warning them beforehand and giving them an opportunity to opt out. She has sued the liberal arts school in St. Paul over Miller’s decision not to renew her contract. While leaders of some local Muslim groups have criticized López Prater, the national office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations disputed claims that her actions were Islamophobic. The group said professors who analyze images of the Prophet Muhammad for academic purposes are not the same as “Islamophobes who show

Holt

Hamline University Fayneese Miller during an interview

Monday, Jan. 23. 2023 in St Paul Minn. The faculty at the Minnesota college is calling for its president

such images to cause offense.” Faculty at the school were so upset that they called in a January vote for Miller to resign, objecting to what they considered a violation of academic freedom. But several student groups defended her in a letter to the student newspaper. The letter said Miller has been a consistent supporter of students, and the faculty’s call for her resign betrayed them. After criticism from across the country, Miller ultimately conceded that she mishandled the episode.

Dope, meaning cool

By A.D. Carson Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop, University of Virginia

After I finished my Ph.D. in 2017, several newspaper reporters wrote about the job I’d accepted at the University of Virginia as an assistant professor of hip-hop.

“A.D. Carson just scored, arguably, the dopest job ever,” one journalist wrote.

The writer may not have meant it the way I read it, but the terminology was significant to me. Hip-hop’s early luminaries transformed the word’s original meanings, using it as a synonym for cool. In the 50 years since, it endures as an expression of respect and praise – and illegal substances.

In that context, dope has everything to do with my work.

In the year I graduated from college, one of my best friends was sent to

federal prison for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. He served nearly a decade and has been back in prison several times since. But before he went to prison, he helped me finish school by paying off my tuition. In a very real way, dope has as much to do with me finishing my studies and becoming a professor as it does with him serving time in a federal prison.

Academic dope

As the global musical phenomenon turns 50, a hip-hop professor explains what the word ‘dope’ means to him CARSON 5

For my Ph.D. dissertation in Rhetorics, Communications, and Information Design, I wrote a rap album titled “Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics of Rhymes & Revolutions.” A peer-reviewed, mastered version of the album is due out this summer from University of Michigan Press.

Part of my reasoning for writing it that way involved my ideas about dope. I want to

photo/Seth Wenig

Former President Donald Trump appears in court for his arraignment, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump surrendered to authorities ahead of his arraignment on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign.

photo/Carolyn Kaster

President Joe Biden shakes hands with Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter as he arrives at Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Minneapolis.

and

photo/Jerry

Press

photo/Dan Addison, CC BY Dr. A. D. Carson is currently assistant professor of Hip-Hop & the Global South in the Department of Music at the University of Virginia.

Minneapolis and state agree to revamp policing post-Floyd

By Steve Karnowski

Associated Press

The city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights signed a “court-enforceable settlement agreement” Friday to revamp policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered by an officer nearly three years ago.

The agency issued a blistering report last year after an investigation found the police department had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade. The City Council approved the settlement in an 11-0 vote. Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero signed it soon after.

“The agreement isn’t change, in and of itself, but it charts a clear roadmap to it,” Frey said at a news conference.

Lucero said: “This agreement serves as a model for how cities, police departments and community members across the country can work together to address race-based policing and strengthen public safety.”

The state agency launched its investigation shortly after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes on May 25, 2020, disregarding the Black man’s fading pleas that he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death sparked mass protests around the world, forced a national reckoning on racial injustice, and compelled a Minneapolis Police Department overhaul.

Chauvin was

Biden

From 3

includes $2.6 trillion in new spending with Republicans’ plans for spending and economic growth. Republicans have rejected Biden’s budget

Trump

From 3

amounts to a remarkable reckoning for Trump after years of investigations into his personal, business and political dealings. The case is unfolding against the backdrop not only of his third campaign for the White House but also against other

convicted of murder. He and three other officers on the scene are serving prison terms.

“We didn’t get here overnight, and change also won’t happen overnight,” Frey said. “This problem that we now face, it has taken hold over many generations, many administrations, mayors and chiefs, and clearly our Black and brown communities have taken the brunt of this.”

Lucero said the legally binding agreement requires the city and the police department to make “transformational changes” to fix the organizational culture at the heart of race-based policing. She said it includes measures to ensure force is used “only when it is objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional” and never “to punish or retaliate.” Officers must de-escalate conflicts when possible. There will be limits on when and how officers can use chemical irritants and Tasers. And training in the disputed condition of excited delirium — a key issue in the confrontation that led to Floyd’s death — will be banned. Stops for broken lights and searches based on the alleged smell of marijuana are banned.

Frey, Lucero and Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the agreement reflects feedback from and the concerns of the community and police officers.

“The courtenforceable agreement does not prohibit officers from relying on reasonable, articulatable suspicion or probable cause

but have yet to bring forward a counteroffer to the Democrats’ blueprint, which is built around tax increases on the wealthy and a vision statement of sorts for Biden’s yet-tobe-declared 2024 campaign.

Other members of Biden’s administration are traveling to more than 20 states this week to buttress his

investigations in Washington and Atlanta that might yet produce even more charges.

A silent and stonefaced Trump, his lips pursed in apparent anger, entered the courtroom shortly before 2:30 p.m. He left court about an hour later, also without commenting.

Before the arraignment, he narrated his feelings in real time, describing the experience as “SURREAL” as he traveled

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photo/David Joles Rebecca Lucero, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, front, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, arrive for a press conference announcing approval of a sweeping plan to reform policing that aims to reverse years of systemic racial bias Friday, March 31, 2023 at the Minneapolis Public Service Building in Minneapolis, The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved an agreement with the state to revamp policing, nearly three years after a city officer killed George Floyd.

of criminal activity to enforce the law. We want officers to do their jobs,” Lucero said. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and other lawyers who won a $27 million settlement for the Floyd family called the agreement “monumental” and the “culmination of years of heartbreak and advocacy by those impacted by the poor policies and practices of the Minneapolis Police Department.”

message. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, for example, went to Connecticut on Monday for a fireside chat at Yale University on the economic agenda. While the president blasted Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for raising the deficit, Yellen panned them for failing to boost growth.

The treasury secretary said Trump’s signature

from Trump Tower to lower Manhattan to face a judge.

It represents the new split-screen reality for Trump as he submits to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance and victimhood at celebratory campaign events.

Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, Trump turned and waved to crowds outside the building before heading inside to be fingerprinted and processed. He arrived at court in an eightcar motorcade from Trump Tower, communicating in real time his anger at the process.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks during a press conference announcing approval of a sweeping plan to reform policing that aims to reverse years of systemic racial bias, Friday, March 31, 2023 at the Minneapolis Public Service Building in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved an agreement with the state to revamp policing, nearly three years after a city officer killed George Floyd.

The U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination. That investigation could lead to a separate agreement with the city known as a consent decree. City officials couldn’t provide information on where that stands. Several police departments nationwide operate under federal consent decrees. Justice Department and city officials asked a judge Tuesday to end most federal oversight of the Seattle police

achievement has “not been very successful, even at promoting investment spending and growth.” What the cuts did, instead, is tilt the tax code in favor of those with extreme degrees of wealth, according to Yellen.

“If you take something like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017,” she said, “maybe that had some marginal

said they were ready for large protests by Trump supporters, who share the Republican former president’s belief that the New York grand jury indictment and three additional pending investigations are politically motivated and intended to weaken his bid to retake the White House in 2024. Journalists often outnumbered protesters, though.

photo/David Joles

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian

O’Hara listened to a question during a press conference announcing approval of a sweeping plan to reform policing that aims to reverse years of systemic racial bias Friday, March 31, 2023 at the Minneapolis Public Service Building in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved an agreement with the state to revamp policing, nearly three years after a city officer killed George Floyd.

department, saying its sustained, decade-long reform efforts are a model for other cities.

The Minneapolis settlement, which requires court approval, also governs the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras; officer wellness; and response to mental health and behavioral crises. An independent evaluator must be appointed to monitor compliance.

Several council members criticized the police department and other city leaders.

impact on boosting private investment -- not obvious that it did. But it certainly raised the incomes of the wealthy individuals who received those huge tax cuts, and so it made the tax burden a lot less fair.”

First lady Jill Biden was in Colorado to promote Biden’s efforts to promote job training at community colleges

The investigation is scrutinizing six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.

“The lack of political will to take responsibility for MPD is why we are in this position today,” council member Robin Wonsley said.

“This legal settlement formally and legally prevents city leadership from deferring that responsibility anymore. And I hope this settlement is a wakeup call for city leaders, who the public has watched rubberstamp poor labor contracts, have signed off on endless misconduct settlements, and then shrugged their shoulders when residents asked then why we have a dysfunctional police department.”

Some activists were upset that the agreement wasn’t posted publicly until after the vote.

Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said she will ask the state data practices office whether the council acted legally. She said her group must study the agreement before commenting on its merits.

“This is not the way to start this process and vote on something the community’s going to have to live with for the next five or six years,” Gross said.

Even council members had only about a day to study and discuss the document.

“This is something we’ve been waiting for for a long time and my hope is the city will act with fidelity, the city will act with integrity, and the city will follow through.” civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said.

and had other stops this week planned in Maine and Vermont. Her plans to visit Michigan later Monday were postponed because of an aircraft issue. Boak reported from Washington. AP writers Fatima Hussein and Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report.

a brief rally at the park, but the scene was so chaotic that it was hard to hear her over the crush of reporters and protesters.

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“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,” the voluble expresident posted on his Truth Social platform. “Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”

Trump, who was impeached twice by the U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, is the first former president to face criminal charges. The nation’s 45th commander in chief was escorted from Trump Tower to the courthouse by the Secret Service and may have his mug shot taken.

“He is strong and ready to go,” Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina told The Associated Press. Earlier, Tacopina said in a TV interview that the former president wouldn’t plead guilty to lesser charges, even if it might resolve the case. He also said he didn’t think the case would make it to a jury.

New York police

Trump, a former reality TV star, has been hyping that narrative to his political advantage, saying he raised more than $8 million in the days since the indictment on claims of a “witch hunt.” His campaign released a fundraising request titled “My last email before arrest” and he has repeatedly assailed the Manhattan district attorney, egged on supporters to protest and claimed without evidence that the judge presiding over the case “hates me” — something his own lawyer has said is not true.

Trump is scheduled to return to his Palm Beach, Florida, home, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday evening to give remarks. At least 500 prominent supporters have been invited, with some of the most pro-Trump congressional Republicans expected to attend.

A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

The indictment contains multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press last week.

The arraignment unfolded against the backdrop of heavy security in New York, coming more than two years after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to halt the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win. Trump was defiant ahead of his arraignment. He used his social media network to complain that he was going to court in a heavily Democratic area, declaring, “KANGAROO COURT” and “THIS IS NOT WHAT AMERICA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!” He and his campaign have repeatedly assailed Bragg and even trained scrutiny on members of Bragg’s family.

Despite that, the scenes around Trump Tower and the courthouse where Trump will stand before a judge did not feature major unrest. Police tried to keep apart protesters supporting the former president and those opposing him by confining them to separate sides of a park near the courthouse using metal barricades.

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress, staged

“We’re the party of peace,” Greene said, thanking those Trump supporters present. “Democrats are communists.” Embattled Republican New York Rep. George Santos also showed up in solidarity with Trump, saying, “I want to support the president.”

“I think this is unprecedented and it’s a bad day for democracy,” Santos said, suggesting that future prosecutors could target Biden and other presidents with other cases, which “cheapens the judicial system.” New York’s ability to carry out safe and dramafree courthouse proceedings in a case involving a polarizing ex-president could be an important test case as prosecutors in Atlanta and Washington conduct their own investigations of Trump that could also result in charges. Those investigations concern efforts to undo the 2020 election results as well as the possible mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Tucker and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Jill Colvin, Bobby Caina Calvan, Larry Neumeister, Karen Matthews, Larry Fleisher, Deepti Hajela, Julie Walker, Ted Shaffrey, David R. Martin, Joe Frederick and Robert Bumsted in New York and Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

2 Health

State lawmakers are missing the opportunity to

By Lawrence Wright

The most frustrating thing about health care in Minnesota, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities, is that we know what needs to be healed, but policymakers keep trying to fix the wrong malady and won’t deliver a cure for what is truly ailing us.

To quote the state department of health, Minnesota is one of the healthiest states in the nation, but also “has some of the greatest health disparities in the country between whites and people of color and American Indians.” And a look at county health data tells us that AfricanAmericans in Minnesota have a lower life expectancy than whites – by nearly six years in Hennepin County, for example, and over five years in Ramsey County. To close this gap, communities of color in our state need access to high-quality healthcare and affordable prescription medications to combat chronic illnesses like

EXPLAINER:

heart disease and diabetes.

Members of the Minnesota legislature think they are addressing this problem, but they’re not. The big push this session is to create a prescription drug affordability board that would have the power to impose a price control on prescription drugs.

This is not an effective solution to current health problems our communities are facing. It sounds good politically for lawmakers to say they are lowering the boom on the big drug companies, but in the real world in which everyday people are struggling to pay the out-ofpocket costs for the medicines they need, it isn’t Big Pharma that is deciding what we have to pay.

Today, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the middlemen in the drug supply chain, have the power to determine whether prescription drugs are accessible and affordable. In the PBM sphere, three Fortune 25 corporations control 80

fix

Minnesota’s glaring health problem

prescription drug affordability board with the power to impose state price controls on prescription drugs. What they don’t tell you is that they can’t guarantee those lower prices will mean improved affordability for the consumer because we don’t buy medicines directly from the drug manufacturers. The insurance companies and the PBMs will reap those savings and there is no requirement that they pass them on to the consumer at the pharmacy counter. What the legislature is doing can’t be called a prescription drug affordability bill or a bill to address health disparities in our state. It’s simply a bill that will further enrich health insurers and PBMs.

percent of the drug prescribing marketplace. They reap profits from a system in which their revenues are tied to a drug’s list price, so they make more money by forcing consumers to buy higher-priced drugs. And

because they control the drug formularies, they can restrict access to lower-priced generics and have, in fact, done so. Let’s say the Minnesota legislature passes legislation that creates a

If state lawmakers are serious about reducing our glaring health disparities and making quality care more accessible for all Minnesotans, then they should pursue actions that will make an actual difference: Force PBMs and insurers to share the savings they negotiate with consumers.

Prevent them from using their formularies to restrict access to affordable generics and biosimilars. And stop the pernicious practice of some insurers that don’t allow lowincome people to apply thirdparty patient assistance payments toward their out-of-pocket cost sharing requirements. Minnesota can boast that it has some of the best health care and healthiest citizens in the United States. Beneath those simple headlines, though, is complex reality in which some of our citizens are living sicker lives and dying too early. We can fix this, but it’s going to require our lawmakers to pursue more realistic, impactful solutions than the ones that are currently being deliberated.

Lawrence Wright He is a member of the DFL African American Caucus and a Sanneh Foundation board member who resides in Minneapolis

FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan

By Geoff Mulvihill Associated Press

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling the leading version of naloxone without a prescription, setting the overdose-reversing drug on course to become the first opioid treatment drug to be sold over the counter.

It’s a move that some advocates have long sought as a way to improve access to a life-saving drug, though the exact impact will not be clear immediately. Here’s a look at the issues involved.

WHAT IS NARCAN?

The approved nasal spray from Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions is the bestknown form of naloxone. It can reverse overdoses of opioids, including street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl and prescription versions including oxycodone.

Making naloxone available more widely is seen as a key strategy to control the nationwide overdose crisis, which has been linked to more than 100,000 U.S. deaths a year. The majority of those deaths are tied to opioids, primarily potent synthetic versions such as fentanyl that can take multiple doses of naloxone to reverse.

The drug has been distrusted to police and other first responders nationwide.

Car son Carson

From 3

question who gets to determine who and what are dope and whether any university can produce expertise on the people who created hip-hop.

While I was initially met with considerable resistance for my work at Clemson, the university eventually became supportive and touted “a dissertation with a beat.”

Clemson is not the only school to recognize hip-hop as dope.

In the 50 years since its start at a back-to-school party in the South Bronx, hiphop, the culture and its art forms have come a long way to a place of relative prominence in educational institutions.

Since 2013, Harvard University has housed the Hiphop Archive & Research Institute and the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellowship that funds scholars and artists who demonstrate “exceptional scholarship and creativity in the arts in connection with Hiphop.”

UCLA announced an ambitious Hip Hop

Advocates believe it’s important to get naloxone to the people who are most likely to be around overdoses, including people who use drugs and their relatives.

The decision “represents a decisive, practical and humane approach to help people and flatten the curve of overdose deaths,” said Chuck Ingoglia of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, in a statement.

WHAT DOES THE FDA APPROVAL MEAN?

Narcan will become available over-the-counter by late summer, the company said.

Other brands of naloxone and injectable forms will not yet be available over the counter, but they could be soon.

Several manufacturers of generic naloxone that’s made similarly to Narcan will now be required to file applications to switch their drugs over the counter as part of a requirement by the FDA.

The nonprofit Harm Reduction Therapeutics Inc., which has funding from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, already has an application before the FDA to distribute its version of spray naloxone without a prescription.

HOW IS NALOXONE DISTRIBUTED NOW?

Even before the FDA’s action, pharmacies could sell naloxone without a prescription because officials in every state have allowed it.

But not every

Initiative to kick off the golden anniversary. The initiative includes artist residencies, community engagement programs, a book series and a digital archive project.

Perhaps my receiving tenure and promotion at the University of Virginia is part of the school’s attempt to help codify the existence of hip-hop scholarship.

When I write about “dope,” I’m thinking of Black people like drugs to which the U.S. is addicted.

Dope is a frame to help clarify the attempts, throughout American history, at outlawing and legalizing the presence of Black people and Black culture. As dope, Black people are America’s constant ailment and cure.

To me, dope is an aspiration and a methodology to acknowledge and resist America’s steady surveillance, scrutiny and criminalization of Blackness.

By this definition, dope is not only what we are, it’s also who we want to be and how we demonstrate our being.

Dope is about what we can make with what we are given.

Dope is a product of conditions created by

pharmacy carries it. And buyers have to pay for the medication — either with an insurance copay or for the full retail price. The cost varies, but two doses of Narcan often go for around $50.

The drug is also distributed by community organizations that serve people who use drugs, though it’s not easily accessible to everyone who needs it.

Emergent has not announced its price and it’s not clear yet whether insurers will continue to cover it as a prescription drug if it’s available over the counter.

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in a statement encouraged Emergent to make the drug available “at an affordable price.”

DOES MAKING NALOXONE OVER-THE-COUNTER

IMPROVE ACCESS?

It clears the way for Narcan to be made available in places without pharmacies — convenience stores, supermarkets and online retailers, for instance.

Jose Benitez, the lead executive officer at Prevention Point Philadelphia, an organization that tries to reduce risk for people who use drugs with services including handing out free naloxone, said it could help a lot for people who don’t seek services — or who live in places where they’re not available.

Now, he said, some people are concerned about getting naloxone at pharmacies

America. It is also a product that helped create America. Whenever Blackness has been seen as lucrative, businesses like record companies and institutions like colleges and universities have sought to capitalize. To remove the negative stigmas associated with dope, these institutions cast themselves in roles similar to a pharmacy.

Even though I don’t believe academia has the power or authority to bestow hip-hop credibility, a question remains – does having a Ph.D and producing rap music as peerreviewed publications change my dopeness in some way?

Legalizing dope

Though I earned a Ph.D by rapping, my own relationship to hip-hop in academic institutions remains fraught.

Part of the problem was noted in 2014 by Michelle Alexander, a legal scholar and author of “The New Jim Crow,” when she talked about her concerns about the legalization of marijuana in different U.S. states.

“In many ways the imagery doesn’t sit right,” she said. “Here are white men poised to run big marijuana businesses … after 40 years of

The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), Dec. 4, 2018, in Philadelphia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved selling overdose antidote naloxone over-the-counter, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, marking the first time a opioid treatment drug will be available without a prescription.

because their insurers will know they’re getting it.

“Putting it out on the shelves is going to allow people just to pick it up, not have stigma attached to it,” he said. But it remains to be seen how many stores will carry it and what the prices will be. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which now cover prescription naloxone for people on the government insurance programs, says that coverage of over-the-counter naloxone would depend on the insurance program. The centers have not given any official guidance. Maya Doe-Simkins, a

impoverished black kids getting prison time for selling weed, and their families and futures destroyed. Now, white men are planning to get rich doing precisely the same thing?”

I feel the same way about dopeness in academia. Since hip-hop has emerged as a global phenomenon largely embraced by many of the “academically trained” music scholars who initially rejected it, how will those scholars and their schools now make way for the people they have historically excluded? This is why that quote about me “scoring, arguably, the dopest job ever” has stuck with me. I wonder if it’s fair to call what I do a form of legalized dope.

America’s dope-dealing history

In the late 1990s, I saw how fast hip-hop had become inescapable across the U.S., even in the small Midwestern town of Decatur, Illinois, where I grew up with my friend who is now serving federal prison time. He and I have remained in contact. Among the things we discuss is how unlikely it is that I would be able to do what I do

co-director of Remedy Alliance/ For The People, which launched last year to provide low-cost — and sometimes free — naloxone to community organizations, said her group will continue to distribute injectable naloxone.

ARE THERE DRAWBACKS TO OVER-THE-COUNTER SALES?

One concern is whether people who buy Narcan over-the-counter will know how to use it properly, said Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University addiction expert, though the manufacturer is responsible for clear directions and online videos on that. One benefit of having

without his doing what he did.

Given the economic realities faced by people after leaving prison, we both know there are limitations to his opportunities if we choose to see our successes as shared accomplishments.

Depending on how dope is interpreted, prisons and universities serve as probable destinations for people who make their living with it. It has kept him in prison roughly the same amount of time as it has kept me in graduate school and in my profession.

This present reality has historical significance for how I think of dope, and what it means for people to have their existence authorized or legalized, and America’s relationship to Black people.

Many of the buildings at Clemson were built in the late 1880s using “laborers convicted of mostly petty crimes” that the state of South Carolina leased to the university.

Similarly, the University of Virginia was built by renting enslaved laborers. The University also is required by state law to purchase office furniture from a state-owned company that depends on imprisoned people for labor. The

pharmacists involved, he said, is that they can show buyers how to use it. One key thing people need to be reminded of: Call an ambulance for the person receiving naloxone after it’s been administered. He also said there are fears that if the drug isn’t profitable as an over-thecounter option, the drugmaker could stop producing it. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

people who make the furniture are paid very little to do so.

The people in the federal prison where my friend who helped me pay for college is now housed work for paltry wages making towels and shirts for the U.S. Army. Even with all of the time and distance between our pasts and present, our paths are still inextricably intertwined – along with all those others on or near the seemingly transient line that divides “legal” and “illegal” dope.

A.D. Carson is an award-winning performance artist and educator from Decatur, Illinois. His work focuses on race, literature, history, rhetorics & performance. He received a Ph.D. in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design at Clemson University. His peerreviewed album, “i used to love to dream,” was released with University of Michigan Press in 2020.Dr. Carson is currently assistant professor of Hip-Hop & the Global South in the Department of Music at the University of Virginia. This piece appeared originally on TheConversation. Com and is republished under a Creative Commons license.

Lawrence Wright

photo/Matt Rourke

Black Women in Science

By: W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor

BLACK WOMEN IN SCIENCE

By Kimberly Brown Pellum, Ph.D.

The role of Black women in our nation’s history can never be overstated. We have high-profile sistahs such as entertainment greats Aretha Franklin and Beyonce; civil rights leaders like Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King; sports figures like Althea Gibson, Serena Williams, and Brittney Griner; entrepreneurs like Oprah Winfrey and Linda Johnson Rice; and First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris.

As important as the aforementioned, if not more, are the contributions Black women have made through science. Often faced with barriers because of race and gender in the fields of science, sistahs refused to let those obstacles stop them from achieving great strides in their chosen professions. I think of a verse in the hymn “No Ways Tired,” the one that says, “Nobody told me that the road would be easy.” However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. That being said, it is an honor to present Dr. Kimberly Brown Pellum’s children’s book, Black Women in Science.

In her introduction, Dr. Pellum lays out her purpose in each biography: to educate and inspire. Coupled with that is an important message:

“Everything you need to succeed is already inside you.” As I read each biography, I was both

educated and inspired. A few of the women I knew about; others were new to me, and each story provided something valuable to learn from. Though I will touch on each sistah’s role (past and present) in advancing science in this column, I encourage you and your children to read the entire bios:

Rebecca Lee

Crumpler—first African American woman to become a professional medical doctor.

Annie Turnbo

Malone—chemist and predecessor of Madame C.J. Walker, developing a line of personal hygiene and beauty products for Black women.

Bessie Coleman—

first African American women to hold a pilot’s license.

Flemmie Pansy Kittrell—first African American to receive a Ph.D. in nutrition from any school, identifying the relationship between nutrition and early child development.

Mamie Phipps Clark—built the first full-time guidance facility for kids, the Northside Center for Child Development, in Harlem in 1946. Her expert testimony was a factor in the historic Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education.

Katherine Johnson— mathematician, rocket scientist, and human “computer” at NASA, her math calculations and formulas were crucial in launching John Glenn’s orbital flight of the earth in 1962.

Jane Cooke Wright—the “Godmother of Chemotherapy,” she developed treatment options for cancer patients, as well as techniques to help patients avoid surgery.

Margaret Strickland Collins—first African American entomologist, third female African American zoologist.

Gladys West—her research established what we now know today as the global positioning system (GPS).

Annie J. Easley— rocket scientist and lead team member that designed the first high-energy, upper stage launch vehicle.

Patricia Bath—first African American doctor to be awarded a medical patent for her invention of the laserphaco, used to treat cataracts.

Alexa Irene Canady— first African American woman to become a neurosurgeon in the U.S.

Mae Jemison— astronaut and first African American woman to go into space.

Renee Gordon— STEM Program Director at Tallahassee Community College, she has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and was a Fulbright Fellowship recipient. Gina Presley— forensic scientist, currently the Huntsville Regional DNA Technical Leader for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

Dr. Pellum specializes in the history of “women, Black colleges, and the struggle for African American freedom.” She is a graduate of Howard University with her degree in U.S. history, teaching it as a college professor. I appreciate the fact that many of the women in her book were graduates of HBCUs, and the encouragement they received from their families to follow their passion. Indeed, her dedication to her mother Linda Grace Brown is testimony to the importance of strong and positive role models for young Black women and girls.

Black Women in Science is available through Amazon and Rockridge Press. Thank you, Kimberly, for being the vehicle for these stories to be told. Our history is American history, and if we don’t share our stories, who will?

Sports

Dallas and Houston host to multiple sporting events during Final Four weekend

Sports Editor

By Leahjean M. Denley, MBA

Overall, it was a huge sports weekend in both the Dallas and Houston metroplexes. In addition to the NCAA Div. 1,

By Leahjean M. Denley, MBA Sports Editor

Hey there! It’s your homegirl, CoachLeahTM, recovering from a long weekend that overflowed with activities, events, and games this past weekend in Houston and Dallas.

March Madness 2023

lived up to it’s moniker for both the men’s and women’s championships. Bracket busting ensued early in the tournament – especially on the men’s side. The Men’s Final Four was exempt from each the region’s #1 seed. The highest seeded team, #4 UConn, did prevail with their school’s 5th National Title. On the women’s side, LSU was only the third team as a #3 seed to win the championship. 2023 set the women’s tournament record for All-Time Attendance at 357,542. Other notable records for the 2022-23 season:

 Highest scoring final (102-85)

 Highest scoring half in a final (59 points by L.S.U.)

 Most double-doubles in a single season (by Reese with 34)

 Caitlin Clark’s performance in the round of 8 with the first 40-point tripledouble in a Division I N.C.A.A. tournament, men’s or women’s.

My point of view from Press Row

As I watched the finals game from press row, it was evident that free-throws would likely not be a determining factor as was the case during Iowa’s win over undefeated, South Carolina in their Semi-Finals defeat. LSU shot 71% from the free-throw line compared to Iowa’s 70%.

LSU was able to contain Caitlin Clark’s deep threes and her quick release as the Tigers consistently communicated whether they would “switch” or “fight through” the two and three picks that would be set for Clark to get her open shot.

With 2:57 left in the game, Iowa, down 13, was not really out of the game, but I did not see a sense of urgency by

2, and 3 Women’s Basketball Final Four Championships being played in Dallas, Houston hosted an Astro’s game and Meg Thee Stallion’s opening pitch, the High School McDonald’s All-Star games [Boy’s and Girl’s], a Houston Rockets home game against the LA Lakers, as well as the HBCU All-Stars as major ancillary events to the Men’s NCAA Div. 1 Basketball Final Four.

HBCU All-Star Game

Since its inception in 2019, The HBCU All-Stars, LLC has taken the basketball world by storm with its mission to bring recognition to outstanding HBCU student-athletes and their coaches. With a compilation of 24 players from five Division I and Division 2 HBCU conferences, the organization’s second annual All-Star game highlighted the best of the best

in black college basketball. The HBCU All-Star game, held at the historic Texas Southern University, was an absolute thriller! Teams named after NBA legends, Dick Barnett and Willis Reed, battled it out for the top spot. The dynamic duo of Benjy Taylor (Tuskegee) and Kenneth Blakeney (Howard) coached Team Barnett to a high scoring 144-99 win, while Donte Jackson’ (Grambling State) and Jay Butler (Virginia

Union) headed the sidelines for Team Reed. Nathaniel Pollard Jr., from University of Maryland Eastern Shore, scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Team Barnett dazzling the crowd with his impressive performance. Texas Southern’s Joirdon Karl Nicholas, of Team Reed, was a force to be reckoned with as he tallied an exciting 29 points and 10 rebounds. The HBCU All-Stars

LLC once again demonstrated their commitment to providing much-needed exposure to HBCU athletes and further solidified itself as the perfect platform to highlight some of the best talent in all of college basketball. Markus Stevenson, MBA, a member of Black Sports Professionals - Houston Chapter, contributed to this story.

the Hawkeyes to stop LSU from scoring and then score quickly on the other end – as was their custom.

Kate Martin, a redshirt senior, had unbelievable shooting in the game, connecting on 100% of her shots heading into the locker room at halftime and was 5/7 from the field for the game finishing with 13 points. That may not seem like a big deal because Martin’s efficiency was overshadowed by teammate and Player of the Year, Caitlin Clark – who’s stat line, with the exception of her point total, was subpar for the game connecting on only 9 of 22 shots for the game. Iowa would lose, but gave props and respect to LSU – sharing sincere congratulations in interviews and on social media platforms.

From the Coaches Perspective

During the post-game press conference, I asked Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder, “What was the focus of your message during that timeout in the fourth quarter?” Coach Bluder responded, “I don’t know if I can remember. The one that I called when they went up 14 or whatever? Just keep believing. Stop, score, stop. We went through switching one through four, small screens, just a little bit of a change. Focus on what we can control and not on what we can’t control. There’s a lot of things out there we couldn’t control, and I just didn’t want my team getting wrapped up in it.”

During LSU’s postgame press conference, Mulkey

was asked, “What does it mean to win a title in your home state now and get LSU its first ever men’s or women’s basketball championship?” Mulkey said, “With about 1:30 to go, I couldn’t hold it. I got very emotional. That’s really not like me until the buzzer goes off, but I knew we were going to hold on and win this game. I don’t know if it’s the mere fact that we’re doing this in my second year back home. I don’t know if it was the fact that I am home. I don’t know if it was looking across there at my daughter and my grandchildren. I don’t know if it was looking across at LSU. I don’t know what it was, but I lost it. So that should tell you what I think about it. Very, very emotional and tears of joy.”

The only woman, LSU Head Coach, Kim Mulkey, joins a very small legendary group [Joe B. Hall - Kentucky, Bob Knight - Ohio State and Indiana respectively, and Dean Smith, as a player for Kansas and then as North Carolina’s coach] that have won a National Title as players and coaches. Mulkey also joins an exclusive group of coaches that have won the NCAA Div. 1 Basketball Championship at more than one institution. Who are the other coaches that have won the NCAA Div. 1 Basketball Championship at more than one institution? Be the first to email the correct answer to win a gift card: CoachLeah@InsightNews. com