Month: February 2023

In new filings as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks, Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said some anchors of the company’s TV networks endorsed false fraud claims in the months following the 2020 election. Murdoch added that he doubted the claims being aired on Fox News and Fox Business Network.

Murdoch also acknowledged that Fox’s TV hosts endorsed the false election fraud claims. During Murdoch’s deposition, when asked if he was “now aware that Fox endorsed at times this false notion of a stolen election,” Murdoch responded, “Not Fox, no. Not Fox. But maybe Lou Dobbs, maybe Maria [Bartiromo] as commentators … Some of our commentators were endorsing it. They endorsed.”

Dominion sued Fox, Fox News and Fox Business, arguing the networks and its on-air personalities made false claims that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election. Fox News has consistently denied that it knowingly made false claims about the election, and has said “the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech.” Fox said in earlier court documents that the past year of discovery has shown the company played “no role in the creation and publication of the challenged statements — all of which aired on either Fox Business Network or Fox News Channel.”

The lawsuit is being closely monitored by First Amendment watchdogs and experts. A status conference in the case is slated for next week, with the trial scheduled to begin mid-April.

Editorial credit: Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made a surprise visit to Ukraine, solidifying the United State’s commitment to financial support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia, as the second year of the war begins. According to The New York Times, Yellen announced the transfer of $1.25 billion in aid to Ukraine in her meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday. Zelensky shared a video of Yellen arriving to meet him on his Telegram channel.

Yellen said that the United States cannot allow Ukraine to lose the war for “economic reasons” while it is succeeding on the battlefield, adding:  “I’m in Kyiv to reaffirm our unwavering support of the Ukrainian people … Mr. Putin is counting on our global coalition’s resolve to wane, which he thinks will give him the upper hand in the war. But he is wrong. As President Biden said here last week, America will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Zelensky posted: “The United States has been powerfully supporting us since the first days of this war not only with weapons, but also on the financial front. We really appreciate it. Thank you for systematic steps to increase sanctions pressure on the aggressor state. It is necessary to further strengthen sanctions to deprive Russia of the ability to finance the war.”

Yellen’s visit comes a week after President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine, marking the first time in modern history that a U.S. president entered a war zone without any U.S. military presence. The Wall Street Journal stated that it is also rare for a Treasury secretary to visit a war zone.

Editorial credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com

According to federal environmental authorities, contaminated waste shipments from the site of the train derailment earlier this month in eastern Ohio will resume Monday to two approved sites in the state. The announcement came a day after the Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern to pause shipments from the site of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, OH — near the Pennsylvania state line to allow additional oversight measures about where waste was shipped. Some liquid and solid waste had already been taken to sites in Michigan and Texas.

Region 5 administrator Debra Shore of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Sunday that EPA-certified facilities able to accept some of the waste had been identified, meaning that shipments could restart Monday. Shore said that some of the liquid waste will be sent to a facility in Vickery, Ohio, for disposal in an underground injection well, and Norfolk Southern will also begin shipping solid waste to an incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio,  Additional solid waste disposal locations were being sought, adding: “All of this is great news for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding community, because it means cleanup can continue at a rapid pace.”

No one was injured when 38 Norfolk Southern cars derailed causing a fire to erupt, but officials were worried about a potential explosion due to hazardous chemicals in five of the rail cars, causing them to evacuate the area. It was later decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from the tanker cars. Federal and state officials have repeatedly said it’s safe for evacuated residents to return to the area and that air testing in the town and inside hundreds of homes hasn’t detected any concerning levels of contaminants, and the state says the local municipal drinking water system is safe. However many residents have expressed concerns about what they have been exposed to and how it will impact the future of their families and communities.

Anne Vogel, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said that all of the rail cars – except for 11 cars held by the National Transportation Safety Board – have been removed from the site, which will allow excavation of additional contaminated soil and installation of monitoring wells to check for groundwater contamination.

Editorial credit: Orlowski Designs LLC / Shutterstock.com

The Goodyear Police Department in Arizona announced the arrest of suspect accused of driving his pickup truck into a group of cyclists, resulting in two deaths and 11 injured. The suspect, 26-year-old Pedro Quintana-Lujan, is accused of driving his truck into a “large cycling group”, and faces several charges; including two counts of manslaughter.

The incident took place on Saturday at about 8 a.m. in Goodyear, a suburb of Arizona with a population of more than 95,000. The crash occurred on Cotton Lane Bridge, which crosses the Gila River. The Goodyear Police Department tweeted that the deceased were one male and one female: “Sadly, two of the bicyclists died, and one remains in life-threatening condition … One of the deceased is a local resident of Goodyear, and one was visiting from out of state.”  Additionally, 11 people were injured in the crash.

According to ABC News, Quintana-Lujan also faces three counts of aggravated assault, 18 counts of endangerment and two counts of causing serious injury or death during a moving violation. He is being held in Maricopa County Jail on a $250,000 bond, with a  hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Editorial credit: SevenMaps / Shutterstock.com

Five teens, one 2-year-old girl and one woman were shot Thursday evening near a school in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion section. The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Norris Street, near the James G. Blaine School.

According to police, the 2-year-old girl was shot once in the left thigh and was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she was listed in stable condition. A 13-year-old boy was shot in the hand, one 15-year-old male was shot twice in the chest, a 16-year-old male was shot in the arms, and a second 16-year-old male was shot once in the right arm and once in the right thigh, as well as one 17-year-old grazed in the thigh, police said. All five were hospitalized and listed in stable condition. A 31-year-old woman – the mother of the injured 2-year-old girl — was shot twice in the thigh; she was transported to Temple University Hospital and is listed in stable condition.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said “We don’t believe that all of the victims at this point were intended targets.” As of press time no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, and police have not released information on any suspects.

Editorial credit: DuskyJay / Shutterstock.com

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for a rape conviction in Los Angeles. The 70-year-old Weinstein was convicted in the Los Angeles case in December, three years after he was convicted at a sex crimes trial in New York City. Weinstein’s new sentence will run consecutive with the 23-year term given to him in his New York trial, giving him a total of 39 years behind bars in sex crimes convictions.

A jury found Weinstein guilty of three counts in the L.A. case, related to the accuser known as Jane Doe 1: ‘forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by foreign object.’  The jury found him not guilty of sexual battery by restraint involving a second accuser, identified as Jane Doe 2, and was unable to reach verdicts for allegations involving Jane Doe 3 and Jane Doe 4. Appearing in a wheelchair and a gray county jail uniform, Weinstein was allowed to speak during the hearing, where he proclaimed his innocence, accusing Jane Doe 1 of being an “actress” who can “turn on” her tears: “Please don’t sentence me to life in prison. I don’t deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case. … This is a setup.”

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has said that Weinstein faced up to 24 years in the Los Angeles case. Weinstein’s legal team filed an appeal requesting a new trial, alleging that evidence was excluded about a romantic relationship between Jane Doe 1 and a witness that could have altered the jury’s decision. Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench denied Weinstein’s request for a new trial.

Weinstein was convicted in New York in 2020 of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act for crimes against two women. Weinstein pleaded not guilty at both trials and has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. In both trials, Weinstein waived his right to take the witness stand.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com