Month: December 2024

ABC News will pay $15 million in settlement of President-elect Donald Trump defamation suit against the network and news anchor George Stephanopoulos. The network will contribute $15 million to  Trump’s presidential foundation and museum to settle the lawsuit, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Saturday. The settlement, dated Friday, was signed by both Trump and Stephanopoulos.

In the lawsuit, Trump claimed that ABC News anchor Stephanopoulos’ statements were “false, intentional, malicious and designed to cause harm.” Trump accused ABC News and Stephanopoulos of acting “with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth,” after Stephanopoulos said that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in a March 10 interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, with the filing stating that Stephanopoulos “knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false.”

According to the settlement, the defendants — identified as ABC, ABC News and Stephanopoulos — will also pay $1 million to Trump’s counsel, and add an “editor’s note” at the bottom of the March 10 online article that accompanied the interview which states: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”

An ABC News spokesperson told CNN: “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.”

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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the federal government is taking action to address the aerial drones that have prompted concern among residents in the NY/NJ area. There have been numerous reports of drone activity along the East Coast since November.

Runways at Stewart International Airport in New York were shut down for an hour on Friday after the FAA reported drone sightings in the area with NY Gov. Kathy Hochul calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, which would strengthen the FAA’s drone oversight and give states more power to investigate the sightings.

Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC News “This Week with George Stephanopoulos: “There’s no question that people are seeing drones. I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings … Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones. But there’s no question that drones are being sighted.”

Mayorkas said the U.S. knows of no foreign involvement and that it remains “vigilant” in investigating the drone sightings.  He cited the change of a Federal Aviation Administration rule in 2023 that allows drones to fly at night as to why there might be an uptick in sightings, and called on Congress to expand local and state authority to help address the issue:  “I want to assure the American public that we are on it. It is critical, as we all have said for a number of years, that we need from Congress additional authorities to address the drone situation. Our authorities currently are limited and they are set to expire. We need them extended and expanded. We want state and local authorities to also have the ability to counter growing activity under federal supervision.”

Mayorkas later added: “With respect to the ability to incapacitate those drones, we are limited in our authorities. We have certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security that can do that and outside our department, but we need those authorities expanded as well. It is our job to be vigilant in the federal government, with our state and local partners on behalf of the American public, and we can assure their safety by reason of that vigilance. We deploy personnel, technology, and, if there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now, we are not aware of any. If we become aware of any, we will communicate accordingly and take appropriate action.”

In a subsequent interview with Stephanopoulos, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that he and his wife saw drones above his home in New Jersey just two days ago: “I can’t tell you the number of people that have come up to me concerned about it. To say this is not unusual activity, it’s just wrong .. When people see this kind of activity, it’s a newish technology to most people, and they’re worried about it and concerned. It’s a lack of communication from the government at the federal and state level that’s at fault here.”

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TIME Magazine announced on Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump has been named TIME’s “2024 Person of the Year,” marking the second time Trump has earned the recognition from the publication (he previously won the honor after winning the presidential election in 2016).

In his letter to readers, Time Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs credited Trump with “marshalling a comeback of historic proportions” and “driving a once-in-a-generation political realignment” that has altered the United State’s role in the world.   TIME said that Trump had won the 2024 election “in a stunning political comeback” and “has reshaped the American electorate, activating young male voters who propelled him to a decisive victory that saw him win the popular vote for the first time and turn every swing state red.  His 2024 win is history-making in multiple ways: he will be the oldest President in U.S. history, and he was convicted earlier this year by a New York jury of 34 counts of fraud, making him the first convicted felon to be elected President.”

Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday to mark the honor alongside several of his family members. The TIME feature story includes an interview with Trump, joined by his wife Melania Trump and daughters Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump – as well Vice President-elect JD Vance and various Cabinet picks, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pam Bondi and Scott Bessent. Trump said: “This is an honor, a tremendous honor. I brought some of our patriots along with us. They’re going to do a beautiful job for you for the next four years, and it’s really been something very special.”

In his interview with the magazine, Trump discussed immigration, abortion, the economy and his incoming administration. He vowed to looked “case-by-case” at the convictions of his supporters who rioted at the US Capitol in January 2021, having previously pledged to issue pardons: “Well, we’re going to look at each individual case, and we’re going to do it very quickly, and it’s going to start in the first hour that I get into office. And a vast majority of them should not be in jail. A vast majority should not be in jail, and they’ve suffered gravely.”

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On Thursday, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals placed on home confinement, and pardoned 39 others convicted of non-violent crimes, with the White House stating that the moves represented the “largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history.”

Biden said in a statement: “America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances. As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.” Biden ended his statement by promising that he “will take more steps in the weeks ahead. My administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and re-entry and provide meaningful second chances.”

Biden said that the 1,500 people whose sentences were commuted were have served sentences at home for at least one year under the CARES Act, passed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have “successfully reintegrated into their families and communities.” The 39 individuals pardoned were convicted of non-violent crimes and “have shown successful rehabilitation and have shown commitment to making their communities stronger and safer.”

The White House said Biden is the first president to issue “categorical pardons” for the people convicted of the use and possession of marijuana and to former LGBTQI+ service members convicted because of their sexual orientation. The White House statement said: “The President has issued more sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms. As the president has said, the United States is a nation of second chances. The president recognizes how the clemency power can advance equal justice under law and remedy harms caused by practices of the past.”

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A Wisconsin man who officials say faked his own drowning roughly four months ago and fled to Eastern Europe – leaving his wife and three children — has willingly returned to the U.S. and turned himself in.

According to Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll, the man – Ryan Borgwardt — came back on his own because of his family, but remained tight-lipped on why Borgwardt left, and where exactly he’s been for the past four months. Borgwardt, 45, landed in the U.S. on Tuesday and was being held at the county jail, pending a court appearance. The sheriff said his office has recommended a number of charges, including obstruction of justice.

Sheriff Podoll said Borgwardt began communicating with authorities on Nov. 11 after disappearing but hadn’t committed to returning to Wisconsin, telling authorities that he faked his death because of “personal matters.” Borgwardt – an experienced kayaker – had told authorities in mid-August he traveled about 50 miles from his home in Watertown to Green Lake, where he overturned his kayak, dumped his phone and then paddled an inflatable boat to shore, saying he picked that lake because it’s the deepest in Wisconsin. After leaving the lake, he rode an electric bike about 80 miles through the night to Madison, Wisconsin where he boarded a bus to Detroit before eventually crossing the Canadian border and flying to Europe. Borgwardt took out a $375,000 life insurance policy back in January (which authorities state was intended to help his family) and had transferred funds to a foreign bank account prior to his disappearance and changed his email while he communicated with a woman in Uzbekistan.

The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the search for Borgwardt’s body went on for seven weeks with the help of trained volunteers at a cost of at least $35,000, in which they only discovered the man’s kayak and a tackle box containing a set of keys, a wallet and his license. Officials eventually uncovered evidence that Borgwardt had fled to Europe via Canada.

The sheriff’s office said in communications with Borgwardt, they “expressed the importance of his decision to return home and clean up the mess that he has created”. They added that Borgwardt has admitted regret for how he has hurt his family and “also feels bad about the amount of hours that we have put in the community.”

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After a federal court blocked the multibillion proposed merger between grocery retailers Kroger and Albertsons on Tuesday, Albertsons has backed out of the deal, and filed a lawsuit against Kroger.

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, operates 2,750 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia, including the chains Harris Teeter, Mariano’s, Ralphs and Smith’s. Albertsons, based in Boise, Idaho, operates roughly 2,300 stores in 34 states, including brands like Jewel Osco, Safeway and Shaw’s. Together the companies employ around 700,000 people.  Under the merger agreement, Kroger and Albertsons (who compete in 22 states) had agreed to sell 579 stores in places where their locations overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire-based supplier to independent supermarkets that also owns the Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly store brands.

Two federal judges in Oregon and Washington blocked the merger – which would have marked the biggest supermarket merger in U.S. history – instead siding with the Federal Trade Commission, which has opposed the plan. The FTC has argued the merger would eliminate competition, and raise prices for American shoppers.

Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said in a statement: “Given the recent federal and state court decisions to block our proposed merger with Kroger, we have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement. We are deeply disappointed in the courts’ decisions.”

In a separate statement issued Wednesday, Albertsons said it is suing Kroger for willful breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing: “Kroger willfully breached the Merger Agreement in several key ways, including by repeatedly refusing to divest assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignoring regulators’ feedback, rejecting stronger divestiture buyers and failing to cooperate with Albertsons.”   Albertsons also claims that Kroger failed to exercise “best efforts” and failed to take “‘any and all actions’ to secure regulatory approval of the companies’ agreed merger transaction as was required of Kroger under the terms of the merger agreement between the parties.”

In response to the lawsuit, Kroger released its own statement, calling the suit “baseless” and adding that “Kroger refutes these allegations in the strongest possible terms, especially in light of Albertsons’ repeated intentional material breaches and interference throughout the merger process, which we will prove in court,” the company claimed. “This is clearly an attempt to deflect responsibility following Kroger’s written notification of Albertsons’ multiple breaches of the agreement, and to seek payment of the merger’s break fee, to which they are not entitled. We look forward to responding to these baseless claims in court.”

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