Artificial Intelligence App Pushed Suicidal Youth to Kill Himself, Lawsuit Claims

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Sewell Setzer III was just 14 years old when he died. He was a good kid. He was playing junior varsity basketball, excelling in school, and had a bright future ahead of him. Then, in late February, he committed suicide.

In the wake of this heartbreaking tragedy, his parents searched for some closure. They, as parents would, wanted to know why their son had taken his life. They remembered the time that he’d spent locked away in his room, playing on his phone like most teenagers.

As they went through his phone, they found that he’d spent hours a day in one particular artificial intelligence app: Character.AI. Based on what she saw in that app, Setzer’s mom, Megan Garcia, is suing Character Technologies—the creator of Character.AI. “We believe that if Sewell Setzer had not been on Character.AI, he would be alive today,” said Matthew Bergman, the attorney representing Setzer’s mom.

Character.AI markets itself as “AI that feels alive.” The company effectively serves as a host for several chat rooms, where each chatbot personalizes itself to a user’s conversation. It is long-form dialogue that learns from the user’s responses and, as the company says, “Feels alive.”

Setzer interacted with just one chatbot, stylized after the seductive “Game of Thrones”character Daenerys Targaryen. He knew her as Dany. (Read more from “Artificial Intelligence App Pushed Suicidal Youth to Kill Himself, Lawsuit Claims” HERE)

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‘Gold-Standard’ Pollster Who Overlooked Trump Win In Iowa Calls It Quits

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Pollster J. Ann Selzer announced over the weekend that she would be stepping away from election polling after her survey in Iowa, which had been widely regarded as a “gold-standard” poll in political forecasting, fumbled the 2024 presidential election.

“Over a year ago I advised the Register I would not renew when my 2024 contract expired with the latest election poll as I transition to other ventures and opportunities,” Selzer wrote in a guest column published on Sunday by the Des Moines Register.

“Would I have liked to make this announcement after a final poll aligned with Election Day results? Of course,” she added. “It’s ironic that it’s just the opposite.”

Selzer & Company’s final poll of the 2024 election cycle for the Register and Mediacom found Vice President Kamala Harris leading President-elect Donald Trump 47% to 44% among likely voters in Iowa, while other surveys conducted in the final stretch of the 2024 campaign showed Trump ahead of Harris. Ultimately, Trump defeated Harris 56% to 42.7% in Iowa, marking his third general election victory in the Hawkeye State in a row.

Trump’s campaign released a statement mocking Selzer after it became clear that Trump would beat Harris in Iowa. (Read more from “‘Gold-Standard’ Pollster Who Overlooked Trump Win In Iowa Calls It Quits” HERE)

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Left Coast Goes Right: California’s Bay Area Kicks Out Liberal Mayors and DA in Stunning Votes — ‘Ideology Does Not Match Reality’

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. . .Fed-up voters in the ultra-liberal Bay Area of California have voted to clean house after blaming far-left politicians for rampant crime, spreading homelessness and a general sense of fear on the streets.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao capitulated on Nov. 11 after an overwhelming 62% of voters opted to remove her from office — a historic result coming just two years into a term marked by complaints of mismanagement and an FBI raid on her home.

Following Thao out the door with a losing 64% recall vote will be Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, whom critics characterized as a progressive ideologue pushing “catch and release” policies that routinely turned criminals back out on the streets to continue preying on the people of Oakland.

And across the bay, San Francisco Mayor London Breed lost her re-election to Daniel Lurie, a Levi Strauss heir and fellow Democrat who ran on a promise to clean up the streets.

The revolt was not just at the local level. The Bay Area voted for Kamala Harris by a landslide — but President-elect Donald Trump did 3.5 percentage points better in Alameda County this year than in 2020. In San Francisco County, where Harris made her career as district attorney, she performed more than 5 points worse than President Biden did four years ago. (Read more from “Left Coast Goes Right: California’s Bay Area Kicks Out Liberal Mayors and DA in Stunning Votes — ‘Ideology Does Not Match Reality’” HERE)

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Kamala Harris’ Campaign Paid Oprah Winfrey’s Production Company Nearly $2.5 Million for Celeb-Packed Town Hall — Over Double Initial Estimate

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Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign shelled out nearly $2.5 million to Oprah Winfrey’s production company for the celeb-packed town hall it hosted — more than double the initial estimate reported.

It was originally surmised that Winfrey’s company Harpo Productions had been paid around $1 million for the talk show legend’s September town hall with Harris, but a new report shows that the dollar amount was greatly underestimated.

Two people familiar with the matter told the New York Times that Winfrey’s company had actually been paid closer to $2.5 million — still a mere fraction of Harris’ estimated $1.5 billion campaign spending.

The famous TV star has denied receiving any personal payments from the Democrat’s team and a former adviser to the Harris campaign also said they did not pay anyone for their appearances or support.

Winfrey said she did not pocket any of the money and used it to pay her team. She also noted that the Harris team was charged for what they required for the town hall. (Read more from “Kamala Harris’ Campaign Paid Oprah Winfrey’s Production Company Nearly $2.5 Million for Celeb-Packed Town Hall — Over Double Initial Estimate” HERE)

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Why Calling Trump-Voting Christians ‘Hypocrites’ Is a Lie That Will Continue to Fail

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Does character still matter in our politicians? Yes, it does, but not in the same way it did in the past.

“Character is on the ballot.” This is a common refrain from pundits and voters alike during any election season. But is that still true today? For many evangelicals and conservatives, the answer is “yes” — just not with the same weight it held in the past.

Since Donald Trump entered the mainstream political scene in 2015, evangelical Christians and conservatives have faced growing criticism. Observers note our opposition to Bill Clinton in the late 1990s after his sex scandal and then point to our support for Trump, a man with his own flaws and controversies. They ask, “What gives?” Are we hypocrites seeking only power? Is it a matter of having “our guy” in office while condemning “the other guy”? . .

My co-host on “The Bully Pulpit”podcast, Eric Teetsel, has a theory about what’s changed. In the 1990s, the political landscape was different. Back then, the gap between Republican and Democratic policies was not as stark as it is today. On key issues like abortion, Democrats insisted it should be “safe, legal, and rare.” Both parties supported border security. Foreign policy views were more aligned than divided. The differences were there, but they weren’t chasms.

In this environment, character often served as the tiebreaker. Without a deep policy divide, integrity, honesty, and moral standing carried considerable weight in determining which candidate better represented the country’s values. For evangelicals, and voters in general, character was a critical factor because it provided insight into a candidate’s potential for leadership in a relatively aligned political field. Small scandals could derail campaigns because, in a landscape of similar policy positions, they served as differentiators. Think about Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign-ending scream; it seemed unbecoming for a presidential candidate. That standard feels almost unthinkable today. (Read more from “Why Calling Trump-Voting Christians ‘Hypocrites’ Is a Lie That Will Continue to Fail” HERE)

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Smoking Out, Vaping In: A New CDC Report Offers Cause for Optimism

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey results, an annual assessment of various health-related behaviors among U.S. adults. Tobacco control advocates have reason to celebrate: The adult smoking rate has reached record lows, and in some states, young adult smoking rates are nearly nonexistent.

According to the BRFSS, only 12.1% of adults across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., smoked in 2023, down from 14% in 2022. This drop represents a decrease from 36.4 million smokers in 2022 to 31.7 million in 2023, a reduction of approximately 4.7 million. The decline among young adults aged 18 to 24 is even more notable: Only 5.6% smoked in 2023, marking a 23.5% decrease from 2022 and a dramatic 76.5% decline over the past decade.

While tobacco control advocates credit these historic lows to policies like taxes and smoking bans, the rise in e-cigarette use also appears correlated with the reduction in smoking rates. From 2016 to 2023, vaping among young adults rose by 90%, while their smoking rates fell by 63.8%. Interestingly, young adult vaping rates have also started to decline, dropping 23.5% from 20.9% in 2022 to 18.9% in 2023.

In some states, such as Utah and New York, young adult smoking rates are exceptionally low, at 2.6% and 3.4%, respectively. Even Oklahoma, which has the highest young adult smoking rate at 9.1%, is still significantly lower than the national adult average of 12.1%.

These trends extend to youth smoking and vaping statistics. According to the CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey, only 1.6% of U.S. middle and high school students reported current cigarette use in 2023. Youth vaping has also declined significantly, with only 5.9% of U.S. youth vaping this year — a 70.5% drop from 2019, when 20% were vaping. In just five years, America went from one in five youth using e-cigarettes to one in 20. (Read more from “Smoking Out, Vaping In: A New CDC Report Offers Cause for Optimism” HERE)

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Trump Is Suing the Mainstream Media– And They Ought to Be Afraid

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President-elect Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Friday, vowing to bring justice to his name after years of attacks from the mainstream media.

The incoming 47th president announced he is suing several media outlets, including the New York Times, CBS News, Penguin Random House, and the Daily Beast, alleging widespread bias and defamation. Trump’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, demands $10 billion in damages for publishing defamatory material.

In the lawsuit, Trump accused the mainstream media of “defaming and disparaging” him during coverage of the election and making “false and defamatory statements.”

The NYT was at the center of the lawsuit. In the 19-page filing, Trump’s lawyers wrote that the newspaper has been “a full-throated mouthpiece of the Democratic party” that engages in “industrial-scale libel against political opponents.” They also accused the publication of having “every intention of defaming and disparaging the world-renowned Trump brand that consumers have long associated with excellence, luxury, and success in entertainment, hospitality, and real estate, among many other industries, as well as falsely and maliciously defaming and disparaging him as a candidate for the highest office in the United States.” (Read more from “Trump Is Suing the Mainstream Media– And They Ought to Be Afraid” HERE)

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Trump Sends His Clearest Message Yet To DOJ Bureaucrats With Unexpected Leadership Picks

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President-elect Donald Trump’s unexpected picks for Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership roles send a clear message to the establishment: this term, his agenda will not be held captive by career bureaucrats.

After being burned by his own choices in his first administration and prosecuted by the Biden-Harris DOJ, his decision to nominate Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general and his defense attorneys for the other top slots reflects Trump’s desire to be surrounded by people who fully support his vision for the department — and who are willing to stand up to bureaucratic forces working to undermine his efforts.

“Gaetz is clearly an outsider and disruptor, and that’s the point,” former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Gaetz is “exactly what President Trump promised for the DOJ during his campaign, namely to end the department’s left-leaning focus on lawfare, censorship, and election interference.” He’s “a loyalist who is often in Trump’s orbit” that won’t put up the same resistance as former Attorney General William Barr, Cherkasky said.

Article III project senior counsel Will Chamberlain wrote on X the Gaetz pick is best understood as “a statement by Trump that it’s not 2016 anymore and there will be no internal coup against the sitting President.” (Read more from “Trump Sends His Clearest Message Yet To DOJ Bureaucrats With Unexpected Leadership Picks” HERE)

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Trump Gets Hero’s Welcome at NYC UFC Event

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President-elect Donald Trump returned to Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 309 fight, receiving roaring applause from the crowd.

Just over a week after Trump won both the Electoral College and popular vote against Vice President Kamala Harris, the former president made a grand entrance at the New York City event. Accompanied by UFC CEO Dana White, Trump was closely followed by some of his Cabinet appointees, including billionaire Elon Musk, former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

President-elect Donald Trump returned to Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 309 fight, receiving roaring applause from the crowd.

Just over a week after Trump won both the Electoral College and popular vote against Vice President Kamala Harris, the former president made a grand entrance at the New York City event. Accompanied by UFC CEO Dana White, Trump was closely followed by some of his Cabinet appointees, including billionaire Elon Musk, former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

The meeting between the two came after Rogan hosted Trump on his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” just over a week before Election Day. During the nearly three-hour conversation, they discussed topics such as Trump’s experience during his first administration and the policies he plans to push through. (Read more from “Trump Gets Hero’s Welcome at NYC UFC Event” HERE)

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WWIII Watch: Biden Reportedly Approves Ukraine Long-Range Missile Strikes in Russia Before Trump Comes to Power

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Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has reportedly approved the use of long-range American missiles by Ukraine to strike within the Russian mainland, in a move which may escalate the conflict two months before President-Elect Donald Trump comes into office with a mandate to seek a peace settlement.

According to reports from the Democrat-aligned Washington Post and New York Times newspapers, both citing unnamed U.S. officials, lame-duck President Joe Biden has lifted restrictions barring Ukraine from using American Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles to strike targets within Russia.

The Biden White House previously approved the use of ATACMS by Kyiv to strike Russian targets within Ukrainian territory, including Russian-occupied lands such as Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Moscow under the Obama administration in 2014. The Biden administration had also approved the use of shorter-range American missiles for limited cross-border strikes within Russia.

However, President Biden had been hesitant to permit the Ukrainians to use ATACMS within Russia for fear of escalating the conflict, with reported concerns over the world’s largest nuclear power potentially using more powerful weapons within Ukraine, Moscow increasing assistance to American adversaries such as the Islamist regime in Iran or to the Houthi terrorists in Yemen in their quest to disrupt global shipping.

The apparent about-face from the Biden administration may be seen as an attempt to undermine peace efforts by incoming President Donald Trump, who has already embarked upon unofficial diplomatic efforts to fulfil his promise of negotiating an end to the war. (Read more from “WWIII Watch: Biden Reportedly Approves Ukraine Long-Range Missile Strikes in Russia Before Trump Comes to Power” HERE)

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