Jury Finds CNN Is Literally Fake News

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CNN was found liable on Friday for defaming U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young.

Following roughly eight hours of deliberations, jurors found CNN both “committed defamation per se” and “committed defamation by implication.”

Jurors awarded Young $4 million in economic damages and $1 million in emotional damages and agreed that punitive damages are warranted, prompting phase 2 of the trial. Punitive damages will be awarded to Young to dissuade CNN and other networks from doing what CNN did.

The case arose after CNN aired a segment in November of 2021 on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” that falsely framed Young as exploiting Afghans by offering evacuations from Afghanistan on a “black market.” A court later found Young did nothing illegal. Young alleged the segment “rendered Young permanently unemployable” because the use of the term “black market” in the chyron implied Young was engaged in illegal conduct — something his defense contracts expressly prohibited.

As Young testified — and as messages show — he informed CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis that rather than seeking money for evacuation costs directly from Afghans he was “focused on aligning corporate sponsors who have the resources to support with those afghans most in need.” Lillis pressed Young on his pricing model and further asked whether Young had ever successfully evacuated anyone. Notably, Young evacuated nearly two dozen Afghans, including a child, a fact that was conveniently left out of CNN’s report and digital story. (Read more from “Jury Finds CNN Is Literally Fake News” HERE)

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Parents of OpenAI Whistleblower Want Outside Investigation of Their Son’s Death

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The parents of a young man involved in a case against OpenAI, are calling for further investigation into the death of their son. The San Francisco County coroner ruled his death a suicide back in November. Now they also have the support of a Silicon Valley Congressman.

The parents of Suchir Balaji say they don’t believe their son died by suicide, and they want an outside agency to investigate their son’s death.

“You can see how happy he is. We want the world to see his happy mood just before his death,” said Poornima Ramarao, Balaji’s mother.

The parents of 26-year-old Suchir Balaji say they continue to have questions about the death of their son. They say on November 26th, Balaji was discovered in his San Francisco apartment with an apparent gunshot wound. San Francisco Police say it appeared to be a suicide and there was no evidence of foul play in its initial investigation. Still, his mother says there were things out of place in his apartment.

“The pin drive is missing. His computer was messed up. His desktop was left on for three days. It’s messed up,” said Ramarao. (Read more from “Parents of OpenAI Whistleblower Want Outside Investigation of Their Son’s Death” HERE)

Moderna Awarded $590M to Help Accelerate Development of mRNA-Based Bird Flu Vaccine: HHS

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Moderna has been awarded approximately $590 million from the federal government to help speed up the development of an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine, alongside other influenza vaccines, health officials announced Friday.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a press release that the funding will allow the pharmaceutical company to accelerate the development of an H5N1 mRNA influenza vaccine “that is well matched to strains currently circulating in cows and birds and expands the clinical data supporting the use of mRNA vaccines that may be needed if other influenza strains emerge with pandemic potential.”

Moderna said the funding will support the expansion of clinical studies “for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza.”

The U.S. government previously awarded the vaccine manufacturer $176 million in July 2024 to help expedite the development of an mRNA vaccine that could be used for bird flu.

mRNA technology is the same type that was used in the development of some COVID-19 vaccines. While some vaccines use a weakened or inactive virus to stimulate an immune response, mRNA vaccines teach the body how to make proteins that can trigger an immune response and fight off an infection. (Read more from “Moderna Awarded $590M to Help Accelerate Development of mRNA-Based Bird Flu Vaccine: HHS” HERE)

Brutal Moment Karen Pence Snubbed Mike’s Kiss on Election Night With Six-Word Statement

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Karen Pence, wife to former Vice President Mike Pence, reportedly refused to kiss her husband when the winning ballot was read, announcing Donald Trump as the next President.

In Michael Lewis’ new book about the 2016 election, the author explained that Pence leaned in for a kiss, and Karen refused to kiss him back, turning away from him. “You got what you wanted, Mike,” she said, according to Lewis, adding another curt retort, “Now leave me alone.”

According to Lewis, the campaign team was in complete shock on election night when Trump secured Pennsylvania, Karen included.

“She wouldn’t so much as say hello to Trump. Trump himself just stared at the TV without saying anything, like a man with a pair of twos whose bluff has been called. His campaign hadn’t even bothered to prepare an acceptance speech,” Lewis wrote.

Although Karen did not show affection toward her husband in that moment, she supported him throughout the race. “I would characterize her as the silent, omnipresent partner. You knew she was there, you knew there was some considerable influence she wielded, but, boy, she was not public about it,” Brian Howey, the publisher of a political newsletter, told the Washington Post. (Read more from “Brutal Moment Karen Pence Snubbed Mike’s Kiss on Election Night With Six-Word Statement” HERE)

Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Forced Sale of TikTok From Chinese Parent Company

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The US Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law Friday that would force TikTok’s sale from a Chinese state-owned firm, even as President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have sought to block the divestment.

The nine justices ordered the qualified divestment by Jan. 19 of the California-based social media platform from Beijing-based ByteDance.

“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” read the key portion of the unsigned opinion.

“But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” the court said.

“For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.” (Read more from “Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Forced Sale of TikTok From Chinese Parent Company” HERE)

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Biden Says Equal Rights Amendment Is Ratified, Kicking Off Expected Legal Battle as He Pushes Through Final Executive Actions

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President Joe Biden announced a major opinion Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment is ratified, enshrining its protections into the Constitution, a last-minute move that some believe could pave the way to bolstering reproductive rights.

It will, however, certainly draw swift legal challenges – and its next steps remain extremely unclear as Biden prepares to leave office.

The amendment, which was passed by Congress in 1972, enshrines equal rights for women. An amendment to the Constitution requires three-quarters of states, or 38, to ratify it. Virginia in 2020 became the 38th state to ratify the bill after it sat stagnant for decades. Biden is now issuing his opinion that the amendment is ratified. It would next fall upon the archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan, to certify and publish the amendment. . .

But legal experts contend it isn’t that simple: Ratification deadlines lapsed and five states have rescinded their approval, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s law school, prompting questions about the president’s authority to ratify the amendment more than 50 years after it first passed. (Read more from “Biden Says Equal Rights Amendment Is Ratified, Kicking Off Expected Legal Battle as He Pushes Through Final Executive Actions” HERE)

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Trump Holds ‘Very Good’ Phone Call With Chinese Dictator Xi Jinping on TikTok and Fentanyl

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American President-elect Donald Trump confirmed that he held a phone call with genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping on Friday, which he described as a “very good one” that will help Washington and Beijing “solve many problems.”

The Chinese state Xinhua News Agency also confirmed the phone call on Friday but offered no information outside of the existence of the phone call.

Trump is expected to assume the presidency of America a second time on Monday and won the 2024 election on a campaign platform identified the Chinese Communist Party as a major national security threat to the United States. Trump’s campaign repeatedly disparaged his first opponent, outgoing President Joe Biden, as being too friendly to the Communist Party and proposed policies such as limiting China’s ability to buy American farmland and imposing tariffs on China to limit the flood of slave-tainted goods hitting American store shelves. Chinese markets tanked after Trump won the presidency in November; Chinese media has transparently referred to Trump as a “threat” to communist interests.

None the overt friction between the two countries appeared in Trump’s message on his phone call with Xi. Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump promised that he, alongside Xi, would “do everything possible to make the World [sic] more peaceful and safe!”

“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A,” Trump wrote. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately.” (Read more from “Trump Holds ‘Very Good’ Phone Call With Chinese Dictator Xi Jinping on TikTok and Fentanyl” HERE)

Sean Davis Drops Stunning Details About the Butler Trump Assassination Attempt in Tucker Carlson Interview

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Federalist CEO Sean Davis dropped some stunning details about the July 13 assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life in a Friday conversation with Tucker Carlson on “The Tucker Carlson Show.”

The conversation explored how, six months after the shooting, despite a congressional investigation, little is known — or has been released — about the shooter, and the incident quickly fell out of the news cycle.

Davis began the interview by describing three critical things the American people need to know: the shooter’s background and motivations, how government agencies allowed the attempt to take place, and what happened to the people responsible for the security failures.

“I refuse to believe this was just a series of unfortunate accidents and incompetence,” Davis said after outlining a number of explanations for how the attempt took place. “It’s just not.”

Trump was shot in the ear by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who stood on the roof of a building outside the secure area of the Trump campaign rally. Crooks was shot dead by law enforcement with a freakishly high-power weapon, a .300 Win Mag with a Hornady 210 grain hollow-point bullet. (Read more from “Sean Davis Drops Stunning Details About the Butler Trump Assassination Attempt in Tucker Carlson Interview” HERE)

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State Speaker Bans Trump-Supporting GOP Senator, Has Him Arrested

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Political differences, once again, have descended to physical blows as an “anti-Trump” Georgia House speaker banned a Trump-supporting senator from the House floor during a state of the state event, and he tried to enter anyway.

He was slammed to the floor by police and arrested.

Colton Moore, a Georgia state senator, had been banned from the House floor when he commented on the career, negatively, of the late House Speaker David Ralston.

He also had been dropped from the Senate Republican Caucus over his demands for a special legislative session to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who hired her paramour at the cost of $600,000 in tax money to create a failed organized crime case against President-elect Donald Trump. (Read more from “State Speaker Bans Trump-Supporting GOP Senator, Has Him Arrested” HERE)

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Trump Team ‘Having a Good Laugh’ Over Michelle Obama’s ‘Deliberate’ Decision to Skip Inauguration

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MAGA sources could not care less that Michelle Obama is snubbing Donald Trump’s inauguration, a source tells Page Six.

“They are having a good laugh,” a source says of those involved in planning the inaugural festivities.

“They didn’t expect her to come anyway.”

A Democratic source tried to play down the diss, noting, “Donald Trump and Melania didn’t go to Joe Biden’s inauguration and nobody cared. No one said anything.”

Barack and Michelle Obamas’ office announced this week that Michelle will skip the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies on Jan. 20th, but that the former president will attend.

Michelle also skipped Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9 because she was on an “extended vacation” in Hawaii. (Read more from “Trump Team ‘Having a Good Laugh’ Over Michelle Obama’s ‘Deliberate’ Decision to Skip Inauguration” HERE)

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