ABC under fire for $15m Trump settlement as mystery drone panic confounds defense officials: Live

ABC News has agreed to a $15 million settlement stemming from Donald Trump’s defamation suit involving a broadcast about E. Jean Carroll, who herself had successfully sued the president-elect for defamatory statements.

Anchor George Stephanopoulos and the network were sued after Stephanopoulos mischaracterized the jury’s decision as finding him “liable for rape” at civil trial. Trump was found liable for “sexual abuse” for an incident dating back to 1996.

Meanwhile, Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that Pete Hegseth, the Trump administration’s embattled pick to lead the Defense Department, will release a sexual assault accuser from a past confidential settlement agreement. Attorneys for Hegseth say the accuser previously broke the agreement, rendering it void.

Meanwhile, one of Trump’s last remaining opponents in the GOP says the party has changed for good.

“MAGA is the Republican Party and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today,” Mitt Romney told CNN.

And officials continue to grasp for explanations of the spate of drone sightings above the East Coast in recent days.

“I just got to simply tell you, we don’t know,” a Defense Department official said Saturday of what’s behind the phenomenon.

Key Points

• ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

• Trump names Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes to Intelligence Advisory Board

• Pete Hegseth will release sexual assault accuser from NDA, Lindsey Graham says

• Federal officials don’t have answers for mystery drone sightings: ‘We simply don’t know’

• Romney gives his 2024 post-mortem on CNN

RFK planning meetings blitz across Capitol Hill

01:40 , Josh Marcus

With the year coming to a close, the Trump transition team is planning a busy week of meetings at the Capitol for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the incoming administration’s controversial pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

He’s set to meet with numerous GOP senators in the coming days, according to the transition team.

Health experts warn Kennedy is skeptical of mainstream public health interventions like vaccines and flouride in water.

RFK Jr picked for health role. Doctors warned it could trigger disease outbreaks

Stephen A. Smith ‘sick’ after report on FBI presence amid January 6

01:25 , Josh Marcus

Sports and culture commentator Stephen A. Smith joined conservative lawmakers in criticizing the findings of a Justice Department inspector general report on the extent of the FBI presence at the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Smith said he was “sick” and felt like Democrats had lied about the insurrection based on the report, which found “no evidence” undercover FBI employees joined in the riot, but noted the presence of 26 confidential agency sources in the wider area around the Capitol.

Senator Mike Lee of Utah made a similar criticism on Sunday, arguing Democrats had wrongly dismissed questions about the insurrection as conspiracy theories.

Mike Lee says FBI watchdog report shows Jan 6 conspiracy theories ‘weren’t so crazy’

Polio survivor Mitch McConnell slams ‘dangerous’ push by RFK Jr lawyer

01:00 , John Bowden

Senate Republican leader and polio survivor Mitch McConnell on Friday condemned “dangerous” efforts to abolish the polio vaccine following news that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s lawyer’s tried to do just that.

Attorney Aaron Siri in 2022 petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval for multiple critical childhood vaccines, including the polio vaccine. News of Siri’s action resurfaced just weeks after RFK Jr. was named by President-elect Donald Trump as his pick to be secretary of Health and Human Services. Siri is currently helping Kennedy vet officials to serve in the department.

Kennedy is known for his extreme anti-vaccine positions which are widely derided by the mainstream medical community. Siri’s petition claimed the vaccine was not properly tested to ensure it was safe, despite its decade-long use protecting millions of children from contracting the disease.

Read more:

Mitch McConnell slams ‘dangerous’ push by RFK Jr lawyer to kill vaccine

Senator calls on Biden to pass Equal Rights Amendment

00:54 , Josh Marcus

Democrats are pushing Biden to continue using his final days in office to seal liberal priorities before Trump takes office.

That includes enrishing the Equal Rights Amendment, which would constitutionally ban gender discrimination.

“With Republicans set to take unified control of government, Americans are facing the further degradation of reproductive freedom,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wrote today on Sunday in The New York Times. “Fortunately, Mr. Biden has the power to enshrine reproductive rights in the Constitution right now.”

Gillibrand argued that because two-thirds of Congress ratified the proposed amendment in 1972 and three-quarters of states ratified it in 2020, the ERA has met the constitutional requirements for certification.

Harris allies divided on goal of comeback campaign: governor or president?

00:39 , Josh Marcus

Aides and allies to Kamala Harris are reportedly divided over what the Democrat’s political future looks like after her stinging loss in the 2024 election.

The main point of contention is whether Harris should try to run for governor of California in 2026 or face a likely wide field of up-and-coming Democrats in the 2028 presidential race.

“If you’re thinking of running for president in 2028, the worst thing you can do is run for governor in 2026,” a former adviser told CNN.

Pete Hegseth will release sexual assault accuser from NDA, Lindsey Graham says

00:15 , Josh Marcus

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled nominee to lead the Department of Defense, will release a woman from a non-disclosure agreement that followed a 2017 sexual assault allegation against the former Fox News anchor, according to Senator Lindsey Graham.

“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” the South Carolina Republican told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday. “Just think about what we’re talking about. I’d want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.”

Graham compared Hegseth’s nomination to the 2018 confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was publicly accused of sexually assaulting former classmate Christine Blasey Ford.

“If people have any allegation to make, come forward and make it,” Graham said. “Like they did in Kavanaugh, we’ll decline whether or not it’s credible. Right now he’s being tried by anonymous sources, that will not stand.”

More details in our full story.

Pete Hegseth will release sexual assault accuser from NDA, Lindsey Graham says

Federal officials don’t have answers for mystery drone sightings: ‘We simply don’t know’

00:00 , John Bowden

Federal officials sought to ease tensions but had no concrete answers for reporters about mysterious sightings of drone aircraft in New Jersey which have led to alleged sightings across the eastern seaboard.

Officials with several agencies explained that reviews of thousands of reports to tip lines, 911 centers and other sources revealed the vast majority of sightings in New Jersey and elsewhere to be cases of persons mistaking low-flying commercial aircraft conducting holding patterns around regional airports.

US officials don’t have answers for mystery drone sightings: ‘We simply don’t know’

Mother of missing journalist Austin Tice says American freed in Syria like ‘rehearsal’ of finding son

Sunday 15 December 2024 23:30 , John Bowden

The scores of prisoners freed after the downfall of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria are giving hope to Debra Tice, mother of the American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing since being detained in 2012.

She’s been closely following reports out of the country, where another missing American, religious pilgrim Travis Timmerman, was found in the town of Dhiyabiya, after being held for seven months. Initial reports wrongly identified him as Tice.

On Sunday, she sat down for an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press.

Mother of missing journalist Austin Tice reacts to American freed in Syria

Romney gives his 2024 post-mortem on CNN

Sunday 15 December 2024 23:00 , John Bowden

Mitt Romney said in his interview on Sunday that Republicans won the 2024 election due to their successful effort to peel off working-class voters from the Democratic Party’s voting coalition.

“The Democrat Party is the one in trouble. I mean, I don’t know how they recover,” said the senator. “Union guys, and gals … have left the Democratic Party.”

He went on to blame that trend on the Democrats’ embrace of transgender rights and a focus on cultural issues while the party ignored economic issues.

Romney admits Trump’s MAGA agenda now dominates Republican Party

Video surfaces of George Santos being hit with coffee in Times Square

Sunday 15 December 2024 22:27 , John Bowden

George Santos is apparently not the most popular political celebrity in New York, where he now lives as a private citizen following his 2023 expulsion from Congress.

Video surfaces of George Santos being hit with coffee in Times Square

ABC’s $15m settlement in Trump ‘rape’ defamation case was met with surprise and outrage. Here’s why

Sunday 15 December 2024 22:03 , John Bowden

ABC’s $15 million settlement with Donald Trump following the president-elect’s defamation lawsuit has alarmed legal analysts and drawn criticism that the network and its Disney parent company gave up without a fight.

On Saturday, it was announced that ABC and host George Stephanopoulos agreed to settle the claims at the center of Trump’s lawsuit against the network and one of its star anchors, who was sued for stating that Trump was found “liable for rape by a jury.”

Why legal analysts are surprised ABC settled Trump’s ‘rape’ defamation suit for $15m

Mystery drones are not Iranian, Chinese – or Martian – says intelligence committee member

Sunday 15 December 2024 21:26 , John Bowden

A lawmaker on the House committee overseeing the US intelligence community on Sunday batted down rumors being leveled about mysterious sightings of drones in New Jersey and possibly elsewhere along the US east coast.

Federal agencies put out a joint statement on Thursday declaring that the spotted drones in New Jersey did not represent a foreign threat or any danger to public safety, but did not provide an explanation for what worried New Jerseyans were seeing from their homes.

Watch Jim Hines on CNN’s State of the Union here:

Mystery drones are not foreign – or alien – says intel panel member

Mike Lee says FBI watchdog report shows Jan 6 conspiracy theories ‘weren’t so crazy’

Sunday 15 December 2024 20:15 , John Bowden

Utah Senator Mike Lee’s latest conspiratorial rant on Fox News suggested that his Democratic foes “destroyed” key evidence surrounding January 6 which would have implicated the FBI or other federal agencies in instigating the throngs of Trump supporters to attack the Capitol.

The Republican lawmaker is hoping to keep the dream of January 6 nonsense alive after a Department of Justice review found no evidence of federal agents instigating violence in the crowd.

Mike Lee says FBI watchdog report shows Jan 6 conspiracy theories ‘weren’t so crazy’

Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX site in Texas into his own city

Sunday 15 December 2024 19:45 , John Bowden

In the decade since SpaceX arrived on the Texas coast, billionaire Elon Musk‘s company has created thousands of jobs near the Mexico border, launched rockets and sprung up new homes — all around an area dubbed Starbase.

Now SpaceX wants to make Starbase a recognized city.

Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX site in Texas into his own city

Chris Rock makes crowd groan with Elon Musk joke on Saturday Night Live

Sunday 15 December 2024 18:59 , John Bowden

Chris Rock made the crowd groan during his Saturday Night Live monologue with a joke about Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

The 59-year-old stand-up comedian and actor hosted the sketch comedy show last night (December 14).

During his monologue, Rock made reference to Donald Trump’s successful year, noting that he’d survived an assassination attempt, been re-elected to the US presidency and been named Time’s Person of the Year.

Chris Rock makes crowd groan with Elon Musk joke on Saturday Night Live

Eric Adams’ chief political advisor resigns

Sunday 15 December 2024 18:27 , John Bowden

Ingrid Lewis-Martin is resigning from New York city hall, according to The New York Times. She was Eric Adams’ top advisor on government affairs, and had withstood weeks of critical coverage for the criminal allegations the mayor now faces.

Adams, a Democrat, has turned to Donald Trump and Magaworld for a positive embrace as he faces isolation and ridicule in his own party while facing five criminal counts related to alleged corruption.

Eric Adams’ arraignment was more of a circus than Trump’s sexual abuse trial

New York governor demands Biden action on mystery drones after airfield shut down: ‘This has gone too far’

Sunday 15 December 2024 18:08 , John Bowden

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on Washington to do more about the mysterious drones spotted in recent weeks above the Northeast.

The governor said in a statement on Saturday on X that drone activity prompted officials to shut down Stewart Airfield in New Windsor for about an hour last night.

New York governor demands action on mystery drones after airfield shut down

Mitt Romney on CNN: Maga won

Sunday 15 December 2024 17:19 , John Bowden

CNN’s State of the Union interviewed retiring senator Mitt Romney on Sunday. The Republican senator has been one of Donald Trump’s last remaining opponents in the GOP, but bowed out of the Senate this year.

Romney seems to have come to terms with the future of the Republican Party as a Trumpified political movement.

“MAGA is the Republican Party and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today,” the Utah senator told Jake Tapper, adding: “Democrats have badly misread the direction of the country… and President Trump took advantage of that.”

Watch a clip here:

Devin Nunes and Ric Grenell — who are Trump’s latest administration picks?

Sunday 15 December 2024 16:40 , John Bowden

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes and the president-elect’s Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell have been selected to serve in his upcoming administration.

Nunes, as former California House Representative, was tapped for to serve as Chairman of Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, while Grenell was picked to serve as his Presiential Envoy for Special Missions.

While Nunes was in office he served on the House Intelligence Committee and consistently backed any move then-President Trump made. He also led the two-year investigation into US’s responde to the 2012 Benghazi attack, which ultimate found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the US State Department under Hillary Clinton.

Nunes also refused to back an investigation into Trump former national security adviser and Q-Anon conspiracy theorist Michael Flynn after it was revealed he had unreported discussions with Russian officials while serving under Trump.

“From everything that I can see, his conversations with the Russian ambassador—he was doing this country a favor, and he should be thanked for it,” Nunes said at the time.

Grenell formerly served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and his Director of National Intelligence.

Prior to his involvement in Trump’s administration, Grenell was a consultant for an eastern European oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc. He faced criticism after he wrote articles defending the oligarch without making clear he was being paid to manage the man’s image.

Grenell is a former Fox News contributor and was named as a VP at the far-right media outlet Newsmax in 2021. He earned the ire of the media in 2020 when, during a Trump press conference, he refused to identify himself to reporters and publicly accused the state of covering up incidents of voter fraud in order to help the election prospects of then-Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

These claims were made without evidence, and Mr Grenell refused to answer questions from journalists who demanded he prove his assertions.

Mayorkas says federal authorities are addressing New Jersey drone sightings

Sunday 15 December 2024 16:00 , John Bowden

Joe Biden’s secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, on Sunday addressed the spotting of small drone aircraft in New Jersey in an interview Sunday on ABC’s This Week.

“There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” he said. “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.”

Iran, drone or UFO: Mystery over bizarre lights spotted in skies over New Jersey

The woman behind Capitol bathroom protest says trans people can’t trust Democrats to protect them

Sunday 15 December 2024 15:39 , John Bowden

A transgender activist who staged a sit-in at the US Capitol to protest House Republicans’ new policy targeting a transgender incoming member of Congress tells The Independent that the 2024 election cycle shows that LGBTQ+ Americans really can’t trust Democrats to have their backs in a fight.

“Unfortunately, the signals coming from our government right now, under a Democratic president, are telling us that we’re essentially on our own,” the 33-year-old activist told our Io Dodds in an interview.

Activist says trans people can’t trust Democrats to protect them anymore

Chicago mayor vows to protect residents after Trump’s border czar singles out Windy City for mass deportations

Sunday 15 December 2024 15:02 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar” has suggested the president-elect’s plans for mass deportations will begin in Chicago, part of a plan that would deploy law enforcement officers into communities across the country for broad sweeps targeting people living in the country without legal permission.

The Windy City’s mayor is vowing to protect his city’s residents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents who could push into schools and workplaces, butting against so-called “sanctuary” policies barring federal forces from using local police for deportation enforcement.

“What the Trump administration has called for is for local police departments around the country to behave as ICE agents. In sanctuary cities, that is not permissible,” Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson told CNN.

READ MORE:

Chicago mayor vows to protect residents after Trump’s border czar singles out city

Polio survivor Mitch McConnell slams ‘dangerous’ push by RFK Jr lawyer to kill vaccine

Sunday 15 December 2024 14:00 , Graig Graziosi

Senate Republican leader and polio survivor Mitch McConnell on Friday condemned “dangerous” efforts to abolish the polio vaccine following news that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s lawyer’s tried to do just that.

Attorney Aaron Siri in 2022 petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval for multiple critical childhood vaccines, including the polio vaccine. News of Siri’s action resurfaced just weeks after RFK Jr. was named by President-elect Donald Trump as his pick to be secretary of Health and Human Services. Siri is currently helping Kennedy vet officials to serve in the department.

Kennedy is known for his extreme anti-vaccine positions which are widely derided by the mainstream medical community. Siri’s petition claimed the vaccine was not properly tested to ensure it was safe, despite its decade-long use protecting millions of children from contracting the disease.

READ MORE:

Mitch McConnell slams ‘dangerous’ push by RFK Jr lawyer to kill vaccine

Even liberals like popular Barron Trump at New York University

Sunday 15 December 2024 13:00 , Graig Graziosi

Barron Trump has been described as a “ladies’ man” around the New York University (NYU) campus, where he is so popular that even his liberal classmates like him.

An insider at NYU’s Stern School of Business, where Barron enrolled this fall, told People magazine that Donald Trump’s only son with third wife Melania Trump has proven to be “popular with the ladies.”

“He’s tall and handsome,” the source said of the 18-year-old, who stands an astonishing six feet nine inches tall.

READ MORE:

Even liberals like popular Barron Trump at New York University

Trump set to scrap car-crash regulation Musk hates: Report

Sunday 15 December 2024 11:00 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly considering scrapping a car-crash reporting requirement that Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk stongly opposes, according to a new report.

According to Reuters, which viewed a document reportedly proposing the change, the removal of the requirement could hamstring the government’s ability to effectively investigate crashes and regulate the safety of vehicles with self-driving systems, like Musk’s Teslas and Cybertrucks.

Musk, who is the world’s richest man, used his vast wealth to pour a quarter of a billion dollars into Trump’s 2024 campaign. If Trump’s team does remove the accident reporting requirements, it would likely directly benefit Musk’s Tesla, which has reported the majority of crashes — more than 1,500 — to federal safety regulators under the program.

READ MORE:

Trump set to scrap car-crash regulation Musk hates: Report

ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

Sunday 15 December 2024 09:00 , Graig Graziosi

ABC has agreed to pay $15 million as part of a settlement with Donald Trump after the president-elect sued the network and host George Stephanopoulos for defamation.

In March, Stephanopoulos pressed congresswoman Nancy Mace about her support for the former president despite a judge finding him “liable for rape by a jury,” he said.

“Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury,” Stephonopoulos said on ABC’s This Week at the time. “It’s been affirmed by a judge.”

READ MORE:

ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

Don Trump Jr didn’t like Kimberly Guilfoyle’s fashion sense and thought new beau would be more of a win with dad

Sunday 15 December 2024 07:00 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump Jr is dating a new woman who he thinks will “impress” his father, but has not publicly announced a split from Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose style he has criticized, according to a report.

Photos captured Trump Jr., 46 holding hands with socialite Bettina Anderson, 38, as they went for an evening stroll through Palm Beach, Florida this week.

While neither president-elect Donald Trump’s eldest son nor Guilfoyle, 55, have spoken publicly about their relationship status, insiders told People that after months of criticizing Guilfoyle’s style, he thinks he’s found someone who fits into the Trump family — someone comparable to his father’s wife, Melania. Trump met Melania at a party in 1998, when he was on a date with another woman, the former first lady said in a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

READ MORE:

Don Trump Jr didn’t like Guilfoyle’s style and thought new beau would impress his dad

Devin Nunes and Ric Grenell — who are Trump’s latest administration picks?

Sunday 15 December 2024 06:00 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes and the president-elect’s Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell have been selected to serve in his upcoming administration.

Nunes, as former California House Representative, was tapped for to serve as Chairman of Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, while Grenell was picked to serve as his Presiential Envoy for Special Missions.

While Nunes was in office he served on the House Intelligence Committee and consistently backed any move then-President Trump made. He also led the two-year investigation into US’s responde to the 2012 Benghazi attack, which ultimate found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the US State Department under Hillary Clinton.

Nunes also refused to back an investigation into Trump former national security adviser and Q-Anon conspiracy theorist Michael Flynn after it was revealed he had unreported discussions with Russian officials while serving under Trump.

“From everything that I can see, his conversations with the Russian ambassador—he was doing this country a favor, and he should be thanked for it,” Nunes said at the time.

Grenell formerly served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and his Director of National Intelligence.

Prior to his involvement in Trump’s administration, Grenell was a consultant for an eastern European oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc. He faced criticism after he wrote articles defending the oligarch without making clear he was being paid to manage the man’s image.

Grenell is a former Fox News contributor and was named as a VP at the far-right media outlet Newsmax in 2021. He earned the ire of the media in 2020 when, during a Trump press conference, he refused to identify himself to reporters and publicly accused the state of covering up incidents of voter fraud in order to help the election prospects of then-Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

These claims were made without evidence, and Mr Grenell refused to answer questions from journalists who demanded he prove his assertions.

Elon Musk shares photo of himself with Trump and Vance at Army-Navy game

Sunday 15 December 2024 04:38 , Graig Graziosi

Tesla, SpaceX, and X CEO Elon Musk was at Saturday’s Army-Navy game alongside President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. The image shows the three men on a stadium Jumbotron and is yet another example of Musk — the world’s richest man and presumably a very busy person leading three massive companies — spending a significant amount of time hanging around with Trump.

Vivek Ramaswamy poses with Daniel Penny, recalls donation to his legal defense

Sunday 15 December 2024 04:20 , Graig Graziosi

Failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted a photo of himself posing with Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted for the death of Jordan Neely, a Black street performer who struggled with homelessness and schizophrenia, and recalled that he donated to Penny’s legal defense fund. Neely died after Penny held him in a chokehold for more than six minuted on a New York City subway train.

Neely was allegedly yelling threatening things at the other passengers, but witnesses said he never touched anyone.

“Our family contributed to this man’s legal defense fund last year because he was wronged. We don’t regret it. Hope Daniel Penny has a bright future & good life ahead,” Ramaswamy wrote. According to reports at the time, Ramaswamy donated $10,000 to Penny’s defense.

CNN contributor Bakari Sellers calls Daniel Penny praise ‘identity politics of the right’

Sunday 15 December 2024 04:10 , Graig Graziosi

CNN contributor and former South Carolina Representative Bakari Sellers lamented that Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted for the death of Jordan Neely, a Black street performer who struggled with homelessness and schizophrenia, was invited to the Army-Navy football game to hobnob with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

“The prism through which this country views race is fascinating. Look at conservative avatars….Daniel Penny kills a black man has no accountability, chills with the POTUS. Caitlin Clark acknowledges black women’s professional contributions and gets crucified,” he wrote on X. “Watching the identity politics of the right…”

ABC News staff allegedly furious at $15m Trump settlement

Sunday 15 December 2024 03:56 , Graig Graziosi

ABC News staff are allegedly upset that the broadcaster agreed to pay $15 million to Donald Trump to settle a defamation suit he brought against veteran anchor George Stephanopoulos.Trump claimed the anchor defamed him when he said the president-elect had been found liable for rape by a jury in the E Jean Carroll defamation trial.According to reporter Yashar Ali, staff ABC News have expressed their frustration that the company found money to pay off Trump, but not for salary increases or staving off layoffs. “Their anger primarily stems from the fact that they have faced repeated budget and compensation cuts in recent years, experienced layoffs, and yet the network — even if insurance paid it — has paid this huge sum of money to settle this matter,” Ali wrote.

Democratic Party attorney says ABC News bent the knee to Trump in defamation settlement

Sunday 15 December 2024 03:41 , Graig Graziosi

Democratic Party attorney and Democracy Docket founded Marc Elias said ABC News “kissed the ring” by agreeing to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump.

On Saturday ABC News agreed to pay Trump $15 million after he sued the broadcaster for defamation in respose to a comment George Stephanopoulos made claiming the president-elect had been found liable for rape by a jury in the E Jean Carroll defamation trial. Elias criticized the broadcaster for the move. “Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience,” he wrote on Saturday.

ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

Sunday 15 December 2024 03:33 , Graig Graziosi

ABC has agreed to pay $15 million as part of a settlement with Donald Trump after the president-elect sued the network and host George Stephanopoulos for defamation.

In March, Stephanopoulos pressed congresswoman Nancy Mace about her support for the former president despite a judge finding him “liable for rape by a jury,” he said.

“Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury,” Stephonopoulos said on ABC’s This Week at the time. “It’s been affirmed by a judge.”

READ MORE:

ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

Video surfaces of George Santos being hit with coffee in Times Square

Sunday 15 December 2024 03:20 , Graig Graziosi

Former New York congressman George Santos was hit with a cup of coffee as he walked through Times Square, according to a video making the rounds on social media.

The clip begins with an unnamed man wearing sunglasses speaking into camera, saying, “This guy has got [the] audacity to show his face,” as he follows Santos.

After getting the former congressman’s attention, the man throws a drink on Santos, and asks, “How do you like that?”

READ MORE:

Video surfaces of George Santos being hit with coffee in Times Square

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely’s subway death

Sunday 15 December 2024 03:01 , Graig Graziosi

Daniel Penny, the former US Marine who was recently acquitted of the killing of New York City subway rider Jordan Neely, spent Saturday rubbing elbows with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the annual Army-Navy football game in Maryland.

The death of the homeless Black street performer sparked outrage and demands for justice for homeless New Yorkers, while Penny — and some witnesses aboard the train — argued he was a danger to others onboard. The former Marine held Neely in a lethal chokehold for more than six minutes.

“He was just threatening to kill people,” Penny told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. “He was threatening to go to jail forever, to go to jail for the rest of his life.”

READ MORE:

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely subway death

Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX site in Texas into his own city

Sunday 15 December 2024 02:36 , Graig Graziosi

In the decade since SpaceX arrived on the Texas coast, billionaire Elon Musk‘s company has created thousands of jobs near the Mexico border, launched rockets and sprung up new homes — all around an area dubbed Starbase.

Now SpaceX wants to make Starbase a recognized city.

Nearby residents are asking for an election to incorporate the area, which sits on the southern tip of Texas at Boca Chica Beach. Musk posted on his social platform X on Thursday that “SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas!”

READ MORE:

Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX site in Texas into his own city

Devin Nunes and Ric Grenell — who are Trump’s latest administration picks?

Sunday 15 December 2024 01:50 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes and the president-elect’s Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell have been selected to serve in his upcoming administration.

Nunes, as former California House Representative, was tapped for to serve as Chairman of Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, while Grenell was picked to serve as his Presiential Envoy for Special Missions.

While Nunes was in office he served on the House Intelligence Committee and consistently backed any move then-President Trump made. He also led the two-year investigation into US’s responde to the 2012 Benghazi attack, which ultimate found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the US State Department under Hillary Clinton.

Nunes also refused to back an investigation into Trump former national security adviser and Q-Anon conspiracy theorist Michael Flynn after it was revealed he had unreported discussions with Russian officials while serving under Trump.

“From everything that I can see, his conversations with the Russian ambassador—he was doing this country a favor, and he should be thanked for it,” Nunes said at the time.

Grenell formerly served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and his Director of National Intelligence.

Prior to his involvement in Trump’s administration, Grenell was a consultant for an eastern European oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc. He faced criticism after he wrote articles defending the oligarch without making clear he was being paid to manage the man’s image.

Grenell is a former Fox News contributor and was named as a VP at the far-right media outlet Newsmax in 2021. He earned the ire of the media in 2020 when, during a Trump press conference, he refused to identify himself to reporters and publicly accused the state of covering up incidents of voter fraud in order to help the election prospects of then-Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

These claims were made without evidence, and Mr Grenell refused to answer questions from journalists who demanded he prove his assertions.

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely’s subway death

Sunday 15 December 2024 00:53 , Graig Graziosi

Daniel Penny, the former US Marine who was recently acquitted of the killing of New York City subway rider Jordan Neely, spent Saturday rubbing elbows with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the annual Army-Navy football game in Maryland.

The death of the homeless Black street performer sparked outrage and demands for justice for homeless New Yorkers, while Penny — and some witnesses aboard the train — argued he was a danger to others onboard. The former Marine held Neely in a lethal chokehold for more than six minutes.

“He was just threatening to kill people,” Penny told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. “He was threatening to go to jail forever, to go to jail for the rest of his life.”READ MORE:

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely subway death

Trump names Ric Grenell as Presidential Envoy for Special Missions

Sunday 15 December 2024 00:30 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump has named Ric Grenell, his former acting Director for National Intelligence, to Presidential Envoy for Special Missions in his upcoming term. “In my First Term, Ric was the United States Ambassador to Germany, Acting Director of National Intelligence, and Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Negotiations. Previously, he spent eight years inside the United Nations Security Council, working with North Korea, and developments in numerous other Countries,” Trump’s account wrote on Truth Social.

D.C. restaurant server fired for saying she would refuse to serve some Trump officials

Sunday 15 December 2024 00:15 , Graig Graziosi

A server in Washington, D.C. has been fired after she said she would refuse to serve certain officials in Donald Trump‘s incoming administration who have been accused of sexual misconduct.

The server was working at Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill when she made the comments to Washingtonian magazine for a story about D.C. preparing for the influx of Trump officials to the city’s dining spots.

After the story ran, Fox News ran its own story following up on her comments and learned she had been fired for what her employer called her “base prejudice.”

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D.C. server fired for saying she would refuse to serve some Trump officials

Chicago mayor vows to protect residents after Trump’s border czar singles out Windy City for mass deportations

Saturday 14 December 2024 23:50 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar” has suggested the president-elect’s plans for mass deportations will begin in Chicago, part of a plan that would deploy law enforcement officers into communities across the country for broad sweeps targeting people living in the country without legal permission.

The Windy City’s mayor is vowing to protect his city’s residents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents who could push into schools and workplaces, butting against so-called “sanctuary” policies barring federal forces from using local police for deportation enforcement.

“What the Trump administration has called for is for local police departments around the country to behave as ICE agents. In sanctuary cities, that is not permissible,” Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson told CNN.

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Chicago mayor vows to protect residents after Trump’s border czar singles out city

Defense Secretary conducts coin toss at Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 23:20 , Josh Marcus

Why the right loves Daniel Penny

Saturday 14 December 2024 23:00 , Josh Marcus

Daniel Penny was a guest of Donald Trump and company on Saturday at the Army-Navy football game in Maryland.

The invite, on its face, would seem a strange one: Penny was facing a homicide charge in a New York court last week, for which he was ultimately acquitted.

Last year, we had this look at how Penny became a celebrity on the right for choking a homeless man on the subway, in what the 26-year-old said was an act to defend his fellow passengers.

How Republicans and right-wing media turned Jordan Neely’s killer into a hero

ICYMI: Trump set to scrap car-crash regulation Musk hates

Saturday 14 December 2024 22:40 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly considering scrapping a car-crash reporting requirement that Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk stongly opposes, according to a new report.

According to Reuters, which viewed a document reportedly proposing the change, the removal of the requirement could hamstring the government’s ability to effectively investigate crashes and regulate the safety of vehicles with self-driving systems, like Musk’s Teslas and Cybertrucks.

Musk, who is the world’s richest man, used his vast wealth to pour a quarter of a billion dollars into Trump’s 2024 campaign. If Trump’s team does remove the accident reporting requirements, it would likely directly benefit Musk’s Tesla, which has reported the majority of crashes — more than 1,500 — to federal safety regulators under the program.

Tesla’s crashes have sparked three major National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigations, according to federal data. According to the agency’s data, Teslas have accounted for 40 out of 45 fatal crashes reported to the agency through October 15.

Graig Graziosi has the details.

Trump set to scrap car-crash regulation Musk hates: Report

Acquitted Daniel Penny meets with Trump and Vance at Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 22:30 , Graig Graziosi

Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted for the killing of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train, met with Donald Trump and JD Vance during the Army-Navy football game on Saturday.