Dominion Settles With Fox News
Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5M settlement agreement Tuesday afternoon, averting a high-profile trial putting one of the world's top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of highly controversial vote-rigging claims in the 2020 US election.
The resolution follows a recent summary judgment by Judge Eric Davis which allowed the case to go to trial.
Lawyers and media waited in the courtroom for more than two hours after opening statements were slated to begin on Tuesday afternoon. Davis reentered the courtroom just before 4 p.m. to announce the settlement with the lead attorneys on the case following close behind.
Right narrative
The left’s assault on the First Amendment is unrelenting and it’s up to those who know the importance of free speech in the US to defend against attacks like this lawsuit. If Dominion had prevailed, media organizations and publishers would be liable for anything guests on their platforms say or write.
Left narrative
Free speech is not limitless. The political right might build its business model around selling false narratives to its supporters, but cases like this are part of the accountability infrastructure that ensures truth in reporting and an accurately informed citizenry.
US Debt Ceiling: McCarthy Calls for 1% Federal Spending Cap
On Monday, US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pledged to pass legislation to raise the nation's debt ceiling on the condition that future federal spending be capped at 1%.
McCarthy said in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange that House Republicans would vote on a measure to lift the debt ceiling into the next year in exchange for freezing spending at last year’s levels and other concessions.
In addition to limiting federal spending on items such as the military and discretionary programs, the measure would also claw back COVID aid and require Americans to work to receive federal benefits.
Republican narrative
While Republicans are sympathetic to Americans’ financial struggles, Biden continues to hide from the issue and refuse to negotiate. It’s time for the president to lead by coming to the table with McCarthy and for Democrats to acknowledge their reckless spending got the US into this predicament and must be reined in. Tying the debt ceiling to spending levels is the only way to make the country fiscally responsible.
Democratic narrative
Republicans are holding the US economy hostage in an attempt to get their way. In his speech, Speaker McCarthy presented an extreme wish list that increases costs for hard-working families, taking food stamps and health care away from millions of Americans without actually reducing the deficit. This is dangerous and is what will ultimately lead to a default.
Cynical narrative
This government paralysis is just one of the many symptoms of a nation plagued by partisan games, with leaders more concerned with tearing each other down than building the country up. As both sides refuse to compromise, the US is creeping closer to the edge of an economic crisis — something must be done to end this deadlock.
Nerd narrative
There's a 5% chance the US will default on its sovereign debt before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Sunak Faces Investigation Over Wife's Childcare Firm
On Monday, the UK Parliament's standards watchdog announced that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under investigation over a potential failure to declare wife Akshata Murty's shares in a childcare firm.
The watchdog is reportedly probing Sunak under paragraph six of the ministerial code, which states that MPs "must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest" they hold.
The investigation stems from complaints that Sunak did not disclose that Murty held shares in Koru Kids — a childcare firm that trains and registers child-minders — before his liaison committee hearing appearance on 28 March.
Left narrative
This is a huge setback for Rishi Sunak, who had promised to put integrity, professionalism, and accountability at the heart of his administration. He must now explain why he failed to come clean when asked about the shares his family held in a company that is set to benefit from his pilot childcare policy. The public wants a government focused on the country rather than one which bends the rules and avoids proper scrutiny for its own financial gain.
Right narrative
There isn't anything sinister about how Rishi Sunak declared his wife's shares. He did so via a ministerial declaration, as opposed to through the Commons, and he has assured the standards commissioner he will work cooperatively to clear up any outstanding questions. There's no need to doubt Sunak's integrity and ethics.
Nerd narrative
There's an 85% chance that Rishi Sunak will be Prime Minister of the UK on January 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
US Officers in Jayland Walker Killing Won't Be Charged
Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost announced Monday that the eight officers who shot and killed 25-year-old Black man Jayland Walker last year won't face charges after an Ohio Grand Jury found they were legally justified in the fatal shooting.
Akron police attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Walker, with police video showing he refused to stop. Officers in pursuit believed that Walker fired a shot at them from the vehicle. After Walker fled the car on foot, officers thought he would fire at them again and thus fired 94 shots, hitting him 46 times.
In his announcement, Yost said Walker did fire at least one shot from the vehicle. However, when the officers fired on Walker, he wasn't armed, as he had left the gun inside the vehicle.
Left narrative
Activists and the public won't be deterred, and the police officers responsible for this heinous crime must face accountability. More broadly, there also needs to be drastic changes made to policing and public safety across the nation, or else the cycle of violence will continue as police become increasingly militarized, more prisons are built, and more Black people are incarcerated or murdered.
Right narrative
While tragic, the officers who fired on Walker were legally justified in their actions as he posed a deadly threat, as seen by the evidence. Lethal force is sometimes used as a last resort — as was the case here — but it's not the epidemic many claim it to be. In fact, a large majority of officers will begin and end their careers without ever having fired their service weapons.
Putin Visits Troops in Russian-Controlled Regions of Ukraine
In footage released by the Kremlin on Tuesday, Russian Pres. Putin visited troops in the regions of Kherson and Luhansk — two of four Ukrainian regions which Moscow claimed to have annexed last year.
Although the exact date of the visit couldn't be confirmed, Putin congratulated troops on Orthodox Easter — which was celebrated this past Sunday — and presented them with religious icons.
He could be seen telling commanders, "It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information."
Pro-establishment narrative
This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a "coup." This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
Pro-Russia narrative
NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.
Nerd narrative
There is a 1% chance that Ukraine will officially recognize a former Ukrainian territory (Luhansk, Donetsk or Crimea) as independent before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
US Govt Report: China Began Working on COVID Vaccine Before Official Outbreak
A US Senate report on the origin of COVID has found that the pandemic was most likely the result of a "research-related incident" in Wuhan, China, adding that Chinese researchers may have begun developing vaccines in November 2019.
The 300-page report, an expanded version of an interim report released last October, claims the SARS-CoV-2 virus likely first emerged between Oct. 28 and Nov. 10, 2019 — weeks earlier than the Chinese government’s timeline. It says that around that time, the Wuhan Institute of Virology put unusual emphasis on raising its biological safety protocols.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) also suggested the possibility of a July or August 2019 lab leak, which would call into question the amount of time it took to predate a Feb. 24, 2020, vaccine patent filed by Chinese military scientist Dr. Zhou Yusen, who later died from unknown causes.
Pro-establishment narrative
There's still no conclusive answer or new evidence as to the origins of COVID. Even the Republican leaders of this investigation — who are anything but sympathetic to China or the public health industry — have acknowledged that if this was a lab leak, which is just one theory, it was unintentional. While biomedical accidents occur in both China and the US, and any potential mistakes made in Wuhan must be thoroughly investigated, the COVID origin debate is still ongoing. It's important to gather bipartisan opinions and data from both politicians and medical experts before drawing a final conclusion.
Establishment-critical narrative
The lab leak theory is the only viable explanation at this point, and blame should be cast on the elites of both China and the US. Scientists who suggested the validity of the lab leak theory early in the pandemic were immediately labeled "conspiracy theorists" by US tech companies, corporate media, and intelligence agencies. The CIA, which draws conclusions about thousands of issues every year with a fraction of the evidence, still claims it's unsure about the virus' origins. This was, and still is, a major coverup, and Americans deserve to know who in their government has been lying to them on behalf of the PRC.
Cynical narrative
The government and its media allies have always lied to the public, so we shouldn't be surprised that they did it with COVID. This trend of gaslighting the public and then fessing up once a new story makes the headlines have gone on for too long. This is how American politics works those in power wield their power to their own advantage and the powerless public has no say in the matter.
Ralph Yarl Shooting: Suspect Surrenders, Released on Bond
On Tuesday, 84-year-old Andrew Lester of Clay County, Mo., who was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting Black teenager Ralph Yarl, 16, surrendered to the county detention center and was freed on a $200K bond a few hours later, according to the Sheriff's Office.
He was initially taken into custody and released on Thursday — the night of the shooting — prompting demonstrations across Kansas City and some to draw similarities between the shooting and those of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, also young Black men.
Lester, who shot Yarl after the teen rang his doorbell thinking it was the house where he was supposed to pick up his siblings, faces up to 15 years in prison for armed criminal action and life imprisonment for first-degree assault.
Left narrative
This despicable act was clearly racially motivated, and it's right that so many activists are demanding justice over this attempted murder. Ringing a doorbell isn't a crime and the unnecessary force used against this unarmed minor is a testament to the threat faced every day by Black Americans. The fact that law enforcement originally released Lester without charge is an insult to Yarl's suffering and that of his family.
Right narrative
What many Americans may not know is that year-old White woman Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed in New York under very similar circumstances and within 48 hours of the Ralph Yarl shooting. The only difference is that the entire country erupted over Yarl's injuries and Pres. Biden invited him to the White House while Gillis's death went largely ignored. There is a double standard in America, but not the one being portrayed by the media.
India: Top Court Hears Pleas To Legalize LGBTQ+ Marriages
On Tuesday, India's Supreme Court began hearing final arguments on a number of petitions from LGBTQ+ couples and activists seeking to legalize same-sex marriage in the country.
A five-judge constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is live streaming the debate in "public interest" as it calls same-sex union a "seminal" issue of great importance.
However, PM Narendra Modi's administration has maintained that marriage is an "exclusively heterogeneous institution" and argued that the creation of a new socio-legal relationship can only be achieved through the legislature, not the judiciary.
Progressive narrative
It's not a matter of religion, tradition, or social morality; it's about the fundamental rights of citizens, about freedom from stigma and harassment, and about LGBTQ+ couples having the same rights as heterosexual couples. The case has implications not just for LGBTQ+ couples but also for equality for all citizens under the Constitution at a time when India's democratic values are under attack by right-winger activists attempting to shift the country towards a theocracy.
Conservative narrative
While the LGBTQ+ community shouldn't be discriminated against, it's crucial to note that same-sex marriages aren't compatible with the Indian familial unit of husband, wife, and children. Proponents of marriage equality must understand that any attempt to disturb the exclusively heterogeneous institution would cause complete havoc in India's deeply religious society. The ripple effects of legalizing same-sex marriages are difficult to anticipate.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the share of people living in countries where same-sex marriage is legal will be at least 16% in 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Photographer Admits AI Created Sony Prize-Winning Image
The winner of a prestigious photography competition is refusing the reward after he admitted that the image was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Boris Eldagsen, a German artist, won the Sony World Photography Award with a black-and-white image depicting two women from different generations. He has since said he pulled the stunt to test the integrity of the competition and that he hoped it would prompt discussion about the future of photography.
In a statement on his website, Eldagsen also asked readers: "How many of you knew or suspected that it was AI generated?" He also stated: "AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this… AI is not photography."
Narrative A
AI systems with abilities exceeding the limits of human capacity are on the horizon. Governments must step in to stop the dangerous AI development race between big tech companies. If done at the right pace and with the right regulation, AI could offer unprecedented solutions to humanity, but it could also destroy us unless we intervene now.
Narrative B
The ramifications of developing AI technology are far too vast to even try to predict. But the positives are just as numerous as the negatives. AI could act to tackle loneliness, solve climate change, and address income inequality. Attempts to stifle the technology will not work, and versions of AI will soon permeate the lives of billions.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the first general AI system will be devised, tested, and publicly announced by April 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Study: Male Contraceptive Pill Could Be Available in 5 Years
Researchers at Washington State University say the development of a male contraceptive pill that disables a gene crucial for reproducing sperm may be available in five years. A breakthrough discovery of the so-called "Arrdc5" gene is enabling the new pill’s progress.
University researchers identified the expression of the gene in the testicular tissue of mice, pigs, cattle, and humans. When researchers eliminated the gene in mice, it created infertility only in the males, impacting the mobility and count of sperm.
Disabling the gene in mice stopped the production of a protein to develop a condition called "oligoasthenoteratospermia," the most commonly found cause of male infertility in humans. The protein caused 98% of the mice's sperm to be incapable of fusing with an egg.
Narrative A
A viable male birth control pill is on the horizon, and science is very close to the breakthrough that has been desired for decades. In the wake of last year’s SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, reproductive care and contraception have become of even greater importance. The discovery of a gene that can inhibit sperm from fertilizing an egg without hormonal interference can bring a widely sought-after male contraceptive quite soon.
Narrative B
While there is great progress being made in the development of a male contraceptive pill, we are quite far from having it available and widely used by men. While many men say they would like to prevent unplanned pregnancies, a large portion hesitates at the idea of taking a novel pill that hasn’t been tested. There are multiple hurdles to clear before male contraceptives are a realistic, widely accepted option to prevent unwanted pregnancies.