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What to watch for in the Dominion vs. Fox News trial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

Wilmington, Del. — A courtroom drama of epic proportions is set to begin on Tuesday in Delaware as Fox News defends itself against claims of defamation from Dominion Voting Systems. The closely watched case will have major implications for defamation law, the intersection of media and politics and the future of the country’s most-watched news network. Here are some key things to watch for during this week’s trial: Dominion aims to expose internal crisis at Fox after the 2020 election The voting systems provider is alleging it knowingly aired false information about its software being promoted by former President Trump and his allies in the days and weeks following now-President Biden’s 2020 election victory. Dominion has already made public in various court filings a slew of internal communications from leading hosts and executives at Fox showing them privately insulting Trump and his defenders and throwing cold water on claims of voter fraud. The ...

Kansas City homeowner accused of shooting Black teen charged with two felonies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

An 85-year-old Kansas City homeowner, Andrew D. Lester, who allegedly shot and wounded a Black teen last week after he went to the wrong house, was charged with armed assault on Monday evening. The teen, Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot twice and had been in critical condition since last Thursday, after he went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers. Yarl is now recovering at home with his family. The homeowner was charged with two felonies, first-degree assault and armed criminal action.Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson said at a news conference that race was not a factor in the shooting that occurred last Thursday, USA Today reported. “We understand how frustrating this has been, but I can assure you the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work,” Thompson said at the news conference. Thompson said the suspect, Andrew D. Lester, is not yet in custody, but a warrant has been issued for his arrest, CBS News reported. The shooti...

Sales tax covers bicyclists’ share of road? Not even close, drivers say: Roadshow

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

Q: Please remind C.J. Fox, who thinks roads were built solely for motorized vehicles, that roads where pedestrians, bicycles and horses are prohibited are only some roads, called freeways.All other roads were built for multiuse: cars, bikes, pedestrians, and once, the horse and buggy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but equestrians still have the ultimate right of way over pedestrians, who have the right of way over cyclists. Motor vehicles are last.Joe JohnsonA: You are correct.Q: I’m a forever reader of your column, and you provide great info, but you missed the mark in your response to C.J. Fox and bike riders. You think the sales tax goes toward green lanes, bike stencils, and stanchions? Most likely, not. They do not pay a gas tax, which cars do, and with the cost of current cars, have you seen the sales tax on that?! I believe that bicyclists need to register and receive a yearly tag, like cars. And yes, insurance. They constantly run stop signs and red lights. Only once ...

What California can learn from Texas trees

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

Texas Hill Country is a far cry from urban California, with spicy barbecue, worn dance floors, pin-dot towns and ranches that stretch to the horizon.But Texan trees could become the urban forests of the Golden State’s hotter and drier future — succeeding, rather than struggling, in an era of climate change.A 20-year UC Davis research study called “Climate-Ready Trees” is exploring whether species native to our red-state rival can replace more familiar trees ill-suited to California’s coming reality.“How a tree grew in the past is no longer a good predictor of its future success,” especially in California’s inner valleys, said project leader Emily Griswold, who is overseeing the living lab, a young campus forest of more than 200 tiny saplings, representing 40 different species, native to the undulating plateau of central west Texas. Most of those have rarely been grown here before.The project comes at a time when cities seek not only to save but also to expand their...

20-year-old woman shot and killed after accidentally turning into the wrong driveway; resident charged with second-degree murder

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

By Laura Ly | CNNA 20-year-old woman was shot and killed Saturday after she and three others accidentally turned into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend’s house in rural upstate New York, authorities said.The young woman, identified as Kaylin Gillis, was struck by gunfire as a man fired two shots from his front porch, one of which hit the vehicle she was in, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said in a news conference Monday.The man, 65-year-old Kevin Monahan, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with her death, Murphy said Monday. It is unclear whether Monahan has retained an attorney yet.“It’s a very rural area with dirt roads. It’s easy to get lost. They drove up this driveway for a very short time, realized their mistake and were leaving, when Mr. Monahan came out and fired two shots,” Murphy said, adding that the area has poor cell phone service.The shooting happened just days after a Black teenager in Kansas Ci...

Opinion: College campus hecklers’ disruptions don’t count as free speech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

America is experiencing two disturbing simultaneous trends: the rise of mob censorship to shut down speaking events on college campuses, and an attempt to justify it as merely the exercise of “more speech.”At SUNY Albany this month, protesters stormed an event, formed an improvised conga line and prevented a lecture — ironically, titled “Free Speech on Campus” — from beginning.In a now notorious incident at Stanford Law School last month, protesters shouted down a federal appellate judge’s speech.And in November, hecklers drowned out conservative commentator Ann Coulter at Cornell, playing loud music, chanting, shouting at her and repeatedly preventing her from speaking. “We don’t want you here, your words are violence,” screamed one heckler.I have defended free speech on college campuses for over a decade. We’ve seen waves of shout-downs before. But few defended the disruptions. In fact, they were usually met with near-universal condemnation.Not so any...

Dining signs appear at hush-hush food hall eyed in downtown San Jose

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

SAN JOSE — A hush-hush effort by an Uber co-founder to create a food hall in a downtown San Jose historic building has gained a visible addition: several dining-related signs on the structure.DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats logos have appeared on the sides of the Odd Fellows building, a prominent structure built in 1885 at the corner of East Santa Clara Street and South Third Street in downtown San Jose where the food hall is taking shape.Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former chief executive officer of Uber, a ride-hailing company, is leading the CloudKitchens firm that is developing the unusual project in the former Odd Fellows Building, whose addresses range from 82 through 96 East Santa Clara Street.Over the decades, the property has been a boxing gym, an Odd Fellow’s hall, and a furniture store. Now, it’s poised to be the site of a cutting-edge commercial kitchen venture.DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub signs hang on the exterior of a proposed food hall at a historic downt...

How Apple is giving banks a run for their money

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

By Nicole Goodkind | CNNApple and Goldman Sachs launched a new high-yield savings account on Monday that offers a 4.15% interest rate, more than 10 times higher than the US national average.The move is one of many that Apple has made in recent months to increase its financial services footprint — adding some lofty competition for customers in the already-crowded banking sector.The interest payout on Apple’s savings account is about 415 times more than the 0.01% that Chase and Bank of America offer their basic savings customers and could incentivize customers to move money from the big banks and into the Apple ecosystem, said Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.That’s good news for Apple, but the company likely sees this as a way to further enhance customer loyalty and less of a way to compete against big banks, said Rossman.Apple’s savings account is managed through Apple products and users must have Apple’s credit card, simply called Apple Car...

Anglican conservatives meet in Rwanda amid rift over LGBTQ

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Hundreds of Anglican conservative leaders from 52 countries are meeting in Rwanda amid a rift over support within the church for same-sex unions.The conference in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, has been convened under the auspices of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, or GAFCON, a group formed in 2008 that advocates orthodoxy in the global Anglican communion.The meeting comes two months after the decision of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples. Clerics from Africa are among those who continue to express concern.“We are here to bring the Bible to be at the center of everything,” Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda told the AP Tuesday.The decision by the Church of England to bless same-sex unions created “enormous confusion” and could be the “final nail in the coffin in the already divided legacy of the Anglican Church,” Mbanda said.The divisions have widened in recent years as conservative bishops, notably fro...

Wisconsin city moving GOP birthplace building across town

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:12 GMT

RIPON, Wis. (AP) — Officials in Ripon, Wisconsin, have moved the building where the Republican Party is said to have been founded across town to boost visibility as conservatives descend on the state for the GOP national convention next year.Workers moved the Little White Schoolhouse to a different location Monday, WLUK-TV reported.The Ripon Chamber of Commerce owns the building. The chamber’s executive director, Mandy Kimes, told the television station the new location will increase visibility and access as visitors arrive in the state for the GOP national convention in Milwaukee next summer. Ripon is about 85 miles (136 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.“We really want to keep the Little White Schoolhouse as unaltered as possible,” Kimes said. “And so having this other location … we’re going to be able to turn that into a visitors center where people can come in, have an experience, learn what they’re about to see and really enjoy it.”The building has been...