A newly-obtained video shows former President Donald Trump railing at New York Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY) while repeatedly refusing to refusing to answer questions under the Fifth Amendment.

CBS News obtained footage from Trump’s deposition last year as part of the financial fraud investigation into the former president, his adult children, and his business organization. After declaring his understanding of the proceeding, Trump was given the chance to make an opening statement, and he wasted no time attacking James.

From CBS reporting:

“This is the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country.” He called James “a renegade and out of control prosecutor” and accused her of having political motives for her office’s investigation into his financial practices.

Just over a month later, on Sept. 21, James announced her office’s lawsuit against Trump, three of his children and his company, accusing them of a long-running scheme to inflate the value of their properties. The Trumps have denied wrongdoing.

“This whole thing is very unfair,” Trump says in the deposition video.

“Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool,” Trump said, adding that on the advice of counsel, “I respectfully decline to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.

“This will be my answer to any further questions.”

The video’s release comes months after Trump took to Truth Social, opened fire on James and announced that he took the Fifth. In the past, the former president has questioned the innocence of anyone who asserts their rights against self-incrimination; in his case though, he claimed he had “no choice” because of the “unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt” against him.

Trump was instructed to say “same answer” in order to refer to his statement over the course of the interview, and CBS reports that he did so “more than 400 times.” In the months that followed, the Trump Organization and a subsidiary entity were found guilty of multiple charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.

Watch above, via CBS.

With so many do-it-yourself personal finance tools at your fingertips, you might not even consider the need to enlist the help of a real-life financial advisor. From getting out of debt to investing in your retirement, how can you tell which financial milestones are worth the time and money of a professional? Here’s…

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Screenshot via CNN.

A sixth officer with the Memphis Police Department has been “relieved of duty” in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols.

Nichols was pulled over by officers with the Memphis Police Department on Jan. 7. Video from the police body cams and surveillance cameras showed Nichols being brutally beaten, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck by batons, punched, and kicked by the officers. Nichols died from his injuries on Jan. 10. The officers were fired shortly thereafter.

On Thursday, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced charges against five MPD officers for Nichols’ death. Emmit Martin III, Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Desmond Mills were each charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping involving the possession of a weapon, aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury, official misconduct through unauthorized exercise of power, official misconduct through failure to act when there is a duty imposed by a law, and official oppression. Each of the five former MPD officers was arrested and taken into custody before the charges were publicly announced.

In a Sunday interview with CNN Newsroom anchor Pamela Brown, Mulroy would not rule out charges against additional police officers or first responders, and the MPD, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and Memphis Fire Department had all told media that their agencies were continuing to investigate the incident and whether any of their employees had any culpability for failure to intervene to stop the beating or failure to render aid to treat Nichols’ injuries.

On Monday, CNN reported that a sixth Memphis PD officer, Officer Preston Hemphill, had been relieved of duty related to his role in Nichols’ arrest.

“He was relieved of duty with the other officers,” said MPD Major Karen Rudolph. “Remember, we said this investigation is ongoing. More information will be shared as it develops.”

CNN correspondent Nick Valencia reported that Hemphill had been with MPD since 2018. It is not yet known which officer Hemphill is in the video footage from Nichols’ arrest or if he was a member of the SCORPION Unit, the anti-street crime unit to which the other five officers belonged before they were fired and charged in Nichols’ death.

UPDATE 1:15 pm ET: CNN just reported additional information on this story, with Valencia reporting that he had spoken with an attorney representing Hemphill, who said that his client’s body cam footage had been seen in the first video clip released by the MPD. The attorney also told CNN that his client was not present at the second scene, where the more severe beatings took place.

Valencia also had a photo of Hemphill and had confirmed that he was a part of MPD’s crisis intervention team, but it was still not known what specific actions or actions by Hemphill were alleged to be the reason he was put on administrative leave.

Watch the video above, via CNN.

The gang’s all here for the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard (Feb. 16), as the Paramount+ spiritual revival of The Next Generation finally goes ahead and gives fans what they wanted all along by bringing onboard most of the rest of the bridge crew from the good ol’ Enterprise NCC-1701-D, plus Seven of Nine…

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) didn’t even come close to answering an awkward question about assigning controversial Rep. George Santos (R-NY) to committees — in one of the most brutal dodges you’ll see.

Speaking with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday, the California congressman somehow turned a query about Santos — the New York congressman who is embroiled in scandal over his wildly falsified resume and serious campaign finance questions — into a two-minute rant against proxy voting in the House.

“Doesn’t it further wear down credibility [of Congress] when you put someone who is under state, local, federal and international investigation as a representative of your party on committees?” Brennan asked.

“Are you talking about [Eric] Swalwell?” McCarthy replied, sarcastically.

“I’m talking about George Santos, representative from New York,” Brennan replied.

From there, McCarthy launched into a speech — interrupted unsuccessfully several times by Brennan — which didn’t even come close to answering the question:

McCarthy: We should have that discussion. So let’s have that discussion. You want to bring up Santos, and let’s talk about the institution itself, because I agree wholeheartedly that Congress is broken. And I think your listeners or viewers should understand what proxy voting was because it never took place because it never took place in Congress before.

Brennan: I’m asking you about George Santos.

McCarthy: I know you asked me a question. Let me ask you…

Brennan: Because you could put it to a vote to try to oust him…

McCarthy: You asked me a question. I’d appreciate if you let me answer. So let’s go through this because it’s not one simple answer. Congress is broken based upon what has transpired in the last Congress. The American public wasn’t able to come in to see us. People voted by proxy, meaning you didn’t have to show up for work, Bills didn’t go- have to go through committee. So what I’m trying to do is open the people’s house back for the people so their voices there- so people are held accountable. So now, as I just had in the last week, for the first time in seven years, every member got to vote.

Brennan: If you got a third of your caucus to vote to oust him, you could do so. You don’t think you could get your Republicans to do that?

McCarthy: I wasn’t finished answering the question. So, if every single new person brought into Congress was elected by their constituents, what their constituents have done has lend their voice to the American public. So those members can all serve on committee. Now, what I’m trying to do is change some of these committees as well, like the Intel Committee is different than any other committee–

Brennan: So you’re just not going to answer the question I asked?

McCarthy: Well, no, no. You don’t get to question whether I answer it. You asked a question, I’m trying to get you through that.

Brennan: I don’t think you’ve said the name George Santos like once.

McCarthy: But you know what?

Brennan: You’re talking about proxy voting–

McCarthy: No, no, no. But, you know, you started the question with Congress was broken, and I agreed with you. But I was answering the question of how Congress is broken and how we’re changing it. So if I can finish the question that you asked me how Congress is broken, I equated every single member. They would just got elected by their constituents. They have a right to serve. So that means that Santos can serve on a committee the same way Swalwell, who had a relationship with a Chinese spy, but they will not serve on Intel because I think–

Brennan: They’re wrapping me in the control room.

McCarthy: Well, that’s unfortunate. I wish I could answer the question.

Even if he were given all the time in the world, it seems hard to fathom that the Speaker would have come close to giving a direct answer — or even just saying George Santos’s name.

Watch above, via CBS.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) claimed she didn’t know about the history behind her past rhetoric — when pressed by CNN’s Dana Bash over the anti-Semitic tropes the congresswoman has previously pushed.

Omar joined CNN’s State of the Union alongside Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to talk about how House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has moved to block all three of them from their Congressional committee assignments. McCarthy already had Schiff and Swalwell removed from the House Intel Committee, and he has pledged to have Omar taken off the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Bash confronted Omar about the accusations that she has repeatedly made anti-Semitic and otherwise controversial comments while speaking about Israel. Bash cited a number of examples, including how Omar once said “Israel has hypnotized the world,” and that America’s support for the country is “all about the Benjamins.”

Asked about these and other instances, Omar — who, Bash noted, previously apologized for her remarks — said, “I might have used words at the time that I didn’t understand were trafficking in anti-Semitism.”

“When that was brought to my attention, I apologized. I owned up to it,” she continued. “That’s the kind of person that I am, and I continue to work with my colleagues and my community to fight against anti-Semitism.”

Omar went on to insinuate the Republican push to have her axed from her committee assignments is rooted in bigotry. Schiff defended Omar from the GOP’s anti-Semitism allegations against her, but she again claimed she didn’t know what she was doing when Bash scrutinized her further

Bash: So when you apologized for the “All about the Benjamins” comment, you said, “anti-Semitism is real, and I’m grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.” What did you learn?

Omar: A lot. I certainly did not, or was not aware, that the word “hypnotized” was a trope. I wasn’t aware of the fact that there are tropes about Jews and money. That has been a very enlightening part of this journey. To insinuate that I knowingly said these things when people have read into my comments to make it sound as if I have something against the Jewish community is so wrong. If you remember when I first got elected to Congress, it was when the FBI report came out about the rise of anti-Semitism. As the Rep-elected, the first op-ed I wrote was on that report, which I talked about how it was important for us as a community to coalesce around the Jewish community and fight against anti-Semitism. I voted for every single resolution. No Republican can say that. Condemning anti-semitism. My work is clear, and the collaboration and work that I do with my Jewish colleagues is very clear…

Watch above via CNN.

Comic and political pundit Bill Maher reacted to the killing of Tyre Nichols and a pair of mass shootings this week by pointing out that all were carried out by nonwhites, and claiming that “mono-focus on race” hinders the fixing of “realer problems.”

On Friday night’s edition of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher derided what he claimed is a single-minded focus on race after mass shootings like the ones in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay and police incidents like the Nichols beating, saying it “short-circuits” work to fix “realer problems.”

Guest Tim Ryan added a point about how cops are “stressed” and “underpaid”:

BILL MAHER: This week, people learn the names of a couple of cities here in California. Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park was the other one.

And, you know, these shootings happen we go through these this ritual where then we wait for the, for them to announce the race of the shooter. We’re waiting for the Oscar nominations because that’s, you know, somehow to a lot of people, the most important thing. And I just thought it was very interesting that this week, Asians were killed by Asians. Two Asian men who were, you know, 66 and 72.

And then this week, we just got this video of the Memphis Five. A Black man is brutally beaten in Memphis by five cops. They’re all Black.

I guess what I’m asking is America’s culture of violence. It does go deeper than race. Right? And I think this mono-focus we have on race is short-circuiting us trying to fix some of the realer problems. Would you agree?

TIM RYAN: Well, definitely deeper concerns here. And this is an opportunity for us to have that conversation. The conversation about mental health, the conversation about guns, the conversation about.

BILL MAHER: Cops.

TIM RYAN: The cops and the stress, and the stress the cops are under. And I’m not defending these guys, of course, this is a tragedy. They should be prosecuted, full extent of the law, the whole nine yards. But if we don’t at some level realize that it’s not a white cop or a Black cop, it’s a cop who’s under stress, who’s underpaid. I had cops in my congressional district, tBill. They were getting paid $14 an hour.

Watch above via HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.

One White House reporter drew a connection between then-President Donald Trump’s 2017 speech encouraging law enforcement to use some violence against suspects and the beating death of Tyre Nichols.

At Friday’s White House briefing, the release of the horrific video evidence of the beating by police that ended the life of Tyre Nichols was still several hours away, but the killing was a frequent topic.

One reporter, Andrew Feinberg, asked about the Trump speech — during which he told cops “please don’t be too nice” and suggested they cause handcuffed prisoners to hit their heads  — and whether President Joe Biden had plans to counteract that message:

ANDREW FEINBERG: Thank you. On Tyre Nichols, the — in previous police brutality cases in the past couple years, the officers have been white. That’s not the case in this — in this case. Is the President concerned that within the culture of policing there is a comfort with violence and an entitlement to use violence that would lead these officers to beat a man to death for fleeing from them during a traffic stop? Does he feel that police may feel emboldened to do these things? And what would he do about that, if so?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I mean, the pri- — the President has called for meaningful reform. He’s called on it very clearly and spoken to it the last two years. And he wants to see real change. He wants to make sure there is accountability with law enforcement officers who violate their oaths.

And he also said that we need to build that long-lasting relationship between enforcement and the vast majority — we understand and he believes — of whom wear the badge honorably. And that is important too. And in those communities, not only they wear it honorably, but they also — to serve the community — to serve the community that they want to protect.

And so, look, we’re — we’re — I’m not going to get into psych- — you know, do any — any psychology here and going into the — the minds of — of — of folks. But what we can say is we believe that we — there needs to be meaningful reform, which is why the President acted and took executive action when — when Congress could not.

ANDREW FEINBERG: I would just — just follow up on that. His predecessor, in 2017, encouraged police officers to “don’t be too nice” and suggested that they might hit the heads of prisoners on the tops of their patrol cars. Does the President have any plans to speak to police officers and say that this is — this kind of behavior is not acceptable? Does he plan to address any police groups or anything like that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I understand the question, Andrew, but it — I think the President has been very clear. He’s been very clear on the importance of having true reform, of the important of making sure that communities feel safe.

He took action — right? — he took executive action to deal with that specifical- — specific issue. And that’s what he’s going to continue to do. He’s going to, you know, use the tools that he can by taking executive action and call on Congress to truly make meaningful reform that’s going to deal with an issue that is devastating, you know, disproportionately, unfortunately, Black and brown communities.

Watch above via The White House.

The Fox & Friends Saturday crew ripped the cops over video of the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, then raised a new “odd” question about former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. related to the attack.

A suspect named David DePape allegedly broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home early one October morning and violently attacked her husband Paul while asking for the Speaker’s whereabouts. DePape has since been found to hold a raft of MAGA beliefs and grievances promoted by former President Donald Trump and his acolytes.

On Thursday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled that evidence in the case be released to news outlets.

On Friday, shortly after noon, surveillance and body cam video of the attack and the 911 call were released. The video shows the officers initially confused by the scene that greeted them, as Pelosi is standing next to DePape trying to hold onto the hammer that DePape is wielding. Then all hell breaks loose as DePape brutally attacks, and the police then apprehend him.

On this week’s edition of Fox & Friends Saturday, co-hosts Pete Hegseth, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Will Cain ripped the cops for not releasing the video sooner — which they said would have ended “speculation” about the attack — and the relative competence of their response.

And Campos-Duffy also pointedly and repeatedly noted that Speaker Emerita Pelosi has “oddly” not been angry at Capitol Police for failing to guard the residence while she was away — even after Hegseth pointed out that’s not part of her security detail’s purview:

PETE HEGSETH: You know, this feels like an instance where if they had released this information sooner, a lot of speculation about what happened would have… Because when you listen to that whole 911 call it, it’s it’s like 2 minutes, two and a half minutes. Paul Pelosi is a hostage trying to call the police under the pretense of trying to, this attacker’s probably saying, “Where’s Nancy, You think? Well, let me call and find out. Yeah, I’d like to. Is this the Capitol Hill police? Oh, no. And you can hear him wanting to say, yes, send the police. But potentially the phone’s on speaker. So, I mean, you got to give Paul Pelosi a lot of credit in that instance.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: He did handle that.

PETE HEGSETH: Doing what he could.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: I’ll tell you what’s interesting to me, that you don’t hear Nancy Pelosi angry at the Capitol Police. I find it very, very interesting. I know Jason Chaffetz, some other Republicans have said this is a big fail on the part of Capitol Police, that there was not any anybody guarding that house.

PETE HEGSETH: Do they guard it when she’s not there? I don’t think they do.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: Well, they should. Given all the things that are happening. But she’s very, very oddly soft with the Capitol Police. One has to wonder why.

WILL CAIN: You do wonder why that footage was not released earlier and if it was law enforcement attempting to CYA on their own response, not picking up the hints, not understanding the severity of the situation all the way up to the moment when that hammer is swung.

PETE HEGSETH: Thankfully, at some level, the dispatcher picked up the hints, but even the officers coming to the home, it’s not clear they knew it was Nancy Pelosi’s home. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. They’re like, are we at the right address? But they did act quickly. I mean, the minute that hammer was swung, they were in and on him.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: It’s weird because as somebody who, you know, my husband was not, you know, the speaker of the House, but every officer in town knew where our house was because that is a potential, you know, target. And so, a lot of, a lot of unanswered questions. But we do need to make sure that our law, our our lawmakers are protected.

PETE HEGSETH: And that’s why on that phone call, he kept saying, “I’m Paul Pelosi.” You know, “Nancy Pelosi’s house.” And eventually, thankfully, they caught on.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: So we want to show you going to move to another topic, which is the border.

Watch above via Fox & Friends Saturday.

For big retirement savers, the silver lining of record-setting inflation is the record-setting cap increase for your 401(k) in 2023. But if you leave a company–whether or not it’s on your own terms—what happens to your employer-sponsored retirement account? While you have a few options for handling an old 401(k), some…

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WARNING: Graphic footage.

Full police body camera video of the brutal attack on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, has been released.

A suspect named David DePape allegedly broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home early one late October morning and violently attacked her husband Paul while asking for the Speaker’s whereabouts. DePape has since been found to hold a raft of MAGA beliefs and grievances promoted by former President Donald Trump and his acolytes.

On Thursday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled that evidence in the case, including the footage from body-worn cameras, be released to news outlets.

On Friday, shortly after noon, the body cam video of the attack was released. It shows the officers initially confused by the scene that greeted them, as Pelosi is standing next to DePape trying to hold onto the hammer that DePape is wielding. Then all hell breaks loose as DePape brutally attacks, and the police rush to apprehend him.

The attack sparked blistering condemnations from some, cruel mockery from others, and rampant conspiracy theorizing and speculation from some. President Joe Biden tore into Trump and Republicans after the attack:

You know, it’s reported that the same chant was used by this guy they have in custody that was used on January 6th in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. I’m not making this up. This is reported. I can’t guarantee it. I can tell you what’s being reported. And the chant was, “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?”

This is despicable. There’s no place in America. There’s too much violence, political violence, too much hatred, too much vitriol. (Applause.)

And what makes us think that one party can talk about “stolen elections,” “COVID being a hoax,” “this is all a bunch of lies,” and it not affect people who may not be so well balanced? What makes us think that it’s not going to corrode the political climate?

Enough is enough is enough!

Watch above via San Francisco County Superior Court.

Goldeneye is back, baby! The game that changed first-person shooters is finally available to play on Nintendo Switch and Xbox for new and veterans gamers alike (sorry, PlayStation players). We already knew there’d be differences between the two platforms—namely, that online play would be a Switch exclusive. But, as it…

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Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) joined Fox News on Thursday and discussed the recent move by the Biden administration to send U.S. tanks to Ukraine to help fight off the invading Russian forces. Nehls ended the interview by offering anchor John Roberts his thoughts on how Biden could end the war – by calling former President Donald Trump.

The exchange began with Roberts asking Nehls “about the depletion of stockpiles because you served in the US military, you in the Army Reserve, you were a tank commander, in Kentucky.”

“There is a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies that suggests because of the number amount of weapons that we’ve been giving to Ukraine, if we went into a conflict over Taiwan, we’d have a difficult time finding enough weapons for it,” Roberts explained, asking:

It said, quote, ‘According to the results of a series of CSIS war games, the United States would likely run out of some munitions, such as long-range precision-guided munitions in less than one week in a Taiwan Strait conflict. Are we risking our own ability to fight a conflict by giving so much material?

“I believe we are,” Nehls replied, adding:

And look at what he’s done to the Strategic Warrior Reserve. Still, he’s done the same thing. They’re depleted that. So now we’re depleting our military, our munitions. It’s going to take years for the industry to catch up. But it’s up to $97 billion now, John, that we’ve sent to Ukraine, all this military munitions.

Now we want to send M-1 Abrams tanks. Obviously, there’s a crisis on every corner in this country. And look at what we’re dealing with globally, whether it’s trying to deal with Taiwan, whether it’s North Korea, teasing South Korea. So we’ve got problems in this country. And I think they’re exploiting the weakness we have in the White House.

“30, 31 Abrams M1-A2, the latest iteration of the tanks, minus the depleted uranium reactive armor, will soon be headed to Ukraine. You’re really scratching your head over this one,” Roberts said.

“I am, because the American people have to understand that is a very powerful piece of equipment, but it requires an enormous amount of logistical support. You have to have a logistical package. It has a jet engine. When you have to remove that engine, you need a big crane. It’s called, an M-88. It’s a wrecker for a tank. And you need to have smart people working on that. You need to have the maintenance personnel. You need to have the individuals know how,” Nehls responded as Roberts jumped in.

“So you say that the tanks are just the price of entry here?” asked Roberts.

“Well, you have four people on a tank crew. You’re going to need probably six or seven just to support the maintenance on that tank, the fuel, and everything else,” Nehls replied.

“Then you’ve got to train them all,” Roberts added in agreement.

“Congressman, good to have you in today. Good to meet you as well,” Roberts said trying to wrap up the interview.

“Yes, I would say this as it relates to Ukraine and what we’re doing here is that the American people I mean, it’s billions of dollars now, John, if we really want to end this war, you want in this war,” Nehls replied, adding some additional thoughts.

“Joe Biden, you need to call Donald Trump. Donald Trump will call Vladimir Putin and end this war. We must stop this war. And Donald Trump can do it. He never went into Ukraine under Donald Trump in his four years,” Nehls claimed.

“I predict that’s a phone call that will not happen,” Roberts shot back with a laugh.

“Well Donald Trump will fix it when he’s inaugurated as the 47th,” Nehls said.

“See what happens, Congressman, We’ll be watching it for the next two years. Thank you,” Roberts concluded.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News

HBO’s The Last of Us has been described as a show that breaks the video game adaptation curse, and it’s certainly unique in the way it has almost singlehandedly shifted the dialogue. If a third-person zombie game can be prestige television, can an Oscar for Mario and Luigi be far away?

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Meta announced on Wednesday that Donald Trump‘s Facebook and Instagram accounts will be restored, causing a great panic in the mainstream media. But one Democrat appearing on MSNBC defended the decision on the principle of freedom of speech.

Speaking with MSNBC’s Alex Wagner on Wednesday, California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna said that he is a classical liberal who believes in the concept of free speech. Like the ACLU, Khanna believes Meta restoring those accounts is an exercise in support of those American principles.

“I’m a classical liberal and I do believe very strongly in free speech,” said Khanna.

His response followed an opening monologue from Wagner that trashed Meta’s decision as a threat to public safety.

“It’s a very difficult situation, where you have someone who is leading the Republican nomination for president, to say that they should not have a forum on essentially a modern public square,” said the congressman. “So I guess where I come out is if they’re going to lift the ban but take action to ban him again if he has any post that incites violence, that seems like a reasonable compromise.”

Khanna said that Big Tech should be informed by American jurisprudence, but expressed concern whether they have the “independent jurists” available to act in the public trust, especially on censorship of speech.

When Wagner suggested that Meta might be acting out of a desire to prove they aren’t left-wing, Khanna shot that down, too, saying he does not agree.

“My candid assessment is I think they looked at it and Donald Trump is a leading candidate for president for the Republican Party,” he said. “Like it or not, he may be the Republican nominee. And they didn’t think that they wanted him off modern public squares in that position.”

Khanna has been fairly unique among Democrats on the issue of freedom of speech, not just defending Meta’s reinstatement but criticizing the actions of his party and the government in their massive censorship efforts that were revealed in the release of the Twitter Files.

RO KHANNA: Alex, I’m a classical liberal and I do believe very strongly in free speech and in getting different viewpoints. And it’s a very difficult situation, where you have someone who is leading the Republican nomination for president, to say that they should not have a forum on essentially a modern public square. So I guess where I come out is if they’re going to lift the ban but take action to ban him again if he has any post that incites violence, that seems like a reasonable compromise.

ALEX WAGNER: So you sound confident that the new guardrails that Meta has rolled out will be sufficient to keep Trump in check?

RO KHANNA: Well, I don’t know if it’ll be sufficient to keep him in check, but it seems to me that it is reasonable as long as Facebook follows through. So under Brandenburg — our First Amendment law, which I think should inform Facebook because it’s one of the greatest decisions, along with New York Times-Sullivan — if someone is posting or saying something that incites violence, that actually is not protected speech. And if Donald Trump does that again, like he was doing on January 6, there should be a clear consequence for that and he should be removed. So I guess the question is, are they going to enforce those guardrails?

ALEX WAGNER: I mean, I guess that the question of what is inciting violence and what is just tough talk, I mean, is suggesting the election was stolen and directing supporters to target election officials in an unspecified manner. Is is that tough talk? Is that inciting violence? I mean, how do you how do you draw the line? And are you confident that internally Meta has the systems and the personnel to to sort of make those very tough calls?

RO KHANNA: Alex I think it’s a great point. And that’s why I think they should look to First Amendment jurisprudence. I mean those calls are made all the time by our judges. And it has to be imminent, the threat. It has to actually be leading to violence. Just tough talk, words are not enough. And that was actually New York Times versus Sullivan often to protect, frankly, the Civil Rights Movement or anti-Vietnam protesters, saying you can’t just censor speech if it is provocative.

This First Amendment jurisprudence protects not just conservatives, but liberals. But my concern is that a private corporation like Meta, do they really have the independent jurists to be making those kind of decisions in a way that has the public trust? And I guess that’s my broader criticism of some of the social media companies: that you have a few people who are multibillionaires making these decisions about speech in society. I understand why the Supreme Court or judges are making it, but now you’ve got private companies making it.

ALEX WAGNER: Let me just ask you one question about why Meta is making this decision right now. Yes, the suspension was up. It had been two years since Trump was officially taken off of Facebook and Instagram. But we also know that House Republicans have been very clear about targeting, if you will, Big Tech and calling calling some of those CEOs up to the Hill and and effectively asking them some very tough questions, if not more, about a perceived left-wing bias. Do you think that this is an effort to curry favor the re-platforming of Trump? Do you think this is an effort to curry favor with House Republicans now that they’re running the show?

RO KHANNA: I don’t. I think they are sensitive, tech, to criticism from lawmakers on both sides. I mean, we were in the majority. We were very critical and of the antitrust issues with Big Tech and the lack of privacy issues. I think here there are concerns on censorship. But Alex, the censorship is often against the left more than the right. I mean, the top ten most popular sites on Facebook, nine out of ten of them are conservative sites. They are not liberal sites. So I don’t think there’s some conservative bias. My candid assessment is I think they looked at it and Donald Trump is a leading candidate for president for the Republican Party. Like it or not, he may be the Republican nominee. And they didn’t think that they wanted him off modern public squares in that position.

Watch the clip above, via Alex Wagner Tonight on MSNBC.

We all know walking is good for us. While the old “10,000 steps” goal was never really based on science, studies have shown that generally speaking, the more you walk, the healthier you are. But the United States is a country custom-built for the car. While more than half of our trips outside the home are typically…

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Nothing lasts forever. The shiny new appliance you buy today will be a broken piece of junk in a few years or decades. A few years ago a friend’s parents finally had to upgrade from their ancient tube television in a huge wooden cabinet to a smart TV—and they quite sensibly simply placed the new TV on top of the old…

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Mississippi auditor Shad White called NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre‘s alleged welfare scandal “the largest public fraud case in the history of the state.”

Favre came into heavy water after the state of Mississippi discovered more than $70 million in welfare funds were misused. The former head of Mississippi’s Department of Human Services, John Davis, pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in September. Favre was tied into the case after approximately $4 million in funds went into building a volleyball center at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre’s daughter was a volleyball player at the school when it was built. White was a guest on the HBO show Real Sports with correspondent David Scott — where he commented on the scope of the investigation.

“What I can tell you is that this is the largest public fraud case in the history of the state of Mississippi,” White said.

Scott asked the auditor if he had any idea what kind of case he had waiting for him when he was selected to investigate the misuse of the welfare funds, and White answered, “no, absolutely not.” He also told Real Sports that more than $100 million from the welfare fund was misused by government officials who were helping their friends instead.

“The folks who were making the spending decisions were acting as if there were no consequences here,” White added. “That there were no real rules around this money. They thought of this fund as not only their own fund to do what they wanted with, but they thought of it as a slush fund that no one was watching at all.”

White discovered that a Mississippi state welfare fund called TANF (Temporary Assistance For Needy Families) gave $5 million to a project at the University of Southern Mississippi that Favre was in charge of, the volleyball building.

“It is clearly a volleyball court built at a time when Mr. Favre’s daughter is there,” White continued. “And can’t spend money for the poor on something like that.”

A nonprofit executive, Nancy New, had a contract with the state’s welfare agency to give funds for poverty relief.

Real Sports obtained a text message from Favre to New that read, “very big deal and can’t thank you enough,” the text read. Favre got an additional $1 million from New, and in return, he would give some speeches to residents, but Favre never gave the speeches.

“There’s the weird transaction involving $1.1 million going to Mr. Favre,” White said. “He’s supposed to speak at three total speaking engagements, but he didn’t show up to those events.”

New and her son, Zach, pleaded guilty in April to bribery of a public official, fraud against the government, and wire fraud.

Watch above via Real Sports on HBO.

The Start Menu is an iconic Windows element (let’s pretend Windows 8 never happened). It’s the launch pad of Windows, providing access to files, apps, controls, and more. But lately, the Start menu hasn’t been working as expected, and neither have Windows search or certain apps.

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If you like horror that focuses on grotesque destruction, perversion, or violation of the human body (and that’s most horror, if you think about it) the films and shows listed below should fit right into your peculiar wheelhouse. If you don’t well, consider this a trustworthy list of no-goes for you.

Rather than just…

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If you buy a house, there’s an excellent chance it will be the largest asset you own—maybe ever. I often stop and experience amazement that someone loaned me and my wife sufficient money to purchase a house—but we managed it, and then a few years after buying this place, a hurricane swept through and turned our first…

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AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File

Donald Trump once again restored to racial slurs while claiming without evidence that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his wife are involved in President Joe Biden’s classified documents scandal.

On Monday, Trump got on Truth Social to blast McConnell as “either the WORST negotiator in the history of politics, or a stone cold CROOK.”

As Trump careened between topics during his social media spree, he went back to McConnell by also attacking his wife, Elaine Chao — who also served as Trump’s secretary of transportation.

“Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden’s Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown?” Trump seethed, repeating the racist moniker he has frequently directed at his former Cabinet member. “Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China. He gives them all whatever they want!”

For months, Trump has used this racially-charged insult against Chao, blatantly referencing her Taiwanese ethnicity while insinuating she is financially beholden to China. Chao resigned from the Trump administration in response to the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot, and the ex-president has gone after her husband for months over what he views as insufficient loyalty to him.

Trump offered no proof to substantiate that McConnell or Chao are tied to the Biden documents case. Instead, he switched topics minutes later in order to defend himself over the Republican Party’s disappointments from the midterm elections.

If your windshield is wet, you use the wipers. If it’s dirty, you hit the button that squirts it with that blue fluid. And if it’s icy, you blast heat at it to defrost it. But what if your windshield is foggy, and the fog is on the inside? Some people say to use heat, some to use the AC—but which is correct?

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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin visited his teammates ahead of their playoff game Sunday — as he made his first public appearance since suffering cardiac arrest on the field just three weeks ago.

Prior to the Divisional Round playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin was spotted by CBS cameras being driven to the Bills locker room to meet with his teammates just before kickoff.

Hamlin was injured during the Jan. 2 Monday Night Football game between the Bills and the Bengals — resulting in a truly scary scene watched by an audience of 23.8 million, ESPN’s largest-ever for a Monday night game. Hamlin was rushed to the University of Cincinnati medical center — whose chief of surgery said Hamlin was “dead” when he hit the ground that night. But thanks to the medical care both on the scene and in the hospital, Hamlin made a remarkable recovery — to the point where he was able to visit the stadium on Sunday.

The Bills safety has been showered with love and affection from football fans everywhere since his injury. His jersey become the highest-selling in the NFL, and a GoFundMe that Hamlin started for a children’s toy drive is closing in on $9 million in contributions.

As of this writing, with the game still in the first quarter, Hamlin has not yet been introduced to the crowd on the big screen.

Watch above, via CBS.

Armored vehicles pinned down a white van that authorities believe is connected to the mass shooting that took place last night in California.

SWAT teams are currently in a standoff situation in Torrance, CA, and the event is thought to be related to the police’s ongoing investigation into the Monterey Park shooting. The shooting took place at a ballroom dance studio on Saturday night, leaving at least 10 dead and 10 more injured during Lunar New Year celebrations.

The suspect was able to flee after the shooting, and the current standoff comes after the perpetrator — believed to be an Asian male — has been at large for more than half a day. Police vehicles remain swarmed around a parking lot where they boxed in the cargo van, which was considered relevant for their hunt for the suspect.

While the standoff is underway, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department published a bulletin with the suspect’s picture and a warning that he “should be considered armed and dangerous.”

Watch above via CNN.

Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) squirmed when asked if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) belongs on the Homeland Security and Oversight Committees, given her history of conspiratorial beliefs.

ABC’s Martha Raddatz spoke with Raddatz on Sunday for This Week, and she asked him about how Greene (and other far-right members of Congress) are set to hold influential committee assignments. This comes after Greene was stripped of her assignments in the previous session of Congress due to the violent rhetoric and repugnant views she expressed in recent years.

Raddatz brought up this fact by noting Greene was once a 9/11 truther who claimed the Pentagon was never hit by one of the hijacked planes that day. Greene has backtracked from that conspiracy theory, but Raddatz pointed out “[Greene] said that in 2018,” and she asked McCaul “should she be on that committee?”

McCaul, who previously chaired the Homeland Security Committee, deflected from the core of the question in order to proclaim “9/11 was not a hoax.” Thus, Raddatz once again asked, “should she be on the committee?”

“Look, this is 2018. I will tell you she has matured,” said McCaul. “I think she realizes she doesn’t know everything, and she wants to learn and become I think more of a team player. I think it’s incumbent upon more senior members to try to — she’s a member of Congress — bring her in and try to educate her that these theories that she has are not accurate.”

Raddatz then asked McCaul if he would’ve preferred Greene having a different assignment.

“I’m not the chair of that committee, and I’m not the Speaker either,” he answered.

Watch above via ABC.

Donald Trump on Saturday attempted a dunk on CNN over the news that the network is moving its Atlanta headquarters out of downtown, in a Truth Social post that included a Spirit Halloween meme.

Earlier this month it was reported that by the end of 2023 the offices will be moved out of the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta and relocated to the Techwood Turner Broadcasting campus in Midtown.

Conservative website Townhall posted about the move this week, and Trump made a comment on Saturday, which included a “re-Truth” of a meme with Townhall’s headline.

“After many years, CNN is closing their Atlanta Headquarters. No Ratings = No Money. That’s what FAKE NEWS gets you!” Trump wrote. “Likewise, speaking of FAKE NEWS, MSDNC is in BIG trouble.”

As has been his habit since the 2020 election, Trump made sure to include Fox News in his wrath.

“Be careful FOXNEWS, don’t go that way. They’ve got failed politician, Paul Ryan, and RINO Karl Rove, a total loser, running things!” he said.

CNN’s many changes in footing and line-up over the course of Chris Licht‘s new leadership has made the network’s shake-ups an ongoing story, and the move from the iconic downtown tourist location is just the latest development. But experts attribute the move mainly to the network’s exporting of much of their news operation to places like New York City and Washington, D.C.

To be clear, Spirit Halloween has not taken over the downtown location CNN will be vacating.

So far.

In the midst of the classified documents investigation, White House chief of staff Ron Klain is expected to step down after two years as a driving force in President Joe Biden‘s administration, it was reported on Saturday.

The New York Times describes the shake-up as “the most significant changing of the guard since Mr. Biden took office two years ago,” referring to Klain as “a singularly important figure” in the administration.

Klain, a veteran of the Obama administration who also served as Biden’s vice presidential chief of staff, has been privately telling colleagues he’s ready to “move on” according to the New York Times, citing senior administration officials. They report that the administration is already searching for a replacement.

The officials, who discussed internal matters on condition of anonymity, would not say whether a successor has already been picked or when the decision would be announced, but indicated that it would come at some point after the president outlined his agenda for the coming year in his State of the Union address on Feb. 7. Mr. Klain likely would stay around for a transition period to help the next chief settle into the corner office that has been his command post for many crises and legislative battles.

His resignation would mark a striking moment of turnover at the top of an administration that has been relatively stable through the first half of Mr. Biden’s term, and Mr. Klain takes pride that he has lasted longer than any other Democratic president’s first chief of staff in more than half a century. But with Mr. Biden expected to announce by spring that he is running for re-election, advisers predict more moves as some aides shift from the White House to the campaign.

Both CNN and MSNBC in their reports on the news of his pending departure pointed out that Biden is facing a variety of challenges beyond policy, to include legal issues, the classified documents investigation, and investigations related to Hunter Biden underway by law enforcement and, soon, House Republicans.

“Is anything being said about the timing?” asked CNN’s Fredericka Whitfield, citing some of those issues.

Correspondent Arlette Saenz incorrectly responded that no one “specifically” at this moment is bringing up those issues. The NYT report actually does mention those exact issues.

The departure would also come at a time when the White House faces a widening array of political and legal threats from a newly appointed special counsel investigating the improper handling of classified documents and a flurry of other inquiries by the newly installed Republican majority in the House. The next chief of staff will be charged with managing the defense of Mr. Biden’s White House and any counterattackas the 2024 election approaches.

Friday marked the two-year anniversary of President Biden’s inauguration.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) promised legislation in reaction to FBI Director Christopher Wray “bragging” about collaborations between the federal government and the private sector during a talk at the World Economic Forum.

Appearing on The Ingraham Angle with Laura Ingraham, Paul reacted to the clip of Wray by declaring the FBI should be barred from any discussions related to regulating any sort of “protected speech.”

Ingraham played the clip of Wray in Davos. The FBI director touted the improvement in “collaborations” between the federal agency and the private sector.

“The sophistication of the private sector is improving and, particularly important, the level of collaboration between the private sector and the government, especially the FBI has made significant strides,” Wray said.

After the clip, Ingraham asked Paul how “alarming” it was to hear the FBI director “bragging” about such collaborations. Such collaborations have become a more frequent topic for conservatives, especially thanks to suggestions from the Twitter Files showing lines of communications many pundits have deemed out of what should be in the agency’s purview.

Paul promised his legislation would “prevent” the FBI from being involved in any regulation of speech with the private sector.

“There is no limit to what we can do to government. There are limits to what we can do to private businesses as far as free speech but to the government we should and my legislation will absolutely prevent this collaboration,” he said.

Opinions, the senator said, on subjects like the Covid vaccine and masking are “protected speech” the FBI should steer clear of.

“Opinions are protected speech and the FBI should not be allowed to collaborate in any discussions that regulate protected speech,” he said.

Watch above via Fox News.

Charlamagne tha God accused the media of bias in its reaction to the discovery of classified documents in President Joe Biden’s Delaware residence and D.C. office.

On a recent episode of Brilliant Idiots, Charlamagne and co-host Andrew Schulz discussed why the reaction to Biden’s documents was so different from former President Donald Trump.

“I just like consistency, you know what I’m saying?” Charlamagne told Schulz.

Schulz insisted that there was no way they would be printing out classified documents that contain anything really important.

“Well, here’s the thing, and I’m not coping pleas for Trump. ‘Cause it’s not about Trump, it’s just about consistency. When it happened to Trump, it was all about the documents. It was, ‘We don’t know what’s on them. It could be nuclear codes, it could be personal information that he’s selling to foreign governments,'” Charlamagne said.

“They don’t print out nuclear codes,” Schulz said.

“But my point is, that’s what the media was saying,” Charlamagne replied.

“Now, with Biden, it’s, ‘Oh, well it’s not really about the documents. Classified documents slip up and leak all the time. Now it’s about the obstruction that Trump did.’ Like, ‘No, that’s not what y’all said when it was Trump,'” he added.

“Are you finding out that the media’s not fair?” Schulz asked.

“No, I know the media’s not fair,” Charlamagne said. “I’ve always known that, you know what I mean? But it’s just the principle, like, let’s at least try to have some consistency. Let’s not make the hypocrisy be so, so blatant.”

Although both Biden and Trump were found in possession of classified documents, there are differences in the situations. Trump’s documents were seized by the FBI during a raid on his Florida home, while Biden’s lawyers handed over the documents voluntarily.

Size is another factor. According to AP News, in August 2022 alone, 33 boxes were removed from Trump’s residence after “lawyers for Trump provided a sworn certification that all government records had been returned.”

According to CNBC, a total of six pages were discovered at Biden’s Delaware home.

Listen above via Brilliant Idiots.

We all want our written work to look nice. Whether you’re preparing a book for possible publication, or just writing up a document for coworkers or friends to read, you’ve probably wrestled with formatting. Weird spacing, mismatched fonts, and other errors can leave us frustrated with Word or Google Docs—but sometimes…

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Applications are open to be a “Hotdogger,” or a Wienermobile spokesperson for Oscar Mayer. If you are one of the 12 people selected for the job, you’ll get to drive the Wienermobile across the country doing media interviews and other public relations and marketing tasks for the hot dog and cold cuts company. The job…

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