The Full Belmonte, 5/10/2023
May 10, 2023
By German Lopez
Good morning. Donald Trump has been found liable for sexual abuse.
E. Jean Carroll leaving court yesterday.Brittainy Newman for The New York Times
$5 million in damages
“Donald Trump’s legal problems are growing deeper.
Yesterday, a jury found the former president liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of the magazine writer E. Jean Carroll, ordering him to pay her $5 million. The case was a civil trial, which means that Trump is not subject to prison time. But the verdict indicates that jurors believed Carroll’s claim that Trump assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Carroll also accused Trump of raping her. The jury ruled against Carroll on that count, finding insufficient evidence to support her allegation.
Today’s newsletter will walk through the details of the case, the reactions to the verdict and the potential political consequences.
The case
At the heart of the lawsuit was Carroll’s account of her encounter with Trump, which she described in detail during the trial. She said that she saw him outside the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan nearly three decades ago, and that he had asked her to help find a gift for a female friend. The two bantered while walking through the store, and he asked her to try on a gray-blue bodysuit from the lingerie section. She declined and told him to put it on instead. Trump then motioned her into a dressing room, where he threw her against the wall, used his weight to pin her down and raped her, according to Carroll.
The episode ‘left me unable to ever have a romantic life again,’ Carroll said. (She was able to sue after so much time had passed under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that provides victims of abuse a one-time opportunity to sue the accused.)
To make her case, Carroll and her lawyers relied on Trump’s history of comments denigrating women. They pointed to the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, released during the 2016 election, on which he had boasted that he could grab women by their genitals without their permission. ‘When you’re a star, they let you do it,’ Trump said. He stood by those remarks during a deposition in the Carroll case.
Carroll’s lawyers argued that Trump’s comments showed he was capable of the assault that she had accused him of. The jury, composed of six men and three women, concluded that the allegations of sexual abuse, but not of rape, were more likely to be true than untrue, holding Trump liable.
Trump denied the accusations. He did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses as a defense in the trial. He previously told reporters that the allegations could not be true because Carroll was not his ‘type.’
Trump promised to appeal the verdict. ‘I have absolutely no idea who this woman is,’ Trump posted yesterday on Truth Social, his social media platform. ‘This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!’
The reactions
Trump is set to appear live on a CNN town hall tonight, where he will take questions from voters.
Many of Trump’s political rivals and opponents, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, stayed quiet about the verdict. Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and author running for president, defended Trump: ‘I’ll say what everyone else is privately thinking: If the defendant weren’t named Donald Trump, would there even be a lawsuit?’
One 2024 candidate did criticize Trump. ‘The jury verdict should be treated with seriousness and is another example of the indefensible behavior of Donald Trump,’ Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas’s former governor and a longtime Trump critic, said.
The political impact
It is not clear how the verdict will affect Trump’s presidential campaign. His poll numbers against DeSantis, his main potential rival in the Republican primary, improved even after a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records.
But Trump’s advisers are not making a similar prediction after the Carroll verdict, my colleagues Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan wrote.
Trump is almost certain to confront more legal problems before the 2024 election. The Manhattan trial could start as soon as next January. Trump is also under investigation for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and for his handling of classified documents.
More on the verdict
More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, but Carroll’s is the only allegation that a jury has affirmed.
Why was Trump liable for sexual abuse, not rape? New York law gave jurors three types of battery to consider.
While the verdict may have been foreseeable, how Republicans will respond is less clear, David French writes in Times Opinion.
The verdict is a reminder that the legal onslaught against Trump can’t be deflected with lies, Michelle Goldberg writes in Times Opinion.” [New York Times]
Debt limit
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speak to the media in the West Wing driveway after meeting with President Biden on the debt ceiling yesterday.
“President Joe Biden will meet again Friday with top congressional leaders amid a standoff over the federal debt ceiling after they emerged from their meeting Tuesday with little to show that they're moving toward an agreement to prevent a default that would have catastrophic economic consequences. ‘I made clear during our meeting that default is not an option,’ Biden said, adding that he's ‘absolutely certain’ the US can avoid defaulting on its obligations because an ‘overwhelming number of members of … Congress know it would be a disaster.’ Biden has also been considering using the 14th Amendment to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling without the help of Congress, he said Tuesday. However, he implied that the process of litigation may take too long to make a difference.” [CNN]
Title 42
“Title 42, the Trump-era policy that became a key tool used by officials to turn back migrants at the US-Mexico border, is set to expire Thursday. When that happens, it will likely spur a significant increase in the number of migrants trying to cross into the US. Officials in several cities, including El Paso, Texas, have declared a state of emergency ahead of Title 42's expiration. With detention facilities at capacity, thousands of migrants are living on the streets and aid organizations say they are concerned they won't have the resources to help everyone if that number grows. Meanwhile, politicians on both sides of the aisle and local officials have expressed skepticism that the Biden administration truly is prepared to handle the crisis when immigration authorities return to decades-old protocols in the coming hours.” [CNN]
Chaos, desperation
Immigrants pray while hoping to be processed by U.S. border agents for asylum after crossing over from Mexico yesterday in El Paso, Texas. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
“EL PASO, Texas — A day before the end of pandemic-era rules that allow officials to quickly expel migrants who enter the U.S. illegally, the Southwest border is already a scene of chaos and desperation, Axios' Stef Kight reports.
Makeshift camps, each with hundreds of migrants, have formed on both sides of the border.
At Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, blankets, cardboard, clothing and plastic bags cover fences and sidewalks surrounding the brick building.
One woman teared up as she told Axios she had been camping at the church for a week.
Why it matters: In El Paso and many other cities along the border, it's likely to get worse. An estimated 150,000 people in Mexico are headed toward the U.S. as the migration restrictions known as Title 42 end tomorrow.
Several U.S. border cities have declared emergencies. Federal officials are scrambling to round up undocumented migrants in El Paso to process or expel them under the expiring policy. Border Patrol stations are filled with recent arrivals.
Migrants no longer will be expelled under Title 42 after Thursday. But a new policy by the Biden administration could block many from getting asylum.
It's not clear whether many migrants are aware of the new policy — only that the end of Title 42 has inspired thousands to rush to the border.
Migrants line up between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the U.S.-Mexico border, as seen yesterday from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Photo: Christian Chavez/AP
What's happening: The waves of migrants are part of a humanitarian crisis and unprecedented migration in the Western Hemisphere. Amid bitter political debates, the U.S. has struggled to control the situation at its border while protecting migrants' right to seek asylum.
For more than three years, the U.S. has used Title 42 to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants to Mexico or their home countries without a chance at asylum.
President Biden told reporters last evening: ‘It's going to be chaotic for a while.’” [Axios]
New York Rep. George Santos facing federal criminal charges, AP sources say
By MICHAEL BALSAMO, FARNOUSH AMIRI and JAKE OFFENHARTZ
FILE - Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
“NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Rep. George Santos, who faced outrage and mockery over a litany of fabrications about his heritage, education and professional pedigree, has been charged with federal criminal offenses, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The charges against Santos, filed in the Eastern District of New York, remain under seal.
The people could not publicly discuss specific details of the case until it is unsealed and spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity. The unsealing would happen when Santos appears in court, which could come as soon as Wednesday.
Reached on Tuesday, Santos said, ‘This is news to me.’
‘You’re the first to call me about this,’ he said in a brief phone interview.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. The charges were first reported by CNN.
The New York Republican has admitted to lying about having Jewish ancestry, a Wall Street background, college degrees and a history as a star volleyball player. Serious questions about his finances also surfaced — including the source of what he claimed was a quickly amassed fortune despite recent financial problems, including evictions and owing thousands of dollars in back rent.
Santos has resisted calls to resign and recently announced he was running for reelection. He said his lies about his life story, which included telling people he had jobs at several global financial firms and a lavish real estate portfolio, were harmless embellishments of his resume.
Pressure on him to quit, though, has been intense. Reporters and members of the public hounded him. He was mocked on social media and late-night television. Fellow New York Republicans demanded he resign, saying he had betrayed voters and his own party with his lies.
Nassau County prosecutors and the New York attorney general’s office had previously said they were looking into possible violations of the law….” Read more at AP News
Pressure builds as North Carolina set to override abortion ban veto
Governor Roy Cooper has vowed to reject the bill, but the state legislature has a veto-proof Republican majority to overrule him
Makaelah Walters
“With time running out to convince lawmakers to withdraw support for an abortion ban recently passed by the state legislature, advocates in North Carolina are intensifying their pressure campaign with protests and pleas to legislators.
Demonstrators rallied in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday to denounce the passage of SB 20, a new measure that bans abortion after 12 weeks, by Republican legislators.
North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, has vowed to veto the measure, and is expected to do so in the coming days. Although Republican lawmakers currently hold a veto-proof majority, advocates are hoping to use the time before the bill returns to the legislature to convince lawmakers to change their minds. Only one Republican would need to vote against an override to sink the bill….” Read more at The Guardian
Goldman Sachs to Pay $215 Million to Settle Gender Bias Suit
The lawsuit accused the Wall Street bank of hindering women’s career advancement and paying them less than their male colleagues.
“Goldman Sachs said on Monday that it would pay $215 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the bank of systematically discriminating against thousands of female employees. The money will be divided among about 2,800 women, and the bank agreed to change some of its practices.
The individual payout amount itself is less than it might appear: Subtracting legal fees, it comes to roughly $47,000 per plaintiff. Still, the settlement is the latest effort to make Wall Street address what critics say are years of unequal and unfair treatment of female workers.
The lawsuit accused Goldman of hindering women’s career advancement and paying them less than their male colleagues. It took particular aim at the firm’s performance review process, which they said favored men, setting them up for promotions and higher pay.
Filed in 2010 by three former employees, the suit was granted class-action status in 2018 and covers women who held associate or vice president titles in Goldman’s investment banking, investment management and securities divisions. A trial had been scheduled for June….” Read more at New York Times
Start mammograms at 40, not 50, a US health panel recommends
FILE - Mammographer Alma Garcia, right, demonstrates the process of a mammogram on marketing liaison Dalilah Garcia of the Neighbors Emergency Center in Brownsville, Texas, on Monday, Sep. 18, 2017, inside a Mammos on the Move (MOM) mobile mammogram trailer. According to a draft recommendation from a government task force released on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, women should start getting every-other-year mammograms at age 40 instead of waiting until 50. Tuesday’s update – if the draft proposal is finalized – would mark a shift in the influential panel’s guidelines. (Migiuel Roberts/TheBrownsville Herald via AP, File)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Women should start getting every-other-year mammograms at age 40 instead of waiting until 50, according to a draft recommendation from a federal task force.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has long said women can choose to start breast cancer screening as young as 40, with a stronger recommendation that they get the X-ray exams every two years from age 50 through 74.
Tuesday’s update -– if the draft proposal is finalized -– would mark a shift in the influential panel’s guidelines although it’s not likely to end confusion. Other health groups differ over when and how often to screen.
‘This new recommendation will help save lives and prevent more women from dying due to breast cancer,’ said former task force chair Dr. Carol Mangione.
The task force noted that Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, making mammograms at 40 an especially important step -– but also urged more research to better understand and combat the disparity….” Read more at AP News
Rare GOP votes in Texas for gun bill after mass shootings
By ACACIA CORONADO and PAUL J. WEBER
Texas state Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring, listens to debate in the House chamber in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
“AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As a Republican in the Texas Capitol, Sam Harless turned heads: He voted in favor of a stricter gun law.
In doing so, the Houston state representative helped advance a bill in the Texas House that would raise the purchase age for AR-style rifles like the kind used by an 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde last year. The vote came just days after eight people at an outdoor mall in Dallas were killed by a 33-year-old gunman, who President Biden said used an AR-15-style weapon.
The bill has little chance of becoming law, but that did not stop powerful gun rights groups Tuesday from springing into action to stamp out the rare glimpse of momentum for supporters of tougher restrictions as mass killings continue to spread anguish in Texas.
It underlined how almost any attempt to tighten gun laws in Texas is off the table in the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature, which in recent years has made gun access easier following other mass shootings and shows no appetite for reversing course. That includes Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who — since Saturday shooting in Allen — has called mental health the root of the problem.
That made Harless’ vote Monday all the more notable.
‘Every kid has a right to go to school and feel safe, and every parent has a right for the kid to feel safe at school,’ Harless said in an interview.
Another Republican, state Rep. Justin Holland, also joined Democrats on the House Select Committee on Community Safety in voting 8-5 to advance the measure that would raise the purchase age of certain semiautomatic weapons from 18 to 21. The bill has been the priority all year of several Uvalde families whose children were among the 19 students and two teachers killed by a gunman nearly a year ago at Robb Elementary School.
The vote Monday came unexpectedly. For weeks the bill had stalled in the committee, but as protesters filled the Capitol and shouted ‘Do Something!’ two days after the shooting in Allen, the committee gathered to vote the bill out….” Read more at AP News
California to pay $24M for man’s death in police custody
FILE - In this image taken from a nearly 18-minute video taken by a California Highway Patrol sergeant, Edward Bronstein, 38, is taken into custody by CHP officers on March 31, 2020, following a traffic stop in Los Angeles. Lawyers say California will pay a $24 million civil rights settlement to the family of a man who died after screaming ‘I can't breathe’ while multiple officers restrained him as they tried to take a blood sample following his arrest. (California Highway Patrol via AP, File)
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — California will pay a $24 million civil rights settlement to the family of a man who died in police custody after screaming ‘I can’t breathe’ as multiple officers restrained him while trying to take a blood sample, lawyers said Tuesday.
Seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse were charged with involuntary manslaughter earlier this year in connection with the 2020 death of Edward Bronstein, age 38.
Annee Della Donna and Eric Dubin, attorneys for Bronstein’s young children, said it’s the largest civil rights settlement of its kind by the state of California, and the second largest nationally since the city of Minneapolis paid $27 million in the George Floyd case. The attorneys scheduled a news conference in Los Angeles for Wednesday to provide details.
The settlement comes amid renewed scrutiny of potentially fatal restraints following last week’s death of a New York City subway rider, Jordan Neely, who was placed in a chokehold by a U.S. Marine veteran. Bronstein’s death also echoes that of Eric Garner, a New Yorker put in a chokehold by police in 2014 and whose dying words ‘I can’t breathe’ became a chant in protests against racial injustice. Both Garner and Neely were Black….” Read more at AP News
“Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman used his appointment as defense minister in 2015 to intervene in Yemen’s war.
Now, as prime minister, the crown prince has reinvented himself in the unlikely role of regional peacemaker.
Waning US influence has left a vacuum in the Middle East that the 37-year-old leader seems determined to fill. The result has been a surprising flurry of diplomacy.
After months of high-level efforts, the Arab League agreed Sunday to readmit Syria, ending President Bashar al-Assad’s decade of isolation in defiance of US objections.
Assad’s return to the Arab bosom reflects a broader shift that’s unfolding in the Middle East, where Gulf governments have concluded that the oil-for-security rubric that has defined their ties with the US since the end of World War II is over.
Having failed to influence American policy on Iran’s nuclear program and the spread of its allied militias from Lebanon to Yemen, they’re charting their own path and building stronger ties with US rivals including Russia and China.
Saudi Arabia is flexing its economic muscle, repeatedly shrugging off US pleas to boost oil production at OPEC+.
It turned to Chinese mediation to restore ties with its Gulf rival, Iran. Having struggled to secure US weapons against Iran-backed Yemeni rebels, Saudi Arabia is leveraging the rapprochement to tamp down a conflict that’s threatened its oil facilities and distracted from MBS’s signature domestic overhaul.
The crown prince has also revived ties with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and mended a rift with Qatar. Saudi Arabia announced this week it would reopen its diplomatic mission in Damascus.
That notches up another win for Russia and Iran, whose foreign ministers met with their Turkish and Syrian counterparts in Moscow today. They helped Assad cling to power but need Arab backing to rehabilitate him diplomatically and eventually rebuild the war-shattered country.
Years of US indecision on Syria are coming full circle, with a profound impact on its future role in the Middle East.” — Lin Noueihed [Bloomberg]
Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018. Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
“A crackdown on perceived threats to national security by President Xi Jinping’s government is roiling the vast industry of consultants and researchers who help global investors understand China. The campaign is creating an increasingly challenging environment for businesses that provide such services and threatening Bejing’s attempts to lure foreign capital into an economy showing increasing signs of strain.
Foreign Minister Qin Gang said China would react ‘strictly and strongly’ to any European Union penalties imposed on its companies for supplying Russia with so-called dual-use goods that can be used for both military and civilian purposes.” [Bloomberg]
US restrictions on China’s access to the machines critical to making computer chips are continuing to take a toll on Taiwan, the island’s latest export data show. Taiwan shipped $151 million worth of chipmaking machines to China and Hong Kong in April, a 26% drop from a year earlier and the 10th straight month of declines.
“Imran Khan appeared at a special court today following a night of high tension after the former Pakistani premier’s arrest by paramilitary troops led to clashes between his supporters and security forces. The sharp escalation of his confrontation with the government and the powerful military comes as Pakistan grapples with an economy in deep distress and could delay a much-needed International Monetary Fund bailout.” [Bloomberg]
Chinese students cool on U.S. colleges
Chinese graduates celebrate after Columbia's 2016 commencement. Photo: Xinhua/Li Muzi via Getty Images
“A U.S. college education, once a status symbol for Chinese families, appears to be losing its appeal, Axios' Han Chen reports.
Why it matters: China has been the top country of origin for international students in the U.S. for more than a decade, making it a key source of revenue for many American universities and colleges.
By the numbers: The number of undergraduate students from China dropped about 13% last year, compared to the previous year.
The decline could be attributed in part to travel restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
But data from the Institute of International Education shows that Chinese student enrollment had already started to plateau during the 2017-18 academic year.
What's happening: Analysts tell Axios that Chinese students are increasingly looking elsewhere for higher education.
In 2015, about half of Chinese students planning to study abroad wanted to study in the U.S., but that percentage dropped to 30% in 2022, according to surveys conducted by New Oriental, a Chinese education company.
In the same period, those who wanted to study in the U.K. jumped from 32% to 41%.
Chinese student enrollment at the University of Toronto has increased every year over the last decade.” [Axios]
“Turks got a glimpse of life without Erdogan last month when the cameras unexpectedly cut away during a TV interview, with the president suffering from a stomach bug. While he reappeared after two days out of public view, Onur Ant and Selva Bahar Baziki write, the question resonating worldwide is whether Turkish voters on May 14 will call time on his two decades in power in which he has molded the nation in his own image.” [Bloomberg]
Erdogan with his wife Emine during an election campaign rally in Istanbul on Sunday. Photographer: Moe Zoyari/Bloomberg
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces a crucial test as India’s election season gathers steam. Local polls today in Karnataka, one of the country’s wealthiest states, will be an indicator of his popularity among swing voters — and his resilience ahead of national elections next year. His party holds a narrow majority in the state and the opposition Congress is within striking distance.” [Bloomberg]
“So many people are stealing electricity in Rio de Janeiro’s slums that the power company says it has been pushed into default, losing about $200 million last year alone from the illegal hookups. Things are so bad that Light SA says it’s considering walking away from its contract, a move that would have the potential of throwing Brazil’s second-largest city into an electricity-supply crisis.” [Bloomberg]
Power lines in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Photographer: Pedro Prado/Bloomberg
UK tabloid group admits it unlawfully gathered info on Harry
By BRIAN MELLEY
FILE - Prince Harry leaves Westminster Abbey after the Coronation of King Charles III in London, Saturday, May 6 2023. Prince Harry’s legal battle against the British press faces its biggest test yet and threatens to do something he said his family long feared: put a royal on the witness stand to discuss embarrassing revelations. (Dan Charity/Pool Photo via AP, File)
“LONDON (AP) — The publisher of British tabloid the Daily Mirror has acknowledged and apologized for unlawfully gathering information about Prince Harry in its reporting, and said it warrants compensation, at the outset of the prince’s first phone hacking trial Wednesday.
The admission was made in court filings outlining Mirror Group Newspapers’ defense.
The group continued to deny that it hacked phones to intercept voicemail messages, and said that Harry and three less-well-known celebrities brought their claims beyond a time limit.
But it acknowledged there was ‘some evidence of the instruction of third parties to engage in other types of UIG (unlawful information gathering) in respect of each of the claimants,’ which includes the Duke of Sussex. It said this ‘warrants compensation’ but didn’t spell out what form that might take….” Read more at AP News
Tucker Carlson says he’s coming back with show on Twitter
By DAVID BAUDER
FILE - Tucker Carlson, host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," poses for photos in a Fox News Channel studio on March 2, 2017, in New York. Fired Fox news host Carlson said Tuesday, May 9, 2023, that he will be putting out a “new version” of his program on Twitter. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
“NEW YORK (AP) — Fired Fox news host Tucker Carlson said Tuesday that he will be putting out a ‘new version’ of his program on Twitter.
Carlson made his announcement in a three-minute video posted on the social media site, as part of a denunciation of media. He called Twitter that last big remaining platform that allows free speech.
‘We’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter,’ he said. ‘We’ll bring some other things, too, which we’ll tell you about. But for now we’re just grateful to be here.’
He offered no other details, and a message to his lawyer, Bryan Freedman, was not immediately returned.
It’s unclear what these plans mean for his remaining contract with Fox; typically television companies include a no-compete clause when someone leaves the air. A Fox spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a call for comment.
Axios reported on Tuesday that Carlson’s lawyers sent a letter to Fox accusing the network of fraud and breach of contract.
Fox announced on April 24 that it was cutting ties with Carlson, its most popular prime-time anchor. The network offered no explanation for the move, and Fox’s ratings in his old time slot have sharply fallen.” [AP News]
The trust-nothing election
“Brace yourself for a new, scary dynamic in American politics: the trust-nothing era.
Why it matters: Two new trends are about to unfold in real time, Mike Allen and Sara Fischer report.
1. Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson are joining forces, each warning that you should trust nothing outside Twitter.
Carlson announced via a video on Twitter Tuesday that ‘starting soon’ he'll be ‘bringing a new version’ of his Fox News show to Twitter.
2. The brains behind generative AI warned administration officials during a recent White House meeting of an imminent explosion of highly convincing and manipulative fake videos and stories in the run-up to the 2024 election.
Think fake news on steroids — and lighting up your screen.
What we're watching: You'll hear powerful voices on Twitter and other platforms imploring people to assume that everything from mainstream media is a lie. And authentic, computer-generated lies will give everyone reason to trust nothing.
‘At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie — a lie of the stealthiest and most insidious kind,’ Carlson said in a video announcing he plans to relaunch his show on Twitter. ‘Facts have been withheld on purpose along with proportion and perspective. You are being manipulated.’
Musk tweeted yesterday: ‘Trust nothing, not even nothing.’
Reality check: Twitter itself is likely to be ground zero for the spread of AI-generated fakes and lies.
The big picture: Compared to the rest of the world, Americans are already much more skeptical of what they see on social media and what they're told by traditional media outlets.
What's next: As a trust gap widens, Americans will turn to unconventional sources to navigate an increasingly complicated world.
Across both major political parties, more Americans are turning to their employers and business leaders for trusted information.” [Axios]
A ‘PBGV’ wins Westminster dog show, a first for the breed
By JENNIFER PELTZ
Handler Janice Hays poses for photos with Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, after he won best in show during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
“NEW YORK (AP) — This Buddy Holly no longer has to sigh, ‘That’ll be the day.’
A petit basset griffon Vendéen named for the late rock ‘n’ roll legend won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday night, a first for the rabbit-hunting breed. Buddy Holly bested six other finalists to garner the most prestigious dog show award in the United States.
“I never thought a PBGV would do this,” handler and co-owner Janice Hayes said. “Buddy Holly is the epitome of a show dog. Nothing bothers him.”
Indeed, his white-tipped tail didn’t stop wagging while he competed in the stadium where the U.S. Open tennis tournament’s top matches are played. Not even while he posed for countless pictures after a win that Hayes called “so surreal.”
“We’re so proud of him,” she said.
His competitors included Rummie, a Pekingese that came in second after aiming to bring home the third trophy in 11 years for his small-but-regal breed — and for handler, owner and breeder David Fitzpatrick. He guided Pekes Malachy and Wasabi to Westminster wins in 2012 and 2021, respectively.
Rummie is “true to Pekingese type, lots of carriage, presence — everything in one, here,” he said Monday.
Winston the French bulldog was gunning for the title after coming oh-so-close last year. An Australian shepherd named Ribbon, an English setter called Cider, a giant schnauzer named Monty and an American Staffordshire terrier called Trouble also were in the pack of contenders.
If Buddy Holly was feeling the pressure, he wasn’t letting it show ahead of the finals. Instead, he seemed more concerned late Tuesday afternoon with playing with his people and rejecting the notion of a nap in his crate.
“He just screams PBGV,” Hayes said. “They’re just very independent but very charming and just silly. Their goal is to make you laugh every day.”
Originally from France, the small hounds are the 154th most prevalent purebreds in the country, according to recent American Kennel Club rankings. (Their name means “low-lying, wire-haired dog from the Vendée region” and is pronounced peh-TEE’ bah-SAY’ grihf-FAHN’ vahn-DAY’-ahn.)
“Lives Lived: Grace Bumbry’s vocal range and transcendent stage presence made her a towering figure in opera and one of its first, and biggest, Black stars. She died at 86.” [New York Times]