NEW YORK ( ███ ) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc has parted ways with star cable news host Bill O ’ Reilly following allegations of sexual harassment , the company said on Wednesday .\n“ After a thorough and careful review of the allegations , the company and Bill O ’ Reilly have agreed that Bill O ’ Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel , ” the conservative network ’ s parent said in a statement .\nThe decision , coming after advertisers had begun to flee his show , ends a more than 20-year career at Fox News for O ’ Reilly , a best-selling author as well as one of the most popular commentators on U.S. television .\nIn an internal memo to Fox News employees seen by ███ , Rupert Murdoch called O ’ Reilly “ one of the most accomplished TV personalities in the history of cable news . ”\nMurdoch , who is executive chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox , also wrote the company is committed to “ fostering a work environment built on the values of trust and respect . ”\nO ’ Reilly , who has been off the air on vacation since April 11 , said in a written statement he was proud of the “ unprecedented success ” at Fox .\n“ It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims . But that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today , ” O ’ Reilly said in the statement , which was emailed by crisis communications expert Mark Fabiani .\nO ’ Reilly will be replaced in his prime-time lineup by Fox host Tucker Carlson . Carlson ’ s show had been moved earlier this year to replace “ The Kelly File ” with Megyn Kelly , another Fox News star who left for NBC in January .\nThe New York Times reported on April 1 that Fox and O ’ Reilly paid five women a total of $ 13 million to settle harassment claims . The five women who received settlements either worked for O ’ Reilly or appeared as guests on his program , according to the New York Times story .\nFox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly on the set of his show `` The O'Reilly Factor '' . ███/Brendan McDermid\nO ’ Reilly said in a statement at the time that he had settled only to spare his children from the controversy .\nO ’ Reilly ’ s show , “ The O ’ Reilly Factor , ” is the top-rated show on Fox News . According to ad-tracking firm Kantar Media , it brought in $ 147.13 million in advertising revenue in 2016 . By comparison , Twenty-First Century Fox ’ s last fiscal year , which ended June 30 , 2016 , brought in a total of $ 7.65 billion in advertising revenue .\n“ The O ’ Reilly Factor ” has been the most watched program on Fox News and was coming off the highest-rated first quarter in its history , averaging 4 million viewers , according to Nielsen .\nBut after the New York Times report , advertisers including BMW of North America , Allstate Corp , French pharmaceuticals maker Sanofi SA and T. Rowe Price , pulled their advertising from O ’ Reilly ’ s show .\nO ’ Reilly ’ s exit , which was first reported by New York magazine , follows that of former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes , who was forced to resign in July after being accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women , including former anchor Gretchen Carlson .\nKelly was also one of the accusers and detailed Ailes ’ behavior in her best-selling book , “ Settle for More. ” Ailes has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing ..\nTwenty-First Century Fox had tapped the law firm Paul , Weiss Rifkind , Wharton & Garrison , which also looked into the allegations against Ailes , to investigate O ’ Reilly ’ s conduct .\nInvestors seemed to take the news in stride . Shares of Twenty-First Century Fox ended Wednesday ’ s trading on the Nasdaq down less than 1 percent at $ 30.39 and analysts said the network ’ s viewers would likely remain loyal .\nO ’ Reilly ’ s departure will not affect Twenty-First Century Fox ’ s overall profitability , said Brian Wieser , an analyst at Pivotal Research .\n“ They could literally go dark during the time his program airs and they would still be profitable , ” said Wieser .\nA bigger issue for investors is what the Murdochs will do to prevent the company being in the headlines again just a few months from now , Wieser said . “ That ’ s bigger than O ’ Reilly , ” he said . “ The cultural issue is a big issue . ”


On Thursday evening , at one of his ego-nourishing rallies , President Donald Trump took aim at Parasite , Bong Joon-ho ’ s South Korean satire that made history as the first foreign film to win the Best Picture Oscar .\n“ By the way , how bad were the Academy Awards this year ? You see ‘ em ? And the winner is…a movie from South Korea . What the hell is that about ? ” bellowed a rather clammy Trump . “ Was it good ? I don ’ t know . I ’ m looking for like , let ’ s get Gone with the Wind . Can we get Gone with the Wind back , please ? Sunset Boulevard , so many great movies . ”\nLet ’ s first address the dog-whistle inclusion of Gone with the Wind . There isn ’ t a snowball ’ s chance in hell that Trump , who has the attention span of a meerkat on high-grade cocaine , has sat through Victor Fleming ’ s four-hour-long Civil War epic . What he may be aware of , however , is how the 1939 film—winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture , and the highest-grossing movie ever when adjusted for inflation—is a neo-Confederate monument ; one that romanticizes slavery and the antebellum South , and envisions its wealthy white protagonists as hallowed victims swallowed up by the chaos of Reconstruction . Hattie McDaniel ’ s Mammy , the head slave of the film ’ s sprawling southern plantation , comes from a long line of racist ( and likely mythical ) stereotypes of “ mammy ” house slaves ( selfless , grandmotherly ) dating back to Uncle Tom ’ s Cabin that were used by Confederate apologists to soften and even attempt to legitimize the unequivocally racist and dehumanizing institution .\nMcDaniel , who eventually became the first Black Oscar winner for her performance , was barred from the film ’ s Atlanta premiere due to segregation , and was seated not with the Gone with the Wind cast and crew but at a small table in the back of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the 1940 Academy Awards ceremony ( producer David O. Selznick had to lobby the venue to get her in the building ) . Her dying wish , to be buried in Hollywood Cemetery , was also denied because of its whites-only policy .\nIs this the Hollywood that Trump wants to return to ?\nAlso…Sunset Boulevard ? The film , for the record , didn ’ t win Best Picture , losing to All About Eve , but more than that , are we to really believe that Trump , a sexist monster who publicly mocked Kim Novak ’ s appearance at the 2014 Oscars , empathized with the plight of an aging silent-film actress ? ( Norma Desmond ’ s delusions of grandeur , maybe . )\nThere ’ s a long , strange history of U.S. presidents screening films in the White House . The first , regrettably , was D.W. Griffith ’ s racist celebration of the Ku Klux Klan , The Birth of a Nation , viewed by Woodrow Wilson in the East Room on Feb. 18 , 1915 . Bill Clinton ’ s inaugural screening was Lorenzo ’ s Oil , a crowdsourced pick if there ever was one . Trump ’ s was Finding Dory , whose message of inclusion appeared to be lost on Trump , according to the film ’ s star Ellen DeGeneres .\nOver the past century , presidents have also been queried on their favorite films . Lyndon B. Johnson would watch a 10-minute short about himself , narrated by Gregory Peck , over and over again in the White House , while Ronald Reagan , a former Hollywood actor , would suffer through his own mediocre oeuvre on his birthday each year . Gerald Ford ’ s favorite movie , funnily enough , was said to be Home Alone ( Trump would later make a cameo in its sequel ) . Years ago , when a Twitter user asked Trump to name his favorite films , the then-reality-TV host cited Citizen Kane , Gone with the Wind , and The Good , The Bad and the Ugly . Yet when it comes to Orson Welles ’ magnum opus , chronicling the rise and fall of a power-hungry media tycoon , he ’ s made it resoundingly clear that he has no grasp on the film ’ s central message .\n“ When asked for the one piece of advice he ’ d give Charles Foster Kane , [ Trump ] offered : “ Get yourself a different woman . ” ”\nAs part of the 2002 Oscars , famed documentarian Errol Morris was given the unenviable task of filming influential pop-culture figures discussing their favorite movies . Trump picked Citizen Kane , and , when asked for the one piece of advice he ’ d give Charles Foster Kane , offered : “ Get yourself a different woman . ”\nMorris opened up to The Ringer about the surrealness of that moment . “ So he starts to tell me about Charles Foster Kane , who he identifies with . And what was Charles Foster Kane ’ s real problem ? Was his problem that he was a megalomaniac ? Not so much . Was his problem that he treated people around him miserably ? Nah ! What was his problem ? According to Donald Trump , his problem was the woman he married . ”\nHe later added of the encounter , “ It ’ s obvious : this person is insane . ”\nThough Citizen Kane and Gone with the Wind are fashionable picks , Trump ’ s real favorite movie is rumored to be Bloodsport , the 1988 martial-arts flick starring the Muscles from Brussels , Jean-Claude Van Damme . Writer Mark Singer was the first to document Trump ’ s fixation with Bloodsport in a 1997 profile for The New Yorker .\nWhilst flying around in Trump ’ s tacky , gold-plated private jet , Singer recalled , “ We hadn ’ t been airborne long when Trump decided to watch a movie . He ’ d brought along Michael , a recent release , but twenty minutes after popping it into the VCR he got bored and switched to an old favorite , a Jean Claude Van Damme slugfest called Bloodsport , which he pronounced ‘ an incredible , fantastic movie . ’ ”\nThe bankrupted real-estate mogul ’ s attention span was so low that , according to Singer , Trump would make his then-teenage son , Donald Trump Jr. , fast-forward to all the fight scenes : “ By assigning to his son the task of fast-forwarding through all the plot exposition—Trump ’ s goal being ‘ to get this two-hour movie down to forty-five minutes ’ —he eliminated any lulls between the nose hammering , kidney tenderizing , and shin whacking. ” ( That 19-year-old Don Jr. served as Trump ’ s private jet remote-control servant explains so very much . )\nTrump ’ s questionable taste in movies and culture-war carnival-barking notwithstanding , what we can be certain of is that he is truly , madly , deeply obsessed with the Academy Awards . He live-tweeted the Oscars in 2013 and 2014 , would regularly call in to Fox & Friends to deliver Monday-morning recaps of the show , and has repeatedly lobbied to host the ceremony on Twitter , Instagram , Facebook , and Vine ( RIP ) .\nOccasionally , similar to his Parasite ramblings , he ’ s injected a dose of xenophobia into his commentary . At the 2015 Oscars , which saw Birdman win Best Picture and Alejandro G. Inarritu ( who is Mexican ) take home Best Director , Trump made the following complaint : “ The Oscars were a great night for Mexico & why not—they are ripping off the US more than almost any other nation . ”\nFour months later he ’ d announce his presidential run with an even more racist rant against Mexicans .\nIt ’ s easy to see why Trump wouldn ’ t enjoy Parasite . In addition to his fondness for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un , whose cult of personality is lampooned in the film , it is a class-warfare comedy about a poor , basement-dwelling family targeting—and exposing the ignorance of—those in gilded cages not unlike the one Trump ’ s lived in for the better part of his adult life . Plus , as the film ’ s distributor Neon pointed out , the film is accompanied by subtitles and Trump is said to have an aversion to reading :\nGiven Trump ’ s apparent love of movies , numerous film cameos—including a Worst Supporting Actor Razzie nod for his pouty turn in a movie about a woman sexing a ghost—and burning passion for the Oscars , an event he begged to host in the three years prior to his White House run , it seems Trump ’ s anger primarily stems not from the Academy ’ s choice of winner but his exclusion from this glamorous soiree , and the Hollywood limelight .\nErrol Morris summed it up best : “ There are certain people that I think suffer—I wanted to have this in some psychiatric dictionary—from ‘ irony deficit disorder ’ : the absolute inability to see irony when it ’ s really stuck right in front of your face . Donald Trump suffers from irony deficit disorder . ”


Alex , let 's go with the category , `` Things that I Already Knew '' for $ 1,000 .\nIf news headlines about Hollywood were an episode of Jeopardy , the categories might be :\nAnyone who does n't know that Hollywood has been the epicenter of filth , perversion , sex , drugs , and other reprehensible behavior has been living in a cave in Afghanistan . Scratch that . The Taliban gave that as one of their reasons for attacking us . So even cave dwellers in Afghanistan are n't immune to the disease Hollywood has spread .\nCan you blame them for their opinion ? If my only exposure to the United States came from what spews from Hollywood , I would hate us , too . Unlike the Taliban , I do n't find it necessary to kill everyone living where the problem emanates . The situation reminds me of an old Star Trek episode where an alien culture completely mimics a book they read about gangsters from the 1920 's . Unlike the aliens in Star Trek , the Taliban wishes to eradicate the outside influence in barbaric ways . As Americans , I hope we can be like Captain Kirk and show that there is a better way than to model ourselves after such a corrupt influence . There are some of us here who hate Hollywood , too , but believe there are better ways to shut them down than by declaring Jihad on their home country .\nThe feigned shock that Harvey Weinstein allegedly had his way with multiple starlets is laughable . Charlie Sheen 's alleged pedophilia should come as no more of a shock than that water is wet and fire is hot .\n`` By their fruits ye shall know them . '' The fruit of Hollywood is rotten to the core .\nCan anyone name a hit TV series currently running where there is n't swearing , sexual innuendo , a gay character , sex out of wedlock , or any other number of situations that would n't have been acceptable thirty years ago ? The only one I can think of is `` The Curse of Oak Island , '' but I do n't know how big of a hit it is . `` Duck Dynasty '' also came to mind , but it 's now in reruns . There are some home improvement shows and some reality TV shows that are close , but even many of those contain too many bleeps .\nHere are some other shortlists , rarely seen among the Hollywood elite :\n1 . Happily married Hollywood couples who are still married and have only been married once\n2 . Major studio film or television shows that were n't offensive to people of faith\n3 . Hollywood men under 50 who served in the military\n5 . Sitcoms where men are n't portrayed as effeminate , slobs , predatory , or stupid\n6 . Films or television shows where chastity and virtue are promoted\n7 . Films or television programming where Jews and Christians are n't stereotyped as odd or are lampooned\nFor decades , Hollywood has spurned traditional values , mocked Judeo/Christian ethics , embraced statist views , promoted and produced sexual perversion , pushed the envelope to new extremes on filth and debauchery ... and all of a sudden everyone is shocked that it is ostensibly full of perverts and pedophiles ?\nLike the NFL , I have n't watched a Hollywood awards show for years . I do n't care about whose dress somebody wore on the red carpet . I do n't care about what some smug actress has to say about politics or what the host blathers on about . These people live in a bubble that needs to be popped . Unfortunately , too many people give them their money , and Hollywood continues to fester like a bad infection . They hit new lows which were unthinkable even a dozen years ago .\nIn a previous piece , I state that the NFL is just another dirty diaper in the landfill that has become the entertainment industry . That landfill is in Hollywood . It 's full . The dirty diapers are being exported to televisions and movie screens near you to be consumed by the primary audience of Hollywood trash , our children .\nThink about this : Miley Cyrus moved to Hollywood when she was 13 and worked for Disney . If they did that to her then , imagine what they have in store for your kids .


LOS ANGELES/SHANGHAI ( ███ ) - The creators of satirical animated series “ South Park ” issued a mocking “ apology ” to China after media reports that episodes of the show were no longer available on some Chinese websites .\nThe “ Band in China ” episode released on Oct. 2 critiqued China ’ s policies on free speech as well as the efforts of Hollywood to shape its movie and television content in recent years to avoid angering censors in the vast Chinese market .\n“ Like the NBA , we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts . We too love money more than freedom , ” Trey Parker and Matt Stone , the creators of the irreverent Comedy Central show , wrote in a Twitter post titled “ Official apology to China . ”\n“ Long live the Great Communist Party of China ! May this autumn ’ s sorghum harvest be bountiful ! We good now China ? , ” Parker and Stone added .\nA ███ search online showed that iQiyi and Youku Tudou , two Chinese video streaming sites , both listed episodes of South Park available to view , but the actual episodes did not play when requested .\nSearching for the show ’ s name on Baidu Tieba , a popular online forum , and on Douban , a popular movie ratings site , did not yield any results .\nSpokespersons for Youku Tudou , iQiyi and Baidu did not immediately respond to requests for comment .\nThe Cyberspace Administration of China , which oversees internet governance , did not immediately respond to a request for comment .\nThe South Park statement followed an uproar in China and the United States over a weekend tweet , which was quickly withdrawn , by the general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team that backed democracy protests in Hong Kong .\nThe National Basketball Association ( NBA ) has built a large following and burgeoning business in China .\nThe long-running “ South Park ” series is one of cable channel Comedy Central ’ s biggest and most controversial hits , built around the misadventures of four foul-mouthed fourth graders .\nThe episode at the center of the latest dispute saw character Randy Marsh being arrested after trying to smuggle marijuana into China .\nIn jail , he meets two Chinese prisoners called Winnie the Pooh and Piglet , and is subjected to slave labor and re-education .\nChina has in the past proved sensitive about the British children ’ s characters because Pooh is sometimes used as a nickname on social media for Chinese President Xi Jinping .


Marijuana is still a touchy social subject loaded up with decades of baggage . States take the lead on pot\nAmericans are growing more hip to legalizing marijuana . In fact , a House bill to do just that is one of the most viewed proposals on Congress ’ s official legislative tracking site .\nBut the overwhelming feeling on Capitol Hill is to leave the issue to the states . Both Democrats open to the pot experiment and libertarian-leaning Republicans are flying the states ’ rights banner as Colorado and Washington state implement their groundbreaking new marijuana legalization laws .\nMarijuana remains a touchy social subject , loaded up with decades of baggage , from Woodstock to Nancy Reagan ’ s “ Just Say No ” campaign . Still , the willingness of so many members to stay clear of the fight is a powerful reminder why marijuana activists are having so much success in taking their case directly to voters in weed-friendly states .\n“ If the federal government doesn ’ t have to put its nose in the issue , we shouldn ’ t . I ’ m happy to have these states do it , ” said Sen. Ron Johnson ( R-Wis. ) . “ I ’ ll keep my fingers crossed and hope the experiment doesn ’ t create horrible results . ”\nSen. Rand Paul ( R-Ky. ) , a states ’ rights advocate who doesn ’ t endorse smoking marijuana because of its health effects , said the atmosphere on the Hill is changing — slowly . “ I think people overall don ’ t like the idea of teenagers and young men and women going to jail for mistakes , ” Paul said in an interview . “ But I don ’ t think people are ready yet to say , ‘ Oh , it ’ s a great thing and we just need to legalize it . ’ ”\nMarijuana activists are getting the hint . They ’ re planning pot legalization ballot measures in Alaska and Oregon in 2014 , with several more likely to follow in 2016 . Dozens of state legislatures and city councils are considering decriminalization or legalization bills . New York Democratic Gov . Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 8 announced a pilot program for medical marijuana in his state .\nStill , there ’ s little appetite for action at the federal level . The House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the nation ’ s drug laws say they are too busy with other priorities like government spying , immigration and patent reform . Lawmakers who handle the IRS and banking issues — two areas where questions persist amid the launch of the states ’ lucrative marijuana market — have no immediate plans to dig in .\nAnd aides to House Speaker John Boehner ( R-Ohio ) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy ( R-Calif. ) took a pass when asked for comment about the legal toking under way with the new year in Colorado and , in a couple of months , Washington .\nPressed on Congress ’ s role , the Senate ’ s No . 2 Democrat , Dick Durbin of Illinois , first gave a long , loud laugh . “ Well , we have to at least step back and look at the big picture and try to find some consistency in the penalties that are being assessed and the message that ’ s coming out when it comes to narcotics , ” Durbin said .\nFifty-five percent of Americans said pot should be legal for adult use — up from 16 percent in 1987 , according to a CNN poll released Jan 6 . A Gallup survey in October found that 58 percent of Americans now support legalization , while just 39 percent oppose it .\nThe issue is “ the equivalent of same-sex marriage for straight people , ” said former Rep. Barney Frank , a longtime proponent of legalizing pot .\n“ The politicians are clearly lagging the public , ” Frank said . “ A lot of politicians on this are suffering from cultural lag — they ’ re still afraid of being accused of being soft on drugs . ”\nCash-strapped states could potentially benefit from legalizing — and therefore taxing — marijuana sales , supporters say .\n“ I think it could be like casinos , ” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky , an Illinois Democrat co-sponsoring legalization legislation .\nBut some hard-on-crime Republicans say the Obama administration is shirking its legal responsibilities to enforce federal drug laws by allowing the Colorado and Washington state laws to take effect .\n“ The long-term problem it creates is I just think terribly unfortunate , ” said Sen. Mike Johanns ( R-Neb . ) , a former governor and George W. Bush-era Agriculture secretary worried about marijuana traveling up the Interstate 76 corridor from Colorado into his state . “ If you think about young people growing up in places where marijuana is now a legal drug , I think it ’ s the wrong message .\n“ You can ’ t really put police officers on the border , ” he added . “ It ’ s not like you ’ re fighting a war . ”\nWith the Obama administration largely on the sidelines — the Justice Department is letting the states ’ laws take effect , but with oversight to ensure things don ’ t get out of hand — grass-roots activists are trying to capitalize on the surge in national interest to expand legal marijuana across the country . They ’ re aiming for legalization initiatives mirrored on Colorado and Washington in at least two more states in 2014 : Oregon and Alaska .\nGroups working on the issue in Alaska reported in December that they have enough signatures to qualify for an August ballot measure . Alaska Rep. Don Young , a 21-term Republican , said he expects the ballot initiative to succeed . “ This is a states ’ rights issue . And states ’ rights in the state of Alaska is very important . The conservatives says [ marijuana is ] wrong , but still it ’ s a state right . That ’ s really where we are . ”


Colorado Gov . John Hickenlooper is asking Attorney General Eric Holder for a clear-cut explanation on how the Obama administration intends to handle changes made Tuesday when voters chose to legalize marijuana for recreational use .\nNearly 55 percent of Colorado voters approved the state constitutional change by voting on a statewide referendum .\nThe Democratic governor talked with Holder by phone on Friday .\nHickenlooper spokesman Eric Brown said the governor and Holder `` emphasized the need for the federal government to articulate what its position will be . ''\nBrown acknowledged a collective `` sense of urgency '' about a state law that defies federal law but said no agreement has been reached and both sides will continue to talk .\nAmendment 64 allows people 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana , grow six pot plants and over the longer term allows for stores to sell it to recreational users .\nHickenlooper , who opposed the referendum , said earlier in the week , `` it 's hard to imagine the chaos that would result if state by state you had one state legalizing and one state not legalizing . ''\nStill , he acknowledged that Colorado voters have clearly stated they want marijuana `` to be regulated like alcohol . ''\nColorado Attorney General John Suthers said he plans to talk soon with federal officials and that Hickenlooper has no choice but to certify the election results .\nSuthers also said the only possible plan right now is to establish the regulatory structure dictated by the state law , create an agency to facilitate an activity in violation of federal law , `` then wait to see if the federal government decides to do anything about it . ''\nHe said one question is : Will people who grow marijuana be criminally prosecuted because those contemplating going into the business `` need to know . ''\nSuthers also suggested the federal government would not sue the state , and instead prosecute people .\nThe Justice Department declined to discuss the issue but released a statement saying the agency 's enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act `` remains unchanged '' and that officials are reviewing the ballot initiatives .\nDespite what the federal government might or might not do , it could take until 2014 before people can walk into Colorado retail stores and buy pot for recreational purposes .\nThough Amendment 64 has provided the blueprint , the state legislature will have to establish rules and a new system for licensing and revenue collection .\nIn the near future , however , criminal penalties for possession of small amounts in Colorado will be lifted .\nAttorney Brian Vincente , co-director of the 2012 Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol , argued the 55 percent in favor of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana shows widespread support in the state .\n`` That is more voters than voted for President Obama , by quite a few in Colorado , '' he said .\nHe also said supporters are confident the state level change will `` percolate up to the federal government '' and lead to better national policies in the near future .\nUniversity of Denver constitutional law professor Sam Kamin said the vote in Colorado and a similar one Tuesday in Washington `` goes beyond what happened in the other marijuana states . ''\nLarger Colorado cities such as Denver already have a medical-marijuana program . But Kamin suggests that system is not setup to handle the expected change .\n`` To go from an industry that serves at most a 120,000 people to one that serves millions plus tourists , plus people driving across the border , it really is going to be something different , '' he said .


The coming legalization of marijuana , advocated last week by The New York Times in perhaps the most noted editorial in its history , will create a consumer product as sought after as cigarettes ( in their day ) and booze . Hence , legalized marijuana , among its other lucrative effects — including closing gaps in state budgets with certain heavy taxes — offers a gold mine for the media business .\nMedia have , in many ways , never recovered from the loss of cigarette advertising , one of the all-time great revenue generators for newspapers , magazines , television , radio and advertising agencies . Marijuana could be as big a market as cigarettes and , as pot brands try to establish and distinguish themselves , as prodigious an advertiser .\nOn Sunday , the Times ran a full-page ad for a company called Leafly , which describes itself as `` the world 's largest information resource about cannabis '' and `` the Yelp of cannabis . ''\nLegalizing pot means , at least on some level , legalizing its marketing , too . It would seem churlish and merely part of a continuing governmental grudge to forbid pot manufactures from advertising — and counterproductive once pot starts generating major tax revenue . Cigarette advertising was curbed only after the health effects of smoking became known . The legalization of marijuana acknowledges that its benefits , or at least its pleasures , significantly outweigh its negative effects . Why legalize it if you do n't also acknowledge the right to sell it ? ( Is that even constitutional ? )\nCertainly this will be part of the argument that the nascent marijuana industry will make — an argument that , if it prevails , will transform the media business , too . In fact , a good way to benefit from the coming end of the prohibition might be to go long on media stocks .\nStill , even if the federal government , trailing state governments like those in Colorado and Washington , finally accepts the premise that , in the words of The New York Times , pot 's `` casual use by adults poses little or no risk for healthy people , '' there might still be a public policy argument about age-appropriate marketing . Straitlaced regulators and politicians trying to save face will surely take this view .\nBut this presents another media opportunity . Print currently suffers both from a lack of advertising interest and an aging readership . Restricting pot advertising to print , and hence to adults ( mature adults ! ) , might not only be a way to protect the young , but a compromise with positive social implications as well .\nIndeed , the legalization of marijuana , no matter how logical , timely and even righteous , also involves a set of trade-offs . By accepting the realities of science and consumer demand , we also might possibly end up with a vaguer , dumbed-down nation .\nLimiting marijuana advertising to print media performs something of a public policy balancing act . The potential loss of intellectual focus could coincide with a pot-financed renaissance in print media , a resurgence of reading and even linear thought .\nAt the same time , of course , such targeted advertising might lead to a growth industry in media just about pot .\nThere are , too , broader content implications and opportunities related to pot . An ever-growing media problem is the difficulty of reaching the rich market of young men who are distracted by video games and , come to think of it , quite likely marijuana itself .\nVice Media , the video content company that specializes in these otherwise inattentive young men , has recently been valued at $ 2 billion — so the opportunity is clearly vast . Seeing pot culture and behavior more openly expressed by traditional media — in the way , for instance , that it is expressed in so many YouTube videos ( what else explains them ? ) — might reestablish that lost connection between mainstream media and the young .\nIn the 1950s and 60s , in addition to cigarettes being commonplace on television , there was also a general acceptance , if not celebration , of being drunk . Many variety shows featured hosts with ties askew holding an old fashioned glass with clinking ice . The rat pack , or rat pack style , dominated television for a decade , and was mostly about singing and clowning around when drunk . Arguably , the media have never had such a connection to their audience as when they embraced and acted out drunkenness .\nPot might suggest that sort of lifestyle camaraderie and shared joke .\nPot , or pot style , could become part of what is now called content marketing — i.e . using your content to create a symbiotic marketing environment . The closer you can come to representing pot sensibility , the closer you might be to a sweet spot demographic and to attracting the range of products that are willing to pay a premium to reach this group of people , perhaps easier to appeal to and influence precisely because they are high — a double marketing wallop . By this logic , most media might become pot partial .\nOne of the problems with contemporary media is not only the enormous number of outlets competing for the attention of American consumers , but also the fact that , beyond sports , there is no central focus , no common experience , that reliably brings us all together . We each pursue our own varied interests , styles and politics , creating enormous chaos and costs for marketers .\nPot , as the great leveler and unifying cultural principle , could change that .\nMichael Wolff writes about the modern media business . He is a two-time National Magazine Award winner and has written columns for ███ , Vanity Fair , New York magazine , British GQ and The Guardian . He is the author of best-selling books , including The Man Who Owns the News : Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch .


( CNN ) – Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis said she supports medical marijuana use as well easing the state 's legal consequences for possessing small amounts of the drug .\nDavis ' comments echo those of current Republican Gov . Rick Perry , who said he supports less stringent penalties in Texas for marijuana use .\nPerry made the comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos , Switzerland , last month , highlighting his work toward decriminalization .\nDavis , a state senator , said Perry 's approach is `` reasonable , '' according to an interview with the Dallas Morning News that was published Tuesday .\n`` I do believe that Governor Perry 's approach is a reasonable approach , that we as a state need to think about the cost of that incarceration and , obviously , the cost to the taxpayers as a consequence of it , and whether we 're really solving any problem for the state by virtue of incarcerations for small amounts of marijuana possession , '' she said .\nTexas law classifies marijuana possession , even small amounts , as a class B misdemeanor , punishable by fines and jail time .\nAsked her position on medical marijuana use , Davis said she personally supports it but , ultimately , as governor she 'd have to take the temperature of the state on the issue .\n`` With regard to medical marijuana . I personally believe that medical marijuana should be allowed for . I do n't know where the state is on that , as a population , '' she said .\n`` Certainly as governor , I think it 's important to be deferential to whether the state of Texas feels that it 's ready for that , '' she said , adding that it 's worth watching other states experimenting with decriminalization .\nTwo states , Colorado and Washington , have legalized recreational marijuana use . Another 18 states , along with the District of Columbia , allow some legal pot use , primarily for medicinal purposes .\nVoters in Colorado and Washington approved constitutional amendments on their state 's respective ballots in November to legalize pot use . Asked by the Dallas Morning News if she would have voted , as a private citizen , for legalization , Davis hesitated .\n`` From a philosophical position , do I have any objections to the fact that citizens might want to legalize marijuana ? No , I do n't . But I think watching to see how this experiment plays out in other states is probably advisable before I could tell you for sure , '' she said .\nAttempts thus far by lawmakers in Texas to lower state 's penalties for people caught possessing small amounts of marijuana , have failed . Davis said she would have supported a bill easing penalties . As governor , Davis said she would `` consider '' a bill moving marijuana possession from a criminal offense to a civil matter .\nA CNN/ORC International poll conducted in January shows a majority of Americans think marijuana use should be legal . The national survey also indicted the number of people who say smoking pot is morally wrong has plunged .\nIn Colorado specifically , a Quinnipiac poll released Monday shows support for the state 's recreational marijuana law has increased from last month . Though support seems to be trending upwards , a majority of Colorado voters also say the new law is bad for the state 's image .\nIf Davis wins her March 4 primary , she will face likely Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in the general election last this year .\nDavis ' office confirmed to CNN the senator 's comments in the Dallas Morning News interview .


A bill in the House to legalize marijuana faces an uncertain future , the Senate has not moved legislation that would allow marijuana businesses to bank and opportunities to legalize marijuana through state ballot initiatives have winnowed . The result is state legislatures will be the main arena for legalization debates . ( Caroline Brehman/CQ ███ file photo )\nMarijuana legalization campaigns will increasingly run through state capitols as Congress remains stalled , advocates say .\nA bill in the House to legalize marijuana faces an uncertain future , and the Senate has not moved legislation that would allow marijuana businesses to bank . Meanwhile , opportunities to legalize marijuana through state ballot initiatives have winnowed ; while nine other states and the District of Columbia approved commercial sales through ballot initiatives , just 23 states and the district allow such initiatives .\nThe result is state legislatures will be the main arena for legalization debates . This year , commercial sales began in Illinois , the first state to approve them through legislation . Pro-marijuana advocates will have to adapt their strategy accordingly to persuade state lawmakers .\nSmart Approaches to Marijuana , a group that opposes legalization , views the movement toward statehouses and the lengthier legislative process as an advantage .\n“ Our message takes some time to explain in this environment ” of increasing popularity for marijuana legalization , said Kevin Sabet , president of SAM .\nSabet said it can be difficult to defeat marijuana businesses and advocates in a messaging battle .\n“ We like working with state legislatures . It ’ s still not cheap , it still takes up a lot of time and it ’ s a long-slog effort , but a contemplative body that we can have a discussion with is preferable to a ballot initiative and competing catchphrases , ” he said .\nLegalization advocates acknowledged that targeted lobbying can gum up action on marijuana bills but argued that growing interest in their cause will ultimately compel legislators .\n“ It ’ s interesting to hear the opposition acknowledge what they are doing flies in the face of public opinion , ” said Melissa Moore , deputy state director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New York .\nNationally , 59 percent of people support both medical and recreational marijuana legalization , on top of another 32 percent who support its medicinal use alone , a 2019 Pew Research Center survey found .\n“ We know that the perspectives of state legislators can lag behind public opinion . It ’ s disheartening to think you can convince a relative handful of legislators , and through a few votes on a few committees the will of the people can be thwarted , ” said Karen O ’ Keefe , director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project .\n[ Legal pot makes it harder to recruit truck drivers , industry leader says ]\nNew Mexico , New York and Alabama could be states to watch on legalization issues in 2020 . New York has sought out collaboration with three neighboring states , recognizing that interstate travel could render major policy differences irrelevant and cultivate black markets .\nNew Mexico appears poised to legalize adult recreational use in a swift 30-day session that began Jan. 21 .\n“ The dialogue has shifted to not if , but when , ” said Emily Kaltenbach , an organizer with the Drug Policy Alliance advocacy group .\nDemocratic Gov . Michelle Lujan Grisham voiced support for legalized adult-use sales in her State of the State address — with caveats that the state ’ s existing medical marijuana program be protected and law enforcement receive a funding boost .\nThe push stalled last year in a Democrat-controlled Senate committee .\n“ This bill is stronger than last year ’ s bill , ” Kaltenbach said . “ We ’ re focused on individuals in the Senate in particular who were on the fence . ”\nThe governor in June 2019 appointed a cannabis working group , whose members included both advocates like Kaltenbach and a county sheriff . The group issued a 16-page report detailing its recommendations .\nState Rep. Javier Martinez , D-Albuquerque , who introduced the bill last year , said in local interviews that he plans to introduce a bill that draws from the working group ’ s recommendations .\nThe bill would immediately expunge cannabis possession convictions . It also would direct some tax revenues to a so-called “ Medicaid for marijuana ” program to subsidize medical marijuana purchases for low-income patients . The bill would also seed small businesses , fund substance abuse treatment , and direct 35 percent of tax revenues to a new fund for public health programs , job training and housing subsidies .\nThe New Mexico Sheriffs ’ Association has not announced opposition to the bill . The measure would create a new fund for state law enforcement underwritten by 16.5 percent of the revenue from taxes on cannabis sales . The bill also would direct 10 percent of the fees the state collects from licenses and penalties from life , general casualty and title insurance business to the police ’ s new fund .\nNew York Democratic Gov . Andrew M. Cuomo threw his weight behind a push for legal cannabis in his State of the State address coinciding with the legislative session ’ s Jan. 8 start . Cuomo has said he wants legalization incorporated into fiscal 2021 budget negotiations in March .\n“ We ’ re heading into session in a different place , ” said Moore . Cuomo convened a summit of Northeastern governors on the issue last fall , so negotiations in New York will be closely watched , as they could set a standard for other states .\n“ New York has an opportunity to set a national model that looks responsive to the tremendous harms of criminalization , ” Moore said , pointing to statistics showing that New York led the nation in marijuana-related arrests and incarcerations .\nCuomo ’ s speech was months in the making after a legalization effort dissolved last session . Proponents grumbled Cuomo didn ’ t push hard enough . Competing stakeholder interests in part led to the clock running out on last year ’ s bill , advocates say .\nSabet concedes defeating legalization in New York “ will be tough ” this year , but he also said the defeat of last year ’ s legislation gives the opposition momentum . The last session proved the assembly ’ s Democratic majority does not guarantee passage .\n“ We ’ re closer to Democrats than Republicans in New York , ” Sabet said . For example , Assembly member Jaime Williams said at a news conference with SAM last year that more research on marijuana is needed , according to local reports .\nThe governor ’ s office said it wants to work in tandem with three nearby states : Connecticut , New Jersey and Pennsylvania .\nAdvocates are also watching initiatives to end penalties for marijuana possession in New Hampshire and introduce commercial sales in Vermont , where homegrown plants are already legal .\nRepublican supermajorities in both chambers will likely take up a bill to create a medical marijuana program in Alabama . Proponents head into the state ’ s session on Feb. 4 armed with draft legislation by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Study Commission .\nLast month , a majority of the commission , made up of medical professionals , attorneys and farmers , concluded that “ there is strong public interest for a medical cannabis program in Alabama. ” The commission grew out of an unsuccessful effort to pass medical marijuana last year . A House committee did not act on a Senate-approved bill . Republican state Sen. Tim Melson , the commission chairman , plans to introduce the bill next month .\nThe tide toward medical marijuana was roiled earlier this month when Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall , a Republican , announced his opposition , arguing it would conflict with federal law and drawing a parallel between marijuana and opioids .\nAnnual congressional appropriations grant a legal safe harbor for state medical marijuana programs . Proponents of the Alabama bill said they would continue to support it when the session starts in February .\n“ I don ’ t think this is going to change that many minds because there is a lot of compelling evidence , ” Republican state Rep. Mike Ball said in a radio interview . “ I do think the people that were opposed to it will remain opposed to it , and this will give them a little extra political cover . ”\nAlabama would join more than 30 states and the District of Columbia that have a medical marijuana program . Tennessee and Kentucky , which started their sessions this month , are also expected to weigh medical marijuana bills this year .


Demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of how black markets work , a Wall Street Journal editorial blames marijuana legalization for vaping-related lung injuries involving illicit cannabis extracts . `` A surge in vaping related lung illnesses this year caught the medical community by surprise , with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) reporting more than 2,500 lung illnesses and 54 deaths , '' the Journal says . `` This is another reminder that America is undertaking a risky social experiment by legalizing and especially destigmatizing cannabis , and the potential effects are hard to foresee or control . ''\nSince those lung illnesses overwhelmingly involve black-market marijuana products , the lesson from the outbreak is exactly the opposite of the one the Journal draws . The CDC 's map of cases shows they are concentrated in states where marijuana remains illegal for recreational use , including Florida , Illinois ( where legal recreational sales do not begin until next week ) , Minnesota , New York , Pennsylvania , Texas , and Utah . The one major exception is California , where illegal dealers still account for nearly three-quarters of the market , thanks to heavy taxes , licensing delays , onerous regulations , and local bans .\nThe CDC itself highlights the dangers of THC vapes obtained from `` informal sources like friends , family , or in-person or online dealers . '' In a CDC survey reported last month , 96 percent of patients who developed respiratory symptoms after vaping THC said they had obtained the products `` informally . '' While two people in Oregon died after vaping THC cartridges they said they had bought from state-licensed shops , those are exceptions to the general pattern . The main problem is a black market in which consumers do not know the provenance and composition of the products they are buying .\nIn a legal market , it is much easier to guard against potential hazards . Legal manufacturers tell consumers the ingredients in their vapes , and they are liable for fraud if they lie . Marijuana regulators in Colorado , Oregon , and Washington have banned the use of vitamin E acetate , a cutting and thickening agent strongly implicated in the lung injuries . State-licensed laboratories in places where marijuana is legal can test products for that ingredient and other potentially harmful additives or contaminants . Vitamin E acetate , which the CDC has found in nearly all of the lung fluid samples from patients it has tested , is a relatively new additive that started showing up in illegal THC cartridges this year , which coincides with the recent outbreak .\nThe Journal 's reasoning , in short , is completely backward . By the same logic , the hazards of black-market booze , such as government-mandated poison in diverted industrial ethanol , would have counted as an argument against repealing alcohol prohibition .


LONDON/WASHINGTON A Tehran-based agency has quietly fed propaganda through at least 70 websites to countries from Afghanistan to Russia . And American firms have helped .\nWebsite Nile Net Online promises Egyptians “ true news ” from its offices in the heart of Cairo ’ s Tahrir Square , “ to expand the scope of freedom of expression in the Arab world . ”\nIts views on America do not chime with those of Egypt ’ s state media , which celebrate Donald Trump ’ s warm relations with Cairo . In one recent article , Nile Net Online derided the American president as a “ low-level theater actor ” who “ turned America into a laughing stock ” after he attacked Iran in a speech at the United Nations .\nUntil recently , Nile Net Online had more than 115,000 page-followers across Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . But its contact telephone numbers , including one listed as 0123456789 , don ’ t work . A Facebook map showing its location dropped a pin onto the middle of the street , rather than any building . And regulars at the square , including a newspaper stallholder and a policeman , say they have never heard of the website .\nThe reason : Nile Net Online is part of an influence operation based in Tehran .\nIt ’ s one of more than 70 websites found by ███ which push Iranian propaganda to 15 countries , in an operation that cybersecurity experts , social media firms and journalists are only starting to uncover . The sites found by ███ are visited by more than half a million people a month , and have been promoted by social media accounts with more than a million followers .\nThe sites underline how political actors worldwide are increasingly circulating distorted or false information online to influence public opinion . The discoveries follow allegations that Russian disinformation campaigns have swayed voters in the United States and Europe . Advisers to Saudi Arabia ’ s crown prince , and the army in Myanmar , are also among those using social media to distribute propaganda and attack their enemies . Moscow has denied the charges ; Riyadh and Yangon have not commented .\nFormer CIA director John Brennan told ███ that “ countries around the globe ” are now using such information warfare tactics .\n“ The Iranians are sophisticated cyber players , ” he said of the Iranian campaign . “ There are elements of the Iranian intelligence services that are rather capable in terms of operating ( online ) . ”\nTraced by building on research from cybersecurity firms FireEye and ClearSky , the sites in the campaign have been active at different times since 2012 . They look like normal news and media outlets , but only a couple disclose any Iranian ties .\n███ could not determine whether the Iranian government is behind the sites ; Iranian officials in Tehran and London did not reply to questions .\nBut all the sites are linked to Iran in one of two ways . Some carry stories , video and cartoons supplied by an online agency called the International Union of Virtual Media ( IUVM ) , which says on its website it is headquartered in Tehran . Some have shared online registration details with IUVM , such as addresses and phone numbers . Twenty-one of the websites do both .\nEmails sent to IUVM bounced back and telephone numbers the agency gave in web registration records did not work . Documents available on the main IUVM website say its objectives include “ confronting with remarkable arrogance , western governments and Zionism front activities . ”\nNile Net Online did not respond to questions sent to the email address on its website . Its operators , as well as those of the other websites identified by ███ , could not be located . Previous owners identified in historical registration records could not be reached . The Egyptian government did not respond to requests for comment .\nSome of the sites in the Iranian operation were first exposed in August by companies including Facebook , Twitter and Google ’ s parent , Alphabet , after FireEye found them . The social media companies have closed hundreds of accounts that promoted the sites or pushed Iranian messaging . Facebook said last month it had taken down 82 pages , groups and accounts linked to the Iranian campaign ; these had gathered more than one million followers in the United States and Britain .\nBut the sites uncovered by ███ have a much wider scope . They have published in 16 different languages , from Azerbaijani to Urdu , targeting Internet users in less-developed countries . That they reached readers in tightly controlled societies such as Egypt , which has blocked hundreds of news websites since 2017 , highlights the campaign ’ s reach .\n· A news site called Another Western Dawn which says its focus is on “ unspoken truth. ” It fooled the Pakistani defence minister into issuing a nuclear threat against Israel .\n· Ten outlets targeting readers in Yemen , where Iran and U.S. ally Saudi Arabia have been fighting a proxy conflict since civil war broke out in 2015 ;\n· A media outlet offering daily news and satirical cartoons in Sudan . ███ could not reach any of its staff ;\n· A website called Realnie Novosti , or “ Real News , ” for Russian readers . It offers a downloadable mobile phone app but its operator could not be traced .\nThe news on the sites is not all fake . Authentic stories sit alongside pirated cartoons , as well as speeches from Iran ’ s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . The sites clearly support Iran ’ s government and amplify antagonism to countries opposed to Tehran - particularly Israel , Saudi Arabia and the United States . Nile Net ’ s “ laughing stock ” piece was copied from an Iranian state TV network article published earlier the same day .\nSome of the sites are slapdash . The self-styled , misspelled “ Yemen Press Agecny ” carries a running update of Saudi “ crimes against Yemenis during the past 24 hours. ” Emails sent to the agency ’ s listed contact , Arafat Shoroh , bounced back . The agency ’ s address and phone number led to a hotel in the Yemeni capital , Sana ’ a , whose staff said they had never heard of Shoroh .\nThe front page of the 'Yemen Press ' website . Nov. 30 2018\nThe identity or location of the past owners of some of the websites is visible in historical Internet registration records : 17 of 71 sites have in the past listed their locations as Iran or Tehran , or given an Iranian telephone or fax number . But who owns them now is often hidden , and none of the Iranian-linked operators could be reached .\nMore than 50 of the sites use American web service providers Cloudflare and OnlineNIC - firms that provide website owners with tools to shield themselves from spam and hackers . Frequently , such services also effectively conceal who owns the sites or where they are hosted . The companies declined to tell ███ who operates the sites .\nUnder U.S law , hosting and web services companies are not generally liable for the content of sites they serve , said Eric Goldman , co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University . Still , since 2014 , U.S. sanctions on Iran have banned “ the exportation or re-exportation , directly or indirectly , of web-hosting services that are for commercial endeavors or of domain name registration services . ”\nDouglas Kramer , general counsel for Cloudflare , said the services it provides do not include web-hosting services . “ We ’ ve looked at those various sanctions regimes , we are comfortable that we are not in violation , ” he told ███ .\nA spokesman for OnlineNIC said none of the sites declared a connection to Iran in their registration details , and the company was in full compliance with U.S. sanctions and trade embargoes .\nThe U.S. Treasury ’ s Office of Foreign Assets Control ( OFAC ) declined to comment on whether it planned an investigation .\nIranians burn an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump in Tehran , Iran June 8 , 2018 . Tasnim News Agency\nThe Kremlin is widely seen as the superpower in modern information warfare . From what is known so far , Russia ’ s influence operation - which Moscow denies - dwarfs Iran ’ s . According to Twitter , nearly 4,000 accounts connected to the Russian campaign posted over 9 million tweets between 2013 and 2018 , against over 1 million tweets from fewer than 1,000 accounts believed to originate in Iran .\nEven though the Iranian operation is smaller , it has had impact on volatile topics . AWDnews - the site with the focus on “ unspoken truth ” - ran a false story in 2016 which prompted Pakistan ’ s defense minister to warn on Twitter he had the weapons to nuke Israel . He only found out that the hoax was part of an Iranian operation when contacted by ███ .\n“ It was a learning experience , ” said the deceived politician , 69-year-old Khawaja Asif , who left Pakistan ’ s government earlier this year . “ But one can understand that these sorts of things happen , because fake news has become something huge . It ’ s something which anyone is capable of now , which is very dangerous . ”\nIsraeli officials did not respond to a request for comment .\nAWDnews publishes in English , French , Spanish and German and , according to data from web analytics company SimilarWeb , receives around 12,000 unique visitors a month . Among others who shared stories from AWDnews and the other websites identified by ███ were politicians in Britain , Jordan , India , and the Netherlands ; human-rights activists ; an Indian music composer and a Japanese rap star .\nHatebook Why Facebook is losing the war on hate speech in Myanmar\nFireEye , a U.S. cybersecurity firm , originally named six websites as part of the Iranian influence operation . ███ examined those sites , and their content led to the Tehran-based International Union of Virtual Media .\nIUVM is an array of 11 websites with names such as iuvmpress , iuvmapp and iuvmpixel . Together , they form a library of digital material , including mobile phone apps , items from Iranian state media and pictures , video clips and stories from elsewhere on the web , which support Tehran ’ s policies .\nTracking usage of IUVM content across the Internet led to sites which have used its material , registration details , or both . For instance , 22 of the sites have shared the same phone number , which does not work and has also been listed for IUVM . At least seven have used the same address , which belongs to a youth hostel in Berlin . Staff at the hostel told ███ they had never heard of the sites in question . The site operators could not be reached to explain their links with IUVM .\nTwo sites even posted job advertisements for IUVM , inviting applications from women with “ ability to work effectively and knowledge in dealing with social networks and ( the ) Internet . ”\nOne of IUVM ’ s most popular users is a site called Sudan Today , which SimilarWeb data shows receives almost 150,000 unique visitors each month . On Facebook , it tells its 57,000 followers that it operates without political bias . Its 18,000 followers on Twitter have included the Italian Embassy in Sudan , and its work has been cited in a report by the Egyptian Electricity Ministry .\nThe office address registered for Sudan Today in 2016 covers a whole city district in north Khartoum , according to archived website registration details provided by WhoisAPI Inc and DomainTools LLC . The phone number listed in those records does not work .\n███ could not trace staff members named on Sudan Today ’ s Facebook page . The five-star Corinthia hotel in central Khartoum , where the site says it hosted an anniversary party last year , told ███ no such event took place . And an address listed on one of its social media accounts is a demolished home .\nSudan used to be an Iranian ally but has changed sides to align itself with Saudi Arabia , costing Tehran a foothold in the Horn of Africa just as it becomes more isolated by the West . In that environment , Iran sees itself as competing with Israel , Saudi Arabia and the United States for international support , and is taking the fight online , said Ariane Tabatabai , a senior associate and Iran expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington , D.C .\nHeadlines on Sudan Today ’ s homepage include a daily round-up of stories from local newspapers and Ugandan soccer results . It also features reports on bread prices - which doubled in January after Khartoum eliminated subsidies , triggering demonstrations .\nOhad Zaidenberg , senior researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky , said this mixture of content provides the cover for narratives geared at influencing a target audience ’ s attitudes and perceptions .\nThe site also draws attention to Saudi Arabia ’ s military actions in Yemen . Since Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir ended his allegiance with Iran he has sent troops and jets to join Saudi-led forces in the Yemeni conflict .\nOne cartoon from IUVM published by Sudan Today in August shows Donald Trump astride a military jet with an overflowing bag of dollar bills tucked under one arm . The jet is draped with traditional Saudi dress and shown dropping bombs on a bloodstained map of Yemen . The map is littered with children ’ s toys and shoes .\nTurkish cartoonist Mikail Çiftçi drew the original . He told ███ he did not give Sudan Today permission to use it .\nThis cartoon was copied by IUVM without permission from the artist .\nAlnagi Albashra , a 28-year-old software developer in Khartoum , said he likes to read articles on Sudan Today in the evenings when waiting for his baby to fall asleep . But he and three other Sudan Today readers reached by ███ had no idea who was behind the site .\n“ This is a big problem , ” he said . “ You can ’ t see that they are not in Sudan . ”\nGovernment officials in Khartoum , the White House , the Italian Embassy and the Egyptian Electricity Ministry did not respond to requests for comment .\nIt is unclear who globally is tasked with responding to online disinformation campaigns like Iran ’ s , or what if any action they should take , said David Conrad , chief technology officer at ICANN , a non-profit which helps manage global web addresses .\nSocial media accounts can be deleted in bulk by the firms that provide the platforms . But the Iranian campaign ’ s backbone of websites makes it harder to dismantle than social media , because taking down a website often requires the cooperation of law enforcement , Internet service providers and web infrastructure companies .\nEfforts by social media companies in the United States and Europe to tackle the campaign have had mixed results .\nShortly after being contacted by ███ , Twitter suspended the accounts for Nile Net Online and Sudan Today . “ Clear attribution is very difficult , ” a spokeswoman said , but added that the company would continue to update a public database of tweets and accounts linked to state-backed information operations when it had new information .\nGoogle did not respond directly to questions about the websites found by ███ . The company has said it identified and closed 99 accounts which it says are linked to Iranian state media . “ We ’ ve invested in robust systems to identify influence operations launched by foreign governments , ” a spokeswoman said .\nFacebook said it was aware of the websites found by ███ and had removed five more Facebook pages . But a spokesman said that based on Facebook user data , the company was not yet able to link all the websites ’ accounts to the Iranian activity found earlier . “ In the past several months , we have removed hundreds of Pages , Groups , and accounts linked to Iranian actors engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior . We continue to remove accounts across our services and in all relevant languages , ” he said .\nAccounts linked to the Iranian sites remain active online , especially in languages other than English . On Nov. 30 , 16 of the Iranian sites were still posting daily updates on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram or YouTube - including Sudan Today and Nile Net Online . Between them , the social media accounts had more than 700,000 followers .\nThe address listed for 'Sudan Today ' on one social media account leads here .\n( Corrects to delete two paragraphs in section three - WHO representative was not authorised to speak to the media )


As with Fox ’ s ubiquitous promotion of its slogan , conservatives ’ appropriation of the “ fake news ” label is an effort to further erode the mainstream media ’ s claim to be a reliable and accurate source .\n“ What I think is so unsettling about the fake news cries now is that their audience has already sort of bought into this idea that journalism has no credibility or legitimacy , ” said Angelo Carusone , the president of Media Matters , a liberal group that polices the news media for bias . “ Therefore , by applying that term to credible outlets , it becomes much more believable . ”\nConservative news media are now awash in the “ fake news ” condemnations . When coverage of Mr. Trump ’ s choice for labor secretary , Andrew F. Puzder , highlighted his opposition to minimum wage increases , the writer and radio host Erick Erickson wrote that Mr. Puzder should have been getting more credit for pointing out that such increases lead to higher unemployment . “ To say otherwise is to push fake news , ” he wrote . ( The effects actually have been found to vary from city to city . )\nInfowars , the website run by the conservative provocateur and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones , labeled as “ fake news ” a CNN report that Ivanka Trump would move into the office in the White House normally reserved for the first lady .\nMr. Trump has used the term to deny news reports , as he did on Twitter recently after various outlets said he would stay on as the executive producer of “ The New Celebrity Apprentice ” after taking office in January . “ Ridiculous & untrue — FAKE NEWS ! ” he wrote . ( He will be credited as executive producer , a spokesman for the show ’ s creator , Mark Burnett , has said . But it is unclear what work , if any , he will do on the show . )\nMany conservatives are pushing back at the outrage over fake news because they believe that liberals , unwilling to accept Mr. Trump ’ s victory , are attributing his triumph to nefarious external factors .\n“ The left refuses to admit that the fundamental problem isn ’ t the Russians or Jim Comey or ‘ fake news ’ or the Electoral College , ” said Laura Ingraham , the author and radio host . “ ‘ Fake news ’ is just another fake excuse for their failed agenda . ”


WASHINGTON — President Trump gave out fake news `` awards '' to six news organizations Wednesday night , capping a much-hyped social media spectacle that matched Trump 's penchant for showmanship with his disdain for the news media covering it .\nNone of the recipients of Trump 's backhanded laurels were surprising : They 've been frequent targets of the president 's scorn for much of his first year in office . Among the news organizations cited : CNN , The New York Times , The Washington Post , ABC News , Newsweek and Time Magazine .\nMost of the stories cited were verifiably false : ABC News retracted its report about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn 's testimony in the Russian collusion probe , and suspended correspondent Brian Ross . A report from a Time reporter about a missing Martin Luther King Jr. bust in the Oval Office on inauguration day was quickly corrected . And CNN admitted an error in dates that caused it to report that Donald Trump Jr. had access to leaked Democratic emails before they were posted on the website Wikileaks .\nPreviously : Trump to announce 'most dishonest ' and 'corrupt media awards ' next week\nBut the top example of `` fake news '' was actually an opinion piece from New York Times columnist Paul Krugman predicting stock market losses after Trump 's election victory . Instead , the markets have boomed .\nThe media critic-in-chief also cited coverage of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign , which has focused on whether the Trump campaign colluded with agents of the Russian government .\n`` Russian collusion is perhaps the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people , '' Trump said .\nBut a special counsel investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller has already led to indictments or convictions of at least four people , including Flynn . There 's been no publicly released evidence that Trump knew about his campaign 's contacts with the Russians .\nThe very term `` fake news '' came out of Russian attempts to interfere with the election by — among other tactics — planting false stories on social media . But Trump quickly co-opted the term `` fake news '' to refer to stories that portrayed him in a negative light . But unlike the original meaning of fake news , the stories cited by Trump Wednesday were n't deliberately falsified — even if the reporting relied on false information .\nThe rollout of the awards did n't go smoothly . The awards were delayed nine days because , Trump said , `` the interest in , and importance of , these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated ! ''\nThey were expected to come at 5 p.m . ET Wednesday , but Trump posted a link to the awards on Twitter three hours later .\nThen a series of website errors , presumably from high traffic volume , prevented most people from seeing the post until nearly half an hour later .\nThey were hosted not on the White House website but the Republican National Committee 's . Ethics experts had expressed doubts about whether it was appropriate to use taxpayer resources to promote the awards .\n`` Despite some very corrupt and dishonest media coverage , there are many great reporters I respect and lots of GOOD NEWS for the American people to be proud of ! '' Trump said . `` ISIS is in retreat , our economy is booming , investments and jobs are pouring back into the country , and so much more ! Together there is nothing we can ’ t overcome — even a very biased media . We ARE Making America Great Again ! ''\nAs Trump hyped the event , a growing number of bipartisan lawmakers , First Amendment groups and others rebuked the president .\n`` When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn ’ t suit him 'fake news , ' it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion , not the press , '' Sen. Jeff Flake , R-Ariz. , said in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday .\nMore : Sen. Jeff Flake : Trump 'charting a very dangerous path ' with media attacks\nSen. John McCain , R-Ariz. , wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post that Trump 's anti-press rhetoric was giving cover to repressive regimes around the world .\n`` The phrase 'fake news ' — granted legitimacy by an American president — is being used by autocrats to silence reporters , undermine political opponents , stave off media scrutiny and mislead citizens , '' McCain said .


In this case , the altered video of Biden — who has surged to the front of the Democratic presidential race to face Trump in November — is based on a speech he gave Saturday in Kansas City , Mo . It was then shared on Twitter by Scavino , only edited to make it appear as if Biden inadvertently endorsed Trump for reelection .\nThe version of the video shared by Scavino showed Biden stumbling on a line during a speech , then saying : “ Excuse me . We can only reelect Donald Trump . ”\nBut the edited video deleted the second part of the former vice president ’ s sentence . The whole thing said : “ Excuse me . We can only reelect Donald Trump if in fact we get engaged in this circular firing squad here . It ’ s got to be a positive campaign . ”\nTwitter applied the label to Scavino ’ s tweet at about 5 p.m. Sunday , about 18 hours after Scavino shared the video . The video had at least 5 million views and more than 21,000 retweets as of Sunday evening .\nScavino said on Twitter that the tweet was “ not manipulated , ” and he retweeted another user who said the company was setting a “ dangerous precedent ” by labeling the tweet .\nTwitter ’ s rollout of the label was not without technical glitches , however . The label was not showing up when people searched for Scavino ’ s tweet , though Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said it was appearing in individuals ’ timelines . She added the company is working on a fix .\nThe “ misleading ” label is one way social media companies are trying to crack down on false and misleading information in 2020 , following a 2016 election in which they were widely blamed for allowing incorrect information to circulate on their platforms , influencing the election and providing Russian trolls and bots with entry into the U.S. political system .\nBut the companies are not acting in tandem , and their policies are inconsistent . Facebook , too , added a warning to the video on Monday morning after it was debunked by one of the company ’ s fact-checking partners .\n“ Fact-checkers rated this video as partly false , so we are reducing its distribution and showing warning labels with more context for people who see it , try to share it , or already have , ” Facebook spokeswoman Brittany Uter said in a statement . “ As we announced last year , the same applies if a politician shares the video , if it was otherwise fact-checked when shared by others on Facebook . ”\nThe company added the label after the Biden campaign blasted its handling of falsehoods on Sunday night .\n“ Facebook ’ s malfeasance when it comes to trafficking in blatantly false information is a national crisis in this respect , ” Biden campaign manager Greg Schultz said . “ It is also an unconscionable act of putting profit above not just our country , but every country . Facebook won ’ t say it , but it is apparent to all who have examined their conduct and policies : They care first and foremost about money and , to that end , are willing to serve as one of the world ’ s most effective mediums for the spread of vile lies . ”\nTwitter ’ s new policy prohibits sharing synthetic or manipulated media that could cause harm . But as in this instance , the company may apply labels to tweets to help people understand their authenticity or to provide additional context .


President Trump ’ s nonstop “ fake news ” trash-talking has taken a heavy toll on the media ’ s image , with less than 10 percent of Republicans saying they trust the press , according to a new survey .\nWhile the news media feasts on the president and the tsunami of scandals around him , Trump ’ s war on the press remains effective as his loyal followers still have zero faith in the fourth estate .\nWhile 55 percent of Democrats say the news media “ deal fairly with all sides , ” less than 10 percent of Republicans feel the same , according to the Poynter Institute ’ s latest Media Trust Survey .\nAs the press reels from Trump hammering them as “ enemies of the people ” — the survey found 31 percent of people agree with this contentious , absurd claim — there is a bright spot for local reporters .\nThe survey found 76 percent of Americans have a “ great deal ” or a “ fair amount ” of trust in their local TV news and 73 percent for local newspapers . But only 59 percent feel that way about national newspapers , 55 percent for network news and 47 percent for online media .\n“ People overall are pretty critical of the national media and more trusting of their local sources or like them better , ” said Rick Edmonds , a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute , a journalism think-tank in Florida .\n“ And then we take Republicans , ” Edmonds said yesterday . “ It ’ s just an enormous gap . They don ’ t like the national media at all , broadcast and newspapers , but they have a lot of confidence , almost as much as Democrats , in local . ”\n“ As a whole , ” the authors of the July report wrote , “ the public supports the press , though perhaps only tepidly . ”\nThere ’ s another bright spot . Americans ’ trust of the news media is on the rise , with 54 percent of Americans having a “ great deal ” or “ fair amount ” of trust in the press , and that ’ s up 32 percent from 2016 .\nThe survey found 66 percent of people believe news organizations “ keep political leaders from doing things that shouldn ’ t be done . ”\nYet 68 percent of people say the news media “ tend to favor one side . ”\n“ We may think we ’ re straight shooters but our audiences don ’ t necessarily , ” said Edmonds .\nSome newspaper editorial page editors have changed how they do things , Edmonds said , including being more engaged in the community and “ dialing way back on telling people what they ought to think . ”\n“ Many steps like that will help regain trust , ” Edmonds said .


The liberal media was almost as bad as last year . Maybe marginally better , but I use that phrase VERY loosely . They were still total garbage in covering this White House . They still suck . They ’ re still sour that Hillary Clinton lost , and as they ’ re consumed with rage , they make mistakes , a great many mistakes . From sitting on information that undercut a serious sexual misconduct allegation against a federal judge to peddling old fake news about AR-15s to push gun control , 2018 was another banner year for the Democrat-media complex . We only have ten . We know there were a lot more . Tweet @ Townhallcom to send us some we might have missed . There were so many it was bound to happen .\nThe Daily Caller 's Amber Athey also compiled an even longer list of fake news screw-ups from the media . Enjoy going down memory lane .\n1 . CNN Peddled An Embarrassing AR-15 Story…Which Wasn ’ t Even New .\nThe liberal media still can ’ t get it right when it comes to reporting on firearms . After the tragic Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in February , CNN ’ s Cuomo peddled an old story about some kid who claimed to have bought an AR-15in Virginia in five minutes . The problem : he didn ’ t buy the rifle . He just took a photo with one . That ’ s not the same thing .\n2 . ‘ The Awful Melania Trump Is Chained To A Radiator In Basement Because We Haven ’ t Seen Her And Trump Is Evil ’ Conspiracy Theory\nIt ’ s a fact that many people undergo surgery for a multitude of reasons . For major surgery , say , like a procedure on your kidneys , it requires a prolonged resting phase . First Lady Melania Trump underwent kidney surgery in June and was absent for a lengthy period of time . The media took that as she went “ missing. ” This is a prime example , and there are many more , of why the media is so hated . Katie had the story .\n3 . CNN ’ s Cohen-Russia-Trump Tower Meeting Story Blows Up In Their Faces\nAgain , there is nothing as entertaining than watching CNN fail miserably to peddle its Russian collusion nonsense on a 24/7 basis . We love it when they fail . They suck . They ’ re anti-Trump , anti-GOP , and deserve all the blood the pours from their face when they step on a rake like this . In July of 2017 , sources alleged that ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen claimed then-candidate Donald Trump knew about the 2016 meeting that occurred in Trump Tower between his son and some Russians , which turned out to be nothing related to Hillary Clinton , the election , or collusion . It was a colossal waste of time . It ’ s not even a news story . But leave it to CNN to try and resurrect it , as it was some big bombshell and have it collapse in epic fashion . From the get-go there was zero evidence to corroborate Cohen ’ s account . There ’ s your first red flag . The second was the sourcing . It turned out to be Cohen ’ s attorney Lanny Davis , who pretty much took back everything he disclosed .\nThe best is that CNN stood by its trash reporting .\n4 . The Russian Spy That Was In The Oval Office , Except That She Wasn ’ t\nEmily Singer of the now defunct-Mic got the Russia collusion hopefuls frothing at the mouth when she alleged that Maria Butina was photographed inside the Oval Office . Butina , a Russian , was recently arrested and charged with espionage . The problem : it wasn ’ t her . It was some NSC staffer .\nA fmr WH official tells me he thinks the person in this NYT photo is Cari Lutkins , the WH 's deputy director of events , who plans logistics for events like these pic.twitter.com/NZJ0z7IUqt — Lachlan Markay ( @ lachlan ) July 17 , 2018\nThis photo is going around : That is not alleged Russian spy Maria Butina in the Oval Office With Trump . It ’ s an NSC staffer , a NSC source tells BuzzFeed News . pic.twitter.com/k1pDeIBZiK — Tom Namako ( @ TomNamako ) July 17 , 2018\n5 . NPR Is Taken To The Woodshed Over Fake Story About Donald Trump Jr .\nSo , CNN can ’ t read the dateson emails properly , and it looks like National Public Radio has an issue with reading public transcripts . The story is hinged on Michael Cohen supposedly contradicting what Donald Trump Jr. said about a Trump Tower Moscow deal ending in 2014 .\n“ Donald Trump Jr. testified to Congress that the Trump organization ’ s negotiations ’ to develop Trump Tower Moscow ended at the end of 2014 , but that conflicts with Michael Cohen , who said in a guilty plea the negotiations continued well into 2016 , ” in a now-deleted NPR tweet .\n“ This NPR story appears to be wrong . It notes that Trump Jr. told a Senate committee that a deal in Moscow died of `` deal fatigue '' by 2014 .\nBut that was a deal with the Agalarovs . He was also asked if a deal was in the works in 2015/2016 and said yes , ” tweeted Philip Bump of The Washington Post . In fact , a more than a few writers from left-leaning publications noted that this story was not accurate .\nThe article 's `` update '' is not good . Trump Jr. was clearly referring to * a particular deal * as having `` died of deal fatigue '' -- and it 's not the Cohen deal .\nThe fifth paragraph below is the important paragraph , which undercuts the existing headline . pic.twitter.com/Qt8Gkyx13g — Philip Bump ( @ pbump ) November 30 , 2018\nThis story went super-viral . The correction , walk-balk & retraction are barely being noted by those who hyped the original claim . This happens over & over , always in the same direction . Again : anti-media rhetoric can be dangerous , but media outlets often lay the groundwork for it https : //t.co/V8UcoMQovS — Glenn Greenwald ( @ ggreenwald ) November 30 , 2018\nWe all knew the overreach was coming . There were two stories of alleged sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh , both without corroborating evidence . There were not witnesses either . The one that was the strongest against the now-siting Supreme Court justice was Christine Blasey Ford , who couldn ’ t remember anything about her alleged encounter with a teenaged Kavanaugh , except that he supposedly attempted to sexually assault her . She doesn ’ t know how she got to this party , how she got there , who planned it , or how she got home , but she knows for sure that Kavanaugh was her alleged attacker . Yeah , not buying it . I still don ’ t . It was a classic politically orchestrated hit by the Democrat-Media Complex , and Julie Swetnick confirmed that . Her story was straight trash . She was a college-aged woman who hung out with…high school kids , saw some debauchery , alleged that Kavanaugh was part of some gang rape ring , though she never saw him attack anyone , but it obviously wasn ’ t so bad ( or that it never happened ) because she went to several more of these parties . Oh , and she pretty admitted she doesn ’ t know what Kavanaugh allegedly did , nor does she have evidence . Yeah , she was nuts . A gang rape ring ? Give me a break . There was also another woman who admitted to making up sexual assault allegation to get attention . Both Swetnick and her lawyer , Michael Avenatti , have been referred for criminal prosecution for making false claimsto the Senate Judiciary Committee .\n7 . Wait–NBC News Knew Swetnick ’ s Story Was Garbage…And Sat On It .\nIn the NBC News interview that aired on Oct. 1 , Swetnick back-tracked on or contradicted parts of her sworn statement where she alleged she witnessed then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh `` cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be 'gang raped ' in a side room or bedroom by a 'train ' of boys . '' NBC News also found other apparent inconsistencies in a second sworn statement from another woman whose statement Avenatti provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee in a bid to bolster Swetnick 's claims . In the second statement , the unidentified woman said she witnessed Kavanaugh `` spike '' the punch at high school parties in order to sexually take advantage of girls . But less than 48 hours before Avenatti released her sworn statement on Twitter , the same woman told NBC News a different story . Referring to Kavanaugh spiking the punch , `` I did n't ever think it was Brett , '' the woman said to reporters in a phone interview arranged by Avenatti on Sept. 30after repeated requests to speak with other witnesses who might corroborate Swetnick 's claims . As soon as the call began , the woman said she never met Swetnick in high school and never saw her at parties and had only become friends with her when they were both in their 30s . When asked in the phone interview if she ever witnessed Kavanaugh act inappropriately towards girls , the woman replied , `` no . '' She did describe a culture of heavy drinking in high school that she took part in , and said Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were part of that group . [ … ] According to the second woman 's declaration that Avenatti provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee , she said : `` During the years 1981-82 , I witnessed firsthand Brett Kavanaugh , together with others , 'spike ' the 'punch ' at house parties I attended with Quaaludes and/or grain alcohol . I understood this was being done for the purpose of making girls more likely to engage in sexual acts and less likely to say 'No . ' '' The statement also said that Kavanaugh was `` overly aggressive and verbally abusive to girls . This conduct included inappropriate physical contact with girls of a sexual nature . '' But reached by phone independently from Avenatti on Oct. 3 , the woman said she only `` skimmed '' the declaration . After reviewing the statement , she wrote in a text on Oct. 4 to NBC News : `` It is incorrect that I saw Brett spike the punch . I did n't see anyone spike the punch ... I was very clear with Michael Avenatti from day one . '' When pressed about abusive behavior towards girls , she wrote in a text : `` I would not ever allow anyone to be abusive in my presence . Male or female . ''\nPrior to the Christmas holiday , it was reported that and seven-year-old migrant girl had died in Border Patrol custody . Of course , the Trump administration , Republicans , and federal immigration authorities were to blame , except that they weren ’ t . Guy had the story :\n…Politicians and members of the media expressed outrage over the tragic death of a seven-year-old girl who died shortly after illegally crossing the US border with her father . The details of her passing are heart-wrenching . Border hawks blamed her parent for putting her life at risk by bringing her on the dangerous journey , while critics of the president 's approach to immigration policy held up the incident as an example of the administration 's inhumanity and callousness . [ … ] Twitter 's 'AG Conservative ' ( who is worth a follow ) noted that in story after story , headline after headline , wrongdoing by US officials was at least implied . In truth , the young girl had been severely deprived of sustenance for days prior to being taken into custody in a remote area , at which point American border patrol officers and support staff attempted to save her life . After being manually revived twice , she was transported by air to a hospital , where she died .\nThe New York Times tried to slit the throat of then-U.S . Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for a $ 53,000 curtain expenditure at the official residence . It came at a time when the State Department was undergoing some belt-tightening . Well , it wasn ’ t her fault . The Obama administration approved the purchases . Leah covered it for us :\nNikki Haley , U.S . Ambassador to the United Nations , has come under fire over expensive curtains that were installed in her official residence given the State Department ’ s deep budget cuts and hiring freeze . There ’ s just one problem—the nearly $ 53,000 furnishing was approved under the Obama administration in 2016 .\nAn earlier version of this article and headline created an unfair impression about who was responsible for the purchase in question . While Nikki R. Haley is the current ambassador to the United Nations , the decision on leasing the ambassador ’ s residence and purchasing the curtains was made during the Obama administration , according to current and former officials . The article should not have focused on Ms. Haley , nor should a picture of her have been used . The article and headline have now been edited to reflect those concerns , and the picture has been removed .\nThe 2018 Florida elections were another nightmare . Yes , Gov . Rick Scott booted incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson , and GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis won the gubernatorial race , but the vote tallying in Broward and Palm Beach Counties , both Democratic bastions , were a disaster . They weren ’ t keeping regular updates on the outstanding ballot total as required by law . Elections supervisor Brenda Snipeswas once again at the center on the controversy . Lawsuits were filed , with a judge ruling that the vote counting operation was in violation of public records laws . Allegations of election stealing flew like crazy , and MSNBC ’ s Andrea Mitchell had this bombshell : Snipes is a…Republican ? No , she ’ s not , but it was yet another fake news moment for the media for 2018 :


Chuck Schumer , the Senate ’ s No . 3 Democrat , thinks the Internal Revenue Service hasn ’ t done enough to silence the Tea Party . He wants the White House and the IRS to “ immediately redouble ” efforts to shut down conservative political-action groups through tougher government oversight and enforcement .\nThe Tea Party opposes much of President Obama ’ s agenda , and to Mr. Schumer , that ’ s both a sin and a crime .\nIn a speech last week to the liberal Center for American Progress , the senior senator from New York said , “ There are many things that can be done administratively by the IRS and other government agencies ” to silence groups that obstruct Democratic policies .\nWhen several dozen conservative organizations applied to the IRS for nonprofit status in the run-up to the 2012 elections , they had to struggle through bureaucratic roadblocks and obstacles while the applications of liberal groups sailed through without a hitch . The government insisted this was mere coincidence , but Mr. Schumer ’ s remarks revealed the fire under the smoke .\nIn late November , the Treasury Department introduced a new rule to “ redefine and restrict ” the political activities of nonprofits . The administration says the revised regulations are needed to improve the way such organizations are regulated , but it ’ s obvious the rules were changed to thwart the legitimate politicking of the Tea Party .\nLiberals just can ’ t get over the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court that guaranteed the free speech of everyone . They can ’ t get over the plain and unambiguous language of the First Amendment that citizens have the right of free speech and the right to petition the government , even harass the government , whether the government likes it or not .\nWhat they despise most of all is that the Supreme Court leveled the playing field , enabling conservative billionaires to spend their money as freely as liberal billionaires such as George Soros spend theirs to win friends and influence as many voters as they can .\n“ The fundamental weakness in the Tea Party machine , ” Mr. Schumer said , “ is the stark difference between what the leaders of the Tea Party elite , plutocrats like the Koch Brothers , want and what the average grass-roots Tea Party follower wants … . Obviously , the Tea Party elites gained extraordinary influence by being able to funnel millions of dollars into campaigns with ads that distort the truth and attack government. ” His solution to a level playing field is IRS harassment .\nThe latest group harassed by the IRS might be the smallest in America ; namely , conservatives in Hollywood . An organization known as Friends of Abe , named for Abraham Lincoln , is trying to get tax-exempt status . The IRS is doing what it can to scuttle the application and wants to see the organization ’ s membership list .\nThe actors , directors and writers who are Friends of Abe are wary of coming out of the closet where traditional values are often hidden in Hollywood . Nothing threatens a promising career in Tinseltown faster than exposure as a Republican or other conservative .\nIn a just world , the Center for American Progress , the 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) nonprofit organization that hosted Mr. Schumer ’ s call for government harassment of conservatives groups , would get similar scrutiny .\nIn the negotiations over the budget , Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell attempted to stop the IRS chicanery . Politico , the Capitol Hill daily , reported that Mr. McConnell submitted language to scuttle the revised IRS rules . Democrats blocked the attempt , even after Republicans agreed to a sweetener of more money for the International Monetary Fund , a Democratic favorite .\nStrengthening the IRS ‘ ability to make trouble for conservatives in politics is a priority for Mr. Obama and Harry Reid , the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate . They regard the IRS scandal not as a scandal , but as a starting point for suppressing enemies .