On CNN Tuesday, former National Security Adviser John Bolton tore into outgoing President Donald Trump for urging Senate Republicans to try to block the congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory — and warned Republicans against heeding his call.
"Let me ask you this," said anchor Jim Acosta. "The New York Post says by that calling on Republicans to overturn the election ... the president is, quote, 'cheering for an undemocratic coup.' Do you agree that when Republicans — some Republicans join forces on Jan. 6th in [an] attempt to overturn the election, whether or not it is ultimately successful, that they are cheering on a coup attempt? Is this like a coup attempt, you think?"
"Well, I think that states it pretty dramatically," said Bolton. "There's no evidence of systemic fraud that benefited Joe Biden in this election. People can talk about it all they want. They have failed in courts, they have failed in administrative proceedings, they have failed under state law. So, you've either got to say there was no systematic fraud, or Donald Trump had the worst legal team in the history of Western civilization. This is a complete sham. I think anybody who tries to stop the count of the electoral votes, or try and disrupt it on January the 6th, will embarrass themselves in history."
Watch below:
A $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by an electronic voting hardware and software company against Fox News will go to trial next month unless a judge issues a summary judgement in the case, CBS News reports.
Dominion Voting Systems filed the 2021 lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company Fox Corporation alleging the right-wing news outlet made false claims over the 2020 election and provided guests a platform from which they could propagate falsehoods and defamatory statements.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis was expected to issue a ruling on requests for a summary judgement after a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, the report said. Dominion and Fox News each made separate summary judgment requests.
Should the case go to trial, Dominion will be required to prove that Fox News acted with “actual malice,” meaning it will have to demonstrate that the cable network knowingly made false claims or acted with reckless disregard in spreading unfounded fraud allegations.
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Attorneys representing Fox argue that the case doesn’t meet that standard, since it was merely reporting the allegations of a sitting president and his legal team which had news value.
Dominion’s attorneys allege Fox dropped the ball by failing to characterize the allegations they knew to be false as such.
"Media companies may always report the truth, including reporting on false allegations while explaining that the allegations are false, and Dominion did not sue the many media companies that did just that in 2020," Dominion’s attorneys said.
Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court in the western US state of Utah on Tuesday, where she is being sued for damages by a retired optometrist over a skiing accident seven years ago.
In opening statements, Terry Sanderson's lawyer said the alleged collision on the slopes of Deer Valley had caused him damages worth $3.3 million. The "Shakespeare in Love" actress has in turn countersued.
Paltrow's lawyer Steven Owens told the Park City court on Tuesday that Sanderson is "obsessed" with the lawsuit, and that the case was a "meritless claim of false allegation."
"Really kind of an offensive one. That she somehow left him an unconscious man and bolted? I can tell you, we believe it to be utter BS," said Owens.
The alleged collision occurred in February 2016 at Deer Valley, a glamorous ski resort above the swanky larger resort of Park City in the Rocky Mountains.
Deer Valley hosted Winter Olympics skiing events in 2002, while Park City is home to the annual Sundance film festival.
Paltrow, wearing a white turtleneck sweater, sat silently beside Owens as proceedings began Tuesday. She is expected to later take the stand in her own defense.
Paltrow's husband Brad Falchuk and children Moses and Apple are due to address the court, Owens said.
Sanderson says Paltrow skied into him from behind and then vanished, leaving him unconscious, lying in the snow.
Lawrence D. Buhler, representing Sanderson, said in his opening statement that Paltrow had been skiing in a "dangerous" and "reckless" manner, and had caused his client "four broken ribs and permanent brain damage."
Paltrow says Sanderson skied into her back, and is countersuing for a nominal $1 plus legal expenses.
Her lawyer Owens said "Gwyneth is a conservative skier" who was "not going fast," and said she had initially feared she was "being assaulted" when Sanderson appeared directly behind her.
"It rattled her and physically hurt her," he said.
Owens also said Sanderson is "blind in one eye" and suffers from "decreasing vision" in the other -- suggesting poor eyesight was a reason for the crash.
In addition to her Oscar-winning acting career, Paltrow has forged a second career marketing wellness products on her Goop website.
The online blog and store promotes healthy eating and stress-free living, as well as a range of unorthodox products -- from DIY coffee enema kits to a line of scented goods made with cedarwood, bergamot, rose and ambrette, and named "This Smells like My Vagina."
More than 500,000 children were shut out of lessons Tuesday as school workers in Los Angeles began a three-day walkout over pay.
Bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special education assistants employed by Los Angeles Unified School District -- the second biggest in the United States -- are striking over what they say are "poverty wages."
The roughly 30,000 members of the powerful United Teachers Los Angeles union will not cross the picket line and will therefore not be working, the union said.
Service Employees International Union Local 99 says many of its members earn as little as $25,000 per year.
"Caring for students is one of the most meaningful careers," tweeted US Congressman Adam Schiff, from southern California.
"I stand with the bus drivers, custodians, teachers' aides and others... No one can live on $25,000. We must invest in schools and pay fair wages."
Los Angeles is one of America's most pricey places to live, with high taxes and expensive grocery and utility bills.
Median rent in the city is $3,000 per month, according to property website Zillow.
LAUSD officials said they have offered a 23 percent increase, along with a three percent "cash-in-hand bonus."
The union is demanding a 30 percent pay raise, with an additional boost for the lowest-paid workers.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city was stepping in to provide food and shelter to vulnerable children who would normally get such services at school.
"With more than 500,000 students and their families affected by today's school closures, the City is providing meals and safe places for young people at dozens of locations across Los Angeles," she said.
"I will make sure the wellbeing of LA students always comes first as I continue to work with all parties to reach an agreement to reopen the schools and guarantee fair treatment of all LAUSD workers."
The dispute comes as Americans are battered by a persistent cost of living crisis, with prices of everyday goods and services rocketing up over the last year or so.
Figures released last week showed the consumer price index rose six percent from a year ago.
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