In mid-January, federal prosecutors contacted the lawyers representing six Democratic lawmakers who President Donald Trump said should be charged with sedition for issuing a video this fall reminding military and intelligence personnel that they did not have to obey illegal orders. Despite Trump’s claim that the lawmakers’ behavior was “punishable...
FCC Chair Denies Censoring Colbert Interview, Confirms Investigating ABC’s ‘the View’
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday denied the government had censored CBS late-night show Stephen Colbert from airing a candidate interview and confirmed that the agency is investigating ABC's "The View." FCC Chair Brendan Carr confirmed that the FCC had opened an enforcement into whether the ABC...
BBC to Argue Trump Failed to Show He Was Defamed in Documentary
Britain's public broadcaster, the BBC, said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump had failed to establish that it defamed him in a documentary broadcast shortly before he won a second White House term. In a filing in Miami federal court, the BBC said it intends to argue that Trump's...
Merced County Authorities Seek Family of Deceased Man
The Merced County Sheriff-Coroner's Office is asking for the public's help locating relatives of a 72-year-old man who died in the county. Officials are searching for the family of Bruce Wayne Collier. The coroner's office said it has searched numerous personal records but has been unable to find his relatives....
Pope Leo Laments a World ‘in Flames’ at Ash Wednesday Service
Pope Leo lamented a world "in flames" due to wars and the destruction of the environment during an Ash Wednesday Mass, opening the season of Lent for the world's Christians. Before sprinkling ashes on the heads of participants, a sign of mortality, the pope said the ashes could represent "the...
Meta’s Zuckerberg Faces Questioning at Youth Addiction Trial
LOS ANGELES, Feb 18 - Meta Platforms CEO and billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is set to be questioned for the first time in a U.S. court on Wednesday about Instagram's effect on the mental health of young users, as a landmark trial over youth social media addiction continues. While...
US Agency Sought Transcript of Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Performance
The Federal Communications Commission requested transcripts of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show performance from Comcast's NBC after a Republican lawmaker suggested it could violate federal indecency regulations, a member of the commission said Wednesday. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said she reviewed the transcripts of the performance in Spanish after...
Elon Musk’s xAI Gets $3 Billion Investment From Saudi-Backed AI Firm
LONDON — Saudi Arabia’s state-backed artificial intelligence company, Humain, said Wednesday that it had invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI, deepening the country’s financial ties with the tech billionaire. Humain, the Riyadh-based AI company created last year by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said it made the investment just...
Oil Prices Rise 3% on Iran-US Tensions, Russia-Ukraine Talks End Without Breakthrough
Oil prices rose by more than 3% on Wednesday as traders priced in potential supply disruptions amid concerns of conflict between the United States and Iran, and after talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended without a breakthrough. Brent crude oil futures were up $2.38, or 3.53%, at $69.80...
EPA Faces First Lawsuit Over Its Killing of Major Climate Rule
The first shot has been fired in the legal war over the Environmental Protection Agency’s rollback of its “endangerment finding,” which had been the foundation for federal climate regulations. Environmental and health groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday morning in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,...