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Thursday, April 18, 2024
April 2, 2024
Ed Kozak
Media

Lawsuit: MeidasTouch Parent Company Owes Sports Illustrated Owners $48.75 Million in Missed Payments.

Authentic Brands Group, owner of Sports Illustrated, is suing MeidasTouch parent company Arena Group — and its controversial part owner, Manoj Bhargava — for $48.75 million plus damages for copyright and trademark infringements.

The 51-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday, alleges Bhargava “repeatedly ‘opted for lawlessness’ in his dealings with Sports Illustrated, deliberately missing payments to license the magazine and interfering with its new operator,'” The New York Times reports. The lawsuit claims that “In less than five months, Bhargava’s new venture not only crashed and burned, but almost took SI down along with it.”

According to the lawsuit, Bhargava — the inventor of 5-Hour Energy — assumed control of Arena Group, Sports Illustrated‘s publisher, after buying up its debt and obtaining an ownership stake in the company. The lawsuit claims that Bhargava then ousted Arena Group’s former CEO, Ross Levinsohn, and installed his own loyalists to run the company. Arena Group had a preexisting deal with Authentic Brands Group to pay a $15 million annual fee for the license to publish Sports Illustrated. Bhargava allegedly skipped the payment this year and refused to pay a $45 million termination fee to Authentic Brands Group after it revoked Arena Group’s license for the magazine. The lawsuit says Bhargava threatened to “go nuclear” in response to Authentic Brands Group’s demands.

In March, Levinsohn filed his own suit against Bhargava, accusing him of “deliberately breaking contracts as part of a convoluted union-busting plan.” Levinsohn’s suit alleges that one of Bhargava’s first moves after assuming control of Arena was to request the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models tour his offices.

Bhargava and Arena Group also own MediasTouch Network, the controversial White-House-linked ‘pro-democracy’ news network responsible for the Trump “bloodbath” hoax.

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Timothy Pearson Eric Adams
31 minutes ago
William J. Upton
Corruption
Crime

Eric Adams Aide Hit With 2nd Sexual Harassment, Discrimination Suit.

Timothy Pearson, a top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, has been accused of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in a second lawsuit filed against him on Wednesday. The legal action marks the latest controversy facing either Adams himself or a close associate.

A former New York Police Department (NYPD) inspector, Pearson, is alleged to have engaged in retaliation and discrimination against retired NYPD sergeant Michael Ferrari while the latter worked in the Mayor‘s Office of Municipal Services Assessment. Ferrari claims he was forced into early retirement and lost $2 million in salary and pension benefits due to demotion, which he alleges happened after he raised concerns about Pearson’s behavior.

HARASSMENT AND CORRUPTION.

The lawsuit — filed in the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan — follows an initial claim lodged by retired NYPD sergeant Roxanne Ludemann accusing Pearson of harassment and retaliation after she rejected his inappropriate advances last March. Ferrari does not allege receiving personal advances from Pearson but insists he witnessed his untoward conduct towards female colleagues.

According to Ferrari’s lawsuit, he was appointed by a superior to supervise Pearson’s interaction with female colleagues. His complaint points to a pervasive “hostile work environment” impacting all team members, irrespective of gender. The lawsuit also refers to Pearson’s alleged commentary regarding city contracts — particularly the discontinuation of an illegal immigrant shelter due to flooding — which, it asserts, expressed his intent to exploit such situations financially.

MAYOR ADAMS UNDER SCRUTINY.

Pearson isn’t the only New York City official accused of sexual crimes and public corruption. Mayor Eric Adams himself was accused of committing sexual assault last November. The alleged incident took place in 1993.

Adams is also the subject of two additional probes involving campaign finance schemes. The FBI is investigating his 2021 mayoral campaign over foreign donations. Meanwhile, the Democrat mayor has also been tied to a straw-donor scheme by supports hoping to gain lucrative city contracts.

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Timothy Pearson, a top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, has been accused of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in a second lawsuit filed against him on Wednesday. The legal action marks the latest controversy facing either Adams himself or a close associate. show more
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Kenol Baptiste
1 hour ago
Crime
Immigration

Haitian Double Murderer Allowed into U.S. Via Biden’s CBP App.

In New York, a Haitian national, Kenol Baptiste, now faces charges for the murder of two individuals following his entry into the United States via parole, facilitated through the Biden regime’s CBP One application. The application, initially developed under the Trump administration, was massively expanded under the Biden government, allowing the regime to fast-track the parole process and allow up to 1,450 migrants per day to arrange entry processing.

Baptiste, who was arrested on April 1 in Middletown, NY, is accused of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and fourth-degree criminal weapon possession. The victims succumbed to multiple stab wounds. Baptiste was apprehended in a nearby woodland region by the police’s K9 team and subsequently detained at Orange County Jail.

Baptiste was documented to have arrived in the U.S. in July 2023 via the Paso Del Norte port of entry in El Paso, Texas. He scheduled his port entry using the CBP One app, was paroled into the U.S., and was given notice to appear in immigration court. ICE has since issued a detainer for Baptiste, requesting that he be transferred to ICE custody upon his release from jail.

Republicans have criticized the expanded use of the app, which since 2023 has enabled over 547,000 individuals to schedule appointments. Critics describe it as a ‘concierge service’ for illegal aliens. The application is not solely restricted to ports of entry but also permits up to 30,000 migrants from countries including Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to arrive in the US directly, once parole approval is granted. Most of the illegals flown directly into the country by the Biden regime have gained entry via the app.

Last month, another Haitian illegal who entered the country under Biden’s parole program was charged with raping a 15-year-old girl in Massachusetts.

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In New York, a Haitian national, Kenol Baptiste, now faces charges for the murder of two individuals following his entry into the United States via parole, facilitated through the Biden regime's CBP One application. The application, initially developed under the Trump administration, was massively expanded under the Biden government, allowing the regime to fast-track the parole process and allow up to 1,450 migrants per day to arrange entry processing. show more
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Hannah Fraher Senior Staffer for Speaker Mike Johnson
2 hours ago
William Upton
Politics

REVEALED: Mike Johnson Staffer Threw Anti-Trump Tantrum.

The Director of House Operations, hired by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), threw a tantrum when the D.C. Young Republicans Club (DCYRs) endorsed former President Donald Trump in May last year, according to a report from Breitbart News. Hannah Fraher responded to an email announcement from the group, alleging they violated their bylaws by making the endorsement during the Republican presidential primary and demanded they refund her dues or else she’d quit the club.

Late on May 24, 2023, the DCYRs emailed their membership, stating, ” We need a President that puts America First. We need Donald J. Trump in 2024.” The endorsement came just hours after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his presidential campaign in a glitch–filled event hosted by David Sacks and Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter).

At 10:03 PM, Fraher responded to the DCYRs endorsement, whining, “Given this is in violation of the bylaws, I would like a refund of my dues.” She added the snarky rejoinder, “Let me know however it is easiest for you to make that happen.”

After the Young Republicans Club informed Fraher they would not issue her a refund, she replied in an outburst: “That’s fucking ridiculous. You’re a joke.” The club responded, “Don’t care, loser.”

The exchange allegedly resulted in Fraher engaging in several anti-Trump tirades while discussing the exchange with other Congressional staff on Capitol Hill in the days following the endorsement. According to Breitbart News, Speaker Johnson‘s staffer — at the time serving as a senior counsel — would routinely express criticism of the former Republican President. However, they report that she now has expressed a desire to seek a job should Trump recapture the White House in November.

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The Director of House Operations, hired by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), threw a tantrum when the D.C. Young Republicans Club (DCYRs) endorsed former President Donald Trump in May last year, according to a report from Breitbart News. Hannah Fraher responded to an email announcement from the group, alleging they violated their bylaws by making the endorsement during the Republican presidential primary and demanded they refund her dues or else she'd quit the club. show more
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3 hours ago
Ed Kozak
News
Science
World

At Least 20 Dead During Record Flood After Government ‘Cloud Seeding.’

The record rainfall and flooding in Dubai that has claimed the lives of at least 20 people this week directly followed government cloud seeding missions, according to reports.

Cloud-seeding is a form of geoengineering using planes or cannons to shoot particles into clouds to attract more moisture and increase rainfall.

The UAE government, which has practiced cloud seeding since 2002 to enhance the desert country’s water security, reportedly launched at least seven cloud seeding missions on Monday and Tuesday, immediately before record levels of rain hit Dubai. The government’s National Center of Meteorology has denied this claim, however.

Whether or not cloud-seeding missions immediately preceded this week’s rain and flooding, the government’s cloud-seeding endeavors are undoubtedly at least partly responsible for the country’s recent increase in rain. The UAE has experienced a significant rise in rainfall in the past few years, and a report in the journal Nature predicts that precipitation is expected to increase by 15 percent to 30 percent in the coming years. This week’s rainfall was the country’s heaviest since record-keeping began in 1949.

The Dubai disaster is certain to be used by critics as an example of the dangers inherent in man’s attempts to alter nature’s course through geoengineering. At present, government-backed geoengineering experiments are taking place across the globe, largely intended to combat ‘global warming.’ Earlier this month, Tennessee became the first state in the U.S. to approve legislation banning geoengineering.

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The record rainfall and flooding in Dubai that has claimed the lives of at least 20 people this week directly followed government cloud seeding missions, according to reports. show more
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Biden Power Grab
4 hours ago
Jack Montgomery
Economy

Biden Mulls Declaring ‘Climate Emergency’ in Stunning Election Year Power Grab.

The Biden government is considering declaring a “climate emergency” in order to activate federal powers allowing it to crush the oil and gas industry. Bloomberg sources say the powers “could be used to curtail crude exports, suspend offshore drilling and curb greenhouse gas emissions,” helping the regime meet climate targets at the expense of American jobs and energy independence.

Some of Biden’s advisors believe declaring a climate emergency would “galvanize climate-minded voters” in time for the presidential election in November.

“President Biden has treated the climate crisis as an emergency since day one and will continue to build a clean energy future that lowers utility bills, creates good-paying union jobs, makes our economy the envy of the world and prioritizes communities that for too long have been left behind,” commented White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez, declining to specifically confirm or deny the reports of a possible emergency declaration.

U.S. Presidents have invoked emergency powers in the past, with Donald Trump using an emergency declaration to authorize the use of military resources to secure the southern border, for example. Invoking them to tackle climate change has never been done before, however.

Crude oil prices are already rising significantly due to factors such as Biden’s anti-production policies and the ongoing sanctions war with Russia.

These rises are driving inflation and higher gas prices, with the cost to consumers up by an average of 24 cents per gallon to $3.63 over just the last month.

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The Biden government is considering declaring a "climate emergency" in order to activate federal powers allowing it to crush the oil and gas industry. Bloomberg sources say the powers "could be used to curtail crude exports, suspend offshore drilling and curb greenhouse gas emissions," helping the regime meet climate targets at the expense of American jobs and energy independence. show more
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4 hours ago
Jack Montgomery
Politics
TECH

China’s DC Embassy is Directly Lobbying for TikTok.

The Chinese Embassy is directly lobbying congressional staff to oppose a bill forcing ByteDance to sell its TikTok app or be banned in the U.S., despite the Chinese government claiming it does not control the company.

The House of Representatives has already passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications bill with broad bipartisan support. It must still pass the Senate, however, where it is opposed by lawmakers such as Rand Paul, who has received multi-million-dollar donations from ByteDance investor Jeff Yass.

It is not only Yass lobbying against the bill’s passage but also the Chinese government itself. At least three congressional aides, two from the Senate and one from the House, have held meetings or been invited to hold discussions with the Chinese Embassy, initiated by the Chinese.

Revealingly, Chinese diplomats suggested at the meetings that TikTok was being mistreated because it is Chinese, despite the company officially disclaiming links to China and stressing that it is registered in Singapore and the U.S.

China hawks argue that the embassy’s lobbying efforts prove TikTok is viewed as an essential tool of influence by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), underscoring the need for a ban.

“By lobbying congressional staff to protect TikTok’s relationship with ByteDance, [People’s Republic of China] officials are revealing how valuable TikTok is to the Chinese Communist Party. Losing control of the app would neuter Beijing’s most potent weapon against Americans,” argued American Foreign Policy Council fellow Michael Sobolik.

The embassy, however, argues it “tries to tell the truth about the TikTok issue to people from all walks of life in the U.S.” and insists its actions are “not about lobbying for a single company but about whether all Chinese companies can be treated fairly.”

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The Chinese Embassy is directly lobbying congressional staff to oppose a bill forcing ByteDance to sell its TikTok app or be banned in the U.S., despite the Chinese government claiming it does not control the company. show more
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5 hours ago
Jack Montgomery
Election 2024

WORKING CLASS HERO: Data Reveals Those Who Work Longest Hours Support Trump By Massive Margin.

America’s hardest workers favor Donald Trump over Joe Biden by a massive margin, according to new data from Emerson College Polling. People who work 60+ hours a week favor Trump by 80 percent. Just seven percent of these workers back Biden, according to the new data. Trump maintains a strong lead over Biden in the 50-59 hour bracket – 59 percent vs. 35 percent. His lead is 50 percent versus 38 percent in the 40-49 hour bracket.

Only in the 30-40 hour bracket does Biden start to become competitive, leading his predecessor by a slim margin of 45 percent to 43 percent. Among those working 20-29 hours, Biden’s lead rises to 52 versus 37 percent. His lead is similar among those working the fewest hours, at 51 versus 38 percent.

The data also reveals Trump is the candidate of the the working class. The poorer a voter believes themselves to be, the more likely they are to support the 45th president.

Fifty percent of those who believe they have a “far below average” income support Trump, against 32 percent who favor Biden. Trump maintains a 49 to 40 percent lead among those who believe they have a below-average income. His lead is 46 percent to 44 percent among those who believe they have an average income.

Biden only leads among those who believe they have an above-average income, 50 percent to 42 percent. This rises to 55 percent versus 29 percent among those who believe they have a “far above average” income.

People’s perception of the economy is also a useful indicator of their support. Emmerson executive director Spencer Kimball notes: “Voters who think the cost of living is rising support Trump over Biden, 56 percent to 32 percent.”

People who “feel the cost of living is easing or staying” support Biden by significant margins, at 94 percent versus 6 percent and 67 percent versus 18 percent, respectively

These Biden-leaning demographics are small, however. Eighteen percent of voters say the cost of living is staying the same, and seven percent say it is easing. Seventy-five percent of voters are in the Trump-leaning demographic who believe the cost of living is increasing.

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America's hardest workers favor Donald Trump over Joe Biden by a massive margin, according to new data from Emerson College Polling. People who work 60+ hours a week favor Trump by 80 percent. Just seven percent of these workers back Biden, according to the new data. Trump maintains a strong lead over Biden in the 50-59 hour bracket – 59 percent vs. 35 percent. His lead is 50 percent versus 38 percent in the 40-49 hour bracket. show more
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John Eastman Bank Account Closures
5 hours ago
William J. Upton
Lawfare
Politics

Trump Lawyer John Eastman Has Been DEBANKED.

Constitutional law professor John Eastman, a former legal advisor to Donald Trump, says his bank accounts with two major U.S. financial institutions were abruptly closed in the course of two months in late 2023. This phenomenon, known as “de-banking,” has targeted conservatives in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In June of 2023, Brexit leader Nigel Farage was informed that several of his UK bank accounts would be closed without explanation.

According to Eastman, Bank of America informed him in September 2023 that it would be closing his banking and other financial accounts. The second-largest banking institution in the U.S. offered the former Trump legal advisor no indication of why his account was being closed.

Following the notice from Bank of America, Eastman says he moved his accounts to USAA, a financial services and banking institution that serves military members, veterans, and their families. After just two months with USAA, the legal scholar received a notice that it would also close his accounts in November 2023. The bank cited its “Depository Agreement” as grounds for severing its business relationship with Eastman. Eastman was found preliminarily culpable on 11 charges related to advice he gave former President Trump on the 2020 election just several weeks prior to his de-banking by both institutions.

Bank of America has received tens of billions of taxpayer dollars through federal bailouts. The financial institution received an initial $15 billion in 2008 after the financial crisis. An additional $20 billion — along with a federal guarantee of $100 billion to help cover potential toxic asset losses from its absorption of Merrill Lynch & Co. — was awarded to Bank of America in early 2009. Both Bank of America and USAA also benefit from federal insurance programs.

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Constitutional law professor John Eastman, a former legal advisor to Donald Trump, says his bank accounts with two major U.S. financial institutions were abruptly closed in the course of two months in late 2023. This phenomenon, known as "de-banking," has targeted conservatives in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In June of 2023, Brexit leader Nigel Farage was informed that several of his UK bank accounts would be closed without explanation. show more
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Mike Johnson Foreign Aid Packages
6 hours ago
Wake Up Right
Politics

Here’s What YOU Can Do About Speaker Johnson’s Betrayal of America.

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson is preparing to drop a massive foreign aid package, comprised mostly of money for Ukraine, that ignores the wishes of GOP voters and delivers a giant win to Joe Biden.

The details: The House Appropriations Committee released a memo yesterday unveiling three bills that Johnson will package into a single rule totaling $95 billion.

  • Ukraine gets $60.84 billion in taxpayer dollars to replenish weapons & services and fund U.S. military operations in the region.
  • Israel gets $26.38 billion to replenish the Iron Dome missile defense system and other defensive and offensive weapons.
  • Indo-Pacific gets $8.12 billion to build up our defensive and offensive capabilities in the region to counter China. This includes $2 billion for Taiwan.

Joe Biden immediately endorsed this plan.

The backstab: When Johnson became Speaker, he supported the position, widely held by Republican voters, that Congress should not allocate a single dollar for a foreign country until Joe Biden agreed to secure the border.

  • In January, Johnson said: “Before we even talk about Ukraine… We have to take care of our own house. We have to secure our own border before we talk about doing anything else.”

The pattern: Unfortunately, this foreign aid vote is not the first time Johnson has ignored the will of Republican voters.

  • He pushed FISA re-authorization, which allows the Biden Department of Justice to spy on American citizens without a warrant.
  • He allowed Congress to pass the Democrats’ spending bill.
  • He let Democrats raise the debt ceiling, digging us deeper into national debt.

What do Americans think? A new poll found that just 11 percent of Americans say Ukraine funding is more important than securing the border, while 50 percent put the border first.

Big picture: Senator Rand Paul sums up the situation best: “As I see it now, I’m not so sure there’s a difference between Mike Johnson being in charge and the Democrats being in charge.”

The House will vote on the foreign aid bill on Saturday. Readers are encouraged to call Speaker Johnson and politely let him know how they feel.

  •  D.C. office: 202-225-2777
  •  Louisiana office: 318-840-0309

This article is adapted from the free ‘Wake Up Right’ newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.

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Republican Speaker Mike Johnson is preparing to drop a massive foreign aid package, comprised mostly of money for Ukraine, that ignores the wishes of GOP voters and delivers a giant win to Joe Biden. show more
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UK Taxpayers
6 hours ago
Jack Montgomery
Politics
UK

Taxpayers Fund ‘Research’ on ‘Transphobia’ in Archaeology, Whiteness, and Gay Porn.

Taxpayers are funding researchers to produce extremist left-wing ‘academic’ work, including anti-“whiteness” projects and papers claiming archaeology is transphobic and proposals to reinvent the field as “fully transgender inclusive.”

One researcher at the University of York created a presentation titled Bones Don’t Care About Your Feelings: Challenging Transphobic Invocations of Archaeology in (Social) Media. He is receiving a stipend of £18,622 a year (~$23,205) from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a government body funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Another UKRI-funded research project focused on archaeology and transgenderism seeks to “establish a framework for a fully transgender inclusive archaeology that tackles normative interpretations of the past and supports the transgender community in a period of heightened attacks in the present.” Its abstract pledges to build on “queer theories of gender” and “reframe archaeology as a safe, inclusive space.”

UKRI has been exposed as funding a variety of woke research projects of questionable value in recent days. Several anti-“whiteness” projects are being funded, including one titled The unbearable whiteness of class: towards an intersectional reading of poverty discourses in Brexit Britain, and another titled Bordering on whiteness: Exploring the racialised subjectivities of Italian women in post-Brexit London.

Some projects focus on sexual deviance rather than race, such as ‘Playing’ with Gay Sex: Exploring Sexual Play in Queer Pornographic Video Games Through Sexual Scripting and The Europe that Gay Porn Built — which received an astonishing £841,830 (~$1,048,330) in taxpayer funding.

A spokesman for UKRI insisted the government body “invests in a diverse research and innovation portfolio” after “a rigorous peer review process by relevant independent experts from across academia and business.”

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Taxpayers are funding researchers to produce extremist left-wing 'academic' work, including anti-"whiteness" projects and papers claiming archaeology is transphobic and proposals to reinvent the field as "fully transgender inclusive." show more
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