AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury on Friday ordered Infowars’ Alex Jones to pay $49.3 million in total damages to the parents of a first-grader killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which the conspiracy theorist f a hoax orchestrated by the government in order to tighten U.S. gun laws. The amount is less than the $150 million sought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was among 19 children and six educators killed in the deadliest classroom shooting in U.S. history. The trial is the first time Jones has been held financially liable for peddling lies about the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut. Jurors at first awarded Heslin and Lewis $4.1 million in compensatory damages, which Jones called a major victory. But in the final phase of the two-week trial, the same Austin jury came back and tacked on an additional $45.2 million in punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for particularly egregious … [Read more...] about Alex Jones ordered to pay $49.3M total over Sandy Hook lies
Jason a jones
Nebraska State Patrol: Suspect linked to 4 deaths arrested
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 LAUREL, Neb. (AP) — Police investigating the killings of four people in a small northeast Nebraska city have arrested a neighbor of one of the victims, the Nebraska State Patrol said Friday. A police team surrounded then entered a home in Laurel about 2:30 a.m. Friday after gathering evidence at two burned houses where the four bodies were found Thursday morning. The Nebraska State Patrol arrested Jason A. Jones, 42, of Laurel on suspicion of homicide. He had been badly burned and was taken to a hospital in Lincoln so has not been formally charged, Nebraska State Patrol Col. John Bolduc said at a news conference. Bolduc said Jones lives across the street from one of the burned homes. Those killed were identified as s Gene Twiford, 86, Janet Twiford, 85, and Dana Twiford, 55, who all lived in one house. The victim in the other house was identified as Michele Ebeling, … [Read more...] about Nebraska State Patrol: Suspect linked to 4 deaths arrested
Houston Astros trade deadline pickups, by the numbers
Farewell Jake Odorizzi. So long Jose Siri. Au revoir minor-leaguers Chayce McDermott, Enmanuel Valdez, and Wilyer Abreu. Some of you will be missed. As for Trey Mancini, Christian Vazquez, Will Smith and minor-leaguer Jayden Murray.... welcome to Houston. All the new Astros look very handsome in their uniforms, but did the team actually bolster its Major League roster as the team barrels towards another October run? Depends on what the team is setting itself up for. Make no mistake: These moves weren't about the Astros separating themselves from the Seattle Mariners, who gave up an awful lot to get pitcher Luis Castillo from the Cinncinati Reds, on top of a few other moves. On July 31, FanGraphs had Houston’s chances of winning the AL West at 99.9 percent, meaning that the stats and analysis site simulated the remainder of the season 20,000 times and the Astros won the division during more than 19,980 of those simulations. Three days later it’s now.... 99.9 percent. The division is … [Read more...] about Houston Astros trade deadline pickups, by the numbers
Flawed Humans, Awkward Sex, Messy Relationships: Yep, ‘Sharp Stick’ Is a Lena Dunham Movie
Click here to read the full article. Early in Lena Dunham ’s bittersweet Sharp Stick , which goes wide this week, two young women are treated, yet again, to their origin stories. Their mother, Marilyn (Jennifer Jason Leigh), believes in ritual. Treina (Taylour Paige) is the biological daughter of a stranger Marilyn met and befriended some years ago, who ran away with a Scientologist after giving birth, leaving the thirtysomething Marilyn — whose own chances at pregnancy were thought to be slim — to care for the young woman she’d grow to call her daughter. Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth), meanwhile, was the product of a fling with a handsome personal trainer named Roy — a short story for a short relationship. “It’s best just to keep it us three,” Marilyn says. The details are lovingly grotesque. Marilyn spins a tale of a seductive Los Angeles, with its ghoulish men and their chodes and big houses, its chance encounters and attractive possibilities. Most urgently, she makes … [Read more...] about Flawed Humans, Awkward Sex, Messy Relationships: Yep, ‘Sharp Stick’ Is a Lena Dunham Movie
Fueled by virtually unrestricted social media access, white nationalism is on the rise and attracting violent young white men
(THE CONVERSATION) White nationalists keep showing up in the hearings of the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Evidence is mounting that white nationalist groups who want to establish an all-white state played a significant role in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five dead and dozens wounded. Thus far, the hearings “have documented how the Proud Boys helped lead the insurrectionist mob into the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C,” journalist James Risen wrote in the Intercept. Based on July 12, 2022, testimony from a former Oath Keepers member, the white nationalist group coordinated with the Three Percenters, another group of white nationalists, and the Proud Boys in mobilizing their extremists' groups to rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, as asked by President Trump in his Dec. 16, 2020, tweet. As a cultural anthropologist who has studied these movements for over a decade, I know that membership in these … [Read more...] about Fueled by virtually unrestricted social media access, white nationalism is on the rise and attracting violent young white men
Slade linked to PremiAir switch
Listen to this article Reports of a potential split between Slade and the single-car Ford squad emerged earlier this week, Motorsport.com sources since confirming that the two-time race winner will definitely walk away from BRT at the end of the year. The move will follow a two-year stint at BRT, which signed Slade for its maiden campaign as a standalone team in 2021. That effectively revived Slade's full-time Supercars career, given he was left without a ride after parting ways with Brad Jones Racing at the end of 2019. Slade finished 12th in the BRT Ford in 2021 before a promising start to the 2022 campaign that saw six Top 10 finishes from the first nine races. Slade's form has been patchy since, though, with two eighth places in Townsville his best results. Still, he's holding on to 10th in the standings with five rounds to go. Motorsport.com understands Slade has agreed to terms with a new team, PremiAir Racing the favourite to secure his services. The … [Read more...] about Slade linked to PremiAir switch
The full 61-car entry list for 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona
Listen to this article 61 cars set to start the 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona. Photo by: IMSA The Roar Before the Rolex 24 from Jan. 21-23 saw two days of on-track testing around Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course, followed by a 100-minute qualifying race on the Sunday. That resulted in the saw the Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05, driven by Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque barely holding off the Tristan Vautier/Richard Westbrook-piloted JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R at the checkered flag. That earned the WTR car pole position for the final Rolex 24 to be held under Daytona Prototype international regulations. The top class’s car count has remained the same as in 2021 at seven entries, with a second full-time Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac helping to make up for the loss of the Mazda RT24-P. In LMP2 also, the field has again remained the same as per last year, with 10 entries, including two from G-Drive Racing by APR. The second season of LMP3 cars being part of … [Read more...] about The full 61-car entry list for 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona